KalingaTimes.com : Sudarsan recreates sand chariots of Balaram Das
KalingaTimes Correspondent
Puri (Orissa): When lakhs of people will converge here to witness the famous annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath on Monday, they will also get a chance to see the sand sculptures of the chariots of the deities on the sandy beaches of this seaside city of Orissa.
In an attempt to recreate the sand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra that the 14th Century poet Balaram Das created to worship the deities, sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has carved three colourful chariots on sand.
As the legend goes, author of Dandi Ramayan Balaram Das had gone to the Puri beach at Banki Muhana to create the chariots of the deities and worshipped them there after he was prevented from participating in the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath for not being a Brahmin. Lord Jagannath had heard the prayers of the poet and arrived on the beach to bless him.
Sudarsan and the students of his Golden Sand Art Institute took 12 hours to create the sand images of the three chariots - Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Debadalana - by using 20 tonnes of sand on Saturday.
Sudarsan, who describes Balaram Das as the father of sand sculpture in the world, said that the aim behind creating the sand chariots was to remember the poet and highlight the message attached to the Balaram Das episode that people belonging to all castes were equal before Lord Jagannath.
Sudarsan has so far participated in more than 34 international sand sculpture championships across the world and won many awards for the country.
The three chariots created by Sudarsan and his students are attracting a large number of devotees thronging the beach.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
US House of Representatives Passes Resolution on Untouchability in India
1. US House of Representatives Passes Resolution on Untouchability in India
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 27, 2007: The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on Untouchability in India. A resolution is a statement of the House which is agreed to by a voice vote of those present. It is not a law, and carries no legal implications. Resolutions can, however, influence government policy. The full text follows:
House Concurrent Resolution 139: Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should address the ongoing problem of unt ouchability in India.
Sponsored by: Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SALI, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RUSH, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, and Ms. CLARKE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have entered an unprecedented partnership;
Whereas, the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that, '[a]s leaders of nations committed to the values of human freedom, democracy, and rule of law , the new relationship between India and the United States will promote stability, democracy, prosperity, and peace throughout the world [. . . and] it will enhance our ability to work together to provide global leadership in areas of mutual concern and interest';
Whereas caste is the socioeconomic stratification of people in South Asia based on a combination of work and descent;
Whereas the 'Untouchables', now known as the Dalits, and the forest tribe s of India, called Tribals, who together number approximately 250,000,000 to 300,000,000 people, are the primary victims of caste discrimination in India;
Whereas discrimination against the Dalits and Tribals has existed for more than 2,000 years and has included educational discrimination, economic disenfranchisement, physical abuse, discrimination in medical care, religious discrimination, and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal women;
Whereas Article 17 of the Constitution of India outlaws untouchability;
Whereas despite numerous laws enacted for the protection and betterment of the Dalits and Tribals, they are still considered outcasts in Indian society and are treated as such;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals are denied equal treatment under the law;
Whereas the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has declared that many of the reported cases of atrocities against Dalits and Tribals end in acqu ittals;
Whereas Dalit women are often raped with impunity;
Whereas despite the fact that many Dalits do not report crimes for fear of reprisals by the dominant castes, official police statistics averaged over the past five years show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five Dalits' homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped every day, 11 Dalits are beaten every day, and a crime is committed against a Dali t every 18 minutes;
Whereas the majority of temple prostitutes as well as the majority of women trafficked in India are Dalit women;
Whereas low-caste unborn females are targeted for abortions;
Whereas most Dalits and Tribals are among those poorest of the poor living on less than $1 per day;
Whereas most of India's bonded laborers are Dalits;
Whereas half of India's Dalit children are undernourished, 21 percent are 'se verely underweight', and 12 percent die before their 5th birthday;
Whereas Dalits and other low-caste people are denied equal access to education;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals maintain higher illiteracy rates than non-Dalit populations;
Whereas the public education afforded Dalits and Tribals, when available at all, is usually inadequate and conducted in regional languages or Hindi, thereby disqualifying them from access to India's public universities which teach in Engli sh, and from most government positions and most advanced jobs in India, which require English;
Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is massive and underreported;
Whereas the United Nations estimates that approximately 50,000,000 Indians will die from HIV/AIDS in the next 40 years; and
Whereas Dalits and Tribals are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and are the largest high-risk population in India: Now, therefore, be it
R esolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, as the leaders of the United States and the Republic of India have expressed commitment to the values of human freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, it is in the interests of the United States to address the problem of the treatment of the Dalits and Tribals in India in order to better meet mutual economic and security goals by--
(1) raising the issues of caste discrimination, violence aga inst women, and untouchability through diplomatic channels both directly with the Government of India and within the context of international bodies;
(2) inviting Dalit organizations to participate in the planning and implementation of development projects from the United States Agency for International Development and other United States development organizations;
(3) prioritizing funding for projects that positively impact Dalit and Tribal communit ies, especially Dalit women;
(4) ensuring that cooperative research programs targeting rural health care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and rural technology contain proper focus on the Dalits and Tribals;
(5) ensuring that anyone receiving funding in India from the United States Government--
(A) is aware that it is United States Government policy that caste discrimination is unacceptable, and that the United States is committed to eliminating it; and
(B) treat all p eople equally, with regard to caste discrimination;
(6) ensuring that--
(A) qualified Dalits are in no way discouraged from working with the United States Government or organizations receiving funding in India from the United States Government, and that transparent and fair recruitment, selection, and career development processes are implemented, with clear objective criteria; and
(B) procedures exist to detect and remedy any caste discri mination in employment conditions, wages, benefits or job security for anyone working with the United States Government or organizations receiving funding in India from the United States Government;
(7) encouraging United States citizens working in India to avoid discrimination toward the Dalits in all business interactions; and
(8) discussing the issue of caste in the context of congressional delegations.
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 27, 2007: The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on Untouchability in India. A resolution is a statement of the House which is agreed to by a voice vote of those present. It is not a law, and carries no legal implications. Resolutions can, however, influence government policy. The full text follows:
House Concurrent Resolution 139: Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should address the ongoing problem of unt ouchability in India.
