CASTE-OBLITERATED? 'OR' OBLIVIATED?:A Dialectic of Dr.Ambedkar's 'Annihilation of Caste-1
Baba Saheb's contention goes "The wall built around caste is impregnable...the breaking up of caste among the hindus is well-nigh impossible.At any rate,it would take ages before a breach is made."(Ambedkar 38).Conversely,Nehruvian Secular Nationalist Imagination asserts that Caste existed many moons ago and flaunting this old hat in Public Discourse is akin to resurrecting archaic retrogressive principles and the culmination-The End of the Civilization as we know it!A contravention of this caste hegemony is marked by Modernity. Before lauding Modernity as the aforementioned breach,a perusal of certain aspects is appreciable... Did the Dynamite of Modernity demolish caste system? 'or' Did the carpet of Modernity just push caste discussions underneath?Though Article-21 of Indian Constitution abolished Untouchability and a certain law in 1948 banned discrimination and segregation on the basis of Caste,ever and anon we find instances which prove the contrary and necessitate the discussion on the said topic.Modernity marked the paradigm shift of the banner of Caste from the Brahminical elite to the Dalit Bahujans .To be more precise,Prior to Modernity the 'touchables' upheld this banner to oppress and exploit the 'untouchables'.But in the wake of Modernity The 'Untouchables' or Dalits recounted their experiences and triggered their sense of self-respect through caste discussion.
"In the early Twentieth Century,strictly speaking,that the dalits really found their voice-in the sense of being able to record their experience of oppression and talk about it publicly.And it was at this precise moment that the mutated upper caste Modern began to legislate a certain modern universalist language decrying all attempts to talk of caste oppression as "casteism" ,a sign of "backward consciousness."(Menon and Nigam 21)
I invite you to take notice of my intention of replacing the theoretical doctrine of 'caste' with a sensory experience of 'Touch.'Aniket Jaaware in his Practicing Caste:On Touching and Not Touching,brilliantly draws the relation between Caste,Touchability and Untouchability.He elucidates the mechanism of Caste System in simple terms of 'Sparsha' and 'Asprushya' by bringing it down from the ivory tower of Theoretical Speculation.Why is 'touch' of paramount importance in Caste based Discourse?In his essay entitled 'Phenomenology of Untouchability',taken from the anthology The Cracked Mirror,Sundar Sarukkai lucidly deduces the nexus between Caste and Untouchability.
"Untouchability...refers to certain practices of 'higher'castes such as refusing to touch or share water and food with people who have been called the 'untouchables' and who are today collectively called 'Dalits'.These sets of practices involve not only proscriptions on both groups of people but are often justified through purity and related concepts."(Guru and Sarukkai 157).
Sarukkai proceeds with his rhetoric of explaining the significance and indispensability of touch in a person's social and cultural wellbeing.Touch metaphorically signifies Care and Concern and the deprival of this faculty denotes the deprival of life itself....so on goes Aristotelian Philosophy.According to this Greek Master Philosopher-Interaction is inevitable for the mental and physical wellbeing of an individual. God and beast are the only entities immune to this theory!So what are you making out of a Dalit by excommunicating him and depriving him of this sensory impulse?It's high time you thought about this!
