Why even if Dalit becomes Prime Minister, untouchability in India will not end

Former IPS officer Darapuri

By Siddharth Modi*
The caste system in India is the oldest surviving social hierarchy. India is as much a caste-based country as it is an agriculture-based country. The whole societal structure is based on castes and class – dating back to the four varnas system, i.e. the Brahmins (priests), the Kshatriyas (soldiers), the Vaisyas (traders) and the Shudras (labourers). A fifth category that falls outside the varna system is that of the untouchables or the Dalits.
The varna system in the present has further been divided into thousands of castes of which the Dalits are the most oppressed and marginalized. The caste system has not developed because of the division of labour but the division of labourer. The occupations have been divided based on castes, and today they have been monopolized.
Let’s say, if a lower caste person wants to start a tea stall, she/he will face much larger difficulties in comparison to a high caste person. In various places at tea stalls, we see, there are two different sets of glasses for the lower and higher caste people. In villages around Jhansi, even today lower caste people have to take off their shoes when they pass off the houses of higher caste people.
We discussed the caste system in India with Sarwan Ram Darapuri (78 years) who comes from Jalandhar district of Punjab and is a 1972 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Post his retirement in 2003; he worked actively on the issues related to human rights, Dalit rights, RTI, Forest Rights Act etc. He is currently the state president of Mazdoor Kisan Manch, founder member of Dr Ambedkar Mahasabha and the national spokesperson of All India Peoples Front.
Darapuri cited various instances that highlight the oppression and discrimination faced by the Dalits and lower caste people. During his posting as an IPS officer in Gorakhpur, he experienced this problem for the first time as he mentions that during his visit some people were sitting on the ground and some were sitting on the benches. He was told that those sitting on the ground are from lower castes. This is an irony; as the institutions that are supposed to bring an end to the problem are themselves practising it.
Post his retirement, he came across a case from Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh related to land ownership. During the 1970s a Dalit family was given land, but they were not allowed to occupy or cultivate on this land because of the exploitations from local people. He intervened and sat on dharnas with the victim family, and after 34 years of oppression, they got their rightful land.

Darapuri, 1972 batch UP cadre IPS officer, has been actively working on issues related to human rights, Dalit rights, RTI, Forest Rights Act

Another issue was of a village where the newly elected Gram Pradhan was from the Dalit community, but he could not take his office. He could not work as per his duties as the previous Pradhan who was a non-Dalit didn’t hand over the registers and overall charge to him. Mr Darapuri and other activists intervened and fought for the rights of the Dalit Pradhan.
In 2018, he came across a typical case of casteism in Lucknow. Based on an order issued by the Supreme Court, the state governments had to ensure that people from socially backward castes are hired to cook mid-day meals in schools for children to eradicate caste-based discrimination.
In a school, 70 out of the 76 enrolled students refused to eat the meal as a Dalit woman prepared it. The parents of the children also protested against the lower caste woman for cooking food for their children. Darapuri demanded a probe in this incident and fought against the exploitation faced by the Dalit woman.
Based on his experience, he mentions that a very small effort is required to bring a change and the society should come forward to resolve the issues related to caste-based discrimination or any other form of discrimination based on gender, colour, creed, sexual orientation etc.

For long, we have seen that education is being vouched as the way to eradicate this issue. But it needs to be augmented with experiences related to social transformation as the society cannot be changed without bringing up social equality.
In India, Dalit politics and the Dalit movements have long been limited to saving reservations in government jobs and the victory of Dalit leaders has been considered the success of Dalit politics. It is no misnomer to say that even if a Dalit becomes a Prime Minister, the Dalits cannot be uplifted easily.
The benefits will be passed on only to the Dalit leaders who will get political power and the Dalit labourers, and landless farmers will continue to face the oppression and never-ending poverty. Therefore, Dalit politics and activists must be transformed so that they work in the direction of safeguarding the rights of the lower caste people.
---
*Management student at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Comments

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar* Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler* In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT).