Sponsored by: Mr. FRANKS of Arizona (for himself, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. AKIN, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. SALI, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RUSH, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, and Ms. CLARKE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have entered an unprecedented partnership;
Whereas, the July 18, 2005, Joint Statement between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that, '[a]s leaders of nations committed to the values of human freedom, democracy, and rule of law , the new relationship between India and the United States will promote stability, democracy, prosperity, and peace throughout the world [. . . and] it will enhance our ability to work together to provide global leadership in areas of mutual concern and interest';
Whereas caste is the socioeconomic stratification of people in South Asia based on a combination of work and descent;
Whereas the 'Untouchables', now known as the Dalits, and the forest tribe s of India, called Tribals, who together number approximately 250,000,000 to 300,000,000 people, are the primary victims of caste discrimination in India;
Whereas discrimination against the Dalits and Tribals has existed for more than 2,000 years and has included educational discrimination, economic disenfranchisement, physical abuse, discrimination in medical care, religious discrimination, and violence targeting Dalit and Tribal women;
Whereas Article 17 of the Constitution of India outlaws untouchability;
Whereas despite numerous laws enacted for the protection and betterment of the Dalits and Tribals, they are still considered outcasts in Indian society and are treated as such;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals are denied equal treatment under the law;
Whereas the National Commission on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has declared that many of the reported cases of atrocities against Dalits and Tribals end in acqu ittals;
Whereas Dalit women are often raped with impunity;
Whereas despite the fact that many Dalits do not report crimes for fear of reprisals by the dominant castes, official police statistics averaged over the past five years show that 13 Dalits are murdered every week, five Dalits' homes or possessions are burnt every week, six Dalits are kidnapped or abducted every week, three Dalit women are raped every day, 11 Dalits are beaten every day, and a crime is committed against a Dali t every 18 minutes;
Whereas the majority of temple prostitutes as well as the majority of women trafficked in India are Dalit women;
Whereas low-caste unborn females are targeted for abortions;
Whereas most Dalits and Tribals are among those poorest of the poor living on less than $1 per day;
Whereas most of India's bonded laborers are Dalits;
Whereas half of India's Dalit children are undernourished, 21 percent are 'se verely underweight', and 12 percent die before their 5th birthday;
Whereas Dalits and other low-caste people are denied equal access to education;
Whereas the Dalits and Tribals maintain higher illiteracy rates than non-Dalit populations;
Whereas the public education afforded Dalits and Tribals, when available at all, is usually inadequate and conducted in regional languages or Hindi, thereby disqualifying them from access to India's public universities which teach in Engli sh, and from most government positions and most advanced jobs in India, which require English;
Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is massive and underreported;
Whereas the United Nations estimates that approximately 50,000,000 Indians will die from HIV/AIDS in the next 40 years; and
Whereas Dalits and Tribals are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and are the largest high-risk population in India: Now, therefore, be it
R esolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that, as the leaders of the United States and the Republic of India have expressed commitment to the values of human freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, it is in the interests of the United States to address the problem of the treatment of the Dalits and Tribals in India in order to better meet mutual economic and security goals by--
(1) raising the issues of caste discrimination, violence aga inst women, and untouchability through diplomatic channels both directly with the Government of India and within the context of international bodies;
(2) inviting Dalit organizations to participate in the planning and implementation of development projects from the United States Agency for International Development and other United States development organizations;
(3) prioritizing funding for projects that positively impact Dalit and Tribal communit ies, especially Dalit women;
(4) ensuring that cooperative research programs targeting rural health care, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and rural technology contain proper focus on the Dalits and Tribals;
(5) ensuring that anyone receiving funding in India from the United States Government--
(A) is aware that it is United States Government policy that caste discrimination is unacceptable, and that the United States is committed to eliminating it; and
(B) treat all p eople equally, with regard to caste discrimination;
(6) ensuring that--
(A) qualified Dalits are in no way discouraged from working with the United States Government or organizations receiving funding in India from the United States Government, and that transparent and fair recruitment, selection, and career development processes are implemented, with clear objective criteria; and
(B) procedures exist to detect and remedy any caste discri mination in employment conditions, wages, benefits or job security for anyone working with the United States Government or organizations receiving funding in India from the United States Government;
(7) encouraging United States citizens working in India to avoid discrimination toward the Dalits in all business interactions; and
(8) discussing the issue of caste in the context of congressional delegations.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women - New York Times
Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women - New York Times
Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women
Tomas Munita for The New York Times
Hameeda Sarfraz, in the dark burqa, teaches Islamic religious lessons to children in her village, about 50 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan.
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By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: July 24, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 23 — Hameeda Sarfraz, 19, lively eyes sparkling out of a black burqa, was describing the boons of the afterlife.
“In heaven you get everything without hardship,” explained Miss Sarfraz, daughter of a bus driver. “In heaven, if a martyr feels hungry, food appears, the best quality food, and you won’t even know where it came from.”
Miss Sarfraz, an alumna of the now bullet-ridden Jamia Hafsa Islamic school for girls, says she deeply regrets missing her chance to be a martyr. She fled through the back door of the school on July 3, just hours after a gun battle began between Pakistani special forces and militants holed up in the neighboring Red Mosque, the parent institution of Jamia Hafsa.
Sentiments like hers are the fruits of a radical Islam that has blossomed in this country — not just in the lawless tribal areas that American intelligence officials described as an enduring sanctuary for Al Qaeda, but here in its capital, in a mosque-and-school compound that until recently enjoyed the blessings of the state.
She presents a portrait of adolescent passion that one might find anywhere, except that she is a Pakistani girl from a poor rural family, whose members are less devout than she, and her passion is directed against the government of the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Some of Jamia Hafsa’s alumnae say they still wish to die in the cause of militant Islam.
During the siege, the Pakistani military maintained that women and children had been held hostage by hard-core fighters inside the compound, but Miss Sarfraz and several others interviewed said they were free to stay or go, and some held out until near the end. The bodies of six women were recovered at battle’s end.
“I was studying there six years,” said Shahnaz Akhtar, 20, another former student who held out until the next-to-last day of the siege. “I was so attached to it. I couldn’t leave just because a dictator started bombing it. I feel more at home there than I do at home.”
Shortly before the siege began, female students had come out of the school, draped in black burqas, waving bamboo sticks and taunting troops stationed nearby. The Pakistani news media dubbed them “chicks with sticks.”
Miss Sarfraz came home two weeks ago, out of that caldron of radical Islamist fervor, Islamabad, back to the prosaic chores of a young woman in the Pakistani countryside. Home is a village perched on green terraced hills, a little more than 50 miles from the capital.
“I miss Jamia,” she continued. “My contact with books is gone. At home the only thing for me to do is take care of my parents. I clean the house. I cook.”
She and others came back with a mission to reform their families and their communities, cajoling their mothers and sisters to hide themselves in black burqas. They say they have lost interest in the pleasures of this life, though some, like Miss Akhtar, have yet to give up on pleasures like painting their toenails in dark red. They express an obsession with the afterlife.
They say they would like to see a thousand Jamia Hafsa schools bloom across the nation. Miss Sarfraz has already begun classes at home for the children in her village.
There are, indeed, already some 12,000 religious schools, called madrasas, with about one million students across Pakistan. Some, though not all, embrace militancy.
The families of these returning girls appear to be less hard-line about their faith than their daughters. They say they sent their sisters and daughters to Jamia Hafsa because it was free and safe, and enjoyed a good reputation for providing religious education.
Miss Akhtar’s family, for instance, sent her there six years ago, after she completed eighth grade and expressed a desire to further her education. Her village still has no high school for girls; the nearest one is a one-and-a-half mile walk away.
Miss Akhtar studied the Koran; the Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad; and Islamic law. She learned of the virtues of martyrdom. “I prayed to God I would play a role in jihad,” she said.
