RACISM AND CASTEISM: A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS FROM A DALIT PERSPECTIVE

          Both Racism and casteism are among the highly evolved system of social stratification which has an overpowering effect on the daily lives of many people. Racism has its origin in around the sixteenth century but casteism is a two thousand years old phenomenon. It is not very hard to imagine the psychological burden on any anti-caste activist or any oppressed, who has to take such long memories of oppression in his or her mind to fight back against caste oppression. Unlike caste, the Race of a person can be easily identified by the colour of their skin.

         Hindus have their own version of ‘JIM CROW LAWS’ written in the Religious text of Hinduism. According to one of the hymns of the tenth chapter or mandala of ‘Rigveda’, the people of four-class varnas originated from the body of the Supreme Creator -Brahma that is Brahmins i.e. priestly class from the mouth, Kshatriyas i.e. warrior class from the shoulders, Vaishyas i.e. merchant class from the thighs and Shudras i.e. service class from the feet. Although the system was based on a gradual ritual hierarchy there was very high-status inequality between the top three of them and the Shudras.

         

                 The above-mentioned version of the ‘varna system’ was just like an ideological tool employed by Brahmin or priestly class to fit the various caste or communities in the hierarchical varna system of Brahminical Social Order. There are many communities like Dalits, Tribals, and foreign invaders who were not connected to the four-fold varna system but over a certain period, these were assimilated into the social and cultural milieu because of the overwhelming presence of the ideology of ‘purity and pollution.

               The Dalits or’ ex- untouchables’ or outcaste people were literally called the people of ‘fifth varna’ in many religious texts. Shudras and Dalits can be summed up as the other backward class and Dalits in modern constitutional terminology respectively. Shudras are ‘touchable’ service classes because it was practically impossible to separate all occupational classes out of their sight or home, but there were many religious and social disabilities that were binding on them. Dalits were kept outside the village and were forced to survive on dead animals and were used to render filthy jobs. Tribal or Scheduled Tribes have remained least affected by the caste system for a long time because of their isolated habitats in forests area.

 Hinduism is a conglomeration of around 6800 castes or subcastesEvery varna has many castes or subcastes. No intermarriage is allowed between subcastes or castes. The rules of endogamy and restriction on inter-dining are strictly followed in rural areas. But in urban areas too, segregated housing colonies in every city can be easily found. You can’t even imagine a Hindu person without it. 

                              Brahmins had invented the elaborate system of rules and rituals for strict regulation and monitoring of its adherence by all individuals of all varnas in the society by providing holy sanctity to the Varna system. According to Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Indian history can be summed up as the fight between Brahminism and Buddhism. Every religion that had originated in India viz. Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism have strong in-built anti-caste ideology in their early phase, but due to continuous existence and intermingling between different sections of society, caste has seriously affected all religions of Indian-subcontinental, including Islam.

                 Most of the common people of western democracies have not even got a fair idea about the caste atrocities perpetrated on ‘lower caste’ people because of the fake propaganda propagated by early Indian migrants who mostly belonged to the top three varnas Hinduism is not just related to yoga, cows, non-materialism spirituality, it is just like a strategy employed to take advantages of affirmative policy meant for ‘people of colour’ by hiding the cruel face of Hinduism.

             It was a little bit easy to dupe western people into believing this above propaganda of Hinduism because racism doesn’t have a religious link. Many of the leaders of civil rights movements have even used positive aspects of Christianity. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christian priest who fought for the integration of black people into the larger society under his Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Malcolm X under the Nation of Islam, known for his strong and fiery idea of Black nationalism was also not averse to any religious doctrine.

            But there is a long list in India from Lord Buddha, Basavanna, and Kabir to Phule couple, E.V.Ramaswami Naicker, Narayana Gurus, Baba Gadge, C.Iyothee Thaass and DR. Ambedkar, who had waged the long relentless war not only against daily caste atrocities but also had to sacrifice a significant part of their life for conceptualising and de-hegemonising Brahminical religious text and tradition. Even today we, Dalits and lower caste leaders are fighting on both the secular and cultural front.

