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Rise of Dalit capitalism
January 17, 2011 8:09:06 PM
Chandrabhan Prasad
Economic democracy has led to even Dalits turning into capitalists
By tradition and its ideological settings, Caste is all about
occupations. Business and trade, therefore, were a preserve of one
particular varna (Caste) called Vaishyas/Baniyas. Despite being
supreme in Caste hierarchy, Bramhins are not known to be capitalists.
Thanks to massive economic expansion and steady industrialisation, the
number of business/trade/manufacturing units India needs is more than
the total population of Vaishyas. That means, Castes other than
Vaishyas/Baniyas too have the opportunities to set up business
opportunities. Quite a few Bramhins too have become capitalists, and
Dalits too are now joining the ranks.
A common understanding and reading of the history of human
civilisations would suggest that much before engaging into grains
eating and cultivation, man was into the business of meat eating. By
the same logic, much before man got into business of cotton clothing,
man used leather to clothe himself.
An extension of the above logic would lead us on the fact that Dalits
were the first manufacturing class as leather work was their imposed
occupation. While not all Dalits were into leather business, it was
only their Caste that did the work.
But, the leather business got stigmatised. By the time leather
business — both manufacturing and trading — evolved into a big money
minter, non-Dalits entered the field to monopolise it. Good for
Dalits. Let all leather work, from skinning to trading, belong to
non-Dalits.
Post economic reforms, job opportunities in the Government sector
stagnated. The private sector boomed. Now Dalits were left with two
options, turn employees in the private sector or turn into employers.
Both are happening.
Thanks to globalisation, companies across the globe have to be
competitive not only in terms of quality, but also in pricing.
Citizens the world over are undermining the traditional notions of
nationhood, buy goods that are comparatively better and cheaper. To an
average American, if Toyota cars are better and cheaper, they go for
it even if that causes the collapse of Ford and General Motors.
In India, too, the slogan of be Indian-buy Indian now sounds
ridiculous as citizens are choosing Hyundai over Hindustan Motors'
Ambassador cars. Globalisation triggered competitiveness and
manufacturers across the world abandoned the age old idea of one
product under one roof. That produced the idea of outsourcing. Taken
on a tour of Tata Motors plant in Pune, I realised that the Tata
trucks and cars are manufactured by hundreds of manufacturers,
including Dalits.
In the pre-globalisation economic regime, there was no way a Dalit
would make trucks or cars. Today, a Dalit industrialist in Uttarakhand
manufactures silencers for the Nano car and parts for Hero Honda
bikes. Another Dalit in Pune manufactures engine parts for Tata's
Indigo car.
This is a new democracy — the Economic Democracy. Now no company can
claim to be manufacturing a complete product itself. Ask large
manufacturer as to why they outsource parts from others and the answer
would follow a similar pattern — managing a huge workforce is a big
challenge and the company can't expertise in everything. For instance,
a bicycle is made up from about 200 parts. The bicycle manufacturers,
thus, make the main parts in their factory premises and the other
smaller parts are outsourced to smaller players. Visit any large plant
and you will find hundreds of small manufacturing units making
ancillaries for trucks, cars and cycles. This is Economic Democracy.
I never thought that there would be a day when some Dalits would be
making trucks or cars. That still seems an impossibility that it will
happen in our lifetime. But, now some Dalits can proudly claim that
the Tata Indigo parked next door is also partly made by him. So is the
case with Hero Honda bikes. May be our children would witness a day
when a Dalit would be making a car or a bike like Hero Honda. After
all, that has been the trajectory of today's big players.
I say this with certain amount of certainty after visiting a
Dalit-owned factory in Aurangabad manufacturing mineral water
completely on its own. A Dalit in Lucknow produces and markets bottled
water while another manufactures transformers in Nagpur.
Globalisation's greatest contribution to human history is that it has
shattered the monopoly of large companies and, thus, is democratising
capital globally. In this evolving Economic Democracy, the rise of the
Dalit Capitalism is unstoppable.
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