She learned to justify suicide bombings as a weapon that could be employed in the event of a battle between what she called “true believers” and “infidels.”
Would Islam allow suicide bombing inside Pakistan, an Islamic nation? She said it was possible, and then hesitated when pressed. She said she was not a qualified Islamic scholar.
The battle for the Red Mosque compound began in earnest in January when a group of Jamia Hafsa students, spurred by reports that the government planned to demolish some illegally constructed mosques and seminaries in Islamabad, including Jamia Hafsa, occupied an adjacent public library.
Early that morning, Miss Akhtar recounted, the girls, armed with cane batons, pushed open the library’s back door and awakened the caretakers who were sleeping on the floor with cries of “God is great.” They threw the keys to the library onto the floor, and fled. Ms. Akhtar giggled as she described the events, and then said she had not been part of it.
In the coming months, the students, along with their counterparts from the boy’s school, Jamia Farida, abducted three Pakistani women accused of running a brothel. Then they kidnapped six Chinese masseuses working in what they also said was a brothel; they released them the next day, but it paved the way for the final confrontation.
Three times in the past few months, as confrontation loomed between the Red Mosque and General Musharraf’s government, Miss Akhtar’s parents appealed to her to come home. She refused, saying she wanted to be a martyr. She flashed a big smile at the memory.
In the weeks before the final siege began, she said, the students were warned that the military could strike. “Are you girls prepared for that?” she recalled being asked by teachers. “Do you have the stamina to defend your religion? Are you ready?”
By the time the fighting was over, the official death toll stood at 102, including 11 soldiers. The military said the leaders of the rebellion, including a pro-Taliban cleric named Abdur Rashid Ghazi, had been killed. About 160 people, including three women, have been arrested. Nearly 1,000 others have been released to their families, including 465 women.
To varying degrees, they have all brought a piece of Jamia Hafsa with them. And their transformation is not lost on their families.
Up the road from Miss Akhtar’s home, in a village called Kotla, sat four girls, ages 15 to 18, all cousins who said they had been forced by their families to leave the school after the military raid began.
They sat in one girl’s home telling their story, their faces uncovered only because no man was present. But when Mohammed Matloob, the father of one of the girls, walked into the room, the other three quickly pulled their head scarves over their faces. His daughter, Nagina, 16, ordered him to leave the room, which he did, with a surprised shrug.
The girls explained that at Jamia Hafsa they had been taught to observe purdah, the practice of shielding faces and figures from any man who is not a member of the immediate family. They had changed since they left home for Jamia.
“We used to listen to music and watch TV before,” said Sayeda Fazlur Rehman, 17, with a look of disgust. “We didn’t even pray.”
Practicing purdah, they said, would hasten their ascent to heaven. “This life is temporary,” Miss Fazlur Rehman declared, a common refrain of the Jamia Hafsa alumnae. “You don’t know when you’ll die.”
Salman Masood contributed reporting.
Red Mosque Fueled Islamic Fire in Young Women
Tomas Munita for The New York Times
Hameeda Sarfraz, in the dark burqa, teaches Islamic religious lessons to children in her village, about 50 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan.
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By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: July 24, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 23 — Hameeda Sarfraz, 19, lively eyes sparkling out of a black burqa, was describing the boons of the afterlife.
“In heaven you get everything without hardship,” explained Miss Sarfraz, daughter of a bus driver. “In heaven, if a martyr feels hungry, food appears, the best quality food, and you won’t even know where it came from.”
Miss Sarfraz, an alumna of the now bullet-ridden Jamia Hafsa Islamic school for girls, says she deeply regrets missing her chance to be a martyr. She fled through the back door of the school on July 3, just hours after a gun battle began between Pakistani special forces and militants holed up in the neighboring Red Mosque, the parent institution of Jamia Hafsa.
Sentiments like hers are the fruits of a radical Islam that has blossomed in this country — not just in the lawless tribal areas that American intelligence officials described as an enduring sanctuary for Al Qaeda, but here in its capital, in a mosque-and-school compound that until recently enjoyed the blessings of the state.
She presents a portrait of adolescent passion that one might find anywhere, except that she is a Pakistani girl from a poor rural family, whose members are less devout than she, and her passion is directed against the government of the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Some of Jamia Hafsa’s alumnae say they still wish to die in the cause of militant Islam.
During the siege, the Pakistani military maintained that women and children had been held hostage by hard-core fighters inside the compound, but Miss Sarfraz and several others interviewed said they were free to stay or go, and some held out until near the end. The bodies of six women were recovered at battle’s end.
“I was studying there six years,” said Shahnaz Akhtar, 20, another former student who held out until the next-to-last day of the siege. “I was so attached to it. I couldn’t leave just because a dictator started bombing it. I feel more at home there than I do at home.”
Shortly before the siege began, female students had come out of the school, draped in black burqas, waving bamboo sticks and taunting troops stationed nearby. The Pakistani news media dubbed them “chicks with sticks.”
Miss Sarfraz came home two weeks ago, out of that caldron of radical Islamist fervor, Islamabad, back to the prosaic chores of a young woman in the Pakistani countryside. Home is a village perched on green terraced hills, a little more than 50 miles from the capital.
“I miss Jamia,” she continued. “My contact with books is gone. At home the only thing for me to do is take care of my parents. I clean the house. I cook.”
She and others came back with a mission to reform their families and their communities, cajoling their mothers and sisters to hide themselves in black burqas. They say they have lost interest in the pleasures of this life, though some, like Miss Akhtar, have yet to give up on pleasures like painting their toenails in dark red. They express an obsession with the afterlife.
They say they would like to see a thousand Jamia Hafsa schools bloom across the nation. Miss Sarfraz has already begun classes at home for the children in her village.
There are, indeed, already some 12,000 religious schools, called madrasas, with about one million students across Pakistan. Some, though not all, embrace militancy.
The families of these returning girls appear to be less hard-line about their faith than their daughters. They say they sent their sisters and daughters to Jamia Hafsa because it was free and safe, and enjoyed a good reputation for providing religious education.
Miss Akhtar’s family, for instance, sent her there six years ago, after she completed eighth grade and expressed a desire to further her education. Her village still has no high school for girls; the nearest one is a one-and-a-half mile walk away.
Miss Akhtar studied the Koran; the Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad; and Islamic law. She learned of the virtues of martyrdom. “I prayed to God I would play a role in jihad,” she said.
She learned to justify suicide bombings as a weapon that could be employed in the event of a battle between what she called “true believers” and “infidels.”
Would Islam allow suicide bombing inside Pakistan, an Islamic nation? She said it was possible, and then hesitated when pressed. She said she was not a qualified Islamic scholar.
The battle for the Red Mosque compound began in earnest in January when a group of Jamia Hafsa students, spurred by reports that the government planned to demolish some illegally constructed mosques and seminaries in Islamabad, including Jamia Hafsa, occupied an adjacent public library.
