[mukto-mona] Fwd: UNTOUCHABILITY: A Curse on Hindu Society

RADHASYAM BRAHMACHARI <rbrahmachari1946@yahoo.co.in> wrote:

      UNTOUCHABILITY:

          A Curse on Hindu Society

                         

By Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari*

 

On April 6, this year (2008 AD), two dalit women, aged 60 and 65, were forced to eat human excreta in a Jharkhand village for alleged casting of a spell that said to have initiated an outbreak of chicken pox in the village. The humiliation rankled even more as one of the attackers was the son of one of the victims. Rashmi Devi (60) and Samri Devi (65) became the latest names to figure on a growing list of victims of socially sanctified ostracism. The incident took place at Manaydih village under the Barwaadda police station. Samri works as a sweeper in a branch of a nationalized bank. Trouble started after the four year-old son of Koleshwar Das, one of the villagers, died two days back due to some mysterious disease. Sri Das suspected that it was due to witchcraft of the duo.

    

The villagers caught hold of the two women on 5^th April, Saturday, and they were thrashed by the agitated villagers, who claimed that they had warned the duo to stop black magic in the past as well. They were later forced to eat human excreta. The villagers, including the son of one of the victims, believed, out of superstition, that the duo were practicing witchcraft which had led to an outbreak of chicked pox in the village. Sri Vinod Kumar, the officer-in-charge of the Barwaadda police station said that four people were arrested on Sunday, 6^th April, on various sections of IPC. 

In another gruesome incident on Saturday night, April 5, in the village Sirsa, nearly 50 km from Kanpur, UP, a 65 year-old dalit woman and her 19 year-old granddaughter were hacked to death by Vijay Sachan, said to be a local BJP leader. An old enmity over agricultural land has been stated to be the reason for the crime. On the same night, in another incident the house of a dalit family was set ablaze by the caste Hindus in a village in the Danapur block near Patna, Bihar. Casteist taunts were used to be repeatedly hurled by a caste Hindu boy Sonu at a dalit teenager Dhananjay and on Saturday such a humiliation provoked Dhananjay to protest and hurl abusive language to his tormentor. But the people of the higher caste could not tolerate his audacity. At night, they attacked Dhananjay's family with lathis and iron rods, beat him and his aunt and two sisters up and then set the house on fire. The four seriously injured were admitted to the Danapur Sadar Hospital. Moreover, Sonu's relatives lodged a complaint with the local police station that Dhananjay had an illicit relation with girl of their family. India has a total population of nearly 1 billion people and 160 million people (or 16 per cent of the population) belong to the lowest stratum of the caste hierarchy, called dalits or untouchables, who are the victims of caste based social discrimination.

The most common types of such caste based social discriminations are economic discrimination like disparity in wage (as they cannot even claim the minimum daily wage fixed by the government), infringement of the right to vote and run for elections, discrimination in schools, discrimination in using the common village well used by the higher castes and so on. These people are poorest of the poor having disproportionately high school drop out rates and levels of illiteracy, and put to dehumanising living and working conditions, impoverishment and malnourishment. They generally do not own land and are often relegated to separate villages or neighbourhoods and forced to accept low paying and undesirable occupations such as street sweeping and removing human waste and dead animals. Most pitiable is the condition of the Dalit women who are victims of both caste and gender discrimination. Though in 1947, untouchability was banned by the Indian constitution, yet, as a social institution, untouchability is very much alive today.

Caste based discrimination and atrocity against dalit community is a daily affair in this country and recently, it has alarmingly increased all over India that lead to bloody and brutal killing of dalits everyday. These kind of crimes, in most of the cases, are committed by so called caste hindus to terrorize the dalits in almost many parts of India and the extent and occurrence of atrocity on the untouchables has become  rampant like an epidemic in many parts of India. However, most of these incidents occur in the states like Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and many parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Moreover, in these above mentioned states the violence against the Dalits has reached a new height. One may find reports on such incidents in the websites such as http://www.ambedkar.org ;http://www.dalits.org; http://upliftthem.blogspot.com and so on. In many cases the severity of violence is beyond any human comprehension where these untouchables are mercilessly beaten up, lynched, murdered and mutilated and this kind of violence not seen even in the animal world. One may go through the book Exploitation and Atrocities on the Dalits in India by Narayan Mishra, (Delhi, Kalpaz, 2004, 366 p., $44), to get a better idea on the atrocities committed on the untouchables or dalits in this country.

