Development should override caste in India

India is a land of many religions and numerous castes and is also called unified as a whole as far as the saying ‘unity is diversity’ goes. Religion is at the basis of the caste system prevalent in the country. Just as we divide ourselves on the basis of religion, in the same manner we do separate on terms of caste. A debate in ongoing whether we should have an enumeration of the castes in the country, but if such a calculation is then the caste problems would increase instead of decreasing, bringing chaos, when the numbers are revealed.

The Hindustan Times article that read “Development overrides caste in Bihar battle” is about the emergence of a new mode of campaigning based on assurance of development in the region. This was not the case few years back when the political leaders of Bihar still utilized the caste politics and were dependent on castes to vote for the respective leaders. This massive vote bank on which they used to depend is giving way to, according to the article, development.

I disagree with the above mentioned article because this may only be the case before elections in certain part of India and this will end as soon as the elections are over. The leaders will again come back to their caste biases and thus this will lead nowhere. However, this is a very positive sign of India going beyond the caste borders and concentrating on development to gather votes. Bihar could possibly set an example for the entire country to follow its footsteps. This caste system ahs gone into the roots of the people and in Bihar, people used to vote for their own caste people only. But reports say that the situation is fast changing, though people cannot be lured only with few development projects undertaken in the country.

Development, in other parts of the country has not disappeared or is not disappearing at a fast rate. The only thing can be that now people are taking initiatives to make it a point to drive it away and this will take time. The article in Hindustan Times does not hold good for other parts of the country too. The movie ‘India Untouched’ throws a flood of light on the issue of caste system and the discriminations practiced accordingly. The documentary begins with a stark example of how innocent young children have somehow got into their heads that if they get into a Dalit house they will get ‘polluted’. This is the effect our caste system can have on young minds, which are the easiest to mould. The documentary shows how Dalits in almost all parts of the country suffer the same fate of untouchability and segregation. They are the ones who suffer because of the cruel practices of the society.

The religious minds are not there to ward off this practice but they are the ones who support the system of caste discrimination. We find a Hindu pandit explaining, in India Untouched’, how God himself divided the people on the basis of the works they should perform, this is profounded by stating slokas from the Vedas.

At some places in Madurai and Tamil Nadu the Dalits are not even allowed to enter villages dwelled by upper castes with their shows on. They have to remove it and carry it by their hands. This is the level of humiliation these people are subjected to. Such cases of deprivation are there to stand with others like not letting the Dalits to draw water from the same well where other upper castes do. This may seem to be history to the educated masses, but this is the reality at the grass-root level in Indian villages. Lower caste people are derided and looked down upon and no social status is granted. We forget, at times, that we are all human beings and then only we are divided into castes, creeds and sects. Humanity should be the only factor taken into consideration and nothing else.

The issue of honor killings should also be brought to focus while speaking of caste and untouchability. The case of Tamil Nadu needs to be discussed where in the past two years 1,971 women have killed themselves and many among them could be honor deaths, according to a Tehelka study. The article in Tehelka shows how a 35-year-old Dalit man was killed by his non-Dalit wife’s brothers. Thus not only untouchability but such brutal practices can also be attributed to the stringent caste system in India.

If development had given way to caste system then there would have never been a rebellion to separate Telengana from the state of Andhra Pradesh. This is the most neglected area in the state and they have been living in such a condition for years. There have been very little amount of development compared to other parts of Andhra Pradesh, mainly the capital, Hyderabad. The people there are aggrieved about the biases in budget allocations, water and jobs available to them. The protests have shaken the roots of the government, till then, sitting cosy in their chairs and counting on them only for votes.

Thus development should override caste in India but this is not the case as presented in the above paragraphs. India then will be an utopia if any day development overpowers caste system and says that it is what matters. However though I disagree with the Hindustan Times article on Bihar, I would like to state that if such a thing is substantial and not only for vote gathering, then India is set to shine in the upcoming years with everyone enjoying the same amount if rights everywhere, irrespective of caste, creed, ect or sex.

My article on Media Hive

Section 377 of the IPC and Queer Movement in India

Interpreting the Constitution is not an easy task. It requires deft manoeuvering through its lanes and by lanes, without losing sight of the broad road map laid down by the founding fathers.

