Future of Dalit Class in India

 

Future of Dalit Class in India

- Bhagwan Das

(April 23, 1927 – November 18, 2010)

 

(Note: Although Bhagwan Das ji had written this article in 2001, the shortcomings and weaknesses of the Dalit class in which he had identified and predicted the dark future of the Dalit class, are proving to be completely correct today. Therefore, to secure their future, the Dalits should adopt Buddhism and fight for their rights by forming a strong organization. And the responsibility of establishing a classless society rests on them - S.R. Darapuri.)

(Translation from Hindi to English by SR Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front)

It is not possible to make predictions about any individual, community, or group. Only astrologers claim to know or tell about the future, which is mostly based on guesswork and is proven wrong. But still, most of the people in our country believe more in Hindu astrology. Marriages are solemnized by asking the astrologer for auspicious time. The foundations of buildings are laid by consulting astrologers. Election papers are filed after consulting astrologers. But still women become widows and marriages fail. Buildings collapse and people win and lose elections.

But looking at the present-day leaders and keeping in mind the experiences of history, some estimates can be made. They too are sometimes proven wrong. For example, according to the famous scholar and thinker Karl Marx, born in Germany at the end of the 19th century, proletarian dictatorship will be established in the period before the Communist revolution. Then it will establish socialism and finally communism will come in which there will be neither an exploiter nor the exploited. But nothing like this happened. On the contrary, the first experiment done in Russia failed.

Nevertheless, by properly collecting and analyzing the facts, some estimates prove to largely be correct. For example, the book “Thoughts on Pakistan” written by Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar about the establishment of Pakistan in 1940 proved to largely be correct.

Dalits and Minority Groups There is a difference between the Scheduled Castes and the minority groups – Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Persians, Jews etc. What binds the minority people is the identity of religion or race, but what binds the Scheduled Castes is only a list given in the Constitution, not a separate identity.

Before 1935, there was a long list of Untouchable and Backward Castes, but at that time, the Shudra and untouchable castes were obsessed with being called upper caste Hindus. Every caste claimed to be Brahmin/Thakur. Congress and other Hindu political and social parties carried out vigorous propaganda to take advantage of this weakness of the Untouchables and Backward Castes.

Their interest was that the number of Dalits should not appear large and the population of Hindus should not decrease. The British Government added grounds or criteria to solve the difficulties arising from untouchability and created a new list which was called Scheduled Castes Order. 429 castes were included in it. In this too, the Jatava caste of Western Uttar Pradesh held meetings at many places and protested against their inclusion in the Scheduled Castes because some of the leaders, who were victims of Arya Samaj's propaganda, claimed that they were descendants of Krishna and were Rajputs. They should not be included in the list of Chamars. In some districts, the name of Jatavas was removed from the Scheduled Caste. The Dhanukas also protested in a similar manner. Their name was also removed from the list in some states. Same thing happened with the people of Dhobhi caste also. The Kolis in Himachal were trying to become “small Rajputs” because the Arya Samaj had a lot of influence on them.

A new constitution was made in 1949 which came into effect from 26.11.1949. A separate list was also added to the new Constitution which was much longer than the old Constitution. It includes more than 900 castes. In the new Constitution, under Article 341, the President has been given the right to specify the Scheduled Castes and the Parliament has been given the right to add or delete names. Parliament decides who is considered scheduled and who is not. In 1930-35 many castes wanted to be left out of the list of Depressed Classes, today many are demanding inclusion.

Thus, the identity of the Scheduled Castes depends only on the Parliament or the Supreme Court. There is nothing else connecting them. If their names are removed from the list, they will not remain untouchable in the eyes of law.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar made many efforts to unite the Dalits across India. The first attempt was made in 1927 in the form of a mass movement to take water from Chaudar Talab in Maharashtra. Apart from the Mahars, many other untouchable castes cooperated in the struggle, but after this movement, no other movement was launched for human and civil rights. To achieve his goal, Babasaheb continued his struggle for promotion of education and political rights and achieved success.

