http://www.theage.com.au/world/indias-castes-to-stand-up-and-be-counted-20100514-v4js.html
India's castes to stand up and be counted
MATT WADE, NOIDA
May 15, 2010
THEY were once pushed to the margins and condemned to the filthiest
jobs. But for many Indian Dalits - previously the ''untouchables'' of
the Hindu caste system - times have changed.
Perhaps no one symbolises this better than the "Dalit queen", Kumari
Mayawati, who has been Chief Minister of India's most populous state,
Uttar Pradesh in northern India, for three years.
A hallmark of Ms Mayawati's reign has been her passion for building
statues to honour Dalit political leaders, herself included.
The latest batch - a row of towering lower-caste heroes covered from
head to toe in blue material - stand on the banks of the holy Yamuna
River at Noida, one of India's booming high-tech business hubs.
They wait for Ms Mayawati to open the vast memorial, built at a cost
more than $A80 million.
She has spent at least $A300 million on monuments to Dalit leaders in
Uttar Pradesh, an impoverished state with a population of 180 million.
It's estimated there are now 20,000 statues of the great Dalit leader,
B R Ambedkar, dotted across the state, most of them commissioned by Ms
Mayawati.
She rejects criticism of her statue-building frenzy, claiming they are
an inspiration for low-caste communities that have been repressed and
excluded from power for a millennium.
Badri Narayan Tiwari, a specialist in caste politics at the Govind
Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, says the statues are part of a
strategy to build "respect" for Dalit.
The influence of caste in India was underscored again last week when
Pranab Mukherjee, India's Finance Minister, announced the government
will require Hindus to record their caste in the colossal, 10-yearly
national census now under way.
The last time caste numbers were counted was in 1931, when the British
ruled the subcontinent. The governing Congress Party - which has
resisted counting caste in the census for decades - has changed its
position in an apparent bid to please caste-based parties that now
wield great influence in national and regional politics.
The success of Ms Mayawati, who has risen to power in India's Hindi
heartland with the passionate support of Dalits, illustrates the
importance of caste in modern Indian politics.
Her main rival for power in Uttar Pradesh is a party that draws its
support from a large and powerful caste group, the Yadavs.
"Caste has been there in Indian politics for a very long time, but
it's becoming more explicit now," says Delhi University political
analyst Mahesh Rangarajan.
Dr Tiwari says government attempts to break down caste barriers have
helped eradicate social disadvantage but reinforced the role of caste
in politics.
He calls this a contradiction in Indian democracy: "The Indian state,
which is working to dilute the caste system, is also strengthening
caste identity."
Caste assigns Hindus a place in the social hierarchy based on occupation.
The system has four broad groupings or "Varnas" - Brahmins (priests)
at the top, Kshatriyas (warriors, the group to which the Yadavs
belong), Vaishyas (merchants and farmers) and Sudras (manual workers)
at the bottom.
Each caste stratum has a complex web of "sub-castes" - about 6000 in
all - that vary across regions.
The title Dalits describes a cluster of sub-castes at the very bottom
of the hierarchy. Mahatma Gandhi challenged the poor treatment of this
group and called then "Harijans": children of God.
Discrimination on the basis of caste is banned by the Indian
constitution and low-caste groups benefit from social programs and
affirmative action. This includes quotas for government jobs,
university courses and even seats in parliament.
Even so, caste prejudice remains pervasive, despite rapid social and
economic change. A recent study found that having a low-caste surname
significantly reduced the chances of being called for a job interview.
The widespread aversion to inter-caste marriage is highlighted each
Sunday, when newspapers carry pages of advertisements by parents
seeking an appropriate spouse for their son or daughter. Most of these
"matrimonials" are grouped by caste and sub-caste, and many make it
clear those lower in the hierarchy need not respond.
The decision to count caste in the census has triggered vigorous debate.
Supporters argue a proper count will give reliable data on groups
getting state benefits and help the government's targeting of
affirmative action. Modern estimates of caste numbers in India rely on
the last tally, now 80 years out of date.
Critics warn the count could inflame social tensions and further
entrench caste politics.
It may also open a Pandora's box of political demands from powerful
caste groups emboldened by official figures.
The inclusion of the caste question in the census has been pushed by
political leaders from the so-called "other backward castes", or OBCs,
who hope they can win government benefits for their constituents.
"There are genuine apprehensions that this could lead to more
agitation and conflict," Dr Rangarajan says.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president of Delhi's Centre for Policy Research,
believes counting caste in the census trashes fundamental principles
of Indian democracy and will make it more difficult to rid the country
of ancient prejudices and hierarchies.
"At one stroke, it trivialises all that modern India has stood for,
and condemns it to the tyranny of an insidious kind of identity
politics," Dr Mehta wrote in the Indian Express newspaper.
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