Skip to main content

How fresh SC-ST reservation is turning political and internal matter of Hinduism

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*

The scheduled lists for castes and tribes are being added and deleted according to political conveniences. In Uttar Pradesh, Rajbhar community which actually hail from the most backward communities and mostly landless has been added as scheduled tribe by the state government. Frankly speaking Kols, a tribe living on the Bundelkhand bordering with Madhya Pradesh has a bigger claim to be in the Scheduled Tribe list but has suffered a lot. There are others like Mushahars who in all senses are scheduled tribes have been kept as scheduled castes. 
Frankly speaking more than these changing of the list, if the government can have some radical work to resolve their livelihood issues, that would serve the purpose. With land reforms not on the agenda either of the governments or of the political parties fighting for the cause, job reservations already finished or diluted,  these are  purely and deliberate political attempts to put the communities in competition with each other, build up your work on the contradictions of the communities, mobilise them against your own neighbors and become foot soldiers of Hindutva.
Reservation debate in India has become vicious. There is no effort to engage with others. The argument is that it was meant to break monopolies but definitely not to create other monopolies. The issue was that it reach to all in proportionality but it is  not. The sub categorisation of it is opposed though many states already have it. The best example of a  proportionality  in reservation is actually Tamilnadu state where sub castes too have been categorised. Sub caste issues have been often raised to divide the Dalits but it is also important to understand when there is no dialogue among them these things will happen.
Right now, I am appalled at the debate on the issue Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims to be included at the SC list. The debate is turning more into a propaganda than in real attempt to understand the crisis. All debates are being used to twist facts. There is no doubt that in the Constituent Assembly debates there is not much as the Dalit question was considered an issue internal issue of Hinduism but conversion has been a strong weapon of Dalit movement. Many felt that conversion to Buddhism alone is 'pure' as defined by Baba Saheb but they fail to understand that Baba Saheb has become hope for a hugely diverse Dalit identity movement irrespective of caste, ethnicity and languages. 
In the 1990s when Dalit Rights organisations were struggling to take the issue at the international level to highlight the issue of caste and ensure that it gets as much importance as race gets in the west, we witnessed lively debates how castes and discriminations exists every where. Right from Burakumin community in Japan to Dalit Christians, to Muslims and many in the slave trade in Africa, Nigeria where people claim caste system exists. That was an amazing solidarity among groups. Then happened the World Conference against Racism and Xenophobia in  Durban and by this time there was a huge unity among the groups but this conference failed because of the Americans as well as Indians.
Now, the unity between diverse sections of dalits is challenged. The friends who were together have been made to look different and unwanted. I know the root of this is reservation. This is a fact that nobody is ready to have relook at these issues. That has potential to create huge crisis in India. This is purely power politics and nothing beyond. All the talks of Dalit Muslim, Dalit Christian unity fall flat to it. Ofcourse, the Christian and Muslim elite and institutions never ever considered the Dalit issue as an important except when the issue of their own political survival comes. The role of the minority institutions in this regard whether Jamia Milia Islamia or St Stephens college, Delhi, has been absolutely disgraceful as far as reservation is concern.
My position on this is very clear. While historical debates do not suggest much on this issue as far as Muslims and Christians are concern yet caste is a reality. Whether it is Hellas and Halalkhors in Uttar Pradesh engaged in manual scavenging or Wattals in Jammu Kashmir, there are Dalits in Muslims and Christian communities. There are enough documentations of Dalit Christians not being allowed in churches of the upper castes. There are separate burial grounds for Dalit Muslims in many places.  
Then when Christians and Muslims can get under the OBC quota then why so much of resentment in the SC category. There are Muslims and Christians in tribal category too and nobody object to it. 
One position is that as citizens of this country, Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims have every right to be participants in the nation building like any other. It is for the government and political parties to come to a conclusion how could this be done. One way could be leave it to the state governments to decide about this as it should depend on the proportionality of these communities in every state. 
Right now, it is difficult because the Sangh and Hindutva forces always want to stop the conversion which they think is the biggest threat to the country. If reservation are allowed for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, according to them, it will lead to conversion which is a 'threat. So, Reservation of Scheduled castes has now become an 'internal' matter of Hinduism and all those outside it, unfortunately, are not being targeted by the Hindutva alone, but ironically by their own friends who used to sit together, discuss together the power of Ambedkarism.  
---
*Human rights defender 

Comments

TRENDING

Crucial to revisit roots, embrace core Hindu principles: love, compassion, harmony

A note on religious leaders'  Satya Dharam Samvad in Haridwar: *** In a groundbreaking gathering, more than 25 religious leaders including Swamis, Acharyas, Pujaris, Gurus, and Sadhvis from all over India convened to discuss the tenets of Hinduism on September 16th, 2023, in Haridwar, to discuss and discern the current trajectory of Hinduism. This brand new initiative, the Satya Dharam Samvad, was inspired to organize its first assembly in response to the December 2021 Dharma Sansad, where hate speech and calls for violence against the Muslim community contravened the essential principles of Hinduism. Religion is being used to incite riots among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, etc. In the face of such hatred, Swami Raghavendra felt that something meaningful should be done in the present climate. 