 

The Naz Foundation, an NGO filed a public interest petition in 2004 to challenge the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminally penalises “unnatural offences”. Section 377 of the IPC is read as follows: “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life…”.

Based on the PIL filed by the Foundation, the High Court's judgement lies in the favour of India's transition from a supressed to a more open and diverse nation that accepts human nature as it is triggered by the principle of non-discrimination and equality.

According to a survey, it has been found that the Union of India has the number of “men who have sex with men” (MSM) at around 25 lakhs and the number of lesbians and transgenders at several lakhs. We can say that the Delhi High Court has given a broader meaning to the expression of sex because one cannot be guaranteed the Right to Equality (Article 15) on one hand and be discriminated under sexual orientation on the other.

 

India can only emerge as a modern democracy when it will be based on the principle of majority rule implicitly recognising the need to protect the fundamental rights of all. In fact, where the society can display inclusiveness and understanding, those perceived by the majority as deviants can be assured of a better living by the policy of non-discrimination. The significance of the judgment, I feel, lies in the fact that it will give an altogether new dimension to the identity politics in the country.

 

The Naz Foundation’s endeavour should thus be applauded because they, by creating a common note of unity among the people who are termed as queer has actually recognised the emergence of new identities. They have also sidestepped the lingering concerns about the elite roots and urban biases of the queers. This is so because homosexuality has always been considered the sex or the fashion of the urban society, a completely metropolitan concern.

When the Delhi High Court struck down the provision of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises even consensual sex between same sex individuals, it also effectively opened up public space – ling inaccessible for the queer movement in India. This historic decision not only permits the queer community to carry out a much more democratic struggle, it also complicates class and gender issues in the country.

The decision, thus has given the queer community basic access to law. Previously one could not be identified as a homosexual because it was a crime. And when there occurred any breach of their civil rights, they could not go to the police station because their identity could not be disclosed. This law was actually during the rule of the British. The British wanted to enter the Indian family space and dictate even our private matters. But after Independence, this law should have been done away with, since it discriminates on the ground of sex, essentially a private concern.

One might argue that in a country like India which is just in the stage of development, the relevance of the queer movement stands obscure, when there are much more pressing issues at hand. However this is not wholly true. A Dalit woman, who is attracted towards the same sex will have existential issues to deal with other than her sexuality. But her sexuality is an integral part of her life like any other individual and it cannot be isolated from her.

 

I feel that the queer movement need not be seen as a minority movement as it is as much a political movement as other democratic struggles. The movement thus cannot be sustained only in the courtrooms. How long would the seek justice? They should thus try to get involved at the legislative level.

There has been a great amount of debate regarding homosexuals and their unnatural sexuality. But the question that bothers me is “What is so natural about being a homosexual”? The religious groups are out on the streets protesting the decision of the Delhi High Court.

 

Till date they have not bothered much about our choice of food or the clothes we wear and other private matters, then why sexuality? Then there are questions of patriarchy that pop up. Legalisation of homosexuality would mean marriage between such individuals which essentially challenges the fabric of the patriarchal society, destabilising the religious status-quo.

Well, the legal battle has been partly won. But for the movement to flourish, it needs the support of people other than, who belong to the homosexual community. India is their country and they have an equal right to live as they wish. We should try to go beyond the pre-set social norms and structure of the society and concentrate on healthy human existence.

My article published in Meri News

For the sake of eternity

Can I kiss you on your lips

Can I whisper into them

Will you pay me back with love?

Or with words devoid of it

Would you shelter me on

The premises of those crimson lips

Or would you make a simple

House instead of a home for me?

I wish to visit them like

A pilgrim on a pilgrimage

Seeking endlessly for its presence

Some words some emotions have

Remain unsaid, untold, silent

Let me tell them to your lips

That, they may be etched for eternity

Feminine Spell

You come back every year without fail.

Bring happiness and woes or

Woes and happiness, whatever.

They used to write about happiness,

They wrote about woes.

Now they write about both

None do sing your name,

Your charm your grandeur,

Beautiful eyes, feminine spell.

Or the pains you took to kill him.

For you do the Kashas bloom,

For you do they dangle, because

You shall come, do millions

Of  Me wait with a patience and peace,

Unknown to us before or hereafter.