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

This book examines dialectics of complex caste and class relationship

By Harsh Thakor* In Caste and Revolution by N. Ravi, the author addresses questions raised by Dalit and Bahujan intellectuals inspired by revolutionary parties. These questions center on caste issues and seek to formulate a profound diagnosis to chart a path toward the annihilation of caste. The book explains how caste-based feudalism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism intertwine to perpetuate the caste system. It asserts that only the path of a New Democratic Revolution can eradicate caste. The book delves into the need for an equal position for oppressed castes in all layers of society to abolish caste discrimination and oppression. It offers an analytical diagnosis, a penetrating navigation, and a detailed account of the dialectics of caste and class across diverse spheres. Annihilation of Caste and the New Democratic Revolution A revolutionary party develops a perspective document on the caste question, integrating its understanding of caste and the program for caste annih...

34 Dalit families in IIT Kanpur without toilets in Open Defecation Free India

By Sandeep Pandey When Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur was set up in 1959, two villages were uprooted. The farmers were given meagre compensation for the standing crop. No compensation was given for the land to build this institute of national importance. Each family was promised a job but what was not told to them was that one would require specialised skills to get a job at IIT. Some members of these families were, of course, absorbed for menial work. Some washerfolk families were also invited from outside to live on campus to take care of the laundry needs of students, staff and faculty members. One of these men was cajoled by IIT authorities then to forego a regular employment at IIT and instead take up clothes washing work.

प्राकृतिक संसाधनों के दोहन करने की प्रतिस्पर्धा: बढ़ रही पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां

- राज कुमार सिन्हा प्राकृतिक संसाधनों और कॉमन्स, जैसे सामुदायिक भूमि, वन, चारागाह और जल निकाय स्थानीय समुदायों के लिए महत्वपूर्ण हैं जो इन संसाधनों पर निर्भर हैं और उनके सतत् उपयोग एवं संरक्षण के लिए पीढ़ियों से प्रयासरत हैं। कॉमन्स न केवल हमारी पारिस्थितिकी को संतुलित रखते हैं, बल्कि ग्रामीण आजीविका, जैव विविधता, और जलवायु अनुकूलन के लिए भी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। दुर्भाग्यवश, हर साल इन संसाधनों में 4% की कमी आ रही है, जिससे पर्यावरणीय और सामाजिक चुनौतियां बढ़ रही हैं। इन कॉमन्स के संरक्षण और पुनरुद्धार के लिए दीर्घकालीन योजना पर कार्य करने की आवश्यकता है। जिससे एक बेहतर, समान और टिकाऊ भविष्य का निर्माण हो सके।

Local businessman subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse: Demand for accountability, justice

By Kirity Roy* On October 9, 2024, a disturbing incident of harassment and abuse took place in the Swarupnagar Block of North 24 Parganas district, involving a local businessman, Hasanur Gazi, who was subjected to physical assault, verbal abuse, and religious discrimination by a Border Security Force (BSF) constable. The incident, which occurred at the Hakimpur Checkpost, has raised serious concerns about the safety and dignity of citizens living in border areas, especially those belonging to religious minorities.

બેટ દ્વારકામાં માત્ર મુસ્લિમ ઘરો અને ધાર્મિક સ્થળો પર બુલડોઝર કાર્યવાહી: તાત્કાલિક રોકવાની માંગ

- પ્રતિનિધિ દ્વારા બેટ દ્વારકામાં મુસ્લિમ સમુદાયના ઘરો અને ધાર્મિક સ્થળો પર તંત્ર દ્વારા થયેલી બુલડોઝર કાર્યવાહી સામે સામાજિક આગેવાનો અને નાગરિકોમાં ભારે વિરોધ જોવા મળી રહ્યો છે. સ્થાનિકોમાંથી કેટલાક દ્વારા ગુજરાતના મુખ્યમંત્રીને લેખિતમાં રજૂઆત કરવામાં આવી છે, જેમાં આ કાર્યવાહી તાત્કાલિક રોકવાની માંગ ઉઠાવવામાં આવી છે.

Search This Blog