‘Social Distancing’ Through a Caste Lens

“You cannot build anything as the foundation of caste. You cannot build up a nation. You cannot build up a morality.”   

Dr. B. R Ambedkar

Introduction:

Despite the industrialization, urbanization, modernization, democracy, and many other remarkable developments, India’s caste system is still alive and well. The caste system began around 7 A.D.  Presence of Caste in India is both a historical truth, and a reality of modern-day. India’s caste system is the world’s longest surviving social hierarchy. An individual is considered as a member in which community he or she is born and remains within that caste until death with the given name of that religion, race, and caste.

Coronavirus in India

In the battle of coronavirus, a disease of uncertainty has spread around the planet, 4 lakhs people already have sacrificed their lives. India is the seventh worst-hit country in the world by the Covid-19 pandemic with the tally of 1, 82,143 cases which are increasing at a very sharp rate. Coronavirus may have no religion and race, but it certainly has caste in the Indian context. In a world frozen by fear and foreboding, scientists are working around the clock, hardly any vaccine has come into the picture till now. India being a developing country with only necessitous medical infrastructure, no doubt get prepared to fight by arranging the adequate number of beds, ventilators, kits, and quarantine centers but migrant labor crises, financial crises, poverty, starvation, a decline in GDP, a climatic change like devastating Amphan cyclone, locust attack and earthquake are major alarming factors which might be beyond the control of the government. In this critical situation where to stay alive is a challenge, five Brahmins in Quarantine refused to eat food because it was prepared by Schedule Caste cook. Caste difference compels peoples to starve rather to eat food cooked by other castes (lower caste according to them).

Origin of Caste System

Group-based social hierarchy is a universal feature of human societies. Though the degree of inequalities varies across societies, resources in each are distributed on the basis of group status such that power and positive social value to be inappropriately allocated to the members of the dominant group. Defining the word ‘caste’ itself is a tough task; it is complex both theoretically and practically. Caste as a layman means a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common name, descent from an ancestor. Hindus are classified according to occupation and determine access to wealth, power, and privilege.  India’s caste system is among the world’s oldest form of surviving social strata. This interpretation based on their karma and dharma is generally accepted to be more than 3000 years old. At the top Brahmins who are believed to have come from Brahma’s head mainly teachers and intellectuals, kshatriyas the warriors and rulers from Brahma’s arms, Vaishyas, or the traders from Brahma’s thighs and then at the bottom Shudras, who are come from Brahma’s feet and do all minimal jobs.

Outside of classification of caste is the achhoots: the Dalits or the untouchables. They are not considered to be included in the ranked castes. These individuals used to performs the occupations that were considered to be unclean and polluted such as scavenging and skinning dead animals. They faced every possible discrimination in society.

Rationality of Ideology

“If I am equal before God, why am I not equal on earth? Manu was terrified by this question.”

Dr. B. R Ambedkar

Caste is just the state of mind. It is the man-made rules with the sole objective of discrimination. All humans are the same and the children of one god with the same outer and the inner sole. Hinduism is as much of a social system as religion and religion has been the constant push towards this stratification system for centuries but not lessons of religion. Geeta, Bible, Quran, and Guru Granthsahib always aim to remove every evil from society and, they just focus on the present karma, moreover religion must be a matter of principles only. It cannot be a matter of rules and the moment it starts acting as rules, it ceases to be religion, as it kills the very essence of true religious act. Caste is just a notion or lens we are wearing in our eyes and it needs to be removed rather to pass to the next generation.

Untouchability and Constitution

In 1970 the term ‘untouchable’ is replaced by ‘Dalit’ means broken people. Article 17 of the Indian Constitution prohibits untouchability and is punishable under Article 46. Equality among unequals is not an equality, and based upon this principle SC/STs are provided extra protection against the exploitation.

Dr. Ram Krishna Balothia v. Union of India held that full financial and other support to make them economically self-reliant without having to seek employment from their very oppressors.

The committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) affirmed that the situation of SC/STs falls within the scope of the “the International Convention on the elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965.” United Declaration of Human Rights protects the rights of all persons across the work and India being signatory respects all such conventions under Article 51 of the Indian Constitution.

Conclusion

Caste system stood contrary to the democratic spirit. It always hampers the national development. It just created a false sense of prestige among the so-called higher caste which has been passing from generations and gave birth to the untouchable evil. This eye lens needs to be removed from society and there should be one caste and that is humanity. All are the same as how a place of birth can decide the future of an individual. No individual has a right to violate any other human right. Every individual on this earth has the right to spend life with dignity. Laws are only fruitful when they are respected. This evil can only remove by changing the mindset not blaming the government.