The second attempt was made to form a political party. The first political party was the Independent Labor Party, which was founded in 1936, but it was not only a party of the untouchables. Its objective was to uplift the working class. In this, apart from castes like Mahar, Chamar, Mang, Mehtar etc., upper caste Hindus also became member MLAs but its jurisdiction was only Bombay province.

The second attempt took place in 1942 when for the first time in the history of the untouchables, an independent party of the untouchables was established. This party was named Scheduled Castes Federation. People from many untouchable castes joined this party and an organization was formally formed. But this organization was for political gains, its foundation was weak. The biggest weakness was the caste system of the untouchables. The castes like Chamar, Khatik, Bhangi, Mehtar, Dhobi, Mala, Madiga etc. are formed only based on different professions but due to the education and side effects of Hindu religion, they consider each other as inferior and practice untouchability. It is not possible to form an organization in such circumstances. For this reason, when atrocities occur, they are unable to unite and either fight or help.

The sentiments of casteism are so strong that if people of one caste convert to one religion, people of another religion will stay away from that religion. If people of one caste join a party, people of another caste will stay away from it. Even within the party, caste is taken into consideration while distributing posts and tickets. Due to this, every party remains a party of one caste like the Republican Party in Maharashtra or the Bahujan Samaj Party in North India. Many parties come into existence due to casteism but a good organization is not formed.

Babasaheb tried to make the third attempt through religious conversion but he died after 53 days of starting this movement. And the religious movement which could have broken the caste system and created a new identity unit, could not be formed. Religious conversion fell victim to the same weaknesses that political movements did.

Most of the leadership of this movement were political leaders, they could not give the right direction to the religious conversion movement. They tried to run politics and religion in the same manner. This caused more damage to the religious movement.

Babasaheb had suggested many ways for progress and had made many provisions in the Constitution. These benefits have reached the untouchable castes even though he worked for the awakening and upliftment of all the untouchables. He had very few followers. Most of the people took advantage of those provisions and facilities but did not accept his teachings. They did not want to be free from the slavery of Hindu religion and caste system. Being victims of slavery for centuries, they had started loving slavery. The speeches of Bharatiya Janata Party ministers, MPs, and MLAs from backward castes after the demolition of Babri Masjid are a good proof of this.

Today, on the one hand, atrocities on Dalits are increasing all over India, and on the other hand, opposition to reservation is increasing. The doors of progress are being closed through privatization, on the other hand Dalits are not organized even in any one area. Those young men who want to take up politics as their field of work, do not consider joining politics but entering the Parliament and Legislative Assembly as politics. Instead of adopting the difficult path of struggle, renunciation, sacrifice, and mass movement, they join those parties which have more hope of winning them a seat or which can give them more money. They remain more loyal to their masters in the Parliament and Legislative Assembly. In the eyes of Dalits, Ram is neither their ideal male hero nor God because he was a supporter of Brahminism and Varna system and when he regained consciousness, he committed suicide by taking water samadhi in Saryu River but the people of Shudra castes got the voice from their masters due to ignorance and political selfishness. They are praising him. What could be more proof of backwardness and slavery than this?

Movements in the interests of the poor/labourers and vulnerable people, distribution of land, fight against unemployment, inflation, corruption are not run by parties, nor by youth looking for “political jobs.” He does not believe in such “useless” activities. This is how power will come into our hands and then we will do whatever we want. Once upon a time, Congress also used to raise similar slogans. Bahujan Samaj Party also used to raise similar slogans but after coming to power, it did nothing for the upliftment of Dalits.

The untouchables could not launch a movement for distribution of land, whereas the Republican Party, understanding its importance, had launched a big movement in 1964-65 and had achieved great success. Farm labourers, small farmers, artisans, untouchables, and people from backward classes started considering it as their party but its urban leaders remained entangled in urban problems. That party broke into pieces due to the weaknesses of the leadership and the caste system and wrong election laws. Congress and other parties did a great job in breaking it because it was becoming a big threat to them.

The untouchables could not organize due to caste sentiments. They love caste so much that they are unable to give up their attachment even after going abroad. Organization is not possible without discrimination and hatred.

