December Memories And The Recent Chapters Of Dalits And Muslims

By B.Prabakaran

03 December, 2015
Countercurrents.org

Colonialism reproduced caste groups and religious sects, a pre-colonial segmentation already existing between us, for their own administrative reasons, though under the label of ‘Indian society’. Caste, predestined by Brahmanism, demarcates boundaries as well the penalties for castes and other religious groups if anyone violated the norms or restrictions imposed by Brahmanical tradition. In this hierarchical order, Castes continued to be classified as upper superior or dominant and low or inferior or marginal but religious sects were designated as majority and minority.

In order to retain the numerical strength and the rigid hierarchical order, at least in the Indian situation, a certain upper/dominant order among majority would propagate vengeance and hostility towards the minority and marginal through media, literature, recreating history and constructing religious myths. Violence and ruptures could also be employed by them if required. The persistence of violence and the degree of inexorable hostility towards minorities and other oppressed sections would control and suppress them. The members of the marginal or the minorities recurrently become conscious of ‘their’ boundaries in the larger social order.

In the world history, Anti - Semitism was an apt instance for propagating hatred among majority against minority (which included Jews, Communists etc.) in the name of patriotism. Like the Fascist Germany, hatred towards many sections - Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Tribals, Communists and Atheists are being propagated in the Indian case. In the similar way along with never-ending caste killings, the demolition of Babri mosque was a crucial experience if we want to understand majoritarian supremacy, according to the scholars, after partition riots. For which hordes of saffrons preferred the day of Dr.Ambedkar’s 36th anniversary. (The irony is, following year-1993,saffrons celebrated the demolition day to mark the Lord Ram’s picture along with Dr.Ambedkar). They might have thought that in this way they can pit the two groups – Dalits and Muslims (both are political minorities in Ambedkarian sense) and make them clash or go against each other on the same day for different reasons in order to ridicule the Indian constitution, prepared and headed by Dr. Ambedkar, which in essence affirmed that India is a secular nation (as openly declared by Dr. Ambedkar in constituent assembly debate). In this way they thought of proclaiming blatantly India as a Hindu nation with no room for other faiths, including Ambedkar’s Buddhism if not already accommodated under the Hindu pantheon.
Ambedkar saw religion as a positive transitional force for (social) transformation and harmonious social intercourse among social groups but saffrons hold religion as a negative force against other religious communities. In our time, the name or a photograph of Ambedkar has commonly been used for political gains by other than Dalit political parties and Dalit movements, even by the parties which are completely against Ambedkar’s ideology. By using Ambedkar’s name, spending millions of rupees to buy his home, garlanding and praising him in-front of global media, saffrons strive to mobilize Dalits under its umbrella to execute their agenda, especially against Muslims. In the caste clashes while caste Hindus come together as an altruistic affinity for no more than persecuting Dalits, quite the reverse, in the communal violence Dalits are being mobilized by caste Hindus in opposition to Muslims. Thus, here the ploy of saffrons is undoubtedly to make the actual perpetrator disappear in certain area by pitting Dalits against Muslims or vice versa or both.

Hindutva is nothing but upper caste reactions against the efforts of self assertion by downtrodden groups (Tapan Basu et.al. 1993 emphasized). In his recent article, sociologist Sathish Desphpande elucidates similar idea that Hindutva is against Mandalisation. However, very few anti-caste movements, particularly in Tamil region, paid attention to this as their political agenda. Tamil Nadu, where Dravidian parties and movements proudly claim that this land flourishes due to anti-Brahmin (not critically anti-caste) ideology, which have challenged brahminical dominance in the socio, political spheres, is now increasingly witnessing RSS mobilization of so called ‘Dravidians’ by captivating them under Hindu identity. A decade ago people in this region considered it as an ephemeral thing and did not support Hindutva tricks. But since then the numbers have augmented gradually and some people have begun to have a firm opinion on shunning beef eating or upholding Hinduness. Hindutva is now ubiquitous till the end of many of the tiny villages, where ‘Gau-pujas’ are being organized in full swing.

Dalits and Muslims are two social groups facing discriminatory and derogatory remarks in public while conversation takes place among any of the two members. Despite the economic status and the scale of social stigma that Dalits come across every day, dominant discourses have not allowed us to compare Muslims with Dalits. But there are certain things which permit us to compare these two socially exploited groups on the ground of caste and religion. Both are regarded as beef eaters or butchers or engaging in dirty jobs. Both encounter social stigma and are forcibly moved to the margins, with entrenched caste discrimination as Ashrafs and Ajlafs. They, in the same way, face false cases, and late night interrogations. In the group clashes both encounter public humiliation, group rape, debasing of women and children, arson, losing houses and properties etc. Dalits, caste Hindus regard, do not have any right of their own, though guaranteed by our constitution, unless caste Hindus offer them. The same is true in the case of treatment of minority especially Muslims by majority.

Despite the fact that Dalits and Muslims have never been opponents at any point of the time in our history, they indeed have not raised their voice for themselves as effusively as they should, when they are slaughtered and humiliated. Very few voices from them against these atrocities are being heard here and there. Most of the time, they have understood each other as aliens as taught by ‘others’. For a Dalit an Islamite is a member of other religion and for an Islamite a Dalit is both an ‘Untouchable’ and a member from different religion. Dalits must raise their voice against religious fanaticism as well as Muslims must stand firmly against caste atrocities. This is urgent and crucial in present unfolding context.

In Dadri, only through rumour mongering a Muslim elder was killed by the so called authority of religion. This is no doubt a painful experience. But the spotlights of the media, discussions, anger of the civil society to other Human rights violations and caste atrocities occurring in the contemporary phase has not been as vociferous as it should be. Whether it is killing of two little toddlers in Haryana or public stripping of a Dalit family only for asking to file a complaint against the culprits or violent attack on a Dalit youth for folding his lungi (a male attire which is usually worn in many parts of India) in the beach area or assaulting of Dalits for worshipping in the village temple at Elumalai near Madurai. A young Dalit student was attacked and threatened by the Hindu outfits for criticizing caste system in Karnataka. Recently in western Tamilnadu a second standard Dalit school boy was forced to clean other student’s excreta in the class room by his haughtiest, caste Hindu – women teacher. This is indubitably, a most widespread outrageous practice against Dalit students in the school premises across the country. It happens (and considered imminent) barely because they are born in the scavenging caste. Not much talk about these atrocities took place. As far as taking a position on these atrocities mentioned above is concerned, civil society simply runs away and leaves it in the hands of Dalits as if it is only ‘their subject’. No statement, from the so called intellectuals, we could see in the dailies or any other media regarding this.
Spate of incidents of attacking writers, activists and academicians have been reported endlessly. We should not only come together as writers, artists, academicians, Dalits or Muslims but also should prepare ourselves as mass. Otherwise anyone's door would be knocked to inspect our kitchen or cooking vessels; anybody could be ordered whom to marry and how many children to give birth and you would be forcefully tortured, humiliated if you violate it.

Those who married outside or beyond his/her caste or religion would be slaughtered for polluting the Hindu tradition. Anyone would be glorified as patriot as well as anyone degraded as anti national or terrorist. Anybody can be stoned to death on any pretext in the name of patriotism. They would freely change our constitution and would write India is a Hindu nation. For accomplishing all these tasks they would not need saffrons, instead State force would execute it in front of the public. These agendas could be implemented by changing the rule of law itself, and then they will proudly proclaim India as a largest Democratic Country in the world with a people’s democracy.

B.Prabakaran is a researcher and author of two books on Ambedkar. He can be contacted at [email protected]