Some of you might think this is a bit too much, but moderation does not help societal change. The French revolution did not come about by calling the nobility a ‘tad bit rude’.
We have written many times about the history of caste based discrimination and the exploitation of the majority of the Indian society by a small number of upper caste Hindus. We have talked about the justification of caste based reservations in education and employment. Yes, we can all agree that the upper caste Hindus from 200 years ago did some serious damage to the rest of the society and the people from other castes have a right to reparations for fair competition. (Everywhere you see ‘upper caste Hindu’, substitute with any dominant caste name)
But this leaves us with an uncomfortable question, the elephant in the room that we either don’t see or don’t want to see. The question is this: What about the upper caste society of the present day? We regularly see people who say something along the lines of, ‘I do not see caste, I am a good upper caste Hindu, why are you blaming me for what my ancestors did? I had nothing to do with it’. Are the sins of the father to be laid upon the children?
Well. No. Right?
On the most obvious level, anyone who is reading this is bound to say ‘no’ to this question. But I think there is a thing or two to consider before making that decision.
Firstly, there is the matter of identity. Anyone who says ‘I am a good upper caste Hindu’, is saying that they are an upper caste Hindu. They are identifying as upper caste. And by definition they are implying that someone else is lower to them. Dr Ambedkar puts it eloquently yet very harshly:
“To a slave his master may be better or worse. But there cannot be a good slave master. A good man cannot be a slave master and a master cannot be a good man. The same applies to the relationship between high caste and low caste. To a low caste man a high caste man can be better or worse as compared to other high caste men. A high caste man cannot be a good man in so far as he must have a low caste man to distinguish him as high caste man”
-Annihilation of caste, Dr Ambedkar.
So as long as someone calls themselves ‘upper caste’ or identifies as a member of any dominant caste, yes they are a big part of the current state of caste discrimination and the sins of their fathers will be laid upon them.
Secondly, there is the matter of benefits they get from their ancestors who they so readily dismiss. Be it property, social status and capital, financial soundness or education. It would be a grave mistake to forget that any ancestral benefit enjoyed by today’s upper caste society is an indirect result of past discrimination.
Let’s consider an extremely exaggerated example that I believe nevertheless conveys the point.
Say many years ago, my grandfather robbed your grandfather. Every last penny. He took your house, your money, your land and shamed you publicly. Your family came to the streets. My grandfather used all the money he stole from you and bought himself a nice house, nice car, and gave his children wonderful education and healthcare, and started a very successful business. Fast forward to now, somehow you and I end up as friends. And when you tell me about the things my grandfather did to your family, I reply “Hey dude, that was my grandfather. I have nothing to do with it, I’m a good grand-son”. Would you say that is fair? Maybe. But now consider that I still live in that house that was built with the money stolen from you. I still drive cars which I bought with the money stolen from you. My father was well educated because of the money stolen from you. So he was able to give me a great education. My family was recognised as rich and powerful because of the money stolen from you, and has contacts with politicians, businessmen, police force, judges and lawyers and several good educational institutes. Sure, I did not steal your money. My grandfather did. But I still have all these things, because of the money stolen from you. Meanwhile, your father struggled, he was a daily labour, somehow he saved enough money to send you to a good college. You are absolutely broke now. But I also study in the same good college because my family has so much money that it stole from you. And now we are classmates. And you come to me and tell me “Dude, your grandpa stole from mine, I am now broke, I need to pay my fees, I need money” and I tell you “Look I did not steal from you. You and I study in the same college now. We are in the same position. You can’t expect me to pay for what my grandfather did. You should make your own money. I had nothing to do with what my grandfather did. I’m a good upper caste Hindu.”
Now you tell me if that’s fair. Tell me if any man or woman would stand there and take that.
You will not be absolved of your ancestors' sins as long as you enjoy the benefits of their sins, and expect us to suffer the consequences of the same sins. The upper caste Hindus who think there is no blood on their hands because they did not kill their prey are wrong. Maybe they did not kill their prey. But they damn sure are still eating the meat. And their hands are plenty red. They haven't gone out of their way to clean their blood soaked hands either.
So what is the end here? Are we going to keep blaming generation after generation?
Not necessarily.
In the story above, what would be a way for the two of us to truly be friends and equals?
I should denounce my grandfather and publicly admit that he stole and he did wrong. I should give back, if not all, at least part of what my family stole from you. You should gain, if not all, at least part of the contacts I have. Then, maybe we can be friends.
In the same way, here’s what I say to anyone who says “I am a good upper caste Hindu, I had nothing to do with what my ancestors did. Reservation is unfair to me. I have nothing to do with what my ancestors did”.
Denounce your upper caste title. Don’t call yourself a good ‘upper caste’ person. Denounce your ancestors. Admit publicly that your ancestors were cruel, greedy and exploiting. Leave your ‘holier than thou’ attitude. Give back what your ancestors unfairly took from people. Shut up with your claims that you are unfairly suffering from reservation. Take off any signs or religious rites that mark your caste. I understand that social capital is something you cannot just give back. The best way we have for that is Reservation. So support reservation. Allow people from every caste to be priests. Only then can you think about asking for forgiveness.
Do all of this, and then look me in the eye and say “Don’t blame me, I have nothing to do with my ancestors’ sins”.
And then we will shake hands and we will be friends.
Not before.
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