The Caste System In India By : Justice Markandey Katju

The Caste System In India By : Justice Markandey Katju, Judge, Supreme Court of India

The caste system is one of the greatest social evils plaguing our country today. It is acting as a powerful social and political divisive force in our country at a time when it is absolutely essential for us to be united if we wish to face our nation’s challenges. It is a curse on our country which must be speedily eradicated if we wish to progress. We may consider a few facts to realize how strongly caste is still entrenched in our society today. Our politics is largely governed by caste vote banks. When the time comes for selecting candidates for the elections a study is made of the numerical caste distribution in a constituency, because voters in most areas vote on caste basis. What to say of the illiterate people, even the so called intellectuals tend to operate on caste lines. Thus, in the elections to many bar associations the lawyers tend to vote for the candidates of their caste. Many castes want to be declared as O.B.C.s or Scheduled Castes, to get the benefits of reservation. Even some O.B.C.s strive to be declared as M.B.C.s (most backward castes) or Scheduled Castes. Fake caste certificates have become rampant, as is often witnessed in our law courts, to get jobs or admissions in educational institutions. Marriages are still largely performed within one’s caste. Violence often occurs between castes, as was noticed in the recent fight between students of different castes in a University in Chennai, while the policemen looked on as silent spectators. Even Muslims, Christians and Sikhs often have castes, although their religions preach equality. We can multiply these facts manifolds. Many books and articles have been written about the caste system in India, but a scientific study is still wanting. An attempt shall be made here to explain the origin, development and future of the caste system. Origin of the Caste System The origin of the caste system was in all probability racial.  It is said that caste originated when a white race, the Aryans, coming from the North West, conquered the dark coloured races inhabiting India at that time, probably 5000 years ago or so. Some persons deny that the Aryans came from outside India and assert that India was the original home of the Aryans (Aryavarta) from where a section of them migrated to Europe.  It is difficult to accept this view because people migrate from uncomfortable areas to comfortable areas (see the article `Kalidas Ghalib Academy for Mutual Understanding’ inwww.kgfindia.com).  Why should anyone migrate from a comfortable country like India which has level and fertile land ideal for agriculture to a place like Afghanistan or Russia which is cold, mountaneous and therefore uncomfortable.  Indian history bears out the view that almost all invasions/immigrations were from outside India (mainly from the North West and to a lesser extent from the North East) into India. The caste system is called `Varna Vyavastha’ and the word `Varna’ in Sanskrit literally means colour of the skin. This also points at the racial origin of the caste system. Fair skin colour is usually preferred to darker skin even today, as is evident from matrimonial advertisements. Subsequent Development of the Caste System While the origin of the caste system appears to be racial (as mentioned above) it subsequently developed an altogether different basis according to the needs of the feudal society in India.  In other words, the caste system, though originating in race, subsequently developed into the feudal, occupational division of labour in society.  This needs to be explained in some detail. In theory there were only four castes, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. This, however, was only a fiction. In reality there were (and still are) hundreds, if not thousands, of castes and sub-castes in India many of which do not fit into the 4 traditional castes mentioned above e.g. Yadavs, Kurmis, Jats, Kayasthas, Bhumihars, Gosains, etc. Every vocation became a caste. Thus, in North India badhai (carpenter) became a caste, and so did lohar (blacksmith), sonar (goldsmith), kumbhar (Potter), dhobi (washerman), nai (barber), darzi (tailor), kasai (butcher), mallah (fisherman), kewat (boatman), teli (oil presser), kahar (water carrier), gadadia (sheep herder), etc. This was not something unique to India. For instance, in England even today there are many people with the surnames Taylor, Smith, Goldsmith, Baker, Butcher, Potter, Barber, Mason, Carpenter, Turner, Waterman, Shepherd, Gardener, Miller, etc., which indicates that