Race, Caste and Discrimination

 

                                Race, Caste and Discrimination

-                                                                                             BHAGWAN DAS

 

Discrimination has been practiced by the dominating groups against the weaker and smaller groups for centuries. Discrimination is the child of prejudice born of fear and ignorance. Buddha was perhaps the first among the great religious leaders of the world who took practical steps to educate people against prejudice and discrimination. Society in his time was, as the society in India is horizontally and vertically divided into hundreds of castes. He had rejected the theories propounded by the Brahmins in regard to the creator God, soul and caste system. He laid emphasis on right living, right thinking, compassion and loving kindness. Unfortunately, as Buddhism developed and spread throughout the world many things, which were opposed to his teachings, were incorporated in the Dhamma. Castes exist and untouchability is practiced in many countries of Asia where majority of the people profess Buddhism.

Race has been defined as "a biologically distinctive major division of a species in which the differences between recognised races exceed the variations within them." Human population is divided into many races on the basis of physical appearances, which are born of geographical and climatic differences.

Racism is a comparatively recent phenomenon. But racial discrimination has a long history. Jews in Europe became easy victims of discrimination after the rise of Christianity while the Jews are proud of the fact that they are the chosen people of God because a very large number of prophets, philosophers, scientists, thinkers rose among them. But the widespread persecution and oppression culminating into the 'final solution' launched by Adolf Hitler of Germany to exterminate the Jews made many declare, "Let God choose some other race. We have enough of it."

Racism has attracted more attention during the 19th and 20th century because of the struggle for emancipation launched by the Negroes or to use the new title "African Americans" and persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Caste has attracted little attention. Caste is an Indian phenomenon and has done more harm that the discrimination based on race, colour or descent. The main difference between race and caste is that while race is based on physical or biological differences, caste has the sanction of religion and strengthened and perpetuated by culture and economic interests. Caste was phenomenon peculiar to India and partly because of the ignorance on the part of the people who drafted the universal Declaration of Human Rights and partly because of the attitude of Indian leaders, Article 2 says:

"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration, without dis-tinction of any kind, such as RACE, COLOUR, SEX, LANGUAGE,

RELIGION, POLITICAL OR OTHER OPINION, NATIONAL OR SOCIAL ORIGIN. PROPERTY, BIRTH OR OTHER STATUS."

One can stretch the definition and cover caste and 'social origin' or birth but was not the intention of the authors of the Declaration as is evident from the declaration and covenants of the U.N. passed and approved subsequently.

In the U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. in Article 1 wording was "Discrimination between Human beings ON THE GROUND OF RACE, COLOUR OR ETHNIC ORIGIN .. " In the International convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination." Word "DESCENT" has been used in part I. Article 1. This convention came into force on 4th January 1969.

Caste has sanction in the scriptures of Hinduism starting from the Vedas. Purush Sukts mentions the four-fold division - Brahmin (priestly caste) Kshatriya (warrior or ruler), Vishes (trading merchant, etc.,) and Shudra (servant of the three preceding Varnas.

All other books of the Hindus have provision to maintain this division. Endogamy was an essential condition. Anybody who violated the principle was excommunicated and his progeny was declared out caste. Those who had fought against the Aryan invaders, Dasas, Dasyus, Nagas etc. were also treated as 'untouchable'. In later period one finds people declared to be not only untouchable, but also un-seeable and unapproachable, because Hindu lawmakers believed that even the sight and shadow polluted the upper caste people. In order to make identity easy restriction on dress, habitat etc., were also imposed. In order to keep them poor laws were framed and enforced them to keep them divided, dependent, dispirited and week. The result was that they could not unite and fight against their oppressors.

From India caste spread to other lands - Sri Lanka, Tibet, Korea, Japan - in fact wherever the Indians went and settled down as traders, merchants or priests. If Shinto religion inculcated the idea of purity and impurity, Brahmin Buddhist missionaries introduced the stratification of society. This idea could not take root in China but many other countries fell victim to this pernicious division of society involving prejudice and hostility against men and women who performed essential duties like weaving, flaying the dead animals, sweeping the streets, removing the garbage, making bows and arrows, and carrying messages or guarding the burial grounds.

To keep them ignorant, laws were framed and enforced by Brahmin and other Hindu rulers to keep them ignorant and illiterate.

