CAST OUT CASTE

CAST OUT CASTE
(Directions from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Analysis of the Traditional Socio-Religious Structures of India to the Church in India)

Rev. Raj Bharath Patta

Introduction

India is marching towards sixty years of its independence, but still the nature and substance of Indian society has not changed much specially with its caste-ridden roots. Even after 60 years of independence, the Dalits and Adivasis in India are chained and oppressed in the name of caste. The socio-religious structures are so rigid, that one is made to succumb and follow to its ideology and the way of life. Analyzing ones own context in the society always provide the method and direction in transforming the context, and therefore a critical analysis becomes an important tool towards transforming the society. Down the lane of Indian history, one courageous man analysed the socio-religious structures of his day and challenged the oppressive nature it has and strived for the liberation of the society, he is none other but the messiah of Dalits, Bharat Ratna Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar. In the recently held Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Baba Saheb’s Dhamma Chakra Parivartan (conversion to Buddhism), there was a question that was raised ‘how relevant is Ambedkar to the life of the Church in India?’ and this question inspired me to reflect on Ambedkar’s contributions and specifically his analyzing the Indian context. “The Indian society owes a tremendous debt to Ambedkar’s radical and humanitarian approach for solution of the problems of the backward classes,” writes Mr. S.B. Chavan, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra[1]. As a social reformer Ambedkar ushered in a new era in India’s socio-political history. At the very front page of his book What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables, Ambedkar quoted the Greek philosopher Thucydides who said, “It may be your interest to be our master, but how can it be ours to be your slaves?”[2] Ambedkar was bold in questioning the validity of Caste system and made the Dalits aware of their rights and duties. Ambedkar stood against religious oppression and embraced Buddhism so as to free his people from brahmanical subjugation. It is interesting that for him untouchability and exploitation were a violation of civil liberties, not in the conventional sense, but because of the breach of the dignity of whole communities.

This paper is an attempt to bring out Ambedkar’s analysis of socio religious structures of the then Indian society. His method of analysis was analytical, radical, reformatory and revolutionary. The Hind social order, the Caste system, the untouchability and the religion in which it was practiced were all analyzed and has been discussed here. The relevance of such an analysis to the theology of the Church’s ministries in India has also been discussed here. The paper is attempted from the perspective of young, Dalit and ecumenical learner.

1. Analysis of Indian Society

Gail Omvedt writes “It is impossible to conceptualize the Dalit movement in India in the absence of Ambedkar, it is equally difficult to imagine, sociologically, Ambedkar coming of any other region than the Marathi speaking areas of British presidency.”[3] This is one of the reasons for Ambedkar’s critical position on nationalist politics. He was a Mahar, the largest untouchable caste in Maharashtra. His actions were moulded not only by his own personal background, and achievements, and the Maharashtrian thinking of his day, but also by his status as an untouchable. This group he came from had begun social and political movements before he assumed a position of his leadership. Many communist leaders analyzed Caste in a mechanical framework and sought to override traditional identities rather than reinterpret them. Therefore a plausible explanation could be found in his own solution for liberating the Dalits. Ambedkar realized that the identification of Indian culture with Hinduism is incorrect. He saw the Caste system as a serious obstacle in the path of democracy. According to him democracy lies not in the form of government but in terms of association between the people who form that society. Because Indian society is divided and graded on the basis of the Caste system it is not democratic.[4] He was critical of the brahmanical social order and put forward the arguments based on the principle of liberal equality and distributive justice.

