Mandal Commission Exposes Havoc Played By Hinduism On low Castes

New Delhi: The Mandal Commission has warned against any facile assumption that the caste system was on its way out, reports UNI. It had gained a new lease of life by becoming a major factor in the electoral process. It admits that caste restrictions have loosened considerably as a result of the rule of law introduced by the British and. after Independence, by other factors like urbanization, industrialization, spread of education and introduction of adult franchise. But all these, only marked a shift of emphasis and not any material alteration in basic structure of the system. The increasing importance of casteism in Indian politics is inevitable since this system provides the political leadership with readymade channels of communication & even mobilization. In times to come the importance of caste in Indian politics will Increase rather than diminish. It quotes with approval the observation of the well- known social scientist Rajani Kothari that “those in India who complain of casteism in politics, are really looking for a sort of politics which has no basis in society”. It says: “The pace of social mobility is no doubt increasing and some traditional features of the caste system have inevitably weakened. But what caste has lost on the ritual front, it has more than gained on the political front. In view of this, it will be unrealistic to assume that the institution of caste will wither away in the foreseeable future”. The extension of caste’s operational field from the village to the State or all-India level may give the impression that at long last, the caste system is losing its traditional divisive role and hopefully, “we are moving towards the goal of national integration”. But nothing could be farther from the truth, it says & observes that to a large extent, caste hierarchy also reflected a corresponding economic backwardness of the affected sections in Indian society. “If religion was ever used as an opium of the masses, it was done in India. A small priest class by a suitable process of conditioning the thinking of the Vast majority of the people, hypnotized them for ages into accepting a role of servility with humility”. As labourers, cultivators & crafts- men, “shudras” were the main producers of the social surplus. “While their social labour was the lifeblood of India’s great civilization, yet, they were treated as out- castes. They had no right to private property, carried the main burden of taxes & the heaviest punishments for even minor infringements”. As caste conditioned & controlled every aspect of an individual’s life, says the Commission, it led to a situation, where lower castes were back- ward, not only socially, but also educationally, economically & politically: But the higher castes advanced in all directions (The Statesman, May 5, 1982).