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The Scourge of Caste

(Photo Credit: John Fahy).

King's Review

The Doctor and the Saint is the name of the introduction that I wrote to one of modern

Arundhati Roy, Jan 17th

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Indias most classic tets,Annihilation of Caste, written !y Dr" #" R" Am!ed$ar" Am!ed$ar wasone of the most fascinatin% modern thin$ers in Indias national mo&ement, yet he is a 'erson

who has somehow either !een written out of the 'o'ular account, or has !een written in !ut not

for the 'assions that %uided him" (e has !een written in as the leader of the untoucha!les, or

the 'erson who dro&e the writin% of the Indian constitution"Annihilation of Castehas this

du!ious distinction of !ein% an under%round classic, in that you cant wal$ into a !oo$sho' in

India and as$ for the writin%s of Am!ed$ar in the way you can as$ for the writin%s of )andhior *ehru" Am!ed$ars 'eo'le, the 'eo'le who were once $nown as untoucha!les and who

today call themsel&es Dalits, )andhi rechristened &ery 'atroni+in%ly as harijan, which means

the children of %od" hileAnnihilation of Castewas lo&ed and 'assed around in the Dalit

community, the 'ri&ile%ed castes for whom it was written remain -uite !lissfully i%norant"

Ambedkar wrote the text in 1936 when he was invited to speak in Lahore by

a privileged caste !ind" re#ormist organi$ation called the %at&at

(odak )andal an organi$ation that aimed #or the break"p o# caste* (he

organi$ation asked him to give them a text #or the speech in advance

which he did and when they read it they dis&invited him beca"se they

reali$ed he was going to "se this plat#orm to call "pon the "nto"chable

comm"nity who at that point in time n"mbered abo"t +, million to

reno"nce !ind"ism and to accept any other religion* Ambedkar said

!ind"ism is a religion that instit"tionali$es valori$es and even makes

sacred the practice o# caste* -o he was dis&invited and he p"blished this

text himsel# at his own expense* .t is an exhilarating text a very er"dite

scholarly text* !e looks at the !ind" script"re and talks abo"t the

"nto"chables not only intellect"ally b"t also politically disc"ssing how the

comm"nist movement has also #ailed the /alit people* 0hen the text was

p"blished in 1936 the man who the world saw as the greatest !ind" in the

world )ahatma andhi responded* andhi said that Ambedkar2s criticisms

sho"ld be taken very serio"sly b"t in his own response he himsel# did not

take what Ambedkar said very serio"sly* (here was a very patroni$ingdismissal o# what Ambedkar had been grappling with in the text*

So when I !e%an to thin$ a!out writin% an introduction toAnnihilation of Caste, I read !ac$

into this de!ate !etween Am!ed$ar and )andhi on the issue of caste" And I must say, I %rew

distur!ed !y the thin%s that )andhi was sayin% a!out caste" If your one.sto' sho' for $nowin%

anythin% a!out the Indian national mo&ement is Richard Atten!orou%hs film, you mi%ht

!elie&e )andhi was a %reat fi%hter a%ainst caste" #ut Am!ed$ar, who is actually )andhis

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%reatest ad&ersary, morally and ethically, doesnt e&en %et a 'art in the film" And then youreali+e that in fact )andhi was a %reat defenderof caste and he, li$e many 'ri&ile%ed caste

reformers, was cam'ai%nin% a%ainst not caste itself !ut the 'ractice of untoucha!ility, which is

the ritual and 'erformati&e end of caste"

Ambedkar in 1950.Am!ed$ar said caste is a!out entitlement/ who has the land, who has access to water, who has

access to education" 0aste has e&erythin% to do with hierarchy and ancestral occu'ation"

Accordin% to the sacred tets2arna, Ashram, )harisociety is di&ided into four &arnas" The#rahmins were the 'riests, the 3shatriyas were the warriors, the 2aishyas were the tradersthe

caste to which )andhi and the current 4rime 5inister 5odi !elon%and the Shudras were the

ser&ice caste" 6utside these four castes are the outcastes, the Athi Shudras, and the Dalits, who

are themsel&es di&ided into untoucha!les, una''roacha!les, unsee.a!les and so on" This is the

!road system that Am!ed$ar called the mother of the caste system" ach of these is further

di&ided into Jatis" There are somethin% li$e 8,999 endo%amous :ati, and now there is no

intermarryin% !etween castes" ithin :atis there is somethin% called the 'othra, and youre not

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allowed to marry within your 'othra" All marria%es are 'oliced with a %reat deal of &iolenceand social 'ressure" ;ast *o&em!er there was a sur&ey done in India where, e&en today, only

fi&e 'ercent of marria%es that ta$e 'lace are inter.caste" &en amon% the fi&e 'ercent that do

marry, many are met with &iolence"

hat )andhi said was that he !elie&ed in caste" (e !elie&ed in hereditary occu'ation" #ut he