It does not seem possible that they will ever gain political power through elections under the laws and systems prevalent today.

Some people have benefited from reservation but very few of those who have benefited from reservation have worked to uplift the society but reservation is not a permanent thing. If the number of educated people increases and unemployment among educated youth increases, then reservation will become meaningless.

People who follow Hindu religion and caste system as ideal are becoming powerful day by day. They want to establish Ramrajya (Hindu Rashtra) and many people from Dalit and Shudra castes are helping them in establishing Ramrajya. Ramrajya would mean caste system and rule of the upper castes. This Constitution which claims equality, talks about rights will be abolished in Ramraj because Ramrajya was a state of inequality. There was a kingdom of injustice in which Shudras and women did not have the right to live with dignity.

In these circumstances the future of the untouchables is in danger. They have no friends and no allies. Some people can form organizations to come to power in a sporadic manner but are unable to get organized. The most pathetic condition seems to be of those who claim to be Ambedkarites. Now people have started laughing at them because while they criticize the Brahmins on the stage, in their daily life they follows the rules, highs and lows, superstitions and customs made by them. They do not consider it a mistake to remain as Mahars, Chamars, Bhangis and Khatiks even after adopting Buddhism. They do not want to learn anything from history.

Given these circumstances and weaknesses, the future of Dalits seems bleak. The intoxicating and dangerous slogans of “Hindutva” will cause great harm to Dalits. Gandhi and Congress had prevented them from organizing and had created obstacles in creating their identity. Tried to keep them away from other minorities. The main reason for this was that they wanted to strengthen Hindu religion. Leadership in Congress was in the hands of people from the so-called upper castes.

Now the party that came to power on the slogan of Hindutva is also doing the same thing that Congress had been doing. Make the untouchables fight with the Sikhs and then defame them by blackening their faces. Make the untouchables fight the Muslims so that they cannot gather. Promote Hindu customs and casteism among the untouchables so that they cannot organize themselves and create a threat to them. There may be a difference in the methods of the two parties but not in the objectives.

It is in the interest of Dalits that they should follow the path shown by Babasaheb Ambedkar and become free from the slavery of casteism, conservatism and customs and create their own identity. Remove the influence and traces of Hindu religion from your life considering it as poison. In clear words, they should free themselves from the slavery of Hindu religion. Separate your name, lifestyle, food habits, clothes, everything, create your own identity. Build a new society, a new social and economic system based on the principles of Buddhism. Only then will they be able to live with dignity in the times to come and will be able to liberate the victims of their kind of exploitation.

Hindu religion is the main reason for slavery, backwardness, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, mental and physical weakness, and disorganization of Dalits. For progress, and a life with dignity, it is as important to be completely free from this slavery as it is for a slave country to be free.

(Bhagwan Das was a colleague of Dr. Ambedkar. It was he who took the issue of untouchability in the Indian subcontinent to the international level. In 1983, he presented this issue in the UNO)

 

Interview: Bhagwan Das on Dalit Religious Traditions and the Hindutva Challenge

Interview: Bhagwan Das on Dalit Religious Traditions and the Hindutva Challenge
Yoginder Sikand
ysikand@yahoo.com
Mon Feb 21 08:40:04 CST 2005

             

 

 (Bhagwan Das is a Delhi-based Dalit lawyer. Author of numerous books on Dalit history and Ambedkarism, he is associated with several Dalit organisations. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand he speaks about the religious traditions of the sweeper community to which he belongs and about the challenges to the Dalit movement from Hindutva, which he identifies as the contemporary face of Brahminism.)

Q: How did you get involved in the Dalit movement?

A: I was born in an Untouchable family in Himachal Pradesh. My father used to work as a sweeper in a post office. My mother was also from a sweeper family, but one which was semi-Muslim. I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ambedkar on several occasions. I first met him in Bombay in 1943. After I joined the Air Force and got a posting in Bombay, I would regularly go to his house to meet him, three times a week. I would do the paper work that he would give me-making clippings from newspapers, typing, procuring information that he required from different offices and so on. So, that is how I began getting involved in the Dalit struggle. When Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism in 1956, I followed in his footsteps and in 1957 and embraced Buddhism along with my family.