Annihilation of Caste is a path-breaking and enlightening text which reformulated the primary notions of modernity including freedom,equality and morality.Prof.Gopal Guru calls Annihilation of Caste - a 'Modern Ethical Text'(Guru 13:26) since it questions the pretensions of the imposters among the 'upper' caste who feigned Progressive Modernity while carrying the dead weight of Caste discrimination within their souls...Let us now look at the course employed by an undelivered speech to turn out to be a discursive polemical classic in Dalit Studies.This seminal text of Ambedkar which was a giant step in forming a Dalit Consciousness was primarily intended to be the Presidential Address at Jat-Pat Todak Mandal's Annual Conference.Doctor Saheb was invited by the Mandal(an Organization intended to reform hinduism from within)to deliver a speech on the modes to eradicate Caste from 'AMONG' the hindus.This venture which would have been a breakthrough in redefining Indian Modernity,unfortunately ended in utter cataclysm.The dispute began with a minor disagreement over the place where the address should be printed and later it went too far as asking or rather demanding to alter the presidential address.This encroachment upon the right of a President was owing to the provoking points which sounded offending to the Upper Caste members of the committee.As Mr.Har Bhagavan marked in his letter to Ambedkar-the address "unnecessarily attacked the morality and reasonableness of the Vedas and other religious books of the Hindus."(Ambedkar 4).To their utter discomposure,Ambedkar also incorporated his resolution to renounce Hinduism.The eager beaver preferred his ethics and principles to the honour the Mandal would have conferred upon him had he acted according to their whims and fancies.This enterprise which involved a caucus between "the reforming sect of Caste Hindus" and "self respecting sect of Untouchables" always had one foot in the grave owing to Ambedkar's venomous critique of the former.No wonder...Ambedkar called himself "a snake in their garden!"(Ambedkar 10).The ' Upper' caste Reformers intended to restructure Hinduism by bringing forth certain progressive changes like inter dining and intercaste marriages.But Ambedkar ventured to dispel the core religious ethos on which Hinduism was erected.
"The real method of breaking up the caste system was not to bring about inter-caste dinners and inter-caste marriages but to destroy the religious notions on which caste was founded."(Ambedkar 6)
He further talked about certain social and political reforms which led to the birth of the two parties viz Social Reform Party(Social Conference) and Political Reform Party(National Congress) respectively.At this juncture,the Caste Reformers ascertained that certain evils in Hinduism hampered the progress of Hindu Society and the eradication of those is inevitable to increase the efficacy of Indian governance.Thus National Congress and Social Conference were formed where the former tried to bridge the gaps in Politics and the latter attempted to cleanse the Hindu Society.These allied organizations ended up becoming warring opponents.The fight for supremacy among the duo transmuted into venomous hostility and eventually the Political Reform Party wielded and Social Reform Party yielded!He also quotes W.C.Bonnerji who finds no relation between social reform and political reform.
"Are we not fit(for political reform) because our widows remain unmarried and our girls are given in marriage earlier than in other countries?(Ambedkar 11).
Later Ambedkar documents some of the poignant incidents encountered by Dalits throughout India.Ambedkar portrayed every aspect vividly which earned him the sobriquet ' The God of Statistics'.But Prof.Guru holds the opinion that looking at these incidents as mere documentation would mean inferiorizing Ambedkar and ignoring his motive.Ambedkar resumes his argument by elucidating how the spit,dust and even the shadow of an untouchable were deemed to be polluting.He further sheds light on the inhuman treatment endured by Dalits.Ambedkar advocated the precedence of Social reform over Political Reform.Having made this hypothesis clear he broods over why the Social Reform Party lost besides having loftier goals than its adversary.The inference-Instead of reforming the Hindu society the Social reform Party went about reforming the Hindu Family.Doctor Sahib insisted on the purgation of the entire society and religion.He postulated that only a social and religious revolution can eventuate Political Liberty.Now Ambedkar questions Socialists and their opinion of Economic Reform as the be- all and end-all of Liberation.He asks them whether they can engender economic reform without bringing forth a social reform.Our nation attains true sense of liberation when the myth of a casteless society gets materialized,where all signs of inequalities get erased and all of the compatriots gather, irrespective of their caste , to rejoice and frolic together...What a heartening Vision!Tyranny of any sort should be annihilated from an egalitarian nation.Ambedkar proceeds to talk of the Proletariats who are expected to create a revolution and the driving force-the promise of a Democratic nation!
