Reservations VII: Are we dividing our nation along caste lines?

Isn’t reservations-based-on-caste actually perpetuating casteism in India instead of eliminating it? Isn’t it dividing the nation along the caste lines?

I too would like to live in an ideal world where I am not judged by my color of the skin, my religion, my caste or my nationality but only by my character and personality (#). But unfortunately, I don’t live in that ideal world. Ideally I would love to know that I am not judged by my caste, but I am, whether I like it or not. And more so in rural India, where ‘What is your caste?’ is the second question following ‘What is your name?’ Decisions and judgments are made as soon you answer that second question. What follows next is seen through a filter that was brought in after this second answer.

I cannot close my eyes and believe that everyone is blind. Just because certain elite believe it, casteism doesn’t get shooed away. Casteism is a fundamental identity in Hindu society, whether one likes it or not. Even today the marriage happens only within one’s caste- just look at millions of matrimonial ads on Internet. The people even go the sub-caste and sub-sub-caste to emphasize their preference. The statistics are very lopsided. Of the 400 faculty members at IIT Chennai 285 are Brahmins and 3 are SCs. The minute the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is a Reddy, every Vice-Chancellor invariably is a Reddy. Once that is done, the upper caste members sit down to share the Head of Departments and other important positions between themselves. According to Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD, enrolment of SCs in higher educations was 8.6 % during 1990-91 and is 11.3% in 2002-03, while that of STs is 2.1% and 3.6%. According the Committee, the participation of SC/STs is “abysmally low”.

To remove poverty one has to admit that poverty exists and then go about identifying who are poor and then actually implement plans and programs to people who are poor. To remove AIDS in India, one has to admit that AIDS exists and recognize that it is spreading like wildfire, unchecked and unrelenting, and then go about identifying the AIDS patients, provide care to contain it. In the same vein, to remove problems associated with casteism, one has to admit that discrimination-based-on-caste exists, and then go about identifying the sections that are affected, and implement plans and programs to help them.

There is another way to deal with the problem- believing that poverty does not exist, and somehow expect it go away, or believing that AIDS does not exist, and somehow expect it vanish away. As long as poverty and AIDS do not come into my home, I would like to believe it does not exist, and that way I can go about leading my ordinary life without getting affected. The signs of such apathy are clearly seen in India in many episodes. Any attempt to determine the poverty levels of India are fought by various groups to ensure that more and more people fall above the poverty line, and when Bill Gates donated $400 million or odd to AIDS campaign, many Indians shouted against him for unnecessarily highlighting a problem ‘which doesn’t exist’. Any attempt to legalize prostitution so that AIDS can be brought under check is fought against. We want to believe that there are not many poor people out there. We want to believe that there are not many AIDS patients out there. In the similar vein, most of us want to believe that discrimination-based-on-caste does not exist. If any attempt to rectify these ills is proposed, the people go about fighting it, because it only highlights certain uncomfortable truths which one is not ready to deal with.

Casteism has been made an integral part of Hinduism slowly and systematically. When I use the word ‘systematically’ I use it with great care. I know exactly what I want to convey. It is an extremely rigorous and fool-proof process that has come into existence where in many rules, by-rules, laws and by-laws have been made part of Hinduism so as to maintain dominance of certain castes making sure that certain other castes are always kept out of all those key areas which could empower people. The rules include how to treat a Dalit when you cross him in a street, how to deal with a Shudra when you take work from him. Rules on whether you can invite him inside your home or not. Whom you can marry and whom you cannot. Who you can associate with and make friendship and whom you cannot. And when you transgress, like, associating yourself with a lower caste person, there are certain rituals that you can perform to cleanse yourself of contamination.