!elie&ed that e&ery!ody should !e treated e-ually and lo&ed !y %od" This was the essence ofthe de!ate" At the turn of the century, when the idea of em'ire turned into the idea of the

nation.state, when it was no lon%er enou%h to ride a horse at the head of your army and ta$e

'ower, when the 'olitics of the nation was followed !y the de!ates on re'resentation, it !e%anto matter now who was %oin% to re'resent the (indus, the 5uslims, the Dalits" (ow is the

0on%ress 'arty, which is clearly run !y the u''er caste #rahmins, sayin% that it re'resents

e&ery!ody< The mischief etended to the #ritish m'ire, which %a&e itself the im'erial

mandate to re'resent e&ery!ody, drained the wealth of a once wealthy 'o'ulation, and o&ersaw

famines and the deaths of millions of 'eo'le" (ow can a society that 'ractices untoucha!ility

really say that it can %o&ern itself?" In 1>9G, ele&en years later, the Hulu ='risin% ha''ened

!ecause the #ritish had raised a 1 'oll ta on the Hulus, so a mem!ershi' of E was a &ery

eclusi&e clu!" The first &ictory was the solution to the 'ro!lem of the Dur!an 'ost office,

where they won the ri%ht to not ha&e to enter the 'ost office throu%h the same door as !lac$

fol$s" So Indians %ot a third entrance"

Then came the irst orld ar where )andhi wanted to !ear arms !ut was not %i&en that duty"

The irst orld ar is $nown today as a white mens war, where the #ritish first came u' with

the idea of concentration cam's and thousands of 'eo'le died in those cam's" And then a%aindurin% the Hulu ='risin%, )andhi colla!orated with the #ritish" It went on in this way" )andhi

first came out as a 'olitical warrior when the #ritish 'assed the Asiatic Re%istration #ill, which

're&ented !usinessmen from %oin% to the Trans&aal to com'ete with #ritish traders" This is

when )andhi !e%an to de&elo' the whole 'rotocol of Satya%raha and to recreate the rituals of

'o&erty"

And it is interestin%, !ecause 'o&erty is not a!out ha&in% no money" 4o&erty is a!out ha&in% no

'ower" And here )andhi was accumulatin% 'ower, which is understanda!le a%ainst a 'olitical!ac$%round, !ut its ne&ertheless interestin%" hat was that 'ower !ein% used for< *ot to fi%ht

the in:ustice a%ainst the indentured, not to %i&e the land that you&e stolen from the Hulus !ac$to them, !ut to allow Indian traders into the Trans&aal" Its only in 1>1E that )andhi actually

comes out and :oins the coal wor$ers and other stri$ers and he si%ns a deal with )eneral Jan

Smuts" 4art of that deal is that he had to lea&e South Africa and %o !ac$ to India" There was a

lot of dis'ute a!out that a%reement !ecause 'eo'le said, hat %i&es you the ri%ht to re'resentus and si%n a%reements on our !ehalfE9, we all $now a!out the Salt Satya%raha" )andhi was a !rilliant 'olitician, I

ha&e no dou!ts a!out that" The Salt Satya%raha was one of the most !rilliant 'ieces of 'olitical

theatre we ha&e seen, when )andhi led hundreds of thousands of Indians to the sea to !rea$ the

#ritish salt ta" #ut many of us dont $now that three years !efore that, in 1>@7, Am!ed$ar led

what was $nown as the Satya%raha at 5ahad, where 19,999 Dalits Buntoucha!lesC marched

throu%h the town of 5ahad to drin$ water from the 'u!lic tan$" And they were of course !eaten

and dri&en away !y the 'ri&ile%ed caste, who then 'urified the tan$s !y 'ourin% cow dun% in

them" And )andhi actually didnt su''ort the Dalits in the 5ahad Satya%raha" That same year,

he ad&ised the untoucha!les to use sweet 'ersuasion !ecause these forms of 'rotests, when it

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came to them, would !e a de&ilish force" So it is o!&ious that the conflict !etween Am!ed$arand )andhi really com'licates the national mo&ement" It com'licates the ethics that we ha&e

!een so -uic$ to admire"

hen )andhi met Am!ed$ar in 5ani #ha&an in 1>E1, he thou%ht that Am!ed$ar was a sort of

self.hatin% #rahmin" Am!ed$ar was such a $nowled%ea!le and confident man, much youn%er

than )andhi, and )andhi -uestioned him" (e said that Am!ed$ars &ery !itter criticism of the0on%ress amounted to criticism of the homeland" Am!ed$ar loo$ed at him and said 'oi%nantly,