2. Analysis of Caste System

This devilish system is mainly responsible for the degradation of the untouchables. Dr. Ambedkar has, therefore, never spared himself to expose the vested interests and their arrogance and selfishness, which have gone into creating this barrier and the high handedness in maintaining it. In his paper Castes in India, their mechanism genesis and development, which he read before the Anthropology seminar of Dr. Goldenweiser on May 9, 1916, he has dealt with how and why the castes arose. According to him, the priestly class, to separate themselves other three classes for marriage purpose, imposed the system of endogamy among themselves. This was parceling out the racially and culturally homogeneous people. Different racial groups, that is, Dravidian, Scythenian, and Mongolians, who had come to India from different directions by living side by side, had forged cultural unity. The example of brahmins was copied by other classes. He has revealed that nobility imitates its leaders that are kings and the people of nobility. The military classes, therefore, imitated the brahmins, the highest and the vaishyas the military classes. This is how classes, in the due course of time, became castes.[5]

Dr. Ambedkar’s address, Annihilation of Caste, contains a masterly analysis of castes their weaknesses, disadvantages and harmful effects. Ambedkar says, “There is no unanimity among the Vedas on the origin of Varna Ashrama (four castes). None of the other Vedas agree with the Rig-Veda that the four Varnas were created by Prajapati. It does not mention which Prajapati, for there are so many Prajapatis in Hinduism. One says they were created by Brahman, another says they were created by Kassyaps, some say Manu. And even on the issue of how many Varnas, there is no unanimity. This chaos seems to be the result of concoction of the theory of Chathurvarna, which the Brahmins quietly singled into Rig-Veda contrary to establish traditions?”[6] Ambedkar also says “Purushasukta” of Rig-Veda is not a historical explanation. It is purely mystical. It is a fantastic dream of a troubled mind. It is probably an allegory; later brahmins converted it into a literal statement of hard fact. It does not solve the riddle, on the contrary it creates a riddle – which is why were the brahmins interested in supporting the theory of Chaturvarna”.[7]

Thus, from a position of questioning Ambedkar was very much critical of the status quo of the caste system. To Ambedkar, there is no single origin of caste, it is always plural in number. When brahmins made themselves as a caste by enclosing themselves, they created the non-brahmin caste and subsequently other social groups consolidated as closed social systems. Ambedkar criticizes the westerns scholars’ position of linking caste with the colour. He says neither colour nor race has anything to do with caste.[8]

Exposing the various defenses put forward to support caste system, Ambedkar has stated that it is not only a division of labour but also division of labourers and that too on the basis of graded inequality. “Caste divides the labourers, caste disassociates work from interest, caste disconnects intelligence from manual labour and caste prevents mobilization.”[9]

Ambedkar has also exploded Arya Samajists theory of Chaturvarnya, based on worth and not on birth, as impractical and difficult to achieve. He emphasizes the need to reorganize the Hindu society on the principles of Fraternity, Liberty and Equality in order to get away from the evil system of caste.

3. Analysis of Untouchability

Ambedkar says that, “Untouchability is the notion of defilement, pollution, contamination and the ways and means of getting rid of that defilement. It is a case of permanent, hereditary staying which nothing can cleanse.”[10] Unlike Gandhi, he firmly believes that Untouchability was the product of caste and unless it was destroyed Untouchability would not go. Ambedkar in his book The Untouchables: Who Are They? (1948), dealt in depth the origin and development of Untouchability. The outline of his thesis is that, the caste Hindus and untouchables do not belong to two different races but the only difference is that they belong to Tribesmen and Broken Men respectively and the Broken Men only came to be treated as Untouchables. Dr. P. Mohan Larbeer observed that for Ambedkar, race or occupations are not the reasons for the origin of the Untouchability. But contempt and hatred to the Broken Men as of Buddhists by the brahmins and continuation of beef eating by the Broken Men after it had been given up by others are the two reasons for the origin of Untouchability. Untouchables are outside the Varna system and so are called Avarnas. According to the understanding of Ambedkar, the Broken Men or Untouchables are those:

· Who lived ‘outside’ the village, because he is broken due to the tribal war.
· Who came for refuge (to the settled).
· Who did the watch and ward for the settled community.
· Who in return got security and food and which was not shared or and they were not allowed to participate in the life-world of the settled communities.[11]

Ambedkar analyzed that Caste and Untouchability existed even before Manu. Therefore, Manu and brahmins are not the causes for Caste and Untouchability except that they consolidated, codified, canonized and sanctified it.

