Is there a Tomorrow for the Dalits ?

Introduction
A recent report in THE HINDU carries news about five Dalit men who were lynched to death and the police sent a cow for post-mortem report. Three Dalit students in Delhi University were beaten with sticks and rods. The entire Dalit population of a village in Gujarat's Amreli district was subjected to an economic boycott — no water supply, no essential commodities, no employment, no freedom to leave the village and the District Collector did nothing. In Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, a woman member of a panchayat was raped by upper caste men and paraded naked with bells tied around her neck. This was `punishment' because she was having relationship with a man. Nothing has been done to the men who raped her.
The preamble of our constitution makes a pledge by the people of India to secure ‘justice’, ‘liberty’, ‘equality’ ‘fraternity’ for the entire society. In wake of such events these claims only seem to be reduced to clichés. Although the problem of Dalit subjugation in independent India is as old as our independence but this social phenomena goes back to the late Vedic era. The word ‘Dalit’ was not in vogue then and the society followed varna system but the roots of the present day problem were sown in that period itself. Why hasn’t our country been able to eradicate this social evil ? Even after having a Dalit as a president and a Dalit woman as one of our chief ministers why is it that millions are subjected to humiliation at various levels even today? Even after Dr B.R. Ambedkar led many Mahars to convert into Buddhism and by doing so paved a path of ‘emancipation’ why is it that even today there are equal number ( or even more) of Dalits who have no hope for a better tomorrow ? By trying to understand the magnitude of the issue at multiple levels of social interaction, the article brings together the views of various thinkers who have made detailed analyses of this issue.
How does the title ‘Dalit’ affect a social psyche
Although the Hindu community is highly stratified, the differentiations between various groups do not present themselves as apparently as in the case of Dalits. The ‘twice born’ castes do practice hierarchy but they all treat Dalits in ways which border on sub-human behaviour. When Risley conducted the census in 1901 he classified the shudras as those from whom Brahmins can take water, from whom they cannot take even water and those whose shadow if falls on Brahmin will impure the him to the extent that he will have to bathe to cleanse himself. This is certainly a blatant expression of marginalization. Since 1903 Dalits have been ascribed different titles like ‘Depressed class’, ‘Panchama’, ‘Suppressed Class’, ‘Pariahs’ etc. Simon Charsley asks the question ‘What is in the name’. But these epithets ascribed to certain sections of the society illustrate how the very psyche of a section of a society is attacked repeatedly generation after generation.


