CASTEISM
Meaning of Casteism
Casteism is one of the rural social problems which is very peculiar to Indian society. Indian society is a country of various religions. Each religion is sub-divided into different castes, and these castes again into sub-castes. The culture of each caste varies though they all belong to one religion. Among these castes, certain are given high status and others a low status, depending upon their caste occupation. In such a society, there is every possibility for caste conflict to occur. These conflicts have their origin in casteism, which refers to the hatred of one caste by the other, or the attempts made by the members of one caste to gain personal advantages to the determent of interest of the other caste members.
Ram Ahuja (2017) stated that people in high positions in a caste give preference to members of their own castes and sub-castes in appointments and promotions. This creates caste solidarity to the extent that:
One caste attempts to dominate over others.
Higher castes exploit the lower castes.
Elections are contested and won on a caste basis.
Inter-caste conflicts increase in society.
In brief, casteism refers to one-sided loyalty in favour of a particular caste. Casteism leads the members of other castes for their own vested interest in the name of superiority or inferiority.
Definition of Casteism
According to R. N. Sharma, ‘Casteism is a blind group loyalty towards one’s own caste or sub-castes, which does not care for the interest of other castes and seeks to realize the social, economic, political and other interest of its own group.’
According to D. N. Prasad, “Casteism is loyalty to caste translated into politics.”
According to Kaka Kalekar, “Casteism as a social problem is an over-riding, blind and supreme group loyalty that ignores the healthy social standards of justice, fairplay, equity and universal brotherhood.”
It is clear from the above that casteism is a blind group loyalty towards one’s own caste or sub-caste which doesn’t care for the interests of the other castes and their members.
Causes of Casteism
Casteism in India is a complex social issue deeply rooted in the country’s history and culture. It is characterized by the hierarchical division of society into different castes, with each caste occupying a specific social position and having prescribed roles and duties. While casteism has been officially abolished in India, its influence persists, and several factors contribute to its perpetuation. Some of the causes of casteism in India are:
Sense of Caste Prestige: The caste system in India assigns different social statuses and privileges to different castes. This hierarchical structure creates a sense of pride and prestige among higher castes who believe that their caste is superior to others. This sense of caste pride perpetuates casteism as it reinforces the notion of social superiority and justifies discrimination against lower castes.
Caste Endogamy: Caste-based endogamy refers to the practice of marrying within one's own caste. This practice is deeply ingrained in Indian society and is seen as a way to preserve caste purity and prevent the mixing of castes. Caste endogamy strengthens social divisions and perpetuates casteism by reinforcing strict boundaries between castes and limiting social interactions between them.
Impact of Urbanisation: Urbanization has brought about significant changes in Indian society, including increased mobility, exposure to diverse cultures, and economic opportunities. However, in urban areas, caste identities often continue to play a role in determining social interactions and access to resources. This is due to the migration of people from rural areas to cities, where they carry their caste identities and social hierarchies with them, thus perpetuating casteism in urban settings.
Increase in the Means of Transport and Communication: The improvement in transportation and communication systems has made it easier for people from different castes to interact with each other. However, instead of breaking down caste barriers, increased interaction sometimes reinforces caste identities and prejudices. For example, in public transportation or online platforms, caste-based discrimination and biases can be perpetuated through derogatory remarks or exclusionary practices.
Illiteracy: Illiteracy and lack of education contribute to the perpetuation of casteism in India. Education plays a vital role in promoting social awareness, critical thinking, and questioning of traditional beliefs and practices. Illiterate individuals may be more susceptible to accepting and perpetuating caste-based discrimination due to a lack of exposure to alternative perspectives and a limited understanding of their rights and dignity.
Belief in Religious Dogmas: Religion has a significant influence on Indian society, and certain religious beliefs and practices contribute to the perpetuation of casteism. Some religious dogmas and interpretations reinforce the idea of caste-based hierarchy and discrimination. These beliefs can be deeply ingrained in individuals and communities, making it challenging to challenge or transcend caste divisions.