Having analyzed the origin of Caste and Untouchability, Ambedkar carried on a persistent global campaign against Caste and Untouchability. In the joint memo presented to the Round Table Conference the first item was, “Equal Citizenship, and Fundamental Rights” declaring the practice of Untouchability as illegal. When the Indian Constitution of 1950 was on the way to be unveiled, Ambedkar included abolition of Untouchability under section 17 of the part III of the act dealing with Fundamental Rights. Ambedkar reacted badly to the identification of Dalits as Untouchables by the Hindu Social Order. The identity as Untouchables was imposed on individual and on the caste by the other dominant caste groups, and treated them as the agents of pollution. According to Ambedkar, “the real method of breaking up the Caste system was not to bring about inter-caste dinners and inter-caste marriages but to destroy the religious notions on which caste was founded.”[12]

4. Analysis of the Hindu Social Order

The analysis of Hind Social Order with specific reference to the problem of Caste and Untouchability was of great potential to Ambedkar in providing liberation to the Dalits. In analyzing the Hinduism he says, “If a Hindu says that he is Hindu because he worships the same God as the Hindu community does, his answer cannot be true. All Hindus do not worship one God. There is no definite creed for Hinduism.”[13] Hindus treat Vedas as eternal and infallible, and it is these Vedas, which sanctifies the Caste system. On Vedas Ambedkar says, “The Vedas has no authority, since it has the defects of falsehood, self-contradiction and tautology.” As to the philosophy, “there is nothing of it in the Rig-Veda. As Prof. Wilson observes, there is in the Rig-Veda, which is the stock of Veda scarcely any indication or doctrinal or philosophical speculation, no allusion to the later notions of the several schools, nor is there any hint of metempsychosis, or of the doctrine intimately allied to it, of the repeated renovation of the world. The Vedas may be useful as a source of information regarding the social life of the Aryans. As a picture of primitive life it is full of curiosity but there is nothing elevating. There are more vices and a few virtues.”[14] Thus Ambedkar was very critical of the Vedas, for he says that neither the subject matter, nor the contents of Vedas justify the infallibility with which they have been invested.

Dr. Larbeer again observes, for Ambedkar, the Hindu Social Order is grounded in the immorality. It is against justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. It is a cluster of closed units that enclose themselves leaving no room for relationship and social intercourse. It is an order of self-imprisonment that enslaves the human into the caste prisons. It segregates infection by imitation, which in turn affects every successive caste groups and ultimately Indian society is caste ridden. It is a system that degrades and alienates human labour and labourers. It lacks any social conscience for being in union. Spontaneity and moral freedom is alien to the system of caste social order. Participation and communication for social living is systematically prohibited in it. Its social expression is Untouchability or social exclusion whose cumulative effect is laid very heavily on the shoulders of the broken people. Therefore for Ambedkar, reconstruction of the identity of the broken people and through that restructuring Indian society on a moral basis becomes life mission.[15] Ambedkar’s criticism of the caste social order is inseparable from his criticism of Hindu religion. If he starts with evaluating the caste system inevitably he ends up with the criticism of Hindu religion. If he starts with the evaluation of Hindu religion he inevitably ends up with the criticism of caste social order. Thus Ambedkar analyses the Hindu Social Order, and provides a path towards liberating the Untouchables.

5. Brahmanism and Capitalism: The Twin Dangers

Ambedkar held that Indian society is infected with two great dangers. One is internal and the other is external. The internal danger is casteism and the external is capitalism. He says, “The two enemies are Brahmanism and Capitalism”. By Brahmanism he meant the negation of the spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity. In that sense it is rampant in all classes and is not confined to the brahmins alone though they have been the originators of it. This Brahmanism which pervades everywhere and which regulates thoughts and deeds of all classes is an incontrovertible fact.[16]

Ambedkar is against the monopoly of economy in the hands of the few and straight monopoly. While Brahmanism is antagonistic to the liberation of Dalits, Capitalism would go to strengthen this process of Caste antagonism. He held that state must play a key role in handling these two dangers and bring about economic equality and political liberty to the Dalits. He proposed state socialism and mixed economy as the guarantees of the just economic life of the oppressed sections of Indian society.