           

A mass petition addressed to the President and the Prime Minister of India, and the Secretary General of UNO, launched by http://www.upliftthem.blogspot.com, on October 5, 2006, reads, "There is hardly any day goes by when dalits are not killed, harassed, socially boycotted by the upper castes. Dalits houses are burnt, physical violence against dalit woman like rape, terrorizing the dalit woman by parading naked on streets, cutting genitals of dalit children, beating elderly dalits are rampant in rural areas and villages across India. The so called caste hindu's cannot tolerate dalits for no reason. The dictatorial attitudes of upper caste hindus go beyond any legal authorities. Any social activity of dalits such as marriages, temple festivals, funeral proceedings cannot go smoothly without violence. The dalits are being killed because the caste Hindus cannot stand a dalit wearing a decent cloth, asking for minimum wages and so on. They are not allowed to participate in political meetings and activities, dalit bridegroom cannot ride a horse in front of upper caste Hindus, he has to step down voluntarily otherwise he and the entire marriage party has to face the wrath of the upper caste Hindus. These kind of oppressions is particularly common in Rajasthan."  Aanother  survey conducted by India Today, a Delhi based weekly, shows that 95 per cent of the rape victims of the state, in 2003, were illiterate women and most of them belonged to the untouchable castes.

 

The following table shows the types of these atrocities against the dalits and their occurrences in India.

 

TABLE – I

 

Year	Murders	Violence	Rape	Arson	Others	Total
1981	493	1,492	604	1,295	10,434	14,318
1986	564	1,408	727	1,002	11,715	15,416
1991	610	1,706	784	602	13,944	17,646
1996	543	4,585	949	464	24,899	31,440
1997	513	3,860	1,037	389	22,145	27,944
1998	516	3,809	923	NA	NA	28,172
1999	506	3,241	1,000	337	21,727	26,811
2000	526	3,457	1,083	290	25,815	31,171

 

 

                      India's real curse lies in the fact that, 57 years after Independence, dalits or untouchables continue not only to face daily injustices, but they can be murdered, raped and viciously humiliated if they have try to break out of the caste trap to assert their rights as equal beings. Often the supposed transgression is something as ludicrous (to the outside world) as wearing footwear when walking through the dominant caste's village, riding a bicycle or daring to wear clothes considered uppity by the upper caste neighbours. In most of the cases the punishment receive tacit approval of the upper caste Hindus of entire village who, along with a sizable number of the villagers, join in  beating, raping, humiliating the victims to teach the entire caste a good lesson or to remind them of their place in society. In the eye of the upper caste people, these untouchables are so ugly and impure that they consider oppressing them quite justified. As a matter of fact, the upper class do not wish them to alleviate their heads and improve their social status. In these days, such incidents of atrocity and oppression have become so common that even the newspapers do not bother to report them.

Caste system permeates every pore of India's Hindu society in hidden and insidious ways. It is so complex that a few Indians have its proper understanding. It is also important to notice that though the caste hierarchy is a Hindu construct, conversion does not always help: Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Muslims often still cling to their caste identities when searching for marriage partners.

 

It is really amazing that today's vast family of Hindu castes began its journey as four Varnas (or Castes). In this context the verse (10/41/12) of the Rigveda says, "The Brahmins was his (of the Purusha) mouth, from his arms were the Rajanyas (Kshatriyas). made. His thighs became the Vaishya, from his feet the Shudra was produced" (tr: R T H Griffith, Hymns of the Rigveda, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1995, p-603). Brahmins were the class of priests, Kshatriyas were rulers and fighters, Vaishyas were traders and businessmen and the Shudras were wage labourers. The verse (1/31) of Manusamhita also tells the same thing. Out of these four castes, the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas were called Dvija or twice born, where the Shudras were not. Therefore it becomes evident that these four castes originated as a division of labour in the society. In those days the caste was not hereditary and was based absolutely on an individual's occupation and achievements. So, the the verse (4/13) of Bhagavadgita says, "The four-caste system did I generate with categories of constituents and works …" (tr: R C Zaehner, Hindu Scriptures, Rupa, 1978, p-267). The verse (1/31) also repeats the same thing.

 

Furthermore, Bhagavadgita, in the verses (18/42-44) define the duties of the above four Varnas or castes and confirms the thesis that the caste system originated on the basis of division of labour. The verses are- Calm, self-restraint,ascetic practice, purity, long suffering and uprightness; wisdom in theory as in practice, religious faith-These are the works of Brahmins, inheriting in their nature (18/42). High courage, ardour, endurance, skill, unwillingness to flee in battle, an open hand and a lordly mein- these are the works of Kshatriyas (princes), inheriting in their nature (18/43). To till the fields, protect the kine and to engage in trade –these are the works of Vaishyas, inheriting in their nature; but works whose very soul is service inhere in the very nature of the Shudras (18/44). (tr. By R C Zaehner, ibid, p-322). In a similar manner, Manusamhita, through verses (1/88,89,90) defines the professions of the said four Varnas. As pointed out above, in the preliminary stage, this caste or Varna system was not hereditary and transmigration from one caste to another and inter-caste marriage were also recognized institutions.