Most of us have a myopic view of India. One starts to believe that India is what you see in your daily life. When an American co-worker in US asked- “Do Indians girls wear Jeans and Skirts in India?” an Indian friend quickly replied- “Yes, most of them do!” Upon my prodding, he added, “Yeah! Where I live they all do”. Just because some of the upper caste students have never known each others caste because it has become a non-issue, it does not mean the rest of the India (which happens to be 80% of India) is the same. Just because none of your friends is an AIDS patient does not mean AIDS does not exist in India. Just because urban Indians do not know or pretend they don't know anything about caste does not make it disappear. I wish the world was that simple. When such a large scale discrimination happens for centuries, the first step one has to do is actually recognize it and admit it, instead of ignoring it. A great care is taken in the western world to teach the kids the evils of Holocaust. Nobody goes about saying- ‘why are you bringing this subject, it will only cause further divide’. A great care is taken in US to teach its kids the mistakes of discrimination, positives of civil rights movement, and these topics are actually debated in schools. Nobody goes about saying- ‘Hey, why are we unnecessarily discussing these topics, it will only increase the racial divide’.

But in India, when any topic of discrimination-based-on-caste is raised, it is hush-hushed by everyone- parents, school teachers, and now even by media. They all say- ‘Let’s not talk about it; let’s not implement programs based on caste. It will only divide India further’. What is there to divide further? Whatever has to be divided and exploited, it has already been done slowly and systematically for over two thousands years. What can a SC/ST/OBC person lose more? He has already lost his self-respect thousands of years ago. He has no possessions. He is a bonded labor to a rich land lord. What more can he lose by this divide? What further discrimination can one mete out to him?

One of the first things a mature civilization can do is admit its mistakes. That never happens in India. No group or body representing forward castes comes out in the open to say- ‘I apologize for what we have done to you in the past’. Instead, what everyone wants to say is- “Look, I am closing my eyes. I don’t see evil anymore. It has just vanished. Now don’t even talk about it because it will bring back the evil”.

Go to Germany and make a Nazi salute and see everyone’s reaction. Talk about the glory days of Nazi era and see everyone’s reaction. That nation has grown to completely abandon everything Nazi and have learnt to abhor and hate what they have done as a nation. They are taught the evils of Holocaust again and again. Those lessons are mandatory. They are not shunned from their books. They tell themselves- ‘Let’s learn history so that we do not repeat such evils once again.’ They paid for the damages amounting into billions of dollars. For ever, they have taken up an apologetic stance.

Look at India now. The same upper castes that have carefully coordinated and orchestrated the whole discrimination are now fighting tooth and nail to preserve their monopoly on education and employment. Why education and employment, one may ask. That’s because, they are basic means of empowerment that provides one with self-respect and self-dignity. Without that one can rule the other forever, making them slaves and bonded labor. One who is educated and employed can aspire to become what he wants, unshackling the bonded labor and slavery, and they may go onto become a businessman, an artist, a musician or a sports player.

It is disgusting and downright ugly to see some of the jokes being propagated these days- which talk about quotas in cricket and at lavatories. One joke suggests an expedition to moon to have so many SC/ST, so many OBC, and only two would be actual astronauts. The innate belief in making these jokes is that only the forward caste are actually qualified to drive the mission to moon.

Those who fear that this new set of reservations-based-on-caste will bring further divide have the following opinion- “I didn’t know who was OBC/SC/ST till yesterday and hence I did not feel any different from them. But now this labeling is making me know them. And from now on, I will feel different towards them”. Few others have a similar opinion- “SC/ST/OBC were just idling away in the fields working on bonded labor for a rich landlord. That didn’t bother me because I didn’t know about them. But now, you are bringing them into our midst, our institute, our ‘islands of excellence amongst sea of mediocrity’ and that bothers me. As long as they are out there, I don’t mind. Putting them in our midst causes me to label them and hence that divides us.”

My argument to them is simple. If knowing who they are or having them in your midst causes your mindset to change, I am not sure how does that make you any less discriminatory. What you are conveying is this- “I am discriminatory. But, don’t make me do it. So, keep them away or let me not know them. That way I don’t have to feel guilty about it”.

(#) I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character- Martin Luther King.