Ankur Bhardwaj | New Delhi Jan 22, 2016 12:40 PM IST
Social fronts and students organisation members take part in a candle march protest over the death of Rohit Vemula in Nagpur of Maharashtra. Photo: PTI
Rohith Vemula’s suicide has sent our politics into convulsion and has once again brought to fore the deep social fault-lines that criss-cross our society. Often masked, these divisions have always existed deep under. Through constitutionally mandated means -- aided by political participation -- the Indian Republic has sought to paper over the rumbling of these tectonic plates. Whether it has succeeded or failed depends on how you look at it.
The government’s response has been to brush aside the casteist underpinnings of this issue. HRD minister, Smriti Irani, was at pains to deflect attention by suggesting that it was not a Dalits versus non-Dalits issue. A report in the Indian Express today highlights, how her deputies in the ministry -- one of whom is a Dalit -- have gone silent on the matter. This has only highlighted how important conversations around Dalit issues are ignored in attempts to tide over a crisis.
The old debates of merit versus reservations, upper caste versus lower caste, privilege versus social justice have once again surfaced. What is at the heart of such breakdowns in our society, especially in our schools, colleges and universities? Why is our youth taking such pitched positions on these matters?
What causes these conflagrations in educational institutes and among the youth now?
At the heart of it, these disputes among our youth in our educational institutions represent a questioning of the status-quo. It represents how Dalit or Tribal youth question the status-quo they have inherited in the form of a rigid, discriminatory social order. It represents a pushing of existing boundaries by every new generation. It represents an assertion of their equality and a consciousness of their rights.
This in itself represents a success of the republic that in 1950 decided to enshrine equality in the constitution in its attempt to fix centuries of oppression. To remove social stigma, to ensure equitable growth, to ensure the new Republic’s sustenance and to reform the society, reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes were introduced. This important feature continues till this day as Indian society has not reformed at the pace at which it was expected to, as Rohith Vemula’s suicide clearly demonstrates.
On the other hand, we have a questioning of the status-quo by those from privileged castes. It represents a curious mix of casteism and entitlement but it also represents a questioning of the social order that has been bequeathed to them by the republic’s founders. It partly represents a lack of awareness and therefore understanding of the reasons this order was created in 1950. This questioning of the status-quo should also be welcomed.
This mutual resistance coupled with entrenched power equations that are clearly tilted against the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes leads to social flare-ups.
The fuse that leads to these flare-ups is made up of multiple layers, each different from the other and each requiring careful parsing
The challenge here is to understand that broad-brushing all questioning as assertion of caste superiority or entitlement is useless and lazy while the broad-brushing of assertion of rights by Dalits as usurpation of merit is disingenuous and lacks comprehension of dalit or tribal victimisation.
What do these conflagrations lead to?
Pitched battles with no common ground for frank, free and civil conversations is now the norm when it comes to public discourse and battles over reservations in jobs and educational institutions are no different.
On one hand we have a side which is rightly asserting its right to equality and claiming its rightful place in the society and on the other we have a side whose new generations wallow in victimhood and deprivation, unaware of the roots of the debate.
A distinct lack of awareness of how sections of a society we live in have been deprived of opportunity and life (often a bullheaded and vicious lack of acknowledgement of such deprivation) is then met by an equally obstinate lack of acknowledgement of this grouse.
To acknowledge the existence of this grouse itself becomes a reason for another pitched battle. Hectoring activism speaks to strong victimhood and no honest conversation is held that can help one side even acknowledge the other’s point of view.
How to reduce the scope of these flare-ups?
The solution to these flare-ups is then found in the age old Indian method of letting the issue die, biding time till the next one arrives on the scene.
Rohith Vemula’s case is not an exception, it is rather the norm but despite so many battles being fought, solutions or even discussions are hard to come by. Why is it so hard for the so-called upper castes to understand the legitimacy of the social justice mechanism?
A 20 year old born in 1995 in a privileged caste or class or gender who has neither been exposed to the Constituent Assembly debates, nor the discourse centred around Mandal commission and whose idea of merit is the percentage of marks scored in an exam, will find it hard to comprehend the concept of social justice.
In his political consciousness, reservations are electoral sops often extricated through collective agitation, sometimes even by the undeserving. Reservations then become a cart in which everyone tries to get a stake but nobody wants to question.
With no window into dalit history either at school or college and no portrayal of dalit struggles in popular culture, this exposure to the realities of caste oppression is completely absent.
For political or social activists, it would be useful to understand that reservations or the existing mechanisms of social justice are not holy cows to not be questioned. The status-quo, as created over decades since 1950, will be questioned; by every generation and more strongly than before. This questioning needs to be countered through conversations and often accommodation rather than through hectoring and self-righteousness.
While the republic has a responsibility to ensure social reforms and equality, it also has a need to ensure generations don’t get alienated by feeling ignored and uncared for, however improbable the cause. For this young republic’s sake, it is important that we don’t ignore these conversations and don’t create any more holy cows.
In his death, Rohith Vemula has given us an opportunity to start this important conversation and take it to schools, colleges and universities. Let us have this debate in right earnest and let the two sides talk to each other, rather than talk down or past each other.