)andhi, I ha&e no homeland, !ecause no untoucha!le worth his name would !e 'roud of this

land"

hat Am!ed$ar was tryin% to do is 'ut in 'lace 'olitical and le%al safe%uards so that when the

#ritish colonials left, they would not lea&e the untoucha!le community at the mercy of those

who !elie&ed that human !ein%s could !e treated li$e that" Am!ed$ars story is fascinatin%

!ecause he tried e&erythin%/ mass mo!ilisation, le%al means, and direct 'artici'ation" (e

de&elo'ed this !rilliant 'ro'osal at a roundta!le conference, where the 5uslims, Si$hs, and

untoucha!les were all %i&en se'arate electorates" Am!ed$ar 'ro'osed a dou!le &ote system,where he said the su!ordinated classes should ha&e a se'arate constituency where they &ote for

their own leaders, and where they can also &ote in the main elections" #ut this would last only

for ten years, until they de&elo' into a 'olitical constituency" So the idea was not to float away

from the mainstream" The idea was to allow it to de&elo' into e-ual citi+enshi'" or Am!ed$ar,

the !asic ri%ht of e-ual citi+enshi' was the ri%ht to re'resentation"

#ut )andhi said defiantly, I, in my own 'erson, re'resent the untoucha!les" If theyre %i&en a

se'arate constituency, I will 'rotest it with my life" )andhi wished to se'arate the castes in

e&ery waysocially, in terms of education, in terms of access to water!ut when it came to

%i&in% them a se'arate electorate, he said, Id rather die than %rant this" And then )andhiwent !ac$ to India and dro''ed in on 5ussolini on the way"

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Gandhi in Rome, 1931.hen the #ritish actually announced the creation of a se'arate electorate, )andhi went on a

fast to the death" &ery!ody rallied on )andhis side" Am!ed$ar was left $nowin% that if

)andhi died on his fast, the untoucha!les would !e lynched and attac$ed and so he did ha&e to

succum! finally" And so what was a%reed on, which is still the system in 'lace today, is that

within the main %rou' of candidates, a few candidates are reser&ed for untoucha!les"=ntoucha!les ha&e a reser&ed num!er of seats, !ut they ha&e to !e chosen !y the 'ri&ile%ed

caste" Theres the =ncle Tom situation that ha''ened there"

&entually, of course &ery disillusioned !y this, Am!ed$ar wroteAnnihilation of Castein 1>EG"

That same year )andhi wrote an etraordinary essay called 5y Ideal #han%i" #han%i means

sca&en%er" Its an essay a!out what the ideal -ualities of a sca&en%er should !e, a 'erson who

follows his ancestral occu'ation" )andhi said his ideal sca&en%er should !e well.&ersed in

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sanitation, should $now how to con&ert ni%ht.soil and urine into manure, should warn 'eo'leif he thin$s they are fallin% ill, and so on" Recently 4rime 5inister 5odi echoed those same

sentiments, sayin% that the #han%is are a community of 'eo'le !orn to !e sca&en%ers, and it is

their di&ine duty" They themsel&es must ha&e reali+ed this, which is why they do it %eneration

after %eneration" And, of course, they should ne&er thin$ of ma$in% money from it" 2ery

disillusioned !y all this, Am!ed$ar turned to #uddhism"

So how does caste currently 'lay out in modern India< 5any 'eo'le thin$ that !ecause of the

inflow of %lo!al ca'ital and the !rea$u' of old networ$s that caste has somehow ended" Its an

incredi!le thin% that while other horrors li$e a'artheid, racism, seism, and modern sla&ery

ha&e !een may!e not defeated !ut certainly discussed !y the international community, caste

ne&er is" 6ne of the reasons is that its not color.codedK its hard to see" The other reason is that

'eo'le :ust associate it with (induism and your )od, The #eatles, &e%etarianism, or some

sort of eu'hemism" The third reason is that a lot of the !etter.$nown intellectuals in India

!elon% to the ;eft, and traditionally Indian communists ha&e !een una!le to deal with caste"They :ust sort of in&isi!ili+e it !y sayin% that caste is class" And sometimes 'eo'le are so

'ri&ile%ed that they dont stum!le u'on it, e&en in the dar$"

Indias wealth has !een concentrated in fewer and fewer hands" The country has 199 'eo'le

who own the e-ui&alent of @?L of the )D4" I dont thin$ anythin% -uite li$e Indias system

eists elswhere in the world, where you ha&e cor'orations li$e Reliance, the Tata %rou', 5ittal,

or Jindal whose owners are not :ust minin% or media ma%nates, !ut ha&e this immense cross.

ownershi'" The same 'eo'le own 'etrochemicals, mines, law schools, tetiles, electricity

distri!ution, literary festi&als, water, the internet, and most im'ortantly, the media" So the

