This post has been self-published on Youth Ki Awaaz by Krishna Pathak. Just like them, anyone can publish on Youth Ki Awaaz. Find out more
You Are Fooling Yourself If You Think ‘Caste Prejudices’ Exist No More As We Have Developed As A Society
More from Krishna Pathak
By Krishna Pathak:
After 65 years of independence, the story of India is not all hope and glitter. In its wider dark spaces, which threaten to get bigger and darker, discrimination and inequity fester. Among its worst sufferer are children, women and families who continue to pay for a system they neither molded nor understand. Yes, I’m talking about the social discrimination based on the outlawed caste system which is still very much intact.
An 11 year old Dalit boy from Madurai district of Tamil Nadu was humiliated and was forced to carry his sandals on his head as punishment (source: Frontline). His crime? Wearing footwear in the caste-Hindu area, a place where footwear is considered a status symbol rather than protective gear! The continuous effect of such practices and abuse of Dalit children is that they are kept powerless, separate and unequal.
This is not from the 18th century, I’m talking about the present day. The epistemic semantic mechanism that keeps the powerless in their place has never gone out of fashion. The stark reality is that our country regrettably shines out with the evil of intolerance and caste discrimination prevalent in its myriad forms. The perception of the dominant group, the so called upper castes, is bestowed by the Varna system- the scriptural legitimacy of caste system on Indian society and every time a feud occurs they have the backup support from this Varna system to legitimize their pseudo beliefs about economic and social form of caste based discrimination.
The past and present of India has been represented largely by the casteist mindset. This is a fact and this is the problem! Social problems like this are begging for attention. The country needs a social revolution. I believe that if we are truly committed to an equitable society that stands for social justice, we have no choice but to strive and struggle for ending caste. It has to be a broad movement not only for Dalits but for all those committed to basic human rights and dignity and principles of justice, equality, liberty and fraternity. It has to be a movement against the religious rituals and holy texts which keep them subjugated for centuries or enslaved their minds. Together, we must unite to force the Indian government to rise above an entrenched caste mentality and to properly enforce its laws, implement its politics and to fulfill its responsibility to protect the basic human rights of all its citizens.
You must be logged in to comment.
kebhari
Very interesting & thoughtful initiative! Lovely article! Thanks for sharing:)
vijay anand
Obviously the caste system is not a actual need for an Indian…even I too oppose it and it must be as such done by each and every Indian not only today or tomorrow but also each and phase of life..we should motivate our government to step against this system and the movement should not be started as we but it should be as “I” from each Indian
Saumya Sahni
Even in the 21st Century, caste dominates our choices. We choose those leaders who belong to our caste. Our parents decide our future spouses on the basis of caste. Inter-caste marriages still do not go down very well with many families. It is still difficult for a Muslim to survive in India without prejudices. Unfortunately, caste is a deep-rooted reality and we will definitely be fooling ourselves if we continue to live in a dreamland which holds that ‘all Indians are my brothers and sisters’. No, that is not the case. It is a Muslim/Sikh/Christian/Hindu first and an Indian later. Obviously, the reality would have been happier if it would have been an Indian first.
Diksha
We must strive hard to think practically when it comes to caste. I feel this system emerged out of classification of early people on basis of their occupation. The people doing lower jobs like sweeping streets or garbage collectors were considered low caste. While those educated were considered high class. But nowadays we nomore need such classification. Today we leave in a free country where each and everybody has right to education. It is the need of modern India to put an end to this so called “caste” system. It is high time we highly modernized youth leave our orthodox thoughts n break all caste barriers. India without such caste discrimination will truly be heaven!!
Aditi Thakker
Although discrimination on the basis of caste has been outlawed in India, the fact that affirmative action still exists is going to ensure that this caste system is not only going to prevail but also flourish. The people at the bottom of this caste pyramid are the real voters in our elections. To retain this vote bank, the politicians referring to these people will make sure that their troubles live on, that they feel like animals and that a little progress comes at the cost of a lot of lives.