Twitter: @bhayankur
Social fronts and students organisation members take part in a candle march protest over the death of Rohit Vemula in Nagpur of Maharashtra. Photo: PTI
Rohith Vemula’s suicide has sent our politics into convulsion and has once again brought to fore the deep social fault-lines that criss-cross our society. Often masked, these divisions have always existed deep under. Through constitutionally mandated means -- aided by political participation -- the Indian Republic has sought to paper over the rumbling of these tectonic plates. Whether it has succeeded or failed depends on how you look at it.
The government’s response has been to brush aside the casteist underpinnings of this issue. HRD minister, Smriti Irani, was at pains to deflect attention by suggesting that it was not a Dalits versus non-Dalits issue. A report in the Indian Express today highlights, how her deputies in the ministry -- one of whom is a Dalit -- have gone silent on the matter. This has only highlighted how important conversations around Dalit issues are ignored in attempts to tide over a crisis.
The old debates of merit versus reservations, upper caste versus lower caste, privilege versus social justice have once again surfaced. What is at the heart of such breakdowns in our society, especially in our schools, colleges and universities? Why is our youth taking such pitched positions on these matters?
What causes these conflagrations in educational institutes and among the youth now?
At the heart of it, these disputes among our youth in our educational institutions represent a questioning of the status-quo. It represents how Dalit or Tribal youth question the status-quo they have inherited in the form of a rigid, discriminatory social order. It represents a pushing of existing boundaries by every new generation. It represents an assertion of their equality and a consciousness of their rights.
This in itself represents a success of the republic that in 1950 decided to enshrine equality in the constitution in its attempt to fix centuries of oppression. To remove social stigma, to ensure equitable growth, to ensure the new Republic’s sustenance and to reform the society, reservations for Scheduled Castes and Tribes were introduced. This important feature continues till this day as Indian society has not reformed at the pace at which it was expected to, as Rohith Vemula’s suicide clearly demonstrates.
On the other hand, we have a questioning of the status-quo by those from privileged castes. It represents a curious mix of casteism and entitlement but it also represents a questioning of the social order that has been bequeathed to them by the republic’s founders. It partly represents a lack of awareness and therefore understanding of the reasons this order was created in 1950. This questioning of the status-quo should also be welcomed.
This mutual resistance coupled with entrenched power equations that are clearly tilted against the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes leads to social flare-ups.
The fuse that leads to these flare-ups is made up of multiple layers, each different from the other and each requiring careful parsing
The challenge here is to understand that broad-brushing all questioning as assertion of caste superiority or entitlement is useless and lazy while the broad-brushing of assertion of rights by Dalits as usurpation of merit is disingenuous and lacks comprehension of dalit or tribal victimisation.
What do these conflagrations lead to?
Pitched battles with no common ground for frank, free and civil conversations is now the norm when it comes to public discourse and battles over reservations in jobs and educational institutions are no different.
On one hand we have a side which is rightly asserting its right to equality and claiming its rightful place in the society and on the other we have a side whose new generations wallow in victimhood and deprivation, unaware of the roots of the debate.
A distinct lack of awareness of how sections of a society we live in have been deprived of opportunity and life (often a bullheaded and vicious lack of acknowledgement of such deprivation) is then met by an equally obstinate lack of acknowledgement of this grouse.
To acknowledge the existence of this grouse itself becomes a reason for another pitched battle. Hectoring activism speaks to strong victimhood and no honest conversation is held that can help one side even acknowledge the other’s point of view.
How to reduce the scope of these flare-ups?
The solution to these flare-ups is then found in the age old Indian method of letting the issue die, biding time till the next one arrives on the scene.
Rohith Vemula’s case is not an exception, it is rather the norm but despite so many battles being fought, solutions or even discussions are hard to come by. Why is it so hard for the so-called upper castes to understand the legitimacy of the social justice mechanism?
A 20 year old born in 1995 in a privileged caste or class or gender who has neither been exposed to the Constituent Assembly debates, nor the discourse centred around Mandal commission and whose idea of merit is the percentage of marks scored in an exam, will find it hard to comprehend the concept of social justice.
In his political consciousness, reservations are electoral sops often extricated through collective agitation, sometimes even by the undeserving. Reservations then become a cart in which everyone tries to get a stake but nobody wants to question.
With no window into dalit history either at school or college and no portrayal of dalit struggles in popular culture, this exposure to the realities of caste oppression is completely absent.
For political or social activists, it would be useful to understand that reservations or the existing mechanisms of social justice are not holy cows to not be questioned. The status-quo, as created over decades since 1950, will be questioned; by every generation and more strongly than before. This questioning needs to be countered through conversations and often accommodation rather than through hectoring and self-righteousness.
While the republic has a responsibility to ensure social reforms and equality, it also has a need to ensure generations don’t get alienated by feeling ignored and uncared for, however improbable the cause. For this young republic’s sake, it is important that we don’t ignore these conversations and don’t create any more holy cows.
In his death, Rohith Vemula has given us an opportunity to start this important conversation and take it to schools, colleges and universities. Let us have this debate in right earnest and let the two sides talk to each other, rather than talk down or past each other.
Twitter: @bhayankur
Source: businessstandard