Caste is still thriving in India. It is evident from the fact that most of the upper caste people take pride in displaying their caste origin, by adding caste names. such as Mishra, Sharma, Pande, Iyer, Iyengar. Namboodri, Anand, Kakker, Shrivastava, Arora, etc.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who had taken up the cause of Untouchables and struggled for their emancipation right from the early decades of the century awakened them, organised them and led them to assert their rights as human beings. He won for them political rights in 1932 which were incorporated in the Government of India Act, 1935. Untouchables won the right to elect their own representatives to the legislature. Mahatma Gandhi vehemently opposed this because he feared this would weaken the Hindu society. He went on fast unto death and agreement popularly known as Poona pact was signed between the untouchable leaders and the Hindu leaders. Untouchables lost the right to elect their own representatives. They were given more seats but Hindus won the right to elect the representatives of the untouchables.

Dr. Ambedkar served as Labour Member (Minister) in the Viceroy's Executive council from 1942-46. It was through his efforts that some seats (8%) were reserved in the Government offices in favour of the untouchables. He resigned in 1946.

He was appointed as Law Minister and Chairman of the Drafting Committee in the first Government after transfer of power in 1947. He played a significant role in getting the Constitution passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. He could not get all the provisions made in the constitution, which were in the interest of the deprived section of the society, yet many provisions such as reservation of seats in the legislature. Reservation of seats proportionate to population in public services, facilities for promoting higher education's etc., were made in the constitution. Since U.N. Declaration was also being drafted during the same period many of the Human Rights were included in the Fundamental Rights and Directive principles of India's constitution.

Untouchables or Dalits as they like to be called now, have benefited from these provisions made in the constitution and laws like Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (Amended in 1976) and Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989. It is one thing to make provision in the constitution and quite another to implement them. Much depends on the will of the people or party who are in power and their political need and also on those who are entrusted with the duty to implement the political will and the laws enacted by the legislature. India presents a poor picture in this respect mainly because of the deep-rooted hostility and prejudice against the Dalits having the sanction of religion traditions and customs.

Before presenting the constitution to the constituent Assembly Chairmen of the Drafting committee, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar said,

"The United States has no caste problem. In India there are castes. The castes are Anti national. In the first place because They bring about separation in social Life. They are anti-national also, because they general jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste. But we must overcome all these difficulties if we wish to become a nation in reality. For fraternity can be fact only when there is a nation. Without fraternity. equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of paint."

Prejudices die very hard. The example of United States of America is before us. Slavery was abolished and all slaves were freed. Racism still exists and affects the life of millions of Afro-Americans who are still struggling for equal rights. The same applies to the Japanese where a large number of people performing essential duties and unpleasant jobs were condemned to live in "ghettos' outside the villages and town inhabited by upper caste and upper-class people. They were given a new name - Burakumin – when caste system was legally abolished. They are the untouchables of Japan even though like the untouchables of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, and Arab countries they belong to the same race. They are hated and marriages between these two sections of society ae looked down upon by the dominating group. Some manufacturing companies do not employ men and women even if they have the necessary qualifications. Like the untouchables of India, they have been victims of silence.

It is about time that the international organisations, U.N.O., U.N.E.S.C.O. Amnesty International Human Rights organisations take more effective steps to educate people so that the world may get rid of these dehumanising practices. Laws exist as they do in India against untouchability and discrimination but history tells us it is not enough to have laws alone and to expect the government to implement them. Globalisation especially in the economic field leading to privatisation is likely to adversely affect the interests of deprived and discriminated against people like the Dalits of India and neighbouring countries. Prime Minister of India Mr. Atal Behari Bajpai has already declared that there will be no reservation (quota reserved for the Dalits, backward sections of society) in the private sector. Once they lose the hope for employment in clean, honourable decent jobs, men and women belonging to the deprived sections of society will lose incentive for education. One does not know where will this lead India to.

What happens in India also affects the neighboring countries. This is a problem, which warrants immediate sympathetic and objective consideration.

(Bhagwan Das, President Moderator, Dalit Solidarity

Peoples, Member Advisory Board, IMADR (Tokyo),

Director, Asian Centre for Human Rights.

Flat BC-1/H, DDA Flats, Munirka, New Delhi-11067

Tel: Fax: (011) 6163321.