Early that morning, Miss Akhtar recounted, the girls, armed with cane batons, pushed open the library’s back door and awakened the caretakers who were sleeping on the floor with cries of “God is great.” They threw the keys to the library onto the floor, and fled. Ms. Akhtar giggled as she described the events, and then said she had not been part of it.
In the coming months, the students, along with their counterparts from the boy’s school, Jamia Farida, abducted three Pakistani women accused of running a brothel. Then they kidnapped six Chinese masseuses working in what they also said was a brothel; they released them the next day, but it paved the way for the final confrontation.
Three times in the past few months, as confrontation loomed between the Red Mosque and General Musharraf’s government, Miss Akhtar’s parents appealed to her to come home. She refused, saying she wanted to be a martyr. She flashed a big smile at the memory.
In the weeks before the final siege began, she said, the students were warned that the military could strike. “Are you girls prepared for that?” she recalled being asked by teachers. “Do you have the stamina to defend your religion? Are you ready?”
By the time the fighting was over, the official death toll stood at 102, including 11 soldiers. The military said the leaders of the rebellion, including a pro-Taliban cleric named Abdur Rashid Ghazi, had been killed. About 160 people, including three women, have been arrested. Nearly 1,000 others have been released to their families, including 465 women.
To varying degrees, they have all brought a piece of Jamia Hafsa with them. And their transformation is not lost on their families.
Up the road from Miss Akhtar’s home, in a village called Kotla, sat four girls, ages 15 to 18, all cousins who said they had been forced by their families to leave the school after the military raid began.
They sat in one girl’s home telling their story, their faces uncovered only because no man was present. But when Mohammed Matloob, the father of one of the girls, walked into the room, the other three quickly pulled their head scarves over their faces. His daughter, Nagina, 16, ordered him to leave the room, which he did, with a surprised shrug.
The girls explained that at Jamia Hafsa they had been taught to observe purdah, the practice of shielding faces and figures from any man who is not a member of the immediate family. They had changed since they left home for Jamia.
“We used to listen to music and watch TV before,” said Sayeda Fazlur Rehman, 17, with a look of disgust. “We didn’t even pray.”
Practicing purdah, they said, would hasten their ascent to heaven. “This life is temporary,” Miss Fazlur Rehman declared, a common refrain of the Jamia Hafsa alumnae. “You don’t know when you’ll die.”
Salman Masood contributed reporting.
Beyond Caste:Nationhood redefined - Strong caste identities pose serious challenge to brahmanical supermacy - By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
# Beyond Caste:Nationhood redefined - Strong caste identities pose serious challenge to brahmanical supermacy - By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
A review article of Mr V.T.Rajshekar's , (Editor, Dalit Voice ) book Caste : a Nation with in nation : recipe for a bloodless revolution by Shri Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Nationhood redefined
Strong caste identities pose serious challenge to brahmanical supermacy
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Hindu Society is a myth but caste is a reality. And this reality has been widely accepted in Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar where caste assertion is growing and those without any political representations are living on the margins. It would look absolutely fanatical if you talk of caste as a nation but reading V.T.Rajshekar's book 'Caste, a Nation with in the Nation', recipe for a bloodless revolution, reveals the importance of the subject. He is not the only one who speaks on the issue but definitely perhaps among very few who are unapologetic about speaking it and quotes reasonably well from Anthropological survey of India report ' People of India' which was headed by an IAS officer Mr K.S.Singh. Singh maintained that there are 2800 castes in which 450 are scheduled castes, 461 scheduled tribes and 766 backward classes. The report, which says that ' Indian society continues to be a collection of castes and communities,' has been hidden in the dusty files of the ministry.
It is a fact that people closely connect on the basis of their caste more than any other identity. A person lives in various identities including the individual one. There are identities, which are linguistic, regional, and ethnic yet the Indian sub continental reality is that it would be entirely baseless to say that the caste identity does not exist. If caste were not a reality, Bangladesh would not have come into being. The fact of the matter is the Punjabi Muslims had always treated the Bangla Muslims with utter contempt. A former general in Pakistan justified in his book for non-inclusion of the Bengalis in elite services of Pakistan for they 'lack' merit.
Caste Identities will ultimately eliminate the brahmanical supremacy
What Rajsekhar has tried to put in bravely is that caste system has to be opposed but castes are different identities. That is a fact because Dalit is not a one word or one world as it includes a variety of castes and each one has its own world. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, when drafted the constitution, mentioned it as Scheduled Castes. So he was aware of the fact of the diversity with in the Dalit Bahujan societies. Caste is a reality and not rhetoric and has been wonderfully explained by Mr V.T.Rajshekar. In fact, he was among the very few whom out rightly supported quota on the basis of the percentage of the community. The issue of Mala Madiga, Mahar-Mang, Chamars-Valmikis and others would get resolved easily if there were broader feeling of sharing the space with even the nondescript communities. It is also interesting that the author says the abolition of sub castes would not help the Dalit Bahujan but to the brahmanical Hinduism. If Hindus are so interested in caste elimination why the elite want to confine their marriage in their communities. If caste is a rural phenomena and not an urban one, why the hell it is not eliminated from our English newspapers and their matrimonial columns? The caste consciousness of the Dalit Bahujan would make the struggle stronger which the upper caste Hindus fear too much and therefore the 'saintly' advise of 'elimination' of castes without touching the caste system.
Rajshekar is unique in theorizing and people like me have always taken those theories further. Like, the demand for elimination or annihilation of castes normally comes from the powerful groups. It is no secret that why this issue has rarely been raised by the poor. Why are Brahmins so interested in demolition of caste they so wonderfully created? The answer is provided by the author himself. Today, using caste identity is not beneficial for the Brahmins. It is beneficial for the Dalits and the bahujans for democracy is a number game and therefore assertion is important. Secondly, it is important whether denouncing caste has in fact resulted in demolition of the brahmanical structure. It is easier to say ' I do not believe in caste', but how many of them have excluded from their social rituals and practices based on caste system. The answer would be in negative.
On December 16th, 1993 Rajshekar wrote a historic editorial in Dalit Voice: Strengthen every caste to annihilate Brahmanism'. This was an important departure from the so-called academic theories, which talks of 'elimination' of caste system without really intending to do so. In December 1992 Babari Masjid was demolished and Dalit Voice was the only journal, which wrote that myth of the Hindu tolerance was exposed. Some of us who developed our understanding though reading Dalit Voice and the material referred by its editor, realized that the aim of the Babri demolition was not really against the Muslims but subjugate the Dalit Bahujan masses further which were aggressively asserting their caste identities in the aftermath of the anti Mandal protests in north India. An analysis of the post Mandal situation in India reflect explains unambiguously that had it not been the assertion of Dalit-Bahujan, India would have turned into a fascist state. Is not it a reality that after the Babari mosque was demolished the Dalit Bahujan of Uttar-Pradesh joined hand and threw away the fascist government of the Bhartiya Janata Party which thought that they would come with thumping majority. Is not it true that both Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar, many of our educated elite might make us believe are the worst Indian states, have virtually decimated the Sangh parivar. And what are the reasons for the same? It is the growing assertion of the Dalit backward communities in these states, which has kept the Hindutva family thoroughly marginalized. In the latest round of bout, again the people of Uttar-Pradesh have brought back a government led by a Dalit woman and both the upper caste parties are at the margin. It is another factor that the fall of Mulayam Singh Yadav must be attributed to upper castes and hence Maywati has to be extra vigilant when she makes Brahmins her ally, as they have not come to Maywati leaving their feudal caste mindset but because of compulsions. And marriage of convenience breaks ones compulsions are over. It is important to understand that while the caste identities have challenged brahmanical supremacy, further degeneration of it would bring back the brahmanical elite. Uttar-Pradesh is a case example. While the main political struggle here is between the Dalits and backwards, it is the brahmanical elite, which has become the most sought after in the state. But if the Dalit Bahujan are understandable this question would also get resolved soon.