6. Analysis of Religion

Ambedkar gave paramount importance to the issue of religion. Understanding the religion for Ambedkar is vital to the understanding of the social life of the Indian society. For Ambedkar, religion is essential to humankind. He understands religion not as a means to spiritual salvation of individual souls but as a social practice for establishing righteous relations between human and human. He holds that religion is the vital force or live wire, a scheme of moral governance and foundation of human society. He regarded that religion is necessary for nationalism since religions as the essence of cultural heritage, a value system necessary for the formation of a civil and political community and a necessary factor for building a powerful nation. He criticized Hindu religion the concept of God and its allied religious principles and customs that tend to preserve the caste system intact. The untouchables were not allowed to get the same status with others in the Hindu religion. Ambedkar believed that absorption of Dalits into Hinduism meant the acceptance of Hindu leadership in the national movement. So he felt it would be wiser to take chances with a religion, which has many safeguards. At first, he tried to assert the path of radical autonomy, encouraged the Dalits to form their own organizations and to deal independently with some basic issues. It means that the Dalits themselves has to redefine their relationship with Hindu system. In fact a non-Hindu choice seems to have led him finally, to identify with Buddhism.[17]

According to Ambedkar, Buddhism was a true religion because it led to a life guided by three principles, knowledge, right path and compassion. In Buddhism he discovered a ray of hope and light for all communities. Buddhism teaches social freedom, intellectual freedom, economic freedom and political freedom and equality not between man and man only but also between man and woman. The rational criterion that Ambedkar envisaged for considering a religion to be true and authentic is that it should be based on reason, pass the test of utility and justice and should contain ethical and social content based on the principles of revolution for liberty, equality and fraternity[18]. Thus Ambedkar analyses religion and says that religion is for humans and not humans for religion.

7. Directions from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Social Analysis to the Church in India

Having discussed Ambedkar’s analysis of the socio-religious structures of India, one can draw relevance in theologizing today. The purpose of Ambedkar’s analysis is to provide liberation to the Dalits. Perhaps, Ambedkar is the one who has provided consistent theoretical criticism of the socio-religious structures in India. Ambedkar has a strong background of western enlightenment thought that helps him to evaluate the Indian social structure from the point of view of liberty, equality and fraternity. The Individual and the social are the two complementary vital elements in the theoretical frame of Ambedkar’s analysis. As Dr. Mohan Larbeer puts it, the purpose of Ambedkar’s analysis can be classified in two folds: On the one hand Ambedkar wanted to establish the identity of untouchables as an indigenous social religious group that resisted caste inequality from its query inception. And on the other, he ignited an on going social, educational, political movement, an action for liberation, which would continue to upsurge the cause of justice in the Indian society, irrespective of the pains and sufferings in its encounter with the orthodoxy.[19]

What is the relevance of Ambedkar’s analysis of the socio-religious structures of India? Gabriele Dietrich and Bas Wielenga in their book Towards Understanding Indian Society brings out the need for social analysis. They say:
· We cannot understand people without understanding society.
· We cannot understand society by looking at individuals only.
· We cannot change society purposefully without knowing how we are shaped by it.[20]
They also bring out the need for social analysis in theologizing today. Their propositions are:
· We cannot do God’s will in social life unless we understand in a critical way how society functions.
· We cannot serve in the ministry of the church without critical understanding of its role in society.
· All theology is contextual.
· The Bible does not lose but gains in relevance if we analyze how its messages relate to changing social situations.
· We need, not only social analysis to clarify the role of faith, but we also need faith to clarify the role of social analysis.[21]

Therefore Ambedkar’s social analysis has a challenging relevance for us today in our theologizing. Ambedkar’s analysis provides a methodological framework in analyzing our own contexts and thereby provides a space for a critical faith reflection. The three components of Ambedkar’s social analysis are:
1. Equality of opportunity for all citizens.
2. Critique of Hindu society based on liberty, equality and fraternity.
3. Establishment of a Casteless society by removing oppression and domination.

