http://sify.com/news/caste-in-indian-census-will-set-clock-back-comment-news-national-kf3kEcdadgi.html
Caste in Indian census will set clock back (Comment)
2010-05-29 10:40:00
's social and political stability.
That caste has been one of the most divisive forces for centuries has
never been in doubt. Its segmentation of Indian society into various
mutually exclusive groups, who in many places do not marry or break
bread with each other, has enabled politicians in recent years to
garner support by pitting one caste against another.
The result has been the emergence of parties such as the Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) of the backward castes,
mainly the Yadavs, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of the Dalits.
The earlier idea of a national party representing all sections of
people has taken a back seat.
The impact on the political scene has not been beneficial because the
outlook of these sectarian parties has mostly been retrogressive, as
the SP's opposition to computers and the English language shows.
Besides, since the politics of these parties is based on fomenting
casteist animus against the challengers, it isn't surprising that the
Dalit czarina, Mayawati, has alleged that the Congress' heir apparent,
Rahul Gandhi, washes himself with a 'special' soap after spending time
with the Dalits.
It was to turn the country away from such narrow-minded exploitation
of casteist prejudices that all great leaders of the past endeavoured
to eliminate this baneful feature of Hindu society.
Whether it was Swami Vivekananda, who described Kerala as a 'mad
house' because of its obsession with caste, or Mahatma Gandhi, who
went on fast to eradicate the practice of untouchability - an integral
feature of the caste system - or Jawaharlal Nehru, who described it as
'reactionary, restrictive and barriers to progress', the effort of all
of India's great men was to put an end to this disruptive social
order.
If they failed, the reason, according historian Romila Thapar, was
that the 'social disparities' in Hindu society were 'legitimised
through a theoretically irreversible hierarchy...based on a
supernatural authority'.
Now, there is even lesser chance of the earlier endeavours being
revived because the wheel is being moved into reverse gear. Curiously,
this retrogressive step is being taken at a time when the diminishing
potential of exploiting casteist sentiment to mobilise political
support is becoming evident.
Mayawati, for instance, realised before the last assembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh that dependence on the Dalits (the lowest in the Hindu
caste hierarchy) alone would not lead to her to victory. So she
constituted a so-called rainbow coalition comprising the upper castes
along with her core group of lower caste supporters.
Similarly, Nitish Kumar has realised in Bihar that the backing of the
backward castes has to be supplemented by a purposeful implementation
of development projects in order to stay ahead of his rivals. It was
Lalu Prasad's inability to appreciate this fact that led to the RJD's
defeat after 15 years in power.
Yet, if the Congress is making the same mistake of boosting caste at
the expense of forward-looking policies, it is apparently because it
wants to keep on the right side for its parliamentary survival parties
like the RJD, the SP and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), another party
of the backward castes, which have been in the forefront of the demand
for including caste in census enumerations after a gap of nearly eight
decades.
The attitude of these parties is understandable. Their vision is so
circumscribed by their caste identity that they are incapable of
taking a broad view. The Congress, however, is better placed because
of its long history to appreciate the damaging consequences of
legitimising the caste system by this latest move.
That the party has had second thoughts is evident from the decision to
refer the matter of including caste in the census data to a group of
ministers for consideration. Perhaps the realisation has dawned that
the tabulation of an estimated 65,000 castes and sub-castes will cause
an upheaval in the political system because of the emergence of new
leaders belonging to these groups who will not be averse to using the
familiar rabble-rousing tactics to gather support.
Votaries of the 'caste in census' proposal argue that these thousands
of castes are not new ones. They were always there. Their
identification, therefore, in the census records will only reflect the
existing reality. But the OBCs (Other Backward Castes), too, were
always there before 1990. However, it was the V.P. Singh government's
decision to implement the Mandal commission's report on job
reservations for them (which was kept in cold storage by the Congress)
which made the OBCs a new political force in the country.
What is unsettling, therefore, is that this virtual explosion of
castes via the census will put pressure on the government to undo the
Supreme Court's obiter dicta of keeping reservations in jobs and
educational institutions for them to below 50 percent. Similarly, the
demand will again be raised for extending the quota system to the
private sector since the public sector will be unable to find room for
so many castes.
The harmful effect of the fresh lease of life which caste received in
1990 is evident from the appearance of the khap panchayats with their
approval of the killing of couples who defy caste rules to marry, and
also of 'honour' killings by ultra-orthodox families for the same
reason.
If the 'caste in census' proposal receives official blessing, India
can bid goodbye to social and political harmony and economic
advancement.
(29-05-2010-Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached
at aganguli@mail.com)
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/
No comments:
Post a Comment