Caste is Class:
Caste in India broadly fits into a class. The Brahmins of India forming the apex of the caste pyramid are mostly the property-holders all over India. Untouchables forming the other extreme, the bottom of the caste pyramid, are mostly landless agricultural laborers. The Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, the other two twice-born (dwijas) varna groups and the landed gentry, dominant caste shudras (like Marathas of Maharashtra, Patels of Gujarat, Reddis and Khammas of AP, Nayars of Kerala, Mudaliars, Pillais and Gounders of Tamil Nadu) are also property holders. The pyramid-shaped caste groups have property holders on the top. Lower the caste, lesser the property. No doubt, there are poor in every caste group but this is only an exception. Therefore, at least some social scientists have now come to agree that in India caste is a class. As a clash between the classes is inevitable as per the Marxist analysis, a clash between castes in India becomes quite natural. Therefore, we often get the caste clashes which have now taken the form of caste war; the biggest, the longest and the bloodiest being the “Gujarat caste war” which raged for over 3 months from December 26, 1980 (with the burning alive of an Untouchable youth Sakharbai at Jetalpur village near Ahmedabad by Patels, since convicted).
Why Caste Conflict?:
Caste clashes will increase in days to come. This is because despite the ruling class’ reluctance to give education to the Untouchables and hence keep them as their slaves, they are managing or gain consciousness. The philosophy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar have awakened them. They have started asserting their rights in a mild way. But even this is not tolerated by the landed gentry. The Indian village system is not compatible with democracy. Hindu values cannot co-exist with democratic and socialist ethos. If the low castes start asserting their rights, the Indian village system will collapse. It cannot sustain without caste but caste is bound to be there as long as Hinduism is there. Because Hinduism is the other name for caste. So, the propertied castes, whose values are derived from Brahminism, will do their best to crush anybody opposing the status quo. Caste clashes are the inevitable outcome of such a development. That is why India has started witnessing bigger caste clashes. Kilvenmani, Belchi, Pipra, Parasbigha, Marathwada caste war, and the latest Gujarat caste war. As literacy increases and the political process raises the hope of the Untouchables without fulfilling them, caste clashes will increase. As already stated, caste being class in India, the Indian road to revolution is paved with pebbles of caste struggle unlike in China and Russia where it was class struggle.
Failure of Left Movement:
Unfortunately the Indian Marxists have failed to take note of it. Or is it that they know it and yet deliberately stick to the “class struggle theory” to prevent caste wars as agents of the upper castes? The caste background of the Indian Marxist leadership is an important factor to be taken note of in this background. In the Gujarat caste war, the Leftists failed to come to the rescue of the Dalits. So too in all other places were the Dalits were tortured. The high caste leadership of the Left movement is mainly responsible for delaying, if not betraying the Indian revolution. We have come to this conclusion after visiting Marathwada and Gujarat during the caste wars and also with our long association with the Dalit movement.
Marathwada:
We don’t want to go into individual cases of clashes. The list is too long. But the subject given to us will be incomplete if we do not at least briefly touch the two major caste wars. The 1979 Marathwada caste war is the result of the agitation launched by the Dalits to change the name of the Marathwada University to Ambedkar University in keeping with the unanimous resolution of the Maharashtra legislature to this effect. The landed Maratha community fury (EPW-12/6/79, Page 846) affected 1200 villages out of the 9000 villages in the five Marathwada districts. In all 5,000 people of 1,000 villages became homeless. 25,000 Dalits became destitute and 2,000 of them had to flee their villages. We courted arrest at Aurangabad along with 60,000 other Dalits at the culmination of a historic “Long march”. One police SI was burnt alive. For 11 days the rich Hindu landlords launched an unprovoked aggression on innocent, poor Dalits. Four Dalits were killed. Their wells were poisoned, huts burnt. The naked rule of the Manusmriti. The Government is afraid to implement its own unanimous resolution. That means India is not governed by its government but by its ruling class.