Dalit oppression has been a continuing reality today in India. Dalits have been oppressed, suppressed, marginalized and humiliated in every sphere of life. Today it is the task of the Indian church to participate, in the struggles of these people and work towards a liberation of Dalits. Dr. K.Rajaratnam has given a clarion call to the churches in India to make Dalit liberation as the agenda of the church. And therefore it is time for us to analyze the Dalit oppression, and to critique all the dominant structures of the day as Ambedkar did it in his day and set at liberty our Dalit brothers and sisters. Thus Ambedkar’s social analysis has a challenging relevance to theologize in our times.

Though there are several streams and themes that draw the attention of the Church in India, but three major themes, would be of important relevance for the theology of the Church’s ministries in India.

1. Proclaim and practice that caste is a sin
The Church in India today has been comfortable in making their campuses as “plastic free” campuses. That’s a good way of keeping the ecology, clean and green, and the church needs appreciation for it. I have heard that a certain church in India has proclaimed that using plastics is a sin. But we the Church has just remained with that, and think we have used our faith to analyse our society. But when caste system is such a dire reality in India, which is practiced even in the Church, we the Church has not come up to preach, proclaim and practice that “practicing caste is a sin.” The time has come now for the Churches, that it should rise up to the occasion and boldly proclaim that caste or caste practice is a sin. When we are all created in the equal image of God, how is it that there are caste differences and hierarchy among the people? I believe our faith helps us to boldly proclaim that caste is a deadly sin. This is where we need faith to clarify the role of social analysis. Therefore let us confront and challenge the evil caste system and be bold in doing it. Any way we have fallen short of God’s glory with all our misdeeds, but practicing caste system and oppressing people in the name of caste, I am afraid we are thrown away from the presence of God, for God affirms equality and justice.

2. Challenge globalisation, a short in the arm of caste system
Dr. Ambedkar, prophetically said that capitalism would strengthen the antagonism of caste system. It is of great relevance for us, to analyse the dangers of globalisation on our Indian society and particularly on the Dalits and the Adivasis. For globalisation have adverse affects on Dalits and Tribals. With out the access to the technical know-how, Dalits and Tribals are nowhere in the arena of globalisation. Globalisation promotes consumerism and profit values and does not value for life and life centered values. Globalisation preaches and proclaims hierarchy, and widens the gap between the rich and poor, between the have and have-nots. Therefore for the practitioners of caste in India, globalisation has come as a short in the arm, for they can use it to further suppress and marginalize the Dalits and Tribals. Globalisation does not care who is the loser, whether it is a Dalit or a Tribal, all it wants and gets is profit, and that is what exactly caste system likes and expects. So the caste system utilizes this chance of globalisation, and use it to further suppress the Dalits and Tribals.
When such a situation exists in our society, how can we the Church in India live in slumber with a touch-me not attitude? We the Church should analyse the situation, and should come out with a preferential option for the Dalits and Tribals in India. Confront caste system and globalisation, for they are the twin dangers in our society today. If justice is to roll down in our society, we the Church should be just and should analyse the society justly, with a concern and preference for the Dalits and Tribals.