 

                      But later on, in Manu's time, the caste system became hereditary but inter-caste marriages were still allowed. These marriages were divided into two categories, (1) Anulom marriage and (2) Pratilom marriage. If a boy of higher caste marries a lower caste girl, is called an anulom marriage, and the pratilom marriage is just the opposite or when a lower caste boy marries a higher caste girl. The pratilom marriage was condemned by Manu and the castes of the children, born out of such a marriage, were considered to be of even lower from their ancestral castes. According to Manu, a child, whose mother is a Brahmin but the father is a Shudra, is a Chandal, even lower than the conventional Shudra caste. In addition to that there were four other kinds of people who were designated as Chandalas. They were (1) the offspring of an unmarried woman, (2) the offspring of union of a sagotra woman, (3) the offspring of a person who after becoming an ascetic turns back to the householder's life and (4) the offspring of a barber father and a Brahmin mother. (B R Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches, Education Department, Government of India, 1990, Vol-7, p-365).

 

Manu has condemned these Chandals as the lowest in the caste hierarchy. So it does not become difficult to understand that many many lower castes gradually came into being due to the said pratilom marriages. These new castes, originated out of inter-caste marriages, were grossly categorized as Sankar Varna or Sankar Jati. As the society advanced, innumerable sankar jatis were evolved, whose position in caste hierarchy, as mentioned above, were considered even lower than the Shudras.

 

Children born out of anulom marriages were also considered lower than their fathers' caste but higher than that of their mothers'. For example, the caste of a child born out of a Brahmain father but a Kshatriya mother, would be lower than his father's caste but higher than his mother's, or in other words, a sub-caste of the Brahmins. So it becomes evident that the original caste system consisting of only four castes gradually fragmented, with the passage of time, into innumerable castes and sub-castes. In this manner, it gradually became difficult to ascertain the position of a new sankas-jati in the hierarchy of the caste system. Though, Manusamhita says that the Chandalas and the people lying below the Chandalas in caste hierarchy should live in separate settlements in the outskirt of a village, many believe that there was nothing like untouchability in those days and there is no mention of untouchability in Manu Smriti.(B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7, p-372). So it is needless to say a thing like untouchability was unknown in Vedic time (B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7,p-371). The celebrated poet Ban, (the author of the celebrated Sanskrit drama Kadamvari), described a Chandala settlement in Kadamvari, as a colony of barbarians. However, the concept of untouchability was absent in his writings (B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7, p-375).

 

According to the accounts of the Chinese traveler Fa-Hian, there was nothing like untouchability  in this country and hence it can be said that, up to 600 AD, Chandalas had not come to be regarded as untouchables (B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7, p-378). But there are evidence that during the visit of the Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang, untouchability had emerged (B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7, p-379). Fa-Hien traveled India from 405 to 411 AD, when Gupta empire had flourished and Chandragupta-II was the Emperor. During the travel of Hiuen Tsang (in the 7^th Century AD), Harshavardhana was the most powerful monarch of India. It should also be pointed out here that, during the Gupta era, Buddhism declined and Hinduism flourished again and it was the religion of the Royal Family. According to B R Ambedkar, during the Gupta period, Brahmins gave up meat eating and became vegetarians and following the Brahmins, higher caste non-Brahmins also gave up meat eating (B R Ambedkar, ibid, vol-7, p-353). As a result of these developments, the Hindu society was divided into two broad camps, the "vegetarians" and the "meat eaters". One should notice that it was the historical epoch when curse, called untouchability, originated and it is very likely, there might have been a link between the two.

 

To conclude this part of the essay, it should be pointed out that the atrocities committed on the untouchable dalits, as mentioned above, the perpetrators are higher caste Hindus, most of whom are vegetarians, while the victim untouchables are mostly meat eaters. So, it is very important to notice that  the vegetarians, who pretend that they have become vegetarians as they are too kind hearted to endure the cruelty like killing animals and eat their flesh, exhibit extreme cruelty while torturing the untouchable dalits. It really amusing that, they cannot kill animals, but they can kill untouchables, without any repentance. 

 

 *************************************

Professor, Department of Applied Physics, University of Calcutta

 

---

__._,_.___

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona 
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/


*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/


Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___