Thread by @DearthOfSid

1. Right-wing politics has always tried to defend the status quo and resist progress by distracting people from the real reasons of their suffering and propping up fake enemies. This is the core of arguments like "immigrants are taking our jobs" and "reservation destroys merit".

2. The real reasons behind the employment crisis can be found by analysing the neoliberal economic policies of states. But instead of addressing them, a far-right President like Donald Trump convinced his constituents that it's the Mexicans who are taking away the jobs.

3. The sentiment about "how immigrants are the reason for all problems" are at the core of many crises across the world including the Assam NRC. Instead of demanding more opportunities and public spending from the governments, the people have been made to turn against each other.

4. The rhetoric of "reservation destroys merit" originates from the same sentiment. In India, caste-based reservations are a much needed redressal mechanism to uplift the marginalised who've been denied natural justice for centuries. It's a bare minimum effort towards justice.

5. But yet, the upper castes accuse the reserved category of destroying "merit" and eating up the opportunities. Instead of demanding more spending in public sector and improving opportunities, they have been made to turn against the marginalised sub-sections of their society.

6. It's important to expose this age-old strategy of using political capital to effectively obscure the debates about progress and hide the real problems of the society. Otherwise, the reactionary politicians will take this society for a ride for a long time to come.