Caste Wars in India : Ominous Signs Ahead
Background
India is known as a sub continent, where the dominant religion is Hinduism. The Hindu faith that has evolved over 5000 years has a trait, that distinguishes it from other religions. It is the only religion that accepts division of society on the basis of caste. It also follows a system that allows no interchange of caste and a person born in one caste must die in the same caste. Caste is something water tight and the overriding factor in Hinduism. The history of caste is well known and need not be recounted here, suffice to say that this is a artificial division and imposed by the Hindu religion. The caste system is as old as Hindu history. One fact that does stand out is that caste has led to deep divisions in Hindu society. The reason is that Manu the Law giver classified certain castes as high castes and certain as lower castes. In the social ladder the opportunities for lower castes were severely limited and discrimination was rampant. It will not be wrong to say that some lower castes also referred to as untouchables had little or no say in Hindu society. They were not expected to be seen or heard and were to live their lives like silent ghosts and die unsung and unheralded.
The division of society was so unjust that the lower castes were also forbidden to carry arms or be soldiers. This had catastrophic results and is one of the significant factors that led to defeat of Hindus by Moslem armies. Despite these defeats the concept of a universal army to fight an invader remained non existent. This is a separate subject and needs a separate study. There was a back lash to this compartmentalised society and many lower caste Hindus converted to Islam. Later, with the advent of Missionaries, many converted to Christianity. Almost 30-40% of Hindus converted away from their religion. This did not open the eyes of any Hindu reformer and sadly almost all of them continued to extoll the virtues of caste. Most of the Hindu saints and so called reformers like Vivekananda, Namdev, Swami Dayananda and Swaminarayan all supported caste in varying degrees. Thus if Hindu reformers and saints themselves support caste or varna system, there can be no reformation. A small fact brings out the role of these so called reformers. Swaminarayan a much revered figure in North India set up separate temples for worship for lower caste and untouchables. He also had separate kitchens for lower caste. One can realize how silly all this is. But the fact is that such acts deepened the divisions in Hindu society.
Gandhi, Congress, Ambedkar and Caste
At the turn of the 20th century, India was still living in an age that was far away from reality. The caste system had become the bed rock of Hindu society. Hindu leaders made no attempt to do away with caste system, despite mass scale conversion to Islam by Muslim Sufi saints, who propagated a classless society and one god. In 1885 the Congress party was launched by an Englishman named Hume. This was the need of the hour as India needed a vehicle to unify the nation and bring in fresh ideas. The Congress despite a sprinkling of Muslims remained throughout the days of the British Raj a Hindu dominated party.
One would have thought that a new breed of Hindu leaders would emerge who would strike at the roots of the caste system. Such a thing did not happen and the tallest Hindu leader mahatma Gandhi, supported the caste system. His writings are all available till date where he states without ambiguity that he believes in the Varna system. Probably Gandhi despite his mighty following did not want to take on the Hindu scriptures like the Gita, which supported the caste system. Gandhi's actions perturbed another great and educated Hindu Dr Ambedkar. This man left the fold of Hinduism and became a Buddhist along with thousands of his followers.
To my mind this was a disaster as Dr Ambedkar was tasked with the framing of the Constitution of India. Ambedkar did something that has bedeviled Indian society for centuries to come. He introduced caste as a factor in the Indian constitution. Perhaps the fact that he was earlier slighted by higher caste Hindus had an effect on his mind. This was like opening a can of worms. He was able to incorporate a system of reservation for lower castes in government jobs. Tough he initially recommended it only for 15 years, yet he so cleverly worded the constitution, that these reservations could be expanded as well continued for posterity. This was in my view a parting kick to the higher caste, who he felt had discriminated and tortured the lower caste and untouchables.
The Congress party sadly had leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, who had no reformist zeal and they continued the reservations in jobs and education. One cannot really fault Nehru, when one thinks that social reformers like swami Vivekananda and Dayananda also supported the caste system. The Congress party to build up vote banks when Indira Gandhi was in power, set up the Mandal commission. One fails to see the need for such a commission, whose main job was to advocate measures for an expansion of the lower caste base by addition of " other Backward Castes". Yet Indira Gandhi ordered this commission and kept it in her drawer as an election ploy to be used later on . It is history that VP Singh an ex Congress man, to remain in power, brought in further reservation to 49% for Other Backward Cast ( OBC). He was defeated, but he had done his part in fragmenting the nation further. One talks of Gorbachev, who broke up the USSR. VP Singh is in the same category and in my view along with Ambedkar the main artitechs of Balkanization of India on basis of caste.
Caste Wars
The saying the birds come home to roost is so very correct. These actions had to have an effect and the country is now facing the ills of reservation. One fact that stands out is that India is a poor country, where poverty is rampant. As per UN figures India has close to 200 million people who live in abject poverty and earn less than $ 1.25 a day. Another 200 million barely subsist and for them finding food and work is a nightmare. These poor people belong to all castes. The reservation in jobs is thus looked upon as the magic wand to food and prosperity. Unfortunately the way the reservations are effected in India, almost all OBC and BC get reservation, irrespective of their income. Some income limits are fixed by the Supreme Court, but are nothing short of ridiculous.
With mounting paucity of job openings and education, an explosion was expected. It came with the agitations by the Patel community, which held the BJP government to ransom for weeks. The Patels were justified as they saw their poor languishing and unable to get seats in professional colleges, while lesser qualified individuals from lower castes made it forward. Hardik Patel the leader of the movement was arrested, but this is like trying to brush the problem under the carpet. There has been an encore and the Jat community in Haryana has blockaded all roads leading to Delhi. Curfew has been enforced in all major towns of Haryana as the Jats upped the ante for reservation for them in jobs and educational institutes.
The BJP government has been found wanting in facing the agitators and reports indicate that the BJP may accede to their demand. The situation is likely to spiral further and there is a good chance that other higher caste communities among Marathas and Sikhs may similarly demand reservation. A stage may come when there may be 95% reservation and perhaps only 5 % may be on merit. This is a real case scenario as the OBC and BC will not tolerate any reduction in their quota for reservation. India is thus sitting over a keg of volatile material, that can explode anytime.
The only way forward is to do away with caste reservation., The RSS has realised the folly of reservation and its propensity to divide the nation. Their leaders have many a time hinted on this account, but electoral politics still dominate and the BJP scared to lose power will not rock the apple cart. The Congress of course has already failed to solve the problem, even when Gandhi was around. This man talked of Varna as something good. In this he lacked vision and has proved that he was just a crafty politician.
The situation could get aggravated further and the castes may themselves start a war with each other over the reservation issue. The next decade is significant and one hopes the assessment of the Chinese Institute of Strategic studies that India may fragment because of its caste contradictions does not come true. That will be a sad day indeed, but is anyone bothered ?
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