Connect to History
The best practice of the brahmanical manipulation was that they were non violently violent as Rajshekar has pointed out many times. They institutionalized violence and made everything that benefited them as sacrosanct. So, for the poor Dalit Bahujan, the Brahmins made them hate them, so most of these communities hated themselves and their communities. Abroad, people used to write their surname with the work they do like the Shoe maker put their sir name as Shoemaker, similarly other sir names originated as Smith, Goldsmith, Blacksmith, Butler, etc. But here the Brahmins asked to hate us. How can the people or a community progress if they do not know their own history and hate them. Every now and them the ruling elite talks of the contradictions among the Dalit and Bahujan classes but the fact is that contradictions are there in our lives as Mao Tse Tung said in his famous work ' On Contradictions'. Human history progressed with these contradictions. Is not there a contradiction between Brahmin and a Thakur or a Kayastha or a Bania. Differences are bound to happen in a diverse society and they will be there in the Dalit Bahujan also as they are among the upper castes also. However, contradictions would always be used to divide the Dalit Bahujan masses to fulfill the grand agenda of the brahmanical elites in India and therefore Baba Saheb Ambedkar said, ' As long as oppressed classes do not turn to ruling classes, internal contradictions would remain.
Hinduism is a Political Theory
Again, an important point expressed in the book is that Hinduism is not a religion but a political theory. Some people differentiate between Hindutva and Hinduism for they believe the idea of Hindutva was propagated by Vir Savarkar while Hinduism, they feel, is essentially a very tolerant religion. This is historically inaccurate and incorrect for various reasons. One, Hinduism as such is not a religion but essentially meant to address the people living in India, a name was given by the Mughal invaders. Originally, it was Varnashram dharma, a religion based on caste and colour. But in real terms it is a political theory as mentioned by V.R.Rajshekar quoting profusely to Baba Saheb's writings, as define our civil laws and is aimed at controlling our freedom, our social and cultural life. This institutionalization has made every working masses totally depended on Brahmins to get social legitimacy.
How do you abolish caste system? Academics over simplify them in terms of education, urbanisation or industrialisation and inter-caste marriages. The author brilliantly exposes all the three. Education as he rightly points out is 'an instrument of oppression in the hands of ruling classes to retain its dominations over its subjects. Secondly, caste is not just confined to rural India but also to urban India and therefore caste clashes would only strengthen the Dalit-Bahujan's determination to understand and strengthen their caste identities. Inter caste marriages have not taken place yet. Most of the marriages are one like the Brahmins girl marrying elite Dalit mens who are either government servants or politicians. They is not really inter caste marriages as marriages at local levels and village levels have not been possible. So these cases may be termed as rarest of rare despite various interest factors involved in it.
Urbanisation and industrialization has not really helped the Dalit Bahujans as it might have helped in other countries. The caste struggle would ultimately lead to revolution and rightfully the author suggests that Marxian dialectics of class has to be modified in Indian terms replacing it with caste. Another important point that the author mention is that urbanization in India has pushed the Dalit Bahujan to further brink unlike other countries where urbanization is considered to be a better option for replacing the old feudal system but in India urbanization is creating new slums. It is hitting the Dalit Bahujan rock hard.
Qualities of a True Ambedkarite
While speaking strongly for caste identities the author feel that an enlightened Ambedkarite must rise above the narrow caste interests. Dr Ambedkar always felt proud to be born in a Mahar community but his struggles and fight was for all the downtrodden communities. Can any one say that he fought for Mahars? The point that the author wanted to make is that every community is today seeking its space under the sun. The communities have to do that because otherwise they will be thoroughly marginalized. They go the other way because their aspirations are not fulfilled. Aim of strengthening caste identities is not to divide the Dalit Bahujan's movement but to strengthen it. Basically with in ourself, there has to be a proportionate representation. Every caste has a history and they are tracing that history and it is good they are doing it. As Baba Saheb, no community can move forward which remains isolated and unknown to its history. So author want caste identities to eliminate the brahmanical system and wish every Dalit Bahujan individual to rise about the petty caste considerations which is the essence of is thesis.
Religion never unites
The author has come out very candidly that only Buddhism can unite the Dalit masses. It was the message of Baba Saheb to dalits to embrace the righteous path of Buddha. Rightly, he suggests that religion has never been uniting factor. Hinduism is nothing but caste and once caste are abolished Hinduism will be eliminated. Similarly despite conversion to Christianity, the Dalits still remain the Dalits. They are not allowed to join the churches of upper castes. Marriages are exclusively caste based. Even Islam has been unable to unite people. Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam but what happened. Bengali Muslims refused to believe the Punjabi Muslims as Baba Saheb has said, ' Religion can help to produce justice with in a community. Religion cannot produce justice between the communities. The call of nation and the call of community has proved more powerful than the call of religion for justice'.
Recently on a trip to Uganda, I was shocked to see that even outside India, people are unable to leave their castes. I met a few Indian Sikhs in a Gurudwara called a Ramgarhia Gurudwara in Kampala and most of those who come here are Dalit Sikh. A Dalit woman told me that there is a separate Gurudwara for Jat Sikhs. Similarly, there were several temples among the Gujaratis. A Ugandan friend Deo who is chairman Uganda Humanist Association blamed Indian to be confined to their caste interest and color conscious. So despite same religion, it is the caste which has been dominating factor.
