Caste , Census , and India
May 10th, 2010 | Add a Comment
Caught in a cusp between old and new worlds, India's interface with
caste remains schizophrenic 60 years after adopting a republican
Constitution
Three events last week painfully underlined the complex matrix of
caste in Indian politics and society. First, the Government succumbed
to combined Opposition pressure and agreed to enumerate citizens by
caste in the ongoing Census operations. Second, DMK patriarch M
Karunanidhi, having run out of all weapons in his armoury to defend
the brazen actions of Telecom Minister A Raja, came up with the
astounding theory that the Minister was under attack from "vested
interests" only on account of his Dalit origins. Third, the mysterious
death of a young Delhi journalist at her parental home in Jharkhand,
apparently because she wanted to marry her lower caste boyfriend,
jarred enlightened sensibilities throughout the country.
Thousands of years after the sub-system of caste emerged out of the
original Varna system, and more than 60 years after we gave ourselves
a democratic, republican Constitution pledging equality to all
citizens, India is still to come to grips with this unique social
construct. Over time, it has acquired new dimensions and
ramifications: Some would argue that past oppression of the lower
orders has been replaced by the tyranny of numbers, painting the
ritually superior sections into a corner. At the same time, mediaeval
orthodoxy coexists almost in perfect harmony with modern, legally
ordained directives. For example, a draconian law has been written
into the statute books to severely punish those committing atrocities
on Scheduled Castes, but that does not prevent upper caste landlords
from wreaking terrible vengeance on 'defiant' Dalits and their
families. Mostly, they get away with it, even in Uttar Pradesh ruled
by a Dalit woman.
The case of Nirupama Pathak, the journalist allegedly killed by her
mother (although the story is undergoing new twists every day) would
seem particularly bizarre. Here is an educated family, headed by a
nationalised bank officer father, which sends their daughter to study
and practice journalism in faraway Delhi. There she develops a
relationship with a classmate and they apparently decide to get
married. The boy belongs to a ritually inferior caste, which
incidentally counts among the so-called Forwards in North India. But
such is the orthodoxy of the Brahmin girl's family that they refuse
her permission to marry and, allegedly, smother her to death or (if
new speculation is to be believed) push her into committing suicide.
The family's outrage at the idea of inter-caste marriage is documented
in a long, hectoring letter from the father to his daughter in which
he quotes scripture and verse to establish the immorality of such a
union.
Nirupama's isn't the first such case, nor will it be the last.
Over the years, caste has also acquired new political uses, evident
from the way the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister handled the tornado of
corruption charges engulfing 'service provider' A Raja. If we
logically extend his argument that the Minister is being targeted only
because he is a Dalit, we shall be forced to reach the conclusion that
laws of the land should not be applicable to members of a particular
caste or community. The day may not be far off when there will be a
demand to insert the following clause at the end of the Indian Penal
Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and other
relevant statues: "Notwithstanding anything contained in the above
Schedules, none of the provisions of this Act shall be applicable to
members belonging to the following castes/communities…"!
Invariably, they all accuse the media of being dominated by upper
castes and thus motivated by vengeful feelings towards OBCs and
Dalits. Not for a moment does it cross their mind that Independent
India's biggest media success was on the Bofors scam in which the
principal accused was the son of a Kashmiri Pandit mother and Parsi
father — by no stretch of the imagination Dalit or OBC. The media's
latest victim is Mr Shashi Tharoor, neither Dalit nor OBC. India's
vibrant media has been completely even-handed in exposing corruption
in high places. Mr Karunanidhi, Mr Raja or Mr Ramadoss may not believe
this, but in the national media we hardly know which caste they belong
to unless it is voluntarily disclosed.
Held in the backdrop of the Muslim League's Pakistan Resolution of
1940, there was a concerted attempt by Muslims to enter Urdu as their
mother tongue although most did not know what the script looked like.
Similarly Hindus in Punjab determinedly averred that Hindi, not
Punjabi, was their mother tongue. Further, the influence of
Sanskritisation (as described by sociologist MN Srinivas) was at its
peak at that time; castes now called OBCs randomly claimed upper
caste, especially Rajput, status then. When officers started
tabulating the figures they found statistically impossible spurts to
have taken place in certain linguistic and caste categories.
Eventually they recommended scrapping the Census altogether. Lets hope
the same fate does not await the Census of 2011.
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