I belong to a SC community called “Poundra” in West Bengal, 24-Paraganas dt. Some years back we were called “Poundra Kshatriyas”. On the West Bengal Government order, the Kshatriya part of the surname was dropped. Two leaders of the community, Ananda Prasad Naskar and Hemachandra Naskar, both from 24-Paraganas district, were responsible for improving the lot of the community. Their social reform movement was against using contemptuous caste names. The latter became a Minister under Chief Minister B. C. Roy. The community still maintains a degraded position. The economic condition has risen a little. Educationally however it has improved a lot. The credit for this progress cannot go to the government alone. It is mainly due to the expansion of Calcutta city and the increased demand for labour supplied by this community.
The trade union movement under the communists no doubt has helped lessen caste distinction, thanks to Marx’s materialistic and atheistic philosophy. This attack on the caste could have made greater headway if the CPM and other Left parties were not dominated by the high caste Hindus. By crafty means they captured the leadership of Left parties and made the bureaucracy run along a line which was anti-Dalit.
I have been fighting against the corrupt Brahmin priesthood and also against fanatical Muslims. It is true that Muslim political leaders like Fazlul Haque, who once formed Krishak-Mazdur Praja Party during the Muslim League Ministry in undivided Bengal, joined hands with the SCs which forced the Hindu-dominated later governments to think in terms of doing something for them. Fazlul Haque later became the Prime Minister of undivided Bengal under the British.
There are several SC communities in 24-Parganas area. They are Rajbanshi, Muchi, Kaora, Havi, Chandal. There are several Hindu low caste communities whose condition is no way better than the SCs. These Hindu communities are called ” Sankhari ” (conch-maker, seller etc.) Brahmins treat them as low-born. Feelings of caste distinction, of low caste and high caste, are acute in Bengal. But this feeling never rose to the point of untouchability. Here, I found, non-Brahmins have a separate Durga Puja house by the side of the Brahmins and Kayasthas, who politically, economically and educationally occupy key positions, will not allow even a little chance not only to the SCs, whose condition can be compared to that of the street beggar, but also to other low caste Hindus.
The tactical side of warfare against SCs and other low-caste Hindus waged by the Brahmins and Kayasthas is by joining any ruling party and capturing its leadership right from the village to the State level. The Bengali Brahmins and Kayasthas (Joyti Basu is a Kayastha) know that the SCs have hardly any time to think as to how they are being exploited by their own “religious” brethren. In Bankura those who were once landlords and who still possess large number of lands in a fictitious way, by making malafide transfer of lands even to the name of dogs and to the name of those who are still to be born, are the very leaders of the CPM conducting the movement to grab surplus lands from the big landholders and then to distribute it to the landless.
CPM has no programme of work against caste distinction. They say if socialism comes, all these obnoxious systems would automatically vanish. They are more eager to win votes by allowing caste feeling to flourish than to incur displeasure arising out of such a work. As a member of the CPI and then of CPM since 1957, for about 12 years at a stretch, I became convinced that the Hindus especially Brahmins and Kayasthas, would wage a war against the SCs and STs in the name of defending their economic class interest under the very banner of Marxism, and shouting the slogans of “workers of the world unite” We did not find this sort of hypocrisy during the Congress rule. When Siddharta Sankar Ray was Chief Minister of West Bengal, he said educated Shudra’s should be invited to worship Durga. Brahmins protested against this.
From this we can conclude that appearances of ‘progressiveness’ is deceptive- CPM or no CPM. As long as Brahminism exists, caste system will not go Brahminhood is not only a pure religio-social matter, but it has also political and economic overtones. The Hindus, at least the upper strata of them, want the caste because otherwise their economic and political interest will be in jeopardy. The recent caste riots in Gujarat are as much social as they are politico-economic. The burning of Sakrabhai by some high caste Patels is a very glaring example of Hindu benevolence. It is no wonder therefore that humanism tried to save itself from the suffocating atmosphere of the value system of Hindu religio-social culture through conversion to Islam. It is a solace to those converted Muslims that they would be treated as humans hereafter.
When I first tried to replace a Brahmin by a Shudra in 1952, our family priest and guru tried their best to create confusion by raising the bogey of divine curse to fall on our head. I was once thrown out of the temple by the Brahmins during the singing of ‘Harinam’ because of my being born in a low caste. I am still on the look out for the means which would finally put Brahminism to the grave.
Instead of going over to Islam for emancipation from the curse of caste-hatred, I like Dalits to get united and wage war on Hindus, I know it is an uphill task. We want to fight Brahminism, caste system, and idol worship, If necessary, let us organise a movement for Dalitastan.