Commodification of road accident deaths: The hidden health hazard of motonormativity

By Chandra Vikash*  Jahnavi Kandula, an Indian student from Andhra Pradesh, studying in America was killed in a road accident by a police motor car in January 2023. Now, 8 months after the accident, a bodycam video of Daniel Orderer, who is the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, has gone viral on social media. He was laughing at her death and saying that “she was 26 years old, anyway… she had limited value… just give her $11,000 (ie Rs 9.13 lakh)”.

Maoist tendency of mechanically adhering to Chinese path ignores Indian conditions

By Harsh Thakor  The C.P.I. (Maoist) formed in 2004 with merger of the C.P.I. (M.L) Peoples War and the Maoist Communist Centre has demonstrated courage in intensity compared to any great revolutionary struggle in the history of the world. It leads the largest armed movement of a Peoples Guerrilla Army in the world today and proved themselves as the true torch bearers of the Indian Communist movement.

We need to resurrect Neruda, give birth to poets of his kind amidst neofascist rampage

By Harsh Thakor  On 23rd September we commemorate the 50th death anniversary of Pablo Neruda, whose contribution to revolutionary poetry was path breaking. Pablo Neruda’s poetry manifested the spiritual essence of revolutionary poetry and how poetry was a weapon for a revolutionary struggle. The story of his life illustrated the spiritual transformation undergone a human being to transform him into a revolutionary and how environment shapes the lie of revolutionary.

Understanding universe, time, space: A crucial, unresolved question before humanity

By Prof Sudhanshu Tripathi*  A crucial question before humanity, still unresolved, is to comprehend the true nature and expanse of Time and Space in Universe. If both are indeed limitless, there is no question then to go beyond them. Because both Time and Space are indeed the two key determinants in this mundane world which define the very expanse of the life period of all living organisms and non-living entities and their relative spatial area producing mental and extra-mental consciousness. 

Abrogation of Art 370: Increasing alienation, relentless repression, simmering conflict

One year after the abrogation by the Central Government of Art. 370 in Kashmir, what is the situation in the Valley. Have the promises of peace, normalcy and development been realised? What is the current status in the Valley? Here is a detailed note by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties , “Jammu & Kashmir: One Year after Abrogation of Art. 370: Increasing Alienation, Relentless Repression, Simmering Conflict”:

Informal efforts to help children of remote Bundelkhand village unable to go to school

By Bharat Dogra  Rajaram Ka Purva is a remote rural hamlet in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh inhabited by the poorest of the poor. Almost none of the children in this hamlet are able to go to school. The reasons relate to poverty, distance of the nearest school as well as the unsafe path to school.

2024 elections in India: An agenda for justice, peace, democracy and environment

By Bharat Dogra  As debates leading up to 2024 union elections in India preceded by some important state assembly become intense, it is not enough to talk about election alignments among various political parties and their seat adjustments; the questions relating to the most important priorities and a future agenda based on justice, equality, peace, environment protection and democracy must get the most importance.

Grassroots NGO enlightens people of Kupwara with intricacies of Right to Information

J&K RTI Foundation and Founder Civil Rights Movement Kupwara note on how RTI Pend is empowering Kupwara with insights on Right to Information Act: *** RTI Pend, the grassroots initiative aimed at democratizing access to information, hosted its 2nd event in Kupwara. On the request of the Civil Rights Movement Kupwara, this event was tailored to enlighten the people of Kupwara with the intricacies of the Right to Information Act, presented in their local language and dialects. The event successfully bridged both offline and online participation, addressing queries on the spot and offering applicants practical solutions.

Job opportunity in unexplored territory... to bulldoze hurdles on way to Akhand Aryavart

By Abdul Puncharwala*  Baba and Mama the Jai-Veeru Jodi of Shuddh desi politics bring an excellent opportunity of employment to all the bright matriculate drop-outs busy with their Insta and YouTube reels. Keep your phones aside for a moment and read this advert carefully. It is going to change your life forever.