A Chronology of Caste Struggle
Harish S Wankhede
Posted online: 2011-01-23 23:52:22+05:30
Caste is not just a sociological element meant to describe the nuanced
stratification of Hindus into various categories. Within the power
relationships, caste is also seen as an effective social capital, used
by one group to dominate another, thereby producing justified
reactions from the oppressed group. The bi-polarity of Hindu social
order into the 'lower and upper' castes creates two distinct and
conflicting sets, each having its own cultural and social values.
However, the ideals represented by the Brahmanical elites were always
considered as a 'great tradition' and the representative face of
India, whereas assertions and resisting voices from the other groups
were belittled as narrow gestures.
Gail Omvedt's Understanding Caste: From Buddha to Ambedkar and Beyond
situates the caste question in a historical perspective, showcasing
the political prudence of the social movements in developing an
alternative tradition of resistance. The author's main objective in
the book is to free the alternative tradition developed by the
anti-caste movements from the hegemonic clutch of Hindu elite and
provide it a separate and equal space in the history of ideas. The
chronology of social movement, mainly from 'Buddha to Ambedkar,' is
vast, which covers all the three epochs of civilisation. In the
contemporary discourses on caste questions, the term 'Dalit' is
located as the representative voice of the oppressed masses in this
journey.
However, the author states the limitation of this popular term in
representing the varied nature of caste struggle, which belongs to so
many, including Buddha, Phule and Ramabai.
Omvedt presents an impressive chronological account of various
traditions, which contested the inequalities persistent in Hindu
religion and promoted concrete revolutionary values to replace them.
The struggle against Hindu orthodoxy has a majoritarian appeal which
includes the Dalits (against untouchability), Shudhra castes (question
of social backwardness), women (for its patriarchal domination) and
Dravidians (against the hegemonic rule of north India-centric Hindu
culture). Omvedt locates the continuation of this conflict in the
current political context also, and argues that the political Hindutva
represents the official voice of traditional Brahmanism and movements
like the Dalit Panthers and Bahujan Samaj Party follow the progressive
legacy of anti-caste movement in India.
The author presents a crisp anthology of these oppositions and claim
they form a 'great tradition' in a parallel way. There are very few
books available that narrates the historical journey of anti-caste
struggle from the perspective of the oppressed castes.
Omvedt categorically emphasises the importance of rewriting social
history from a Dalit perspective. Therefore, its academic merit rests
with its ideological orientation without really making a dent in the
current scholarships on caste. This work should be treated as an
introductory guide book to understanding the essential elements of
anti-caste struggles in India. It tries to discuss most of the popular
assertions, movements and leaders, who contributed immensely in making
the 'Dalit vision' for a just society.
On the critical part, the book is very condensed, mostly with
political judgments, without really going into the debates of the era.
Further, in the section on BSP, the author only presents a factual
narration of the political movement, but never explains what makes BSP
a leading representative agency of caste struggle in India today?
To mention one typographical error, Gyan Pandey is spelled as Cyan
Pandey (page no. 4). However, the book is a valuable piece for early
students of caste politics, social history and religio-cultural
movements.
—The writer teaches political science at Delhi University
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