Political Participation is essential to tame the Hindutva
In Uttar-Pradesh BSP has experimented one thing today. Brahmins and other upper castes have joined the party and became ministers and senior bureaucrats. There is hardly any Dalit officer close to Mayawati in charge of her office in Lucknow, which is a shocking reality. Now, most of these upper castes have joined the BSP without losing their identity. Whether they agree to the mission of Baba Saheb or not is not their concern. They joined BSP to save their interest and use this opportunity to strengthen them. Strengthening caste identity should not mean that we forget the racist nature of Hindu society. Strengthening caste identity does not mean that we follow the system given by the Brahmins and which was termed by Baba Saheb as graded inequality. It is this graded inequality injected the Manusmriti which has resulted in Brahmin playing the sole arbitrator of our disputes. It is this graded inequality, which does not allow the caste to come together. It is therefore important that caste identities are treated as per and used in terms of different ethnic identities and not a basis of exploitation, which has rightly been condemned by the author. The caste identities are strengthening our democratic process. I remember talking to a Muslim activist from Iran who was exiled. When I spoke her as why they not talk about each religion and target Islam only. I talked to her about Hindutva and the answer she gave was that India has such diversity of Gods, and Goddesses and caste and communities that it would be difficult for any one to impose one set of rules and laws. It is true that this diversity of caste and region has saved India from going to fascist way. Take for example the recent elections. Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan have strong Hindu undercurrent and violence against the minorities is very high in these states. While the state such as Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar have not seen much violence against minorities after the post Mandal transformation. Why? The answer is simple. The Dalit Bahujans in UP and Bihar knows well that the Muslims and Christians are their blood brothers. These political understandings of Dalit and Muslims have kept the Hindutva far away from revival. But in Gujarat, Rajsthan and Madhya Pradesh, there is very little assertion of Dalit Bahujan therefore they have become favorite hunting ground of the Hindutva. The Dalit and Bahujan are not proud of their community identity in these states. They are not politically mobile and there are no efforts to organize them at the ground level therefore giving the forces of Hindutva a free hand to hit at minorities.
Non-assertion of communities and apoliticisation has killed this aspiration to share power. As mentioned earlier, the Hindutva forces are powerful where the Dalit Bahujan have no political assertion and where they are hiding their own identities. Identity could be used to oppress and identity is the best tool in democracy to assert. In the past few years who are the communities dying of hunger and starvation? From my personal work among them, I can say, they are Mushahars, Bansfors, Kols, nomads, and tribals. Now, why are they dying of hunger? Because there is no assertion among these communities. Here their Jati become a symbol of oppression. They are oppressed because of non-assertion and non-political representation. In the absence of political assertion and representation, the religious thugs go and do the 'charity' work. Charity is never done to provide any body rights but to demean a community. The brahmanical charity can feed them for a few days but make them hate their identities.
It is here that caste thesis of VT Rajsekar is important. How do we ensure that even these minorities get a share in power structure? If we can provide them a share in our political structure and social structure on the basis of his population, it will ultimately give way for a social cohesion of Dalit Bahujan. Democracy is not majoritarian rule but it must ensure the minorities that they are safe and have space in mainstream structure. The minority among the Dalits remains unrepresented and therefore disgusted. This disgust is used by the upper castes easily to put them in fight against their own brethrens and therefore it is essential that while we strengthen caste identities we must condemn caste system and exploitation based on caste. We must not allow the brahmanical techniques to ruin the Dalit Bahujan Unity.
V T. Rajshekar's book is an important milestone in caste debate. It has broken many myths and it has to be taken further. The important mention is caste as a nation. He has also broken the myth of nation hood and suggested that in the storm of Dalit Bahujan if the rights of a Brahmins are being denied, a true Ambedkarite would have to stand for the human rights of the individual. While, from the title of the book it looks as if the author is promoting rabid casteism yet reading it gives refreshing ideas.
Today when caste groups are behaving in primitive ways, I am sure an individual has to be saved from those who want to decide about every thing in the name of community identity. Despite caste identities, individuals take different route and go beyond their castes, and therefore become an issue in the communities. We have seen how the Hindutva gangs have terrorized the youths who married in different communities. Caste identities are good to assert and linkage to our culture and a way to stop the march of the Hindutva but at the same time they cannot be allowed to behave in the brahmanical fashion to decide about our future. That would be the most dangerous part. As I mention caste identity must not be allowed to oppress and exploit. If caste identities are based on equality, I am sure there will be more inter community marriages in future but if they remain confine to their self made beliefs that one is higher than the others, the greatest 'gift' the notorious Brahmins gave, then I am afraid mere assertion of identities will only strengthen the brahmanical system, though it may eliminate Brahmins as a community and might be replaced by others but at the end the ideas thrown by the Brahmins would always remain intact. The author has himself suggested that we must eliminate caste system based on hierarchical values of the Manu Smriti and once we do it, all the caste will be equal even when they have diverse profession and then there would be no violence even if two individuals crosses their own community line to get married. This is an excellent book and the debate must go further including the democratic rights of an individual with in the castes and how castes should follow their own customs and traditions leaving the dependence on Brahmins for every rituals. That would ultimately eliminate the brahmanical domination in our daily life.
Caste: a nation with in the Nation
recipe for a bloodless revolution
Author: V.T.Rajshekar
Published by Books for Change, Banglore
Rs 140/-
Pp : 121
Available in Hindi also.
Contact Details:Vidya Bhushan Rawat
A review article of Mr V.T.Rajshekar's , (Editor, Dalit Voice ) book Caste : a Nation with in nation : recipe for a bloodless revolution by Shri Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Nationhood redefined
Strong caste identities pose serious challenge to brahmanical supermacy
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Hindu Society is a myth but caste is a reality. And this reality has been widely accepted in Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar where caste assertion is growing and those without any political representations are living on the margins. It would look absolutely fanatical if you talk of caste as a nation but reading V.T.Rajshekar's book 'Caste, a Nation with in the Nation', recipe for a bloodless revolution, reveals the importance of the subject. He is not the only one who speaks on the issue but definitely perhaps among very few who are unapologetic about speaking it and quotes reasonably well from Anthropological survey of India report ' People of India' which was headed by an IAS officer Mr K.S.Singh. Singh maintained that there are 2800 castes in which 450 are scheduled castes, 461 scheduled tribes and 766 backward classes. The report, which says that ' Indian society continues to be a collection of castes and communities,' has been hidden in the dusty files of the ministry.
It is a fact that people closely connect on the basis of their caste more than any other identity. A person lives in various identities including the individual one. There are identities, which are linguistic, regional, and ethnic yet the Indian sub continental reality is that it would be entirely baseless to say that the caste identity does not exist. If caste were not a reality, Bangladesh would not have come into being. The fact of the matter is the Punjabi Muslims had always treated the Bangla Muslims with utter contempt. A former general in Pakistan justified in his book for non-inclusion of the Bengalis in elite services of Pakistan for they 'lack' merit.
Caste Identities will ultimately eliminate the brahmanical supremacy
What Rajsekhar has tried to put in bravely is that caste system has to be opposed but castes are different identities. That is a fact because Dalit is not a one word or one world as it includes a variety of castes and each one has its own world. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, when drafted the constitution, mentioned it as Scheduled Castes. So he was aware of the fact of the diversity with in the Dalit Bahujan societies. Caste is a reality and not rhetoric and has been wonderfully explained by Mr V.T.Rajshekar. In fact, he was among the very few whom out rightly supported quota on the basis of the percentage of the community. The issue of Mala Madiga, Mahar-Mang, Chamars-Valmikis and others would get resolved easily if there were broader feeling of sharing the space with even the nondescript communities. It is also interesting that the author says the abolition of sub castes would not help the Dalit Bahujan but to the brahmanical Hinduism. If Hindus are so interested in caste elimination why the elite want to confine their marriage in their communities. If caste is a rural phenomena and not an urban one, why the hell it is not eliminated from our English newspapers and their matrimonial columns? The caste consciousness of the Dalit Bahujan would make the struggle stronger which the upper caste Hindus fear too much and therefore the 'saintly' advise of 'elimination' of castes without touching the caste system.