3. Conversion from vis-à-vis conversion to
Time and again we the Church in India has discussed the importance of conversion, and particularly conversion of Dalits. Conversion for Dr. Ambedkar was necessary because it was a means of liberation, for he did not want to endorse to the status quo of caste system practiced by that particular religion. Dr. Ambedkar’s words of “I am born as a Hindu, but do not want to die as a Hindu” has been misinterpreted by the evangelists today that his words endorses conversion, so it is a call for us to convert people to Christianity. Dr. K. Rajaratnam has already observed that ‘conversion from’ is of prime importance for Dalits rather ‘conversion to’, and let the Dalits take their own decision in terms of choosing their religion. Let us not take Dalits for a ride, taking them for granted and go for the forced conversions. In this context, I believe we the Church should be in solidarity with the attempts of Dalits, when they prefer conversion as a means of liberation. In following the words of Jesus Christ, “setting at liberty all that are oppressed”, we the Church should strive and help the Dalits to overcome their oppression and stand by them in their struggles. We the Church should work for the Dalits per se and start implementing the agenda of the Church in our local contexts.

Conclusion:
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a great social revolutionary and thinker of modern India. He minutely observed the fallacies of social, economic and political structures of Indian society, the ideological overtone that justified and supported them and paved the path of graded inequality and perpetual exploitations and suppressions of the have-not’s. Ambedkar vehemently opposed and fought against them throughout his life. He remains immortal by his deeds. He was very firm in telling that there should be a political partition between the Untouchables and the Hindus. He rejected the brahmanical dominance, paving the way for liberation and has become the champion of Dalits. Dr. Ambedkar’s socio-religious analysis has a great relevance in analyzing our own societies today, and let the Church be sensitive in analyzing their local contexts and start living up to the values of the Gospel. We as a Church, let us confront the evils of the society, let us preach and practice that caste is sin, let us confront globalisation and let us be in solidarity with the Dalits in their efforts for liberation. Let we the Church in India draw inspiration from the work of Dr. Ambedkar in setting at liberty all that are oppressed, particularly the Dalits. Let us unitedly and univocally cast out the caste.
[1] Vasant Moon (Ed.) Dr. BabaSaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches. Vol.4. Bombay: Govt. of Maharashtra, 1987, p.1
[2] Sanjay Paswan & Paramanshi Jaideva (Eds). Encyclopedia of Dalits in India. Vol.I, Delhi: Kalpaz Publications, 2002, p.221.
[3] Gail Omvedt, Dalits and The Democratic Revolution, Delhi: Sage, 1994, p.91
[4] Vidhu Varma, Colonialism and Liberation, Ambedkar’s Quest for Distributive Justice in Economic and Political weekly, Sept.25, 1999, p.2805
[5] D.K. Baisantry, Ambedkar The Total Revolutionary, New Delhi: Segment book, 1991. p.78
[6] Vasant Moon (Ed.) Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, Vol.4. Bombay: Govt. of Maharashtra, 1987, p.203-204.
[7] Vasant Moon (Ed)…p.251
[8] P.Mohan Larbeer, Ambedkar on Religion, New Delhi: ISPCK, 2003, p.25-26.
[9] R. Sangeetha Rao, Ambedkar on Varna, Caste and Class, New Delhi: Sanjivayya Institute of Socio-Economic studies, p.10.
[10] P. Mohan Larbeer… p.27
[11] P. Mohan Larbeer… p.37
[12] Vasant Moon (Ed)…Vol.1, p.21
[13] Vasant Moon (Ed)…Vol.4, p.13-14
[14] Vasant Moon (Ed)… Vol.4, p.44
[15] P. Mohan Larbeer… p.157
[16] P. Mohan Larbeer…p.71
[17] Vidhu Varma, Colonialism and Liberation, Ambedkar’s Quest for Distributive Justice in Economic and Political weekly, Sept. 25, 1999, p.2805
[18] P. Mohan Larbeer… p.185
[19] P.Mohan Larbeer…P.159
[20] Gabriele Dietrich and Bas Wielenga. Towards Understanding Indian Society, Tiruvalla:CSS, 2003. P.17-19
[21] Gabriele Dietrich and Bas Wielenga, Towards Understanding Indian Society, Tiruvalla:CSS, 2003. P.20-22.