Q: Why did Dr. Ambedkar convert to Buddhism?

A: The Dalits have never been Hindus, because, being outcastes, they are outside the four-fold Hindu caste system. Buddhism, according to Dr. Ambedkar, was the original religion of the Dalits. It is a religion of freedom and liberation. Dr. Ambedkar believed, and rightly so, that all major social and political revolutions have been preceded by cultural and religious revolutions, and so for the Dalit struggle conversion was a fundamental necessity.

We Dalits have never been Hindus. Actually, we had our own religious systems quite distinct from Brahminical beliefs and practices. Take the case of my own community, the sweepers (Bhangis). Their status was ambiguous. They were neither Hindus nor Muslims. It was difficult to place us anywhere because we did not worship any Hindu gods and nor did we go to mosques to pray. We had our own folk heroes whom we worshipped, but this tradition is now fast being forgotten, because Hindu organisations are desperately trying to Hinduise us. We sweepers had our own patron saint called Lal Beg. Later, the Arya Samajists tried to convert us into Hindus by claiming that we were descendants of Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, but I, for one, never accepted this myth

.
Q: Who was Lal Beg?

A: Some say that Lal Beg was actually Lal Bhikku, who could have been a Buddhist saint. If you read the prayers of the sweeper community of northern India which are dedicated to Lal Beg you get a very interesting picture. These prayers are called Kursi Namas. They were collected together by Youngson and published in The Indian Antiquaries. They read like the first book of the Genesis in the Old Testament, tracing the lineage of our heroes. The Kursi Namas very clearly tell us that the sweepers are neither Hindus nor Muslims. There is no mention of any Hindu gods like Rama or Krishna in them. But, very interestingly, the Kursi Namas all begin with the Qur’anic invocation Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim (‘In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate’), which is the standard Islamic form with which every verse of the Qur’an but one begins. And, they all end with the cry, which again is very Islamic, of ‘Bolo Momino Vohi Ek Hai!’ [Say, O believers, that He alone is
the One True Being!].

Now, at several places in the Kursi Namas, the names Lal Beg and Bala Shah are used interchangeably. Bala Shah was a leading Punjabi Sufi saint. The Punjabi Sufi Waris Shah writes in his Heer, which is really an encyclopedia of the Punjab of his times, that Bala Shah was the Pir or Sufi preceptor of two so-called low castes, the sweepers or Chuhras and the Pasis [Bala Pir Ai Churiyan Pasiyan Da].

Q: Are the sweepers still aware of this tradition?

A: Unfortunately, very few are, and this tradition is fast disappearing. One reason is because Hindu organisations have been sparing no effort to absorb the sweepers into the Hindu fold so as to increase Hindu numbers. They were afraid that otherwise the sweepers would all convert to Christianity, a process that began in 1873 and continued right until 1931. So, they used all means to prevent the conversion of the sweepers. As part of this broader agenda, they started selling the story that the sweepers are actually Valmikis, descendants of Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana. In order to convince the sweepers of their claims, they argued that Bala Shah, the other name for Lal Beg, was actually just a corrupted form of the name Valmiki.

 
O: But how could that be, considering that in the Ramayana Valmiki legitimises the caste system? He tells us that Rama beheaded the Shudra Shambukh simply because he was meditating in order to ascend to the heavens in his physical body?

A: Exactly, so it is just a myth. The problem with this so-called Valmiki connection is: which Valmiki are they talking about? The Brahminical Valmiki who is a Brahmin and claims to be the tenth son of Varuna? Or the Valmiki mentioned in the Puranas as a dacoit? The Valmiki who wrote the Ramayana champions the caste system, so how could he have been a sweeper? He was actually a Brahmin. The problem with the alleged connection between this Valmiki and the sweepers is that at least when the Chamars claim Ravidas there's a link between the two, and so is the case with the claims of the Julahas and Bunkars [weavers] vis-a-vis Kabir, but there is absolutely nothing to link the Valmiki of the Ramayana with the sweepers.

