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Caste Prejudices And The Illusion Of ‘Modernity’ Of Thought In The Indian Society!

By Abhinita Mohanty in Society
10th November, 2013

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By Abhinita Mohanty:

Many researches have been done by both sociologists and orientalists to understand the complexities involved regarding caste in India. Louis Dumont, whose theory on caste is considered to be most adequate, said that in case of caste, the whole notion of purity and pollution is based on ritual ‘purity’ than on physical purity. The more one deals with natural wastes, the more impure one is. So, naturally barbers who deal with nails, hairs, ‘doms’ who deal with dead bodies, washermen who wash dirty linen are all untouchables and were bereft of rights in traditional India. But caste system has changed a lot since Dumont’s time.

Caste

A shift in power has occurred which was unthinkable in traditional India. Power is no more a monopoly of Brahmins or the kashtriyas (ruling class). Power has shifted to the middle strata of caste and also due to reservations, to the lower castes. But the reason to cheer is marred by the fact that success in politics depend less on caste and more on money and muscle power. The link between caste and politics in contemporary India and the power shift is something that needs to be discussed on a larger context than this. But I must mention that the political importance of caste has increased than its social importance. Candidates are appointed and ministries are made playing on caste politics, though other factors are also taken into account. This shift in power, instead of bringing any good, has led to more chaos and conflicts within politics. The higher castes are unhappy with this shift and the lower castes assert themselves again and again, and both equally misuse and seek power in every way. Uttar Pradesh, which was ruled by a ‘dalit’ Chief Minister, is notorious for recording the highest rates of crimes against dalit women.

Now coming to the changing social scenario of caste, it gets even more interesting. Caste as a typical Indian phenomena has perplexed many non Indians, and they wonder as to how a concept with a primitive origin based hierarchy and superiority continues to operate in the modern India. In an era when westernization and modernization has become the trump card among the Indian middle class to vouch for the elite status, the question is what relevance caste has? All the values that one needs to accept to be called ‘global’ and ‘polished’ is largely being embraced by the Indian middle class, but caste continues to evade in all important aspect of life. It will be erroneous to say that caste as a system has not undergone changes within the social ambit, with times. The fact is caste, as a system; with its typical features of monopoly over jobs, segregation in public spaces, and explicit exploitation (like bowing before higher castes, not wearing shoes) is all passé. But caste as an institution still survives and thrives amidst the glaring glow of modernity.

When it comes to marriage, recruiting a domestic maid or allowing someone into their kitchen; caste as an institution suddenly emanates from its guise. The same people who would talk of equality, brag about their liberalism and expect their children to ‘look’ western, suddenly seem to be within a cocoon of antiquity, when it comes to their children’s marriage. Inter caste marriage, though is being accepted by many today, yet in most cases is frowned upon, especially in certain northern states of India where young couples are killed in the name of caste and honour. People would seldom mind to share lunch in their offices with a low caste colleague and take food from an untouchable in restaurants today. But no puritan ‘housewife’ or no sane man will allow this same colleague to enter their kitchen or the room where gods and goddesses are kept. A ‘dalit’ may be the chairman of a corporation with many high castes directors following her order but when she goes to her village, she is expected to follow her ‘caste rules’ and be conscious of her low status.

There lies the Indian hypocrisy. No one accepts caste as a form of distinction in public spaces anymore but it is followed privately within homes and minds. Caste moulds everyone since their childhood. A small child who seldom is conscious about their identity as an an Indian, will blabber something when you ask them about their caste. Caste and ‘gotra’ names are taught to every child and they are sub consciously socialized to accept the superiority of their own caste over others. Caste as a rigid system is rarely found today, but as a solid social institution you can see it everywhere. Caste today may not overshadow a person’s class or talent/opportunities (if they are financially well off) but it continues to be the shadow, following you from cradle to the grave.

You must be to comment.

  1. Arvind Das (@89neuron)

    When Can I expect caste system ending in INDIA ? Is that going to happen ? No one bothers today that a person standing in front of him is related to which caste. And political parties take care of it. They keep reminding people that “you are this , you are that” . Even if we say any chief minister or minister , he may come from any caste but they keep reminding our country people that they belong to some caste and it is their right to do something and not of others!

    In India, when we say reservation is being given to those who need it, why caste system has been developed. If there is a reason that lower caste(I don’t care if any caste exists) have low income, then why not make reservation for those who have no money and that will stop reservation system from getting polluted.
    PLEASE MY FELLAS , THINK on THIS. We are really in a bad situation.