           In response to a question in Parliament, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale made a statement that 1,38,825 cases related to crimes against Dalits were reported across the country between 2018 and 2020. But according to human rights activists working for Dalits' rights, such official data doesn’t catch the systemic and daily subversion of basic human rights and violation of dignity. Official data represents only cases where the victims were able to file a First Information Report (FIR). one can argue that the ground reality is much worse. In most of the cases, police made proactive efforts in favour of the dominant caste to dilute the seriousness of the violence and shield the accused people. It is a serious matter that despite the presence of constitutional and legislative safeguards, crimes against them are increasing at a greater pace even according to many official surveys and data

            A study titled ‘Dalit Women Speak Out’ in 2006 carried out by the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), which covered 500 Dalit women’s experiences of violence in four Indian states, showed the convictions in only three cases, i.e. less than 1% of the total instances of violence. Research carried out by Dalit women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in 13 Indian States, on caste-based sexual violence, has said that in most of the cases, the perpetrators of sexual violence against Dalit women and girls belong to dominant castes. In over half the cases (62%) men and boys of dominant caste groups have targeted Dalit girls under the age of 18 years. In most of the cases against Dalits, sexual violence is being used by those in dominant positions as a weapon to assert power and reinforce existing hierarchies.

                Dalits and other backwards classes have made some progress due to the reservation policy enshrined in the constitution due to special efforts made by Dr B. R. Ambedkar. Political classes after independence have also made some half-hearted efforts for getting votes in the adult franchise system. but there is a great lack of solidarity between oppressed castes because of vertical arrangements of social and economic status within themselves.         

                    We are living in such a regressive society that the famous celebrities of films, sportspersons, stand-up comedians and religious godmen regularly make casteist slurs against so-called lower caste people without any guilt. Even Business tycoons propagate their caste hegemony by giving passing statements against affirmative policies. Social Media are full of such videos. Whereas Western media especially American media is giving wide coverage to black protesters since the days of Martin Luther King Jr but Indian media has deliberately ignored any serious debate on caste issues. Police, Judiciary, Media and Bureaucracy are most of the time, pitted against the vulnerable sections thanks to their inadequate representation in such places

            Most students from Dalits and Tribal communities have to face a very hostile environment in higher education institutions. They are repeatedly tormented for their social identities by their classmates and faculty members. The suicides of Rohith Vemula and Dr Payal Tadvi(in the picture below) are some famous examples. Even after suicide, only victims were to be blamed for being ‘mentally weak’ and ‘over-sensitive’. In 99.99% of cases accused were never held responsible and acquitted free by the judiciary.

            Around 71% of Dalits are landless labourers who work on land they do not own. In rural areas, 58.4% of Dalit households do not own land at all. Studies suggest that 94% of marriages are endogamous;90% of menial jobs are performed by the deprived castes whereas this figure is reversed in white-collar jobs Many reports from national and international organisations have regularly pointed to caste-based inequality. Even after so much evidence of oppression, upper caste Hindus have not even agreed to make a caste census which is mostly required for efficient policy making but it can also reveal the glaring inequality between upper caste people and others, NDA government under Modi didn’t take any steps in this direction

           Due to the increasing migration of people from all sections of Indian society, casteism has now become a global concern. We can see this in various examples like the Cisco case, caste being recognised as a protected category in the education system of the United States, human trafficking of lower caste people for building the  Swaminarayan temple, and various attempts of Dalit right activists for recognition of caste in British Parliament.

           We can think of upper caste Hindus, living in the western world as doubly clever than white supremacists who have never bothered about recognising their own historically accumulated caste privileges. They don’t only take undue advantages from the affirmative policy and other benefits meant for the really deserving section but have also been supporting regressive caste and religious structure at home in India.

                      So it is high time that vulnerable sections all over the world should work towards making a solidarity network and they should pay attention to the experiences of oppressed people from other countries too. It will be beneficial for all. Till now, political and economic elites of all countries have made full use of globalisation by uniting themselves. Now it must be our turn. Listening to the experience of a socially excluded person is a special kind of healing process.