Views have been expressed in the columns of DV in recent weeks by Moreshwar Sao, K.P.S. Shankarappa, S.R. Talukdar, Madhukar Kamble and others on the use of words like Dalit, Black Untouchables and on the Mandal Commission recommendations. They have stirred up thoughts in me, perhaps in all your readers.
The world Harijan promoted by M.K. Gandhi prevailed for over four decades and got challenged thereafter in a newly awakened awareness. ‘Dalit is now gaining currency as a truly expressive term for oppressed peoples, not only among the non-Hindu untouchables, but among Muslims, Christians and as Sikhs well. It would perhaps be wise to let ‘Dalits’ stay, to denote peoples (called “Broken Men”, “Bahishkrit” by Dr. Ambedkar) outside the privileged classes till a time when it too like the Harijan may be replaced by ‘Buddhist’ or some other word. For the benefit of those interested, I may mention here that (1) The Poor Pariah by Col. Alcott, and (2) Modern Buddhism and its Followers in Orissa by Babu Nagendranath Basu, both discuss persuasively the theory that the Untouchables were Buddhists who had refused to join the renaissance in Hinduism.
Aryan obsession with varna: As regards ‘Black Untouchables’, its use is rooted in history. When the fair-skinned Aryans from Central Asia penetrated Northern India, they had to confront the more advanced dark-skinned people of Harappan culture. According to historian Romila Thapar, the Aryan victors treated the dark-skins contemptuously and relegated them to the status of slaves and called them Dasas. It may be noted that the Sanskrit word for caste, varna, means colour. The colour element of caste was emphasised ever since the Aryan conquest. It became deep-rooted in the North Indian Aryan culture.
Africans & Dalits: Eventually, the Aryan division of the dvija (twice-born) castes (the first being physical and the second the initiation into caste status) evolved, consisting of the Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), and the Vaishyas (cultivators). The fourth caste, the shudras, were the Dasas and those of mixed Aryan-Dasa origin. Mixtures of different races and colours have taken place throughout the ages and continue even today. Recent examples would include the Anglo-Indians in India, Mulattoes (offspring of Negroes and whites) in America, and various mixed races of Malays and Chinese in the Far East. Those interested in prehistoric evolutions. of races can get elightened by studies of continental drifts which separated Africa, Asia and the Americas, and the common roots before the drifts.
Brahmin hold: The Backward Castes in Indian population are far more numerous (35%) than the Untouchables (20%). It would seem that Madhukar Kamble, quoting Dr. Ambedkar, would want to encourage competition on the basis of “merit”, and restrict reservation to SC/STs only. He is magnanimous to give the BCs only 50% reservation but not 70%, saying Dr. Ambedkar also would have supported it. I would venture to say that Dr. Ambedkar, the greatest champion of social justice in recent history, would have been alarmed at the current stranglehold on Indian society by the Brahmins and other upper castes.
Today, India’s President, Vice President and Prime Minister are all Brahmins. Journalist Kushwant Singh said in a magazine article that during the British rule, Brahmins held only 3% of high-ranking government jobs. Now they held 70%.
Nine of the 16 Supreme Court judges are Brahmins. Of the 330 high court judges, 166 are Brahmins, 50 out of 98 vice-chancellors of universities are Brahmins. In politics too, Brahmins are strongly placed. Of the 744 members of the Parliament in both the Houses in New Delhi, 279 are Brahmins. Singh said: “How this has come about, I do not know. But I can scarcely believe that it is entirely due to the Brahmins’ higher IQ.
There will be no need for 70% or even 50% reservation, once the social order, scaringly skewed as at present, is reformed in the interest of social justice, stability and security in India. The Mandal Commission was seized of the problem, as also the Backward Classes Commissions in the various states appointed by the popularly elected governments. The democrat in Dr. Ambedkar would have respected the views of these commissions. He was no rigid, dogmatic leader. His biographer, Dhananjay Keer, who knew him closely, had this to say of him:
“He liked new ideas, new approches. He said that one could not lay down an ideal by a stroke of the pen. Society should always be in an experimental stage. According to him, Marx’s philosophy was the satisfying philosophy to the lower order. It was a direction, not a dogma. Once he described the Russian Communism as a fraud”.
Dr. Ambedkar & “Dalit Voice”: If society is a stage as Dr. Ambedkar saw it, then today’s DV is a green room for that stage for all its readers. Its columns are its crucibles for experimenting with new ideas. In retrospect, Dr. Ambedkar proved right when he said five decades ago that Russian Communism was a fraud. DV has proved right on so many current issues. Its readers are greatly indebted to its dauntless editor, V.T. Rajshekar, probing in the guiding light of Dr Ambedkar.