Q: Has the attempted Sanskritisation of the sweepers by taking recourse to this mythical connection between them and Valmiki actually succeeded in improving their social status?

A: No, not at all. I would not call this process Sanskritisation. Rather, it was a cheap imitation of certain Brahminical customs and rituals. Sanskritisation does not result in any social mobility for the sweepers. The trouble with caste is that if you try to throw it out from the front door, it creeps back again through the window or the back door. This has been the fate of conversion movements among the Dalits to Christianity, Sikhism and Islam as well, although these religions, in theory, are egalitarian, unlike Hinduism. As I see it, what is called Sanskritisation may result in some superficial changes of customs and names, but it does not result in any change in the attitudes of the so-called ‘upper’ castes towards the Dalits. That has been the experience of the sweepers who now claim to be Valmikis. So, if a sweeper begins to call himself a Valmiki or a Chamar a Ravidasi or Ad-Dharmi or a carpenter a Vishwakarma, this makes no fundamental change in the attitudes of the Hindus towards them.

Q: What implications do you see Sanskritisation having for the Dalit liberation struggle?

A: Sanskritisation, to my mind, is simply another name for conversion of the Dalits to Hinduism, or, to be more precise, Brahminism, It has had a very negative impact on the Dalit quest for liberation. It further divides the Dalits. Take the case of the Chamars, the most populous caste in north India. Because of the process of what you call Sanskritisation, they are now divided into 62 sub-castes, none of which intermarries with the others. In Uttar Pradesh, the sweepers are divided into several endogamous groups, And, besides this, Sanskritisation really does not result in any change in the attitudes of those who have been practicing untouchability towards them for centuries. Shapes may change, forms may change, but the deep-rooted hatred remains.

As I see it, the Hinduisation of the Dalits makes the process of Dalit assertion much more difficult, because the more Hinduised Dalit castes begin to hate their own people who are less Hinduised. Now, if you ask a Valmiki man to marry a Dhanuk or Bansphod woman, he would refuse, because the Dhanuks and Bansphods are much less Hinduised than the Valmikis.

Q: What implications does the Hindutva agenda have for the Dalit communities and their struggle for liberation?

A: In my opinion, the Hindutva organisations would like to bring the Dalits, who are actually not Hindus, into the Hindu fold and leave them there, at the bottom of the heap. Now, that is also what Gandhi attempted to do. He used to tell the Dalits that God had created them simply to serve the so-called upper castes and that they should carry on with their caste occupations in the hope that in their next life they would be born in a higher caste. That is also what the Hindutva project is all about. So, from the Dalit point of view, the rise of Hindutva is a very dangerous development. If you are really serious about bringing about a fundamental structural change, and not simply cosmetic change, in this caste-ridden society whose roots are in religion, you have to strike at both the caste system as well as the religious ideology that gives it legitimacy. But this the Hindutva organisations cannot and will not do.


Q: In an ideal Hindutva set-up, what would be the status of the Dalits?

A: In the Hindutva scheme of things, the ideal, so-called 'Golden Age' which they want to drag us back to is the age of the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Gita, the Manusmriti. What was the position of the Dalits and Shudras then? We were treated worse than slaves, and this was given religious sanction by these Brahminical scriptures that the Hindutvawadis champion. So, it may have certainly been a 'Golden Age' for them, but it was beyond doubt the darkest period in history for us Dalits. As I see it, the Hindutva organisations all aim at enforcing the varna system in some form or the other, and this has the most dangerous implications for us. I was recently reading a book by Golwalkar, one-time supremo of the RSS, where he says that the caste system did no harm at all. That glorification of caste may be good from their point of view, but not for us, certainly. To my mind, the rise of Hindutva is actually a product of growing Dalit consciousness, and as the Dalits has now begun struggling for their rights the Brahminical establishment, represented by Hindutva groups, are seeking to scuttle the Dalit liberation quest by diverting the Dalits to fight with other groups like the Muslims and the Christians.


