The Caste Reality

Vinayak Savarkar, the Hindu and Indian nationalist and leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha (Great Society of Hindus), also said that he would prefer the British Raj than the rule of the lower castes.

When Article 370 of the Indian Constitution was being done away with, the argument was offered that it will help the Dalits as they are not entitled to reservation benefits in Muslim-dominated Jammu & Kashmir. While amending the Citizenship Act of 1955, the Home Minister of the Indian Government furthered the same argument that the Dalits are treated even more badly in Pakistan. Of the 8 million Hindus living in Pakistan, around 6.5 million are Dalits. They are engaged in menial work, are forced to convert to Islam and there is hardly any opportunity for them to make progress.

As developments have showed, Jamia students were badly beaten up in New Delhi but that paid off handsomely where the anti-CAA/NRC movement was concerned. After that, Shaheen Bagh became an inspiration for whole of the country. Of course, the JNU students’ support was very critical. On the day on which the fateful incident took place at the Jamia, police did not stop at that only, but began booking cases against already victimised students. In the late evening, JNU students and mainly youth and common citizens from other walks of life, gathered at the police headquarters to mount pressure to release them. This helped in escalation of the agitation, otherwise they would have succeeded in bundling them up in various criminal cases, jails, etc.

After the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 was passed, agitation broke out all over the country. It helped bring together protesters in one of the states, i.e. Uttar Pradesh. Peaceful marchers were killed and injured. The Bengal BJP Chief could not hold his tongue and warned the anti-CAA agitators that they will be shot like dogs, as in UP. In Uttar Pradesh, 19 agitators died and many got injured but the state government was saying that they were killed by protesters’ bullets. What a joke! Why was not a single policeman killed? Pellet guns and bullets found in the bodies of those killed were in the possession of the police and not the civilians. This also showed that only Muslims are being targeted, their properties are being attached and false cases are being slapped on them.

The ideology of the RSS has divided the Indian society into thousands of castes. Discrimination is justified in scriptures and religious discourses. The majority of Muslims, whether in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, are converts. It is not always correct to say that the Hindus were forced to convert. In some cases, it is true that they embraced Islam at the point of the gun or in lieu of some allurements but the majority of them converted due to the message of Islam. Imagine that when untouchability and caste discrimination is still continuing, how much worse it must have been in the ninth century and onwards?

Is it not a fact that all Sankracharyas’ seats in the parliament are reserved for Brahmins? Had there not been reservations, Dalits and tribals could not have been found in governance and legislative bodies. Of course, the BJP is trying to forward the confusing theory that the Hindus have nothing to fear. Another narrative is that the CAA is for giving citizenship rather than snatching it away! Due to countrywide protests, the BJP is now on the backfoot in offering such logic, but the intention is to dilute reservation and finally replace the Constitution with the Manusmriti.

The way forward for the ongoing agitation depends on leaders and activists of the anti-CAA campaign. I spoke at Shaheen Bagh on January 19, 2020, that the celebrities and intellectuals do not influence the voting pattern much. What is needed is the inclusion of leaders and representatives of backward areas and Dalits. The caste system plays a key role in electoral politics. The BJP has come into power through the strength of the vote. It will also be overthrown by the strength of the vote. Muslim leaders love to use the term ‘Hindustan’ and ‘Hindu’ in their dialogue and speeches, but they must refrain from it. This power struggle is not between the Hindus and Muslims but between the Manuwadis (the so-called upper caste) and thousands of backward and Dalit castes. The Dalits became Hindus at the time when the Manuwadi forces needed them to pitch against the Muslims. If they are Hindus, then why inter-caste marriages do not take place and why are resources and governance not proportionately divided?

Can the Valmikis open restaurants, tea shops and sweet shops like Aggarwal Sweets or Sharma Sweets? I guarantee that no one from the upper castes will visit eateries of Valmiki or other lower castes like of the Khatik, Chamar, Matang, Mala, etc. The moment the backward and Dalit castes realise this bitter reality, they will not become Hindus. This anti-CAA agitation can bring about social reform provided it is being led with this vision.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, father of the Indian Constitution, rejected Hinduism and embraced Buddhism. The Indian society is the greatest paradox in the world - that whatever is spoken and taught in books and at public meetings and seminars, has hardly any reflection in society. The moment people leave public meetings, classrooms and other discourses, they will leave these things there. After that, they will settle down in their castes and institutions. The success of this agitation will depend on the fact that the caste reality is kept in mind.