Social Distance: Social distance refers to the psychological and social gaps between different castes. It is a result of the social norms and practices associated with casteism. Social distance hinders social integration and prevents individuals from forming meaningful relationships across caste boundaries. It can lead to the segregation of communities, limited social mobility, and the perpetuation of caste-based prejudices and stereotypes.
These causes of casteism are deeply interconnected and reinforce each other, making it challenging to address the issue comprehensively. However, efforts focused on education, awareness, legal reforms, economic empowerment, and social integration can help combat casteism and promote a more inclusive and equitable society.
Consequences of Casteism
Casteism, though, has certain benefits to the members of the caste on an individual basis and has several harmful effects on society as a whole.
Hindrance to the Development of National Feeling:
Casteism divides people in the name of caste and encourages intolerance, jealousy, rivalry, and conflicts among members of the caste. Caste clashes and tensions that arise in society for one reason or other wreck the unity of society and damage social harmony.
Dangerous to Democracy:
Strictly speaking, caste and democracy cannot go together. Caste is based on inequality, whereas democracy assures equality and equal opportunities to one and all. Since democracy and the caste system co-exist in India, clashes between them are inevitable. Indian politics has become very much complicated because of caste inference.
Encourages Moral Degeneration:
Casteism contributes to the moral fall. It encourages nepotism. It makes one go out of the way to help and favour people of one’s own caste.
Casteism leads to the Negligence of Talents and Efficiency:
If candidates are selected and appointments are made based on caste, it definitely damages the talents, abilities, and efficiencies of the people.
Casteism may even lead to Brain-Drain:
Casteism, which comes in the way of the recognition of merit and efficiency, indirectly promotes brain drain.
One of the seasoned politicians of India by name E. M. S. Namboodiripad himself has stated the existence of caste consciousness, caste prejudices, discontent based on caste inequalities- all these are impediments in the way of the development of the country as a whole, and therefore, of the development of “lower” and “backward” castes themselves. Caste separatism, thus, helps the advancement of the “lower” castes themselves.
Caste-related Violence in India
Caste-related violence in India is a highly politicized and sensitive issue and has occurred and occurs in various forms. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, Dalits and indigenous peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes or Adivasis) continue to face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the Indian government provide a strong basis for protection but are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities. The reason behind this can also be noted that dominant castes in India are using violence against Dalits to reinforce the hierarchical caste-related power structures and suppress Dalit rights assertions and claims. The critical issues of caste-related violence can be included in the following below –
Access to justice and rising violence against Dalits.
Multiple discrimination against Dalit women.
Slavery and child labour, discrimination in education.
Untouchability and access to essential services, including humanitarian aid.
Social and economic rights and shrinking space for Dalit human rights defenders.
Access to justice and rising violence against Dalits:
In 2015 the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), supported by Christian Aid and the European Union, found that violence and atrocities against Dalits are rising in India, and there is an urgent need to step up efforts to ensure justice for victims.
According to the National Crimes Statistics report stated that the number of cases registered under the Scheduled Caste (Dalits) and Scheduled Tribes (Adivasis) Prevention of Atrocities Act (1989) has also risen every year since 2011, taking a leap in 2014 to 47,064 cases against 13,975 cases in 2013.
In 2018, Amnesty International India will expand our gender-based violence programme to highlight the prevalence of sexual violence and abuse perpetrated against Dalit women and girls in order to gather evidence regarding the implementation of the Prevention of Atrocities Act.
In terms of legislation, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act (1989) was passed by the Indian Parliament in January 2016. It is hoped that the amendment will increase the scope for justice for India’s Dalits. They also suffer under the dominant castes of atrocities and violence, and the brutality is getting worse day by day. The violence and atrocities are often directly related to Dalit assertion of basic rights, including land rights, freedom of expression, access to justice, access to education, water, food, decent work, and other services, and equal participation in cultural and religious activities to name a few.
Many cases and atrocities are happening with the Dalits, for example:
In October 2015, the burning to death of two small Dalit children asleep in their house in Faridabad grabbed international headlines. The children were reportedly victims of a dispute between Dalits and members of the dominant caste. This horrific incident is, unfortunately, by no means unique.
