“Dalit aspirations are a breach of peace.Annihilation of caste is a breach of peace.” – BR Ambedkar
Casteism and untouchability have coexisted for a longer period of time. Caste system has its origins dating back to more than 3000 years ago with some elements of untouchability.Even though it has been outlawed and declared illegal,it has still continued to stay alive in the hearts and minds of the people in the society.
The tale of caste system goes back to the Indo- Aryan culture where people were divided on the basis of skin colour with Aryans being racially superior and fairer than the Dasyus who had dark skin.This translated into colour classism (colorism).
The modern caste system come directly from Rig Veda,the principal and most sacred ancient text of Hinduism.It created the hierarchical castes with top-most position given to Brahmins (priests and teachers),second-most given to Kshatriyas(warriors and rulers),third-most to Vaishyas(farmers,traders and merchants),fourth-most to Shudras(labourers) and last position to the Dalits/outcastes (sweepers,cleaners). The text functioned as a story of creation and the working wheel of society which led to glorification of Brahmins and denigration of Shudras and Dalits as the lowest level of the caste society through untouchability – a social institution which legitimizes and enforces practices which are discriminatory,humiliating and exclusionary against people of certain groups.
The discrimination continued until the year 1950 wherein the Indian Constitution was adopted which prohibited caste discrimination under Article 15 and abolished and made Untouchability a punishable criminal offence under Article 17.The first law against untouchability came into implementation on 1st June 1955.The Indian Government recognized the historically marginalised communities under OBC, SC & ST and the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was passed in 1989. Several actions and aids were given like implementation of Mandal Commission ( reservations),providing jobs, education and access to drinking food and water.It has helped in alleviating caste discrimination and untouchability to some extent.
Even though the government has been providing aid to the lowest castes, the mindset,attitude about caste and prevalence of casteism has continued to sway and is unchanged. According to a survey ‘Attitude about Caste’ conducted by Pew Research Center, A majority of Indians say that their close friends are mostly members of their own caste, including roughly one-quarter (24%) who say all their close friends are from their caste. And most people say it is very important to stop both men and women in their community from marrying into other castes, although this view varies widely by region. For example, roughly eight-in-ten Indians in the Central region (82%) say it is very important to stop inter-caste marriages for men, compared with just 35% in the South who feel strongly about stopping such marriages.The data report by NCRB reveals that over 130,000 anti-Dalit crimes were registered between 2018 and 2020. The highest number of anti-Dalit crimes was reported from Uttar Pradesh (36,467), followed by Bihar (20,973), Rajasthan (18,418), and Madhya Pradesh (16,952).The MPI report shows that about more than half people living in poverty in India are from the disadvantaged tribes and castes (ST is 50.6%, SC is 33.3% and OBC is 27.2%) These statistics and surveys show that casteism and untouchability segregation are deep-rooted in the society and the disadvantaged groups are still facing financial and economic constraints even in today’s era.
There is an urgent need to change the mindset regarding caste segregation and remove the roots of casteism and untouchability.Here are some measures that can be taken to implement the abolition of the discriminatory,castesist practices in real and practical life which are as followed:
Educating the masses: It is important for people to know about the caste practices and how they are discriminatory,humiliating and against the basic principles of humanity.Education ensures that people know the reality of caste-based oppression and can prevent such practices from repeating occurrence.
Institution Action: Creating caste equity protection policies and zero-tolerance on discrimination norms in institutes,corporations and societies helps in the development of the society into a safer and inclusive environment for students,employees and people.
Legal reforms: Bringing laws against casteism and untouchability has helped deepen awareness, understanding of issues and lead to people taking proactive measures to ensure equality and non-discrimination.
Social Cohesion and Justice: Addressing the discrimination, injustice and inclusion of various sects of people promotes empathy, solidarity and fosters a society wherein individuals from all backgrounds can coexist with dignity and respect.
Empowerment: Giving the marginalized equal opportunities, encouraging them to be entrepreneurs, leaders and voice in politics can lead to creation of a skilled workforce, increased representation in polity (better governance) and prosperity of an equitable society.
In a nutshell, Caste segregation has been ingrained in our minds since childhood and despite several actions,it has still continued to stay prevalent in the society even to this day.Bringing and implementing the people-inclusive and friendly policies can lead to overall progress and growth of the globe by ensuring that citizens have the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the planet’s development.Henceforth,it is significant for us to ensure that there is no repeated occurrence of casteism and untouchability in the society and is the road towards an inclusive, equitable and liberated society.