[This is the second post in the series for those with little or no social science background. This series is meant to improve understanding of the nuances around caste and casteism in India]
Oops, did I bruise your ego? Well, get over it buddy.
Just the claim of being progressive and inclusive doesn’t automatically make us above and beyond caste, for inclusiveness is an everyday every moment mindful practice.
Here is why and how you and me are casteist.
Let me start with me. You can do your own reflection.
I often complain about how single women in India are treated by tradition and mainstream society. But here is the thing-- being single and independent and having my own place without the fear of a strange man busting down the door is a privilege.
Now, you will say that it is a factor of class and not caste. Yes and No. How did I come to be independent or live by myself? Because of education and the job opportunities that the education provided me.
You will say but there is reservation for SC/STs and hence they have equal opportunity (some say better) to study. True. But it is never enough to have opportunities. One needs to have the right circumstances to be able to utilize it.
See, I am a middle class Iyer gal. All my cousins are literate and have at the very least college degree. When I was growing up studies and homework was crucial part of everyday. All of us studied. Relatives asked us about our grades which was pretty rough. But we knew school was super important. I don’t know Iyer illiterates. Several in my community were doctors and engineers and professors too. We were proud of those who worked with United Nations. Education for us was not merely passing higher secondary. It was not even just a college degree. It was to be outstanding academically and landing a prosperous career. We were meant to dream of buying houses, gold ornaments and have decent savings.
This taken-for-granted naturalized way of life contributed to the moment I came on my own. First thing I did was to improve my educational qualifications. It was not intimidating at all. It was like a fish back in water. With good childhood nutrition, disease-resistant genetic stock, and plenty of role models it was easy for me to focus on studies and do well.
I know several Brahmins have over the years become very poor and often serve as domestic helps. But education was always our forte, our thing. There was always this thing that if we studied we could triumph our circumstances.
The same is often not true for SC/STs. Literacy rates for SCs are 54.69% and STs 47.10% several points lesser than the national average is 64.8% (figures from Census 2001). Now you will argue that educational systems have quotas for them but they don’t make use of it.
Arey baba, remember I said I was like a fish back in water when I returned to studies? For them, it is like a fish out of water. For centuries, education was denied to depressed castes by social exclusion and instead children learnt how to be a labourer and make ends meet. For me there were no historical or cultural hurdles to jump, just an all around urging to be educated. Why wouldn’t I be a Ph.D.?
In the acknowledgment section of my Ph.d. thesis I wrote:
"Of those whom I do not know personally, first and foremost, my undying gratitude to the centuries of dalits in my country India on whose broken backs my Brahmin wisdom was able to thrive. I stand here because you suffered without a choice. In every sense, this wisdom belongs to you.”
And then went on to celebrate completion of my studies.
Yes, I made my thesis freely available for all by uploading onto free sites. But I have continued to enjoy the fruits of broken backs and unnamed crushed spirits. I have not given up my degree certificate. Using that I did step out on my own and live decently now. Using that I write. And I do not have the guts to give up anything nor the ability to do anything substantial for the community literacy rates. Except to speak up. My gratitude has been merely a token.
And then I call myself liberal and inclusive. Huh?
That was brutal. You are right, as Robert Kiosaki says, rich people teach their children things that poor people dont teach their kids. That is why the rich kids stay rich and the poor stay poor. It is in the mindset... not only in the 'opportunities'.
ReplyDeleteYour words trigger introspection.
I think you are spot on at many a place. Where I am not able to completely concur with you is that we somehow have misconstrued the oppressor to be only the Brahmins. I have not done any thesis on the oppression but my own intuition and inclination says that Brahmins were at best one of the tools that was used by the oppressors to take on the Dalits. Yes!! Brahmins were inclined to education and my major grouse against brahmins is that they didn't use this education to ward of the evil of the casteism.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to the 19th and early 20th century, you would find that most of the antagonists of the caste system were Brahmins. You can consider some of the stalwarts like Rajaji, Bharatiyar in the south and the likes of Gandhiji in the north who fought vehemently against the caste system.
Today you would not find a Brahmin fight for reservation whereas every other community who were former oppressors (and still oppress given the slightest chance) crave and fight for reservation. I would say that the vanniyars in TN, the yadav in UP and Bihar who were as inimical to the Dalits as Brahmins were (if not more) dying and killing for their share of the reservation booty.
I carry no grouse against reservation especially for the underprivileged. But in the name of reservation, we see that those who have enjoyed the fruits of the reservation continue to enjoy it while denying it to their more deserving brethren.
Unless we are able to come up with an effective formula that aims at a moratorium for reservation, we are going to be battling against the oppression.
Today, in many areas of TN we see casteist clashes. Invariably the papers say that it is a fight between Upper caste hindus and lower caste hindus. Thanks to the dravidian indoctrination, there is an automatic association of upper caste hindus with Brahmins. Therefore the news reports of the clashes between the Upper caste hindus vs lower caste hindus is actually unfair reporting. There is a continuous insinuation that Brahmins continue to oppress.
Hope what I say makes sense...
I agree with you 100%
ReplyDeleteIf you have read bhakthi movement 12th century, Basavanna started this movement which I can say is a similar movement to that of Protestant revolution and what is better is that we here in subcontinent did it few centuries before few Christians started to question the authority of Catholic institution.
Then Lingayatism became another caste, very sad.
I have seen several upper class people who talk about their theory of 'even given quotas, we are doing better to those SC/Sts'. I have not studied Social science myself, but very interested in history and consequences.
I agree with you completely about the how SC/STs are still struggling to take advantage of the quotas that are given to them and how 'rich' SC/STs are taking advantage of it as well even though they do not require support from govt, as they are already well to do.
Sad state of affairs and I really feel terrible that I am from a caste who have oppressed SC/Sts just because they were born in that 'caste'.
This caste system has cut so much talent which otherwise could had been able to create so many technologies in our name.