Rajshekar is unique in theorizing and people like me have always taken those theories further. Like, the demand for elimination or annihilation of castes normally comes from the powerful groups. It is no secret that why this issue has rarely been raised by the poor. Why are Brahmins so interested in demolition of caste they so wonderfully created? The answer is provided by the author himself. Today, using caste identity is not beneficial for the Brahmins. It is beneficial for the Dalits and the bahujans for democracy is a number game and therefore assertion is important. Secondly, it is important whether denouncing caste has in fact resulted in demolition of the brahmanical structure. It is easier to say ' I do not believe in caste', but how many of them have excluded from their social rituals and practices based on caste system. The answer would be in negative.
On December 16th, 1993 Rajshekar wrote a historic editorial in Dalit Voice: Strengthen every caste to annihilate Brahmanism'. This was an important departure from the so-called academic theories, which talks of 'elimination' of caste system without really intending to do so. In December 1992 Babari Masjid was demolished and Dalit Voice was the only journal, which wrote that myth of the Hindu tolerance was exposed. Some of us who developed our understanding though reading Dalit Voice and the material referred by its editor, realized that the aim of the Babri demolition was not really against the Muslims but subjugate the Dalit Bahujan masses further which were aggressively asserting their caste identities in the aftermath of the anti Mandal protests in north India. An analysis of the post Mandal situation in India reflect explains unambiguously that had it not been the assertion of Dalit-Bahujan, India would have turned into a fascist state. Is not it a reality that after the Babari mosque was demolished the Dalit Bahujan of Uttar-Pradesh joined hand and threw away the fascist government of the Bhartiya Janata Party which thought that they would come with thumping majority. Is not it true that both Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar, many of our educated elite might make us believe are the worst Indian states, have virtually decimated the Sangh parivar. And what are the reasons for the same? It is the growing assertion of the Dalit backward communities in these states, which has kept the Hindutva family thoroughly marginalized. In the latest round of bout, again the people of Uttar-Pradesh have brought back a government led by a Dalit woman and both the upper caste parties are at the margin. It is another factor that the fall of Mulayam Singh Yadav must be attributed to upper castes and hence Maywati has to be extra vigilant when she makes Brahmins her ally, as they have not come to Maywati leaving their feudal caste mindset but because of compulsions. And marriage of convenience breaks ones compulsions are over. It is important to understand that while the caste identities have challenged brahmanical supremacy, further degeneration of it would bring back the brahmanical elite. Uttar-Pradesh is a case example. While the main political struggle here is between the Dalits and backwards, it is the brahmanical elite, which has become the most sought after in the state. But if the Dalit Bahujan are understandable this question would also get resolved soon.
Connect to History
The best practice of the brahmanical manipulation was that they were non violently violent as Rajshekar has pointed out many times. They institutionalized violence and made everything that benefited them as sacrosanct. So, for the poor Dalit Bahujan, the Brahmins made them hate them, so most of these communities hated themselves and their communities. Abroad, people used to write their surname with the work they do like the Shoe maker put their sir name as Shoemaker, similarly other sir names originated as Smith, Goldsmith, Blacksmith, Butler, etc. But here the Brahmins asked to hate us. How can the people or a community progress if they do not know their own history and hate them. Every now and them the ruling elite talks of the contradictions among the Dalit and Bahujan classes but the fact is that contradictions are there in our lives as Mao Tse Tung said in his famous work ' On Contradictions'. Human history progressed with these contradictions. Is not there a contradiction between Brahmin and a Thakur or a Kayastha or a Bania. Differences are bound to happen in a diverse society and they will be there in the Dalit Bahujan also as they are among the upper castes also. However, contradictions would always be used to divide the Dalit Bahujan masses to fulfill the grand agenda of the brahmanical elites in India and therefore Baba Saheb Ambedkar said, ' As long as oppressed classes do not turn to ruling classes, internal contradictions would remain.
Hinduism is a Political Theory
Again, an important point expressed in the book is that Hinduism is not a religion but a political theory. Some people differentiate between Hindutva and Hinduism for they believe the idea of Hindutva was propagated by Vir Savarkar while Hinduism, they feel, is essentially a very tolerant religion. This is historically inaccurate and incorrect for various reasons. One, Hinduism as such is not a religion but essentially meant to address the people living in India, a name was given by the Mughal invaders. Originally, it was Varnashram dharma, a religion based on caste and colour. But in real terms it is a political theory as mentioned by V.R.Rajshekar quoting profusely to Baba Saheb's writings, as define our civil laws and is aimed at controlling our freedom, our social and cultural life. This institutionalization has made every working masses totally depended on Brahmins to get social legitimacy.
How do you abolish caste system? Academics over simplify them in terms of education, urbanisation or industrialisation and inter-caste marriages. The author brilliantly exposes all the three. Education as he rightly points out is 'an instrument of oppression in the hands of ruling classes to retain its dominations over its subjects. Secondly, caste is not just confined to rural India but also to urban India and therefore caste clashes would only strengthen the Dalit-Bahujan's determination to understand and strengthen their caste identities. Inter caste marriages have not taken place yet. Most of the marriages are one like the Brahmins girl marrying elite Dalit mens who are either government servants or politicians. They is not really inter caste marriages as marriages at local levels and village levels have not been possible. So these cases may be termed as rarest of rare despite various interest factors involved in it.
Urbanisation and industrialization has not really helped the Dalit Bahujans as it might have helped in other countries. The caste struggle would ultimately lead to revolution and rightfully the author suggests that Marxian dialectics of class has to be modified in Indian terms replacing it with caste. Another important point that the author mention is that urbanization in India has pushed the Dalit Bahujan to further brink unlike other countries where urbanization is considered to be a better option for replacing the old feudal system but in India urbanization is creating new slums. It is hitting the Dalit Bahujan rock hard.
Qualities of a True Ambedkarite
While speaking strongly for caste identities the author feel that an enlightened Ambedkarite must rise above the narrow caste interests. Dr Ambedkar always felt proud to be born in a Mahar community but his struggles and fight was for all the downtrodden communities. Can any one say that he fought for Mahars? The point that the author wanted to make is that every community is today seeking its space under the sun. The communities have to do that because otherwise they will be thoroughly marginalized. They go the other way because their aspirations are not fulfilled. Aim of strengthening caste identities is not to divide the Dalit Bahujan's movement but to strengthen it. Basically with in ourself, there has to be a proportionate representation. Every caste has a history and they are tracing that history and it is good they are doing it. As Baba Saheb, no community can move forward which remains isolated and unknown to its history. So author want caste identities to eliminate the brahmanical system and wish every Dalit Bahujan individual to rise about the petty caste considerations which is the essence of is thesis.