!i%%est cor'oration li$e Reliance owns @7 different @8.hour media channels" ;oo$ at thehandful of ma:or cor'orations/ theyre all owned !y #anias, the tradin% caste, which is only

two 'ercent of the 'o'ulation" If you loo$ at the !i% national news'a'ersTimesof

India,Indian Express, The Hindu, and so on#ania or #rahmin ownershi'" If you loo$ at the

smaller !usinesses and the rural moneylenders, the whole of rural India is in the %ri' of serious

de!t" Almost all the moneylenders are #anias" 0aste and ca'italism ha&e !ecome this deadly

sym!iotic force"

Durin% Indias de!ates :ust !efore an election, all they tal$ a!out is caste in terms of &otin%

!locs/ ho will Dalits &ote for

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ha&e ninety 'ercent Dalits wor$in% is amon% munici'al swee'ers"

In India, if you %o to any hos'ital, all the nurses will !e 0hristians, !ecause doctors in other

communities dont want to touch 'eo'le" If you %o to a hos'ital and you watch a doctor doin% a'ost.mortem, theyll %et the swee'ers who are #almi$i to actually do the 'ost.mortem" The

doctors wont touch the !ody"

(Photo redit: John Fahy).0aste is e&erywhere" Its the en%ine that runs India" (ow is that system maintained< (ow do

you ma$e sure that a caste is ne&er entitled to own land< That they will always !e there when

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the seed needs to !e sown, or the cro' needs to !e har&ested< Its a system that can only !emaintained throu%h the e%re%ious a''lication of &iolence" &ery!ody $nows a!out the @91@

%an% ra'e and murder in Dehli where 'eo'le were mo!ili+ed" And certainly, its %ood they were

mo!ili+ed, and %ood thin%s ha''ened in terms of re.writin% the law" #ut no one will tal$ a!out

the fact that 1,?99 Dalit women were ra'ed, and that means actually more li$e 1?,999 women

!ecause only 1 in 19 cases %et re'orted" G?1 Dalit men were $illed in a year" This 'ast 6cto!er

there was a Dalit family murdered, their lim!s cho''ed off and distri!uted on the fields andthrown into wells, !ecause the $illin% of a Dalit has to !e ritual slau%hter" Its a 'unishment that

ser&es as a warnin% to those who mi%ht thin$ of strayin%, who mi%ht thin$ of im'ro&in% their

lot"

hat do )andhis 'rinci'les of non.&iolent resistance mean when they are a''lied under

conditions of such e%re%ious &iolence< To criti-ue )andhi does not mean that we should for%et

a!out the 'rinci'les of non.&iolence" #ut in India, today there are hundreds of thousands of

'aramilitary troo's in the forest tryin% to dri&e out indi%enous 'eo'le from their &illa%es

!ecause those lands ha&e !een si%ned o&er to infrastructure 'ro:ects and minin% cor'orations"

In the forest its an armed stru%%le" Those &illa%es are many.days wal$ from the road" There areno tele&ision crews, no audience" And yet intellectuals, T2 anchors, and 'oliticians are callin%

these 'eo'le terrorists, the 'eo'le who resist" e can de!ate this ideolo%ically and morally, !ut

when you are actually in the fi%ht, 5aoists in the streets and in the forests, tactics are $ey" If

you li&e four days from the road, you dont ha&e an audience" 1,999 'aramilitary officials are

!urnin% your &illa%es and ra'in% your women" hat form of non.&iolence are you 'ro'osin%that these 'eo'le adhere to< If youre star&in%, can you %o on a hun%er stri$e< If you dont ha&e

%oods, can you !oycott anythin%< So if you loo$ at it didactically, as a moral or intellectual

issue, you can actually end u' !ein% immoral, 'reachin% to 'eo'le who are in a &ery dan%erous

'lace a!out what they should do when you dont e&en understand the dan%ers they are facin%"

I dont $now how this !li%ht u'on our land is %oin% to %o away, !ut I do thin$ that somehow

e&en !ein% ashamed a!out it is %oin% to 'lay an im'ortant 'art" And we can de!ate what

(induism meansthere are a lot of 'eo'le who 'ractice (induism without adherin% to those

'articular tets!ut the fact of the matter is that in a nation of 1 !illion 'eo'le, only under fi&e'ercent marry across caste" It is a horri!le hierarchical system of social arran%ement, one of the

worst $inds that has e&er !een $nown to man$ind"

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Arundhati Royis the a"thor o# many books incl"ding (he od o# -mall

(hings 19945 #or which she won the ooker ri$e #or 7iction and

8apitalism A host -tory :;1+5* (his is a transcript #rom Roy2s talk titled

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niversity o# 8ambridge on :, ?ovember :;1+* 0ith special

thanks to the seminar2s convenor /r* -hr"ti Kapila*