In October 2015, a young Dalit boy died while in police custody, and police torture was blamed. His crime allegedly stole two pigeons from dominant castes.
A Dalit family, including three small children, was also stripped and put in jail for allegedly encroaching on the land of dominant castes.
Dalit boy’s wrist was being chopped off because he was wearing a watch.
Dalit was killed as he had a song on (social reformer) B. R. Ambedkar as his ringtone.
These are again not lone incidents of police negligence in India but everyday tales of the utter disregard for justice when it comes to Dalits in India. Very often, Dalit women are seen to bear the brunt of the violence as they are used as a way to punish Dalit communities. At the same time, they are very vulnerable due to multiple discrimination based on caste and gender.
Dalit women and multiple discrimination:
Dalit women in India live in both a highly patriarchal society and a society divided along caste lines. The severe discrimination they face for being both a Dalit and a woman makes them a key target of violence and systematically denies their choices and freedoms in all spheres of life. This endemic intersection of gender and caste discrimination is the outcome of severely imbalanced social, economic, and political power equations.
Due to the severe limitations in access to justice for Dalits and also women, and the widespread impunity in cases where the perpetrator is a member of a dominant caste, Dalit women are considered easy targets for sexual violence and other crimes because the perpetrators are likely to get away with it.
Statistics cited in the 2015 Equity Watch report also show that according to official national crime statistics, rape cases registered against Dalit women have increased by over 47% since the previous decade.
Dalit women are also very vulnerable to caste-based slavery and forced prostitution, discriminated against on multiple grounds in education, and face severe obstacles in access to basic services.
Forced and bonded labour and child labour:
Dalits in India have a significantly increased risk of exploitation ending in modern slavery of child labour and bonded labour in agriculture, mining, textile, and other industries, as well as in the informal sector, is widespread. In India, there are specific forms of forced labour that certain castes (Dalits) are expected to perform, for example, the practice of manual scavenging and the Devadasi practice of forced prostitution.
Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel prize winner and child rights activist, gave a statement that most child labourers in India are either lower caste or minorities and that discrimination plays a key part in sustaining slavery and child labour in the country.
Discrimination in education:
Discrimination against Dalits in the educational system is a widespread problem in caste-affected countries. The forms of structural discrimination and abuse that Dalit children face in schools are often so stigmatizing that they are forced to drop out of school.
The main issues are the discriminatory practices conducted by teachers, faculties, and administrations by ignoring Dalits students and unjustly failing them in exams also may include corporal punishment, denial of access to school water supplies, segregation in classrooms, and Dalits being made to eat separately, and forcing Dalit children to perform manual scavenging on and around school premises.
Due to caste bias manifesting itself, illiteracy and drop-out among Dalits are very high due to several social and physical factors. Legislation and measures that have been taken to combat this are often inadequately implemented.
For example, tragic incidents happen to a Dalit student Rohith Vemula to commit suicide because of social exclusion from the hostel and dining hall as well as cut off of finances by Hyderabad University.
Untouchability and access to basic services:
In India, discrimination in education and in most other spheres of life is often the notion of untouchability and stigmatization, where Dalits are perceived as being ‘polluting’ to castes above them in the caste system, which continues to be practiced. Widespread discrimination and untouchability in India is also a severe obstacle for Dalits in access to basic services, including water and sanitation, housing, health care, and food.
In 2014 India Human Development Survey and the India Exclusion Report document that caste discrimination is very far from being history. In almost all aspects of everyday life, statistics indicate that caste discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread, and caste discrimination across sectors in health, housing, and equal access to goods is addressed.
According to the Human Development Survey, merely five percent of Indians said they had married a person from a different caste, and 27 percent of households self-reported engaging in untouchability practices when Brahmins (dominant caste) were asked, 52% self-reported not allowing a Dalit to use their kitchen utensils, a common practice of untouchability.
Caste discrimination in the delivery of humanitarian aid:
Even in the face of disasters such as flooding, droughts, or earthquakes, Dalits continue to face exclusion and discrimination in access to services. This includes relief materials, shelter, and rehabilitation following disasters. This has been documented in numerous reports including in the IDSN EU (European Union - International Dalit Solidarity Network) funded “Equality in Aid” report, and most recently, the discrimination has been documented following serious flooding in the state of Tamil Nadu in December 2015.