Religion never unites
The author has come out very candidly that only Buddhism can unite the Dalit masses. It was the message of Baba Saheb to dalits to embrace the righteous path of Buddha. Rightly, he suggests that religion has never been uniting factor. Hinduism is nothing but caste and once caste are abolished Hinduism will be eliminated. Similarly despite conversion to Christianity, the Dalits still remain the Dalits. They are not allowed to join the churches of upper castes. Marriages are exclusively caste based. Even Islam has been unable to unite people. Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam but what happened. Bengali Muslims refused to believe the Punjabi Muslims as Baba Saheb has said, ' Religion can help to produce justice with in a community. Religion cannot produce justice between the communities. The call of nation and the call of community has proved more powerful than the call of religion for justice'.
Recently on a trip to Uganda, I was shocked to see that even outside India, people are unable to leave their castes. I met a few Indian Sikhs in a Gurudwara called a Ramgarhia Gurudwara in Kampala and most of those who come here are Dalit Sikh. A Dalit woman told me that there is a separate Gurudwara for Jat Sikhs. Similarly, there were several temples among the Gujaratis. A Ugandan friend Deo who is chairman Uganda Humanist Association blamed Indian to be confined to their caste interest and color conscious. So despite same religion, it is the caste which has been dominating factor.
Political Participation is essential to tame the Hindutva
In Uttar-Pradesh BSP has experimented one thing today. Brahmins and other upper castes have joined the party and became ministers and senior bureaucrats. There is hardly any Dalit officer close to Mayawati in charge of her office in Lucknow, which is a shocking reality. Now, most of these upper castes have joined the BSP without losing their identity. Whether they agree to the mission of Baba Saheb or not is not their concern. They joined BSP to save their interest and use this opportunity to strengthen them. Strengthening caste identity should not mean that we forget the racist nature of Hindu society. Strengthening caste identity does not mean that we follow the system given by the Brahmins and which was termed by Baba Saheb as graded inequality. It is this graded inequality injected the Manusmriti which has resulted in Brahmin playing the sole arbitrator of our disputes. It is this graded inequality, which does not allow the caste to come together. It is therefore important that caste identities are treated as per and used in terms of different ethnic identities and not a basis of exploitation, which has rightly been condemned by the author. The caste identities are strengthening our democratic process. I remember talking to a Muslim activist from Iran who was exiled. When I spoke her as why they not talk about each religion and target Islam only. I talked to her about Hindutva and the answer she gave was that India has such diversity of Gods, and Goddesses and caste and communities that it would be difficult for any one to impose one set of rules and laws. It is true that this diversity of caste and region has saved India from going to fascist way. Take for example the recent elections. Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan have strong Hindu undercurrent and violence against the minorities is very high in these states. While the state such as Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar have not seen much violence against minorities after the post Mandal transformation. Why? The answer is simple. The Dalit Bahujans in UP and Bihar knows well that the Muslims and Christians are their blood brothers. These political understandings of Dalit and Muslims have kept the Hindutva far away from revival. But in Gujarat, Rajsthan and Madhya Pradesh, there is very little assertion of Dalit Bahujan therefore they have become favorite hunting ground of the Hindutva. The Dalit and Bahujan are not proud of their community identity in these states. They are not politically mobile and there are no efforts to organize them at the ground level therefore giving the forces of Hindutva a free hand to hit at minorities.
Non-assertion of communities and apoliticisation has killed this aspiration to share power. As mentioned earlier, the Hindutva forces are powerful where the Dalit Bahujan have no political assertion and where they are hiding their own identities. Identity could be used to oppress and identity is the best tool in democracy to assert. In the past few years who are the communities dying of hunger and starvation? From my personal work among them, I can say, they are Mushahars, Bansfors, Kols, nomads, and tribals. Now, why are they dying of hunger? Because there is no assertion among these communities. Here their Jati become a symbol of oppression. They are oppressed because of non-assertion and non-political representation. In the absence of political assertion and representation, the religious thugs go and do the 'charity' work. Charity is never done to provide any body rights but to demean a community. The brahmanical charity can feed them for a few days but make them hate their identities.
It is here that caste thesis of VT Rajsekar is important. How do we ensure that even these minorities get a share in power structure? If we can provide them a share in our political structure and social structure on the basis of his population, it will ultimately give way for a social cohesion of Dalit Bahujan. Democracy is not majoritarian rule but it must ensure the minorities that they are safe and have space in mainstream structure. The minority among the Dalits remains unrepresented and therefore disgusted. This disgust is used by the upper castes easily to put them in fight against their own brethrens and therefore it is essential that while we strengthen caste identities we must condemn caste system and exploitation based on caste. We must not allow the brahmanical techniques to ruin the Dalit Bahujan Unity.
V T. Rajshekar's book is an important milestone in caste debate. It has broken many myths and it has to be taken further. The important mention is caste as a nation. He has also broken the myth of nation hood and suggested that in the storm of Dalit Bahujan if the rights of a Brahmins are being denied, a true Ambedkarite would have to stand for the human rights of the individual. While, from the title of the book it looks as if the author is promoting rabid casteism yet reading it gives refreshing ideas.
Today when caste groups are behaving in primitive ways, I am sure an individual has to be saved from those who want to decide about every thing in the name of community identity. Despite caste identities, individuals take different route and go beyond their castes, and therefore become an issue in the communities. We have seen how the Hindutva gangs have terrorized the youths who married in different communities. Caste identities are good to assert and linkage to our culture and a way to stop the march of the Hindutva but at the same time they cannot be allowed to behave in the brahmanical fashion to decide about our future. That would be the most dangerous part. As I mention caste identity must not be allowed to oppress and exploit. If caste identities are based on equality, I am sure there will be more inter community marriages in future but if they remain confine to their self made beliefs that one is higher than the others, the greatest 'gift' the notorious Brahmins gave, then I am afraid mere assertion of identities will only strengthen the brahmanical system, though it may eliminate Brahmins as a community and might be replaced by others but at the end the ideas thrown by the Brahmins would always remain intact. The author has himself suggested that we must eliminate caste system based on hierarchical values of the Manu Smriti and once we do it, all the caste will be equal even when they have diverse profession and then there would be no violence even if two individuals crosses their own community line to get married. This is an excellent book and the debate must go further including the democratic rights of an individual with in the castes and how castes should follow their own customs and traditions leaving the dependence on Brahmins for every rituals. That would ultimately eliminate the brahmanical domination in our daily life.
Caste: a nation with in the Nation
recipe for a bloodless revolution
Author: V.T.Rajshekar
Published by Books for Change, Banglore
Rs 140/-
Pp : 121
Available in Hindi also.
Contact Details:Vidya Bhushan Rawat
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