3000 Years of Subjugation

 

As the whole nation was celebrating the 75th  Independence Day, the small village Surana in Rajasthan was mourning the death of Indra Meghwal, a nine year old student who is the recent victim of caste-related violence. The little one allegedly touched a pot of drinking water for which his own teacher thrashed him brutally on 20 July 2022. After a long struggle of 24 days for dear life, he succumbed to injuries on 13 August 2022, two days before India celebrated “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”. One can't but generalise the situation that outrage against the lower caste is woven into the fabric of the social environment of the nation.

The stratification of caste into watertight compartments has been at the core of Hinduism since time immemorial. ‘Manusmriti’, the seminal work describing the rules of Hinduism dates back to 1000 BCE. The book considers the caste system as the defining factor of social order. As it is the case with many other religious texts, this one also carries primitive laws which can be categorised as nothing less than barbaric in comparison with contemporary laws. Untouchability of the supposedly lower caste is one among them. An evaluation of the Indian heritage must be done in the context of the prevailing untouchability in the third millennia of Manusmriti.

When Violence Becomes the Order

One can try to recollect the cases of caste-related violence read in newspapers and social media and would be amazed to see that a number of incidents can be drawn from explicit memory. Upper caste persons refusing to eat noon meals prepared by lower caste woman in school, lower caste groom thrashed by upper caste men for riding on ‘ghoda’ (horse) in his wedding, lower caste people denied space for burial of the dead, lower caste persons becoming victims of cow vigilante attacks, lower caste persons committing suicide due to the unbearable social discrimination among many are common news to the Indians. The swollen face of Indra Meghwal is the latest addition to the list. Innumerable cases of victimisation prompts one to investigate into the reasons for such violence.

A basic understanding in psychology would suggest that any act of violence sprouts from a space of insecurity. Here, caste-bound individuals tend to construe their identity in terms of the social hierarchy and the superiority one caste has over another. It boils down to the fact that the glorified Indian sanskar (culture) has given rise to a populace of troubled identity constructs. The stigma associated with being born in lower castes has a major part in forming the self concept of such individuals. The great irony of the culture is that even if a person converts to another religion to run away from the lower caste identity, the pangs of casteism follow them across religious boundaries. Characters like ‘Pulayan Pathrose’ from Meesha (Malayalam novel by Harish. S) and ‘Velutha’ from The God of Small Things (Booker Prize winning novel by Arundhathi Roy) bear witness to this irony.

Subtle Casteism

While the mainstream media vigorously talk about the explicit casteist outrages, the whole nation is apparently ignorant to the subtle forms of the social menace. The indistinct casteist underpinnings tend to define the social experience of individuals even in seemingly civilised societies. The Malayalam short story “Panthi Bhojanam” by Santhosh Echikkanam gives a vivid picture of how caste determines the way a person is treated among a few law professionals. Over the hill stereotypes like the dark and brooding villains still prevail in movies and other modes of visual art. In all these cases, caste looks like an inexorable element in the psyche of the people, as deeply rooted as religious faith.

The Reservation Conundrum

There have been sustained discourses on the matter of reservation for SC/ST/OBC categories in the country, a provision to ensure representation and opportunity to the underprivileged. A number of revisionist folks say that reservation laws are to be repealed, ensuring absolute equality. A good number of educated young citizens support this view. When statistics speak, the majority of the lower caste masses are found to be still stuck with menial jobs and unprofitable agricultural labour. They continue to play the roles assigned to them by their caste generations back. The ground reality wakes one to the remnants of the feudal social order. The ratio of representation of different castes in government and non-government jobs also proves that we are yet to establish the equality element. Those who move up the social ladder from lower castes also continue to face different sorts of challenges. It is in these contexts that the reservation issue is to be debated.

Caste and Lifestyle

The mores, habits and customs of an individual are generally determined by the family into which a person is born. The family in turn is influenced by the caste or creed to which it belongs. In effect, the life of an individual is shaped by the community factor, especially in rigidly caste-bound societies. Personal hygiene, culinary habits, communication skill, physical appearance and concept of life-goals are all imbibed either through communal experience or through genes. In a country of unassailable caste consciousness, it is difficult for individuals of backward communities to change their way of living miraculously for a better tomorrow. The rapid social changes in terms of globalization

 and technological advancement make it even more complicated a situation with unequal distribution of resources and the endless rat race for material success.

In order to bring any real upswing in the lifestyle of the lower caste communities, the prime factor to be taken care of is appropriate nourishment of the individuals. Taking care of the basic necessities, as suggested in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, may give them a chance to break the unhealthy patterns of living and propel them towards more fulfilled lives. The initiatives of the governments from Independence are commendable in this regard. Distribution of nutritious food to the needy at lower cost is prioritised, perhaps because the constitution demands it.

Conclusion

An India of equal opportunities for all remains a utopian concept. The grand Indian drama is composed with the tunes of caste consciousness formed thousands of years back, in which foreign invasion and a few decades of Independence are minor episodes. This is not to invalidate the precious freedom and the struggle of millions to achieve it. But rather, an observation of a disillusioned citizen subjected to see the incapacitated faces of hundreds of victims of violence snowballing from casteism. May the bludgeoned face of Indra call us to the much needed work to be done for a change.  

Ms. Renjitha. K. R

Assistant Professor of English, Al Shifa College of Arts and Science, Kizhattoor, Perinthalmanna