  2. K.B.Srivastava

    Poor villegers do not have toilets in their houses. Therefore, their ladies go out of their houses for toilets in bushes, mujas, arhar and sugarcane crops where they are raped and sometimes murdered. Thus, the castes of babies can not be decided. We should understand that babies of all castes are born in all castes. Thus true certificate of castes can not be issued by the government. गरीब ग्रामीणों के घरों में अभी तक शौचालय नहीं बन पाए हैं, जिसके कारण उनके घरो की महिलाओं को, मुजा में, राढ़ी में,झाड़ियों में तथा अरहर और गन्ने के खेतो में शौच के लिए जाना पड़ता है, जहाँ उनके साथ बलात्कार होते रहते हैं और कुछ महिलाए इस तथ्य को शर्म और लज्जा के कारण छिपा लेती हैं और कभी कभी दबंगों के डर के कारण छिपा लेती हैं तथा कभी कभी उनकी हत्याएं भी हो जाती हैं. इस तरह से किस जाति में किस जाति के बच्चे पैदा हो रहे है, यह भी स्पष्ट नहीं हो पाता और सरकार द्वारा जो जाति प्रमाण पत्र निर्गत किये जाते हैं, वे भी गलत हो जाते हैं. किसी को बुरा लगे तो मैं क्षमा चाहता हूँ परन्तु मैं समझता हूँ कि चोरी चोरी में अथवा जोर जबरदस्ती हर जाति में हर जाति के बच्चे पैदा होते रहते हैं. इसलिए जाति प्रथा को मानना ही बेकार है….kbsrivastava52@gmail.com

  3. Chirayu Jain

    “A ‘dalit’ may be the chairman of a corporation with many high castes directors following her order but when she goes to her village, she is expected to follow her ‘caste rules’ and be conscious of her low status.”

    I like how you use ‘she’ instead of usual ‘he’. Next time try chairperson instead of chairman too(:

  4. Prabhakar.

    This issue has achieved a monotony where all comments or to say perspectives falls into well organized digressions. The central resistance to this issue remains hidden or to say well obscured.These emotional acknowledgements have zero contribution to this tyranny or the most it does is, providing momentary compassion.To understand this issue one needs to think that why would Brahimins, ever acknowledge a proposition which can disturb their power over others. And this in a hierarchical way applies to all levels from the most upper class to the lowest. The crux of the matter is not the treatment but the source from where this treatment is being regulated .i.e. the one’s preservation of his/her political position which they will never risk. Even the comments that follows have their key sources in their political backgrounds. Hence if one really wishes to contribute to bring about healthy changes, they better give practical solutions rather than reflections of emotions and anger.

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An ambassador and trained facilitator under Eco Femme (a social enterprise working towards menstrual health in south India), Sanjina is also an active member of the MHM Collective- India and Menstrual Health Alliance- India. She has conducted Menstrual Health sessions in multiple government schools adopted by Rotary District 3240 as part of their WinS project in rural Bengal. She has also delivered training of trainers on SRHR, gender, sexuality and Menstruation for Tomorrow’s Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.

Now as an MH Fellow with YKA, she’s expanding her impressive scope of work further by launching a campaign to facilitate the process of ensuring better menstrual health and SRH services for women residing in correctional homes in West Bengal. The campaign will entail an independent study to take stalk of the present conditions of MHM in correctional homes across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take the necessary action.

Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has consistently been writing on the issue MHM and its intersectionality with other issues in the society. Now as an MHM Fellow with YKA, he’s launched the Right to Period campaign, which aims to ensure proper execution of MHM guidelines in Delhi’s schools.

The long-term aim of the campaign is to develop an open culture where menstruation is not treated as a taboo. The campaign also seeks to hold the schools accountable for their responsibilities as an important component in the implementation of MHM policies by making adequate sanitation infrastructure and knowledge of MHM available in school premises.

Read more about his campaign.

Harshita is a psychologist and works to support people with mental health issues, particularly adolescents who are survivors of violence. Associated with the Azadi Foundation in UP, Harshita became an MHM Fellow with YKA, with the aim of promoting better menstrual health.

Her campaign #MeriMarzi aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, hygiene and facilities for female sex workers in UP. She says, “Knowledge about natural body processes is a very basic human right. And for individuals whose occupation is providing sexual services, it becomes even more important.”