Gujarat Caste War:
This is India’s biggest caste war raging for about three months, killing over 30 people in the early part of 1981. The war was led by the landed Patels deriving inspiration from Brahmins. The issue was reservations of seats in PG Medical course to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. But scheduled tribes who form a much bigger population than scheduled castes (8%) were spared. The anger was only on Untouchables. The beauty of the Gujarat caste war is that what began as an attack on scheduled caste PG medicos, ended with a wholesale attack on illiterate, poor, landless Untouchables having no connection with medical college, or having ever known what is reservation. And we call the Hindus as the most non-violent people on earth. That such a violence can come in the very land of Gandhi, and in the name of Gandhi, is another important aspect. On behalf of the Karnataka Dalit Action Committee, we visited Gujarat twice and addressed over a dozen meetings. Therefore, we speak with full knowledge and responsibility.
There is one important point of difference between the two wars, Hindus of Gujarat could say that they stand to lose something if the scheduled castes get reservations in PG courses. Although this is factually incorrect, they can at best say at least as an excuse. But what did the very same Hindus stand to lose in Marathwada? After all what the Dalits there were demanding was just a change of name of a university. Those who cannot concede even a mere change of name, will they give reservations in medical college? Therefore, viewing from this angle, the Marathwada war is a more serious manifestation of Hindu fascism than the Gujarat caste war.
Why caste war should be welcomed?:
The caste war had inflicted heavy loss on Untouchables, their life and property. But at the same time, it has pushed them to the brink and forced them to be militant. They are gradually losing faith in Hinduism and Gandhism. The current conversions are a result of their frustration, desperation. The political leadership of the “Harijans” and particularly of the ruling party is washed out and the leadership of the movement got passed into the hands of the militant, dedicated Dalit Panthers. The fakes were eliminated. The Dalits are also losing faith in the electoral system and our sham democracy, all this is a welcome sign that proves that dalits, the born revolutionaries, are getting ready for revolution.
Dalitastan:
To repeat, the Hindu religion is the other name for fascism. Even the country’s Constitution, which is itself anti-poor, is not tolerated by these over-fed high castes. Therefore, the country is going to gradually slip into a regular, periodical civil war resulting in a lot of bloodshed. The only two things keeping the revolution at check are the caste system and the “Karma theory.” If we are indeed heading for revolution, we would have welcomed this periodical blood-letting by the Hindus. But we have hardly any chance of a revolution in the foreseeable future because of these two formidable obstacles. Therefore, the Dalits will have to take every precaution to save themselves, their property and the honour of their women. The one immediate plan that we are trying to implement is migration of Untouchables to urban areas and transfer of population. Migration is taking place now steadily but transfer of population has to be undertaken in an organised way by Dalit organisations. The next step is the carving out of a separate autonomous state of Dalitastan comprising the entire South India and Maharashtra in proportion to the Dalits. We are planning a book on this subject giving a concrete shape to this idea. Please do not think it is a tall and impractical claim. We have given deep thought to the subject and found it quite feasible.
Conversion:
Meanwhile, we are fully in favour of conversions as it has proved to assure social equality to the Untouchables. The problem of Untouchables is mainly social and not so much economic. The Indian poverty is also not so much due to economic reasons as due to social factors. If the Maharashtra Dalits are today in the forefront of the Dalit movement, it is because of the mental slavery they got rid of by quitting Hinduism, and becoming Buddhists as directed by Ambedkar. The Untouchable converts in Tamil Nadu have also said that they have achieved social equality by embracing Islam. Similar conversion to Christianity has also helped Dalits (look at Northeastern states like the Nagaland etc.) although there are complaints of caste discrimination. We have just published Ambedkar’s speech, ‘Why Go for Conversion?’ (Re. 1), in which the greatest leader of the Indian Untouchables had said that conversion is the only salvation to the Untouchables in the existing circumstance. Therefore, we call upon the Dalits to quit Hinduism and embrace Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity or Islam. As Marxists have failed to deliver the goods to Dalits, they have no other go but to chart out their own course.