Q: What do you think is the role of religion in the broader Dalit struggle?

A: I personally feel that there are three institutions that are necessary for the proper functioning of a society. Firstly, the institution of marriage. Secondly, the institution of government. And thirdly, the institution of religion which gives people a moral code to live by and binds them together. This question agitated the mind of Dr. Ambedkar when he was considering severing his ties with Hinduism, with which the Dalits have only very nominally been attached historically. So, he gave us a new interpretation of Buddhism which resembles in many respects the liberation theology of the South American Catholics. The starting point in his religious quest was: What is the role of religion in society? He stressed that religion is a good nurse but can be a bad mistress, because the institution of religion has historically played both a constructive as well as a very destructive role.


Q: But many Mahayanist and Theravadin Buddhists claim that Ambedkar's interpretation of Buddhism is not in accordance with fundamental Buddhist teachings.

A: It is true that Dr. Ambedkar’s interpretation of the Buddhist dhamma differs in several important respects from both the Mahayana and the Theravada, but then right from the early Buddhist period, from soon after the death of the Buddha, Buddhism has been characterized by a tremendous internal diversity. In Japan, for instance, there are some 1260 different Buddhist sects.

Q: What do you feel about the emergence of what is called Dalit Christian theology?

A: Dalit Christian theology emerged in the last one decade, primarily as a response to the growing assertion of the Dalits. My own personal feeling is that it is being used as a means of self-defence by Dalits within the Church to challenge the ‘upper’ caste hegemony in the Church structures and hierarchies. I don't see Dalit Christian theology as having had any noticeable impact on the non-Christian Dalits, however. In fact, many among the latter are quite suspicious of the aims of the Church now that it has suddenly begun to present itself as the champion of the Dalits. I feel that the Church authorities are now greatly alarmed as the number of Christians is going down, as several Dalit Christians are leaving the Church to avail of reservation benefits, which, according to the law, are not available to Christian Dalits. So, maybe Dalit Christian theology is also a means to stem that tide.

Q: So, would you say that the trend among the Dalits today is towards conversion to Buddhism rather than to Christianity?

A: Yes, at least that is how I see it. Buddhism gives them a sense of pride and identity and connects them to a glorious chapter in their own history. But the Buddhist conversion movement is not proceeding as rapidly as we would have liked it to. One reason is that very little attention has been paid to the proper training of bhikkhus [Buddhist monks], although this is something that Ambedkar seriously urged. He said that we should have regular seminaries for training monks, just as the early Buddhists had, in the form of universities such as at Nalanda and Taxila. To begin with, we tried sending our monks to Thailand for training, but many of them went off to the West after completing their course, instead of coming back to India to serve here. So, this is a great problem for us. But we are now planning to set up a seminary for training bhikkhus in the Terai region in Uttar Pradesh, where they will be taught the Buddhist scriptures, the philosophy of Ambedkarism as well as Comparative religions.

Q: What has been the impact of the conversion to Buddhism on the Mahars of Maharashtra, the community to which Ambedkar belonged?

A: As I see it, their conversion has been largely limited to a change of rituals, and has not really made much of a difference in their social status. But because of their conversion many of them have given up drinking alcohol and worshipping Hindu gods like Rama and Krishna. In Maharashtra today, Buddhists are synonymous largely with Mahars, and so the attitudes of others towards them has not really changed, but at least conversion has given them a new sense of identity and self-respect.

Q: In your opinion, can conversion to Buddhism help the process of undermining the structures of caste?

A: That is what is happening today, although gradually. For instance, the Ambedkar Mission Society, with which I am associated, and whose members are all Buddhists, insists that at least one person in the family of all our members must marry outside his or her own caste. This is the only way to destroy the caste system. If Dalits from different castes begin to convert to Buddhism and start inter-marrying, the internal divisions that have historically worked to weaken the Dalits will gradually begin to disappear. Conversion to Buddhism, in my view, will help consolidate the Dalits into one community, giving them a sense of pride and a positive identity. If they do not convert, they will remain divided into several hundred caste groups and will not be able to assert themselves at all.