July 19, 2011
Much to worry about violence on Dalits
Bhupendra Yadav
Caste is inlaid in a pre-determined hierarchy. It is something one
cannot choose, but inherits. Caste matters a lot in everyday life, and
marriages are negotiated on that basis. It plays a decisive role in
elections and, as the saying goes, 'Indians do not cast their vote but
vote their caste'!
Dalits, as is known, are a bloc of castes in the lowest rungs of the
social hierarchy that stand condemned as 'untouchables'. If every
sixth person in the world is an Indian, every sixth Indian is a Dalit.
In spite of the constitutional guarantee of civil rights and the
special law enacted (in 1989) to prevent atrocities against them, the
Dalits continue to be the victims of social discrimination and
oppression across the country.
While the 'outcast' is abhorred, there is, ironically, a craze for
acquiring the 'Scheduled Castes' tag. In fact, the demand is so high
that producing fake SC certificates has become a small-scale industry
of sorts. In the current era of liberalisation, governments are
gradually relinquishing their role as service providers and taking on
the role of facilitators or policy initiators. As a result,
governments have been tightening their fists in some crucial segments
of social sector. But they extend small tokens of help to the SCs, and
the reasons are obvious. In a sense, the 'lust' for SC certificates is
a pernicious fallout of the spasmodic pleasantness shown by
governments for their self-preservation.
Irony
In this book, Anupama Rao examines the irony of the Dalits having no
security of life or dignity, despite all the legal protection they
enjoy. She has based her work on a study of Mahars, a socially
oppressed group of western India. Members of this community rebel
against the discriminatory practices, individually as well as
collectively — both as a caste group and as a constituent of the SC
bloc. The strategy they adopt included the demand for recognition and
separate political representation as a 'minority', apart from
embracing Buddhism. The book has two sections, besides an introduction
and an epilogue. The one titled 'emancipation' contains three papers,
and the second — 'the paradox of emancipation' — comprises four. A few
of the papers have been published earlier in academic journals.
Dalit history is the "history of India's political modernity," Rao
reminds us and adds, thoughtfully, that 'Dalit democratisation' — a
term that refers to a democratic process which recognises and works
for the collective rights and group emancipation of Dalits — happened
not because of the expansion of liberal individualism or of any
violent subaltern revolution. For the 'liberals' — those who believe
in individual autonomy and least regulation by state — separation from
community will mean emancipation. For Dalits, however, individual
freedom can be achieved only by removing the 'caste stigma' that
attaches to the community. Hence, unlike any liberal assertion, the
movement for 'Dalit democracy' lunged forward seeking group
recognition and minority rights. Similarly, unlike subaltern
militants, Dalit leaders (including B.R. Ambedkar) invoked
constitutional and political rights to seek social and religious
emancipation.
Vulnerable
A question worth investigating is whether Dalits are more vulnerable
to violence after Independence than they were earlier? And if 'yes' —
as indeed it seems — is it because they have become more assertive
now? Previously, religion and tradition could be blamed for Dalits'
vulnerability and discriminatory treatment. But now, for all the help
they are getting from government, Dalits seem to have become more
vulnerable and much less self-reliant than earlier. Instead of
enhancing the level of self-confidence in them, affirmative action by
the state would appear to have rendered them unwilling to resist
domination by the upper castes. The terms of Dalit enfranchisement and
forms of governmental help have increased "conjunctural violence"
against Dalits, says Rao. If the literature of Dalit Panthers is
replete with 'warnings' and 'threats', it is because Dalits as a class
meet with so much of violence in their lives these days.
Anupama Rao, who has made a mark in Historical Anthropology, is known
for her untiring effort in ferreting out data across disciplines and
widening the theoretical expanse of her research. Sadly, some of the
passages, especially where she tries to make a theoretical assertion
or a philosophical reflection, are difficult to read. Also, she could
do with a good copy editor.
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