"It seems to me that,other things being equal,the only thing that will move one man to take such an action is the feeling that other men with whom he is acting are actuated by a feeling of equality and fraternity and above-all-of justice.Men will not join in a revolution for the equalization of property unless they know that after the revolution is achieved they will be treated equally,and that there will be no discrimination of Caste and Creed."(Ambedkar 16)
Dr.Ambedkar further dwells on the care and concern the comrades ought to nurture towards one another.He iterates the fact that the change should happen within oneself and this 'self' should be bereft of any prejudice against the 'other.'At this point Ambedkar makes the major argument which caused utmost mayhem in both literary and academic circles.The thesis statement reads"Caste is not just a division of labour,it is a division of labourers."(Ambedkar 16)Ambedkar talks of certain defenders of Caste System.Well...who were the leaders who defended Caste system and on what grounds?MSS Pandian in his One Step Outside Modernity talks of one such freedom fighter...
"In other contexts,caste,in the hands of the upper caste and dominant nationalists,reincarnates as division of labour...In an Editorial,appropriately titled'How Caste Helps?',New India,the journal of the Theosophical Society edited by Annie Beasant,noted,"However much we may declaim against the thraldom of caste in details,the fundamental four divisions of men are so much part of the natural order of things that they will remain as long as servants and traders and soldiers and teachers perform their duties amongst us...caste in itself is not peculiar to India,but is found everywhere."(Pandian 1737)
From Ambedkar's standpoint Caste System is not merely a division of labour but a division of labourers. The jobs are assigned to individuals not based on their essence or competence but on the social status of their progenitors.A graded inequality is conspicuous in this division of labourers into 'water-tight compartments'.Having been denied the right to choose their employment the eligible dalits were deliberately pushed into predestined labour which was pernicious to the entire community since they would be doomed there for years to come.The fate of the bahujans was not much different in academia-"The "dull" Dalits forever seem to lack merit.All the good marks are scored by the "bright" English-speaking students."(Anand 2055)The primary dogma of caste is that it preserves ' racial purity, albeit evidence-based research demonstrates the opposite.Every caste in India has foreign strains in it.For the sake of argument let's assume that the castes in India are pure and inter caste marriages would lead to mixing of blood thus profaning the pure Hindu Heritage.But how does the bar on inter dining preserve this purity?This question remains unanswered!Therefore,the Caste System is a mere polemical speculation which is built on trivial theoretical foundation. Caste System has only helped in segregating,alienating and distancing the countrymen.India brags of Unity in Diversity...Thanks to the Caste System which diversified Indians so much so that the customs,beliefs,habits and thoughts of one community is either alien or nauseating to another!The only redressal to this chronic ailment is a Democratic Nation in all senses,by all means...
REPENT! RETURN! RECLAIM YOUR BRETHREN! IS IT JUDICIOUS OF YOU TO ERECT REPRESSIVE STRUCTURES IN THE NAME OF THEOCRATIC ORDER?REFLECT!
(To Be Continued...)
REFERENCES:
Ambedkar,B.R.Annihilation of Caste.Navayana,2014
Anand,S."S.Anand :Annihilation of Caste-A Path towards Enlightened Society."Youtube,Uploaded by PLPDG,2 May.2014.youtu.be/yOZz6ijIZAg
Anand,S."Sanskrit,English and Dalits."Economic And Political Weekly,24 Jul.1999,web.
Guru,Gopal and Sundar Sarukkai.The Cracked Mirror:An Indian Debate on Experience and Theory.Oxford University Press,2012.
Guru,Gopal."Prof.Gopal Guru:Introducing how to read Annihilation of Caste as a text -Part-1."Youtube,Uploaded by Dalit Camera,19 Apr.2014.youtu.be/HOpVJLfiihA
Jaaware,Aniket.Practicing Caste:On Touching and Not Touching.Fordham University Press,2019.
Mungekar,Bhalchandra."Annihilating Caste."Social Issues,Frontline,29 Jul.2011.frontline.thehindu.com/social-issues/article30176329.ece
Pandian,M.S.S."One Step Outside Modernity,Caste,Identity Politics and Public Sphere,"Economic and Political Weekly,4 May.2002.
Menon,Niveditha and Aditya Nigam.Power and Contestation:India since 1989,The Recalcitrance of Caste,Fernwood Publishing,Zen Books,2007.
-Santhwana Thomas
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