Social and economic rights, including land rights:
Access to social and economic rights, including land rights, continues to be an area of conflict and dispute between Dalits and dominant castes, as dominant castes may try to seize Dalit land using force, threats, and violence. The fact that Dalits often do not own land also makes them vulnerable to exploitation by those who do.
In India, there are special budgets in place for the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP), and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) meant to support the welfare of these marginalized groups. However, it is repeatedly documented that the money budgeted for Dalits and Adivasi is diverted to other unrelated posts, with as much as 60% being delayed in 2014. In addition to this, the Indian Government 2015 cut the Dalit and Adivasi budgets by 60%
Dalit rights groups in India have been campaigning to give the Dalits and Adivasis their fair share of the budget and are trying to put pressure on the Government to stop cutting these already misappropriated allocations.
Shrinking space for civil society:
IDSN (International Dalit Solidarity Network) members and associates report that space for civil society in India is shrinking with tight regulations of foreign contributions for organizations working on Dalit rights and the harassment of Dalit human rights activists and leaders, including them facing false charges from police and facing torture and custodial murder. Some Dalit organizations have faced having their funding frozen, without just cause, severely hampering their work. Censorship of films dealing with the issue of caste discrimination and blocking of Dalit events have also been witnessed.
While the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has made several national-level statements against caste discrimination, these statements appear to be contradictory to the stance taken by India at the International level. This became even more evident when the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association called out India at the UN General Assembly in 2014 for unjustly blocking the UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) accreditation of IDSN.
Caste-based discrimination can influence all spheres of life and violate a cross-section of basic human rights, including civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights. It is also a major obstacle to achieving development goals since affected populations are often excluded from development processes.
Remedies of Casteism
The following are some suggestions concerning the solution to the problems arising out of casteism:
Proper education:
The greatest need for the solution to the problem of casteism is proper education. The educational institutions should be able to provide an atmosphere in which caste distinctions are not encouraged.
Inter-caste marriage:
Another way of combating the continuing increase in casteism is the encouragement of inter-caste marriages. Inter-caste marriage provides an opportunity for two families belonging to different castes to come together, not just two individuals, and understand each other.
Lesser use of the word ‘caste’:
One way of solving the problem of casteism is to make less frequent use of the word ‘caste’ so that there may be no traces of it left in the minds of impressionable children.
Cultural and economic equality:
Another way of facing the problem of casteism is to introduce cultural and economic equality in the minds and lives of the various castes.
Removal of Socio-cultural Inequality:
Social and cultural inequalities between castes have been the main cause of creating socio-cultural inequality. If the differences are removed, and all castes are placed on the same socio-cultural footing, then nobody will think well of his own caste.
Promotion of Economic Equality:
A very wide economic gap is found between the upper caste and lower caste people. It widens the social distance and contributes to the development of casteism. Hence, all castes should be given equal economic opportunities to attain economic prosperity.
Let us conclude by many eminent Indian social scientists put forward their suggestions for the abolition of casteism –
According to M. N. Srinivas, most of the shortcomings of the caste system can be removed through an adult franchise, different five-year plans, provision of modern education, the progress of backward classes, etc.
According to G. S. Ghurye, the conflicts originating in casteism can be removed by encouraging inter-caste marriages, co-education, etc.
Mrs. Iravati Karve suggested creating economic and cultural equality between the castes.
P. H. Pravu says that a new attitude can be developed in the mind of each and every people. According to him, cinema and other entertainment sources can do much towards the creation of these attitudes.
It is very much needed that the idea of caste discrimination should be removed from the minds of the future generation. Co-education will encourage inter-caste marriage. In this way, it is necessary to make efforts in every direction to improve this horizon.
Despite the above remedial measures suggested, it seems impractical to harbour any hope for the complete removal of casteism. A strong and tremendous revolution is needed to get rid of casteism.
Post a Comment