Trigger warning: casteism, casteist violence
Babasaheb Ambedkar in his work ‘Castes in India’ talks about the *superiority of endogamy over exogamy that leads to the creation of caste*.
For all those who don’t know what these terms are:
Endogamy is the custom of marrying only within the local community, clan, or tribe limits.
Exogamy is the custom of marrying outside a community, clan, or tribe.
Hence, forcing the people to marry inside their own community and stopping them from marrying outside their community is a very important aspect of caste. It is a way by which a social barrier is initially created around communities. This also helps them maintain their so-called PURITY.
Sanctions are applied to stop exogamy; these sanctions usually mean socially outcasting any person who does this. But this also happens when the couple is lucky. Usually, they are attacked and killed or forcefully separated from each other.
Telangana is the latest state that was created in India. It was built in 2014 and since then had seen more than 50 murders relating to inter-caste marriage or love affairs. One can only imagine the condition of the other states.
Ambedkar aptly says, “As long as caste in India does exist, Hindus will hardly intermarry or have any social intercourse with outsiders, and if Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste would become a world problem.”
Ambedkar also shows how intercaste marriages and social outcasting give birth to new castes. A lot of reformists tried to popularize the practice of inter-caste marriage as an attempt to abolish the caste system and untouchability.
They thought that when a girl from one caste and a man from another marry each other, assigning any caste to the children of such marriages would be difficult. But patriarchy and the UC (upper caste) Hindus’ interest made this way of reducing casteism ineffective. The patriarchs ensured that the child got the caste of his father.
When a UC, Hindu male married an Avarna woman, their child was given the caste of his father. Even though the family was socially outcast, usually, the kid would get the title of his father. The kid might be taught to respect others or to be a normal human, and not become the monsters that UC Hindus usually are.
But even after being socially outcast, in most cases, the father won’t leave the surname assigned at birth, as this ensures that his privileges wouldn’t be affected even if he changes locations. On the other hand, when a UC Hindu female marries an Avarna man, the family has to pay the price.
Usually, the boy’s family is attacked and destroyed, the girl is abandoned. The child born out of such a marriage also gets the caste of his father. He is treated in the same dehumanizing manner as his father and his forefathers were treated.
In modern times, small sections of the Hindu society are ready to accept inter-caste marriages. But not because they think their past practices were wrong, but because they believe their religion is in danger.
They all know that scheduled castes and tribes form the significant population of Hindus, and if they leave the faith, then the number of Hindus would be significantly less. And hence, we see the sudden change of heart.