The Role of education
School is an institution where the mind of a child is groomed. S(he) is not only trained in certain skills but also exposed to realities of life which sharpen her faculties in order to develop a clear perspective about oneself and the society. It becomes imperative that children from all sections are made aware of the social differentiations so that they can play a role in eradicating them. But the present day educational system is only manufacturing intelligences in order to stunt the potential of a student to question reality thereby reducing him/her to become another tool in the mega factory of capitalistic culture. Kancha Ilaiah makes an astute observation when he writes in his book ‘Why I am not a Hindu’ that stories of Dalit Bahujans are not included in the educational system. Textbook morality is different from living morality. And hence students are distanced from the key issues of social stratification. Iliah recalls, ‘..a whole lot of us were made to see things upside down’. In such a skewed education system how can an interest in Dalit issues be created? How will the younger generations be made aware of the underlying atrocities of the society? Media and internet are possibly the only two sources through which people can get information but many times even news is reported in a biased manner. It seems there is a deliberate political project of hiding truth from people. When children prepare to enter the institutions of higher education they are segregated into various categories on the basis of reservation. It is understandable that the State is exercising certain practices under ‘positive discrimination’ but is this helping to bridge the gap between the Dalits and other sections of the society?
Emulation as a hope to get included in the mainstream
When Dalits realise that they will not be respected due to their ascribed status, they start imitating other sections of society who are treated with respect. This process stems from the stark realities of life. Gopala Guru in his article ‘Dalit Movement in Mainstream Sociology’ mentions that Dalit scenario is highlighted by total marginalisation and annihilation of the rural Dalits. B.R. Ambedkar in his book ‘Conversion as Emancipation’ recalls moments from his childhood which left an indelible mark on his psyche. No barber wanted to cut his hair. When he told a station master about his caste, the station master receded 5 steps. No bullock cart driver wanted to transport him. Such instances affected an extraordinary brain like Ambedkar then it is not hard to imagine how much ordinary Dalits must be facing. They are marginalised, excluded form developmental programmes, the rich Dalits exploit the poor Dalit. All these factors force Dalits to emulate upper caste people through Sankritization and other practices in social mobility. But even then it is only after two to three generations of such emulation that there might arise a possibility for them to be included in the mainstream. Most of them spent their entire lives hoping to be accepted.
Conversion as the extreme measure
Religion is an intrinsic part of one’s identity. But if it manacles a person, then it has to be discarded. Many Hindus are pushed to take the extreme step of conversion in a hope that at least the new religion will give them some semblance of life but the caste ascription is so hopelessly attached to a person that the situation hardly changes. Ambedkar saw conversion as an emancipatory measure because being a Hindu he felt caged in a Hindu society. The Law guarantees an untouchable ‘to wear decent clothes’ , ‘to fetch water in metal pots’, ‘to put tiles on houses’ but the society does not allow him to exercise these rights. The Law might guarantee freedom to the Untouchables but the society does not. Hence he asked in his speech delivered in Dadar on 31st May 193, if mind was not free then what is the point of having physical freedom? He said strength needs to be brought from outside and urger for the need for coversion. Three factors which according to him uplift an individual are sympathy, equality and liberty and all three are not there in Hinduism for the Untouchables. Rajni Kothari in her article ‘Rise of Dalits and the Renewed Debate on caste’ says, ‘marginalised sections have started seeking out their own future on the basis of their identity and numbers’ but it is also true that the phenomena of conversion is politically manoeuvred in order to cash on the vote bank which estranges a Dalit from one community and alienates him/her in the other.

Radical voices

‘Why I am not a Hindu’ is an example of an exposition in which the writer has targeted the Hindu scriptures, gods and goddesses, marriage system, family set-up, occupation, man-woman relationship from a highly critical standpoint. It is understandable why the narration is done with such vehemence because it voices the frustrations of many suppressed people. He talks of ‘Dalitizing the Brahmin’ and comments that Hinduism and Hindutva are the two sides of the same coin. It is understandable from which perspective is the writer commenting on the popular beliefs of the Hindus but such commentaries only widens the existing gap between the Dalits and other sections of Hindus. These narratives have their own place in the Dalit discourse and need to be contextualised. An alternative reading of the same text reveals the pain, frustration, anguish and anger which the writer is trying to communicate.

Is economic growth the solution ?

Although scholars like Gopal Guru say that economic growth is one of the major solutions for caste-based problems but the casteist politics is so deeply entrenched in society that development does not reach all the sections of Dalits society. Dalit movements with undercurrents of relative deprivation practiced by the State reveal monopolisation of available jobs by the upper castes. Within their communities relative deprivation and social mobility isolate one group form the other and prevent formulation of a critical consciousness. Possibility of development of a homogenised Dalit unity cutting across castes as well as region is suspended. Gopal Guru further adds that ‘Relative Deprivation diffuses social consciousness, promotes individual consciousness with atomising dimensions which isolates people within their community thus deviating from the historical responsibility that Ambedkar had rested on their shoulders for emancipating themselves’.

Conclusion

While the system exploits the status of Dalits it is also known that some individuals in the Dalit community exploit the system by cashing on their status for unwarranted privileges offered by the State. Reservation which started with an objective of giving justice to the oppressed sections of the society has now been reduced to a political tool to encash on people’s emotions. Unless caste is identified as a ‘disease of mind’, unless there is a multi-layered socio-cultural-political movement with a focussed approach of bringing radical transformations in the inter-personal relationship, words in India’s constitution will not be translated into action.