What I say may sound idealistic. But it is not. It is actually being selfish. But it is being selfish in the long term, unlike the selfishness of Indians (and many other cultures) which is usually quite myopic. The majority will not be able to enjoy their fruits if certain minorities are suppressed and marginalized. The sufferings and frustrations of these minorities will come back to haunt the majorities. There will always be friction and that friction will not allow the majorities to enjoy their narrow-term successes. For the majority to see a sustained growth and success, so that there is calm, peace and good standard of living in a country they have to accommodate the minorities as described above. The same argument can be extended to the privileged groups. Many majorities and privileged communities believe they can perpetuate their dominance by creating little islands of excellence. They believe they can keep these minorities and underprivileged out of their islands. They create gated communities, gated universities, and gated businesses and believe they can live happily ever after without getting disturbed by the minorities and underprivileged. That is an illusion. we see privileged classes in India reluctant to extend reservations in education and employment opportunities to the backward castes. We see the majorities reluctant to extend concessions to Muslims in India. And I think that this myopic selfishness will spell doom for everyone..