Meri Marzi aims to ensure sensitised, non-discriminatory health workers for the needs of female sex workers in the Suraksha Clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society) program by creating more dialogues and garnering public support for the cause of sex workers’ menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure interventions with sex workers to clear misconceptions around overall hygiene management to ensure that results flow both ways.

Read more about her campaign.

MH Fellow Sabna comes with significant experience working with a range of development issues. A co-founder of Project Sakhi Saheli, which aims to combat period poverty and break menstrual taboos, Sabna has, in the past, worked on the issue of menstruation in urban slums of Delhi with women and adolescent girls. She and her team also released MenstraBook, with menstrastories and organised Menstra Tlk in the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations on menstruation.

With YKA MHM Fellow Vineet, Sabna launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society. As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

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A student from Delhi School of Social work, Vineet is a part of Project Sakhi Saheli, an initiative by the students of Delhi school of Social Work to create awareness on Menstrual Health and combat Period Poverty. Along with MHM Action Fellow Sabna, Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society.

As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Find out more about the campaign here.

A native of Bhagalpur district – Bihar, Shalini Jha believes in equal rights for all genders and wants to work for a gender-equal and just society. In the past she’s had a year-long association as a community leader with Haiyya: Organise for Action’s Health Over Stigma campaign. She’s pursuing a Master’s in Literature with Ambedkar University, Delhi and as an MHM Fellow with YKA, recently launched ‘Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)’.

She says, “Bihar is ranked the lowest in India’s SDG Index 2019 for India. Hygienic and comfortable menstruation is a basic human right and sustainable development cannot be ensured if menstruators are deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a robust sensitised community in Bhagalpur to collectively spread awareness, break the taboo, debunk myths and initiate fearless conversations around menstruation. The campaign aims to reach at least 6000 adolescent girls from government and private schools in Baghalpur district in 2020.

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A psychologist and co-founder of a mental health NGO called Customize Cognition, Ritika forayed into the space of menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights and gender equality as an MHM Fellow with YKA. She says, “The experience of working on MHM/SRHR and gender equality has been an enriching and eye-opening experience. I have learned what’s beneath the surface of the issue, be it awareness, lack of resources or disregard for trans men, who also menstruate.”

The Transmen-ses campaign aims to tackle the issue of silence and disregard for trans men’s menstruation needs, by mobilising gender sensitive health professionals and gender neutral restrooms in Lucknow.

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A Computer Science engineer by education, Nitisha started her career in the corporate sector, before realising she wanted to work in the development and social justice space. Since then, she has worked with Teach For India and Care India and is from the founding batch of Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), a one of its kind organisation creating leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning post graduate program.

As a Youth Ki Awaaz Menstrual Health Fellow, Nitisha has started Let’s Talk Period, a campaign to mobilise young people to switch to sustainable period products. She says, “80 lakh women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products, generate 3000 tonnes of menstrual waste, that takes 500-800 years to decompose; which in turn contributes to the health issues of all menstruators, increased burden of waste management on the city and harmful living environment for all citizens.

Let’s Talk Period aims to change this by

Find out more about her campaign here.

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A former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in West Bengal for three months, Lakshmi Bhavya has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene in her district. By associating herself with the Lalana Campaign, a holistic menstrual hygiene awareness campaign which is conducted by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi has been slowly breaking taboos when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene.

A Gender Rights Activist working with the tribal and marginalized communities in india, Srilekha is a PhD scholar working on understanding body and sexuality among tribal girls, to fill the gaps in research around indigenous women and their stories. Srilekha has worked extensively at the grassroots level with community based organisations, through several advocacy initiatives around Gender, Mental Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for the indigenous in Jharkhand, over the last 6 years.

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A Guwahati-based college student pursuing her Masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bidisha started the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, demanding that the Government of Assam install
biodegradable sanitary pad vending machines in all government schools across the state. Her petition on Change.org has already gathered support from over 90000 people and continues to grow.

Bidisha was selected in Change.org’s flagship program ‘She Creates Change’ having run successful online advocacy
campaigns, which were widely recognised. Through the #BleedwithDignity campaign; she organised and celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day, 2019 in Guwahati, Assam by hosting a wall mural by collaborating with local organisations. The initiative was widely covered by national and local media, and the mural was later inaugurated by the event’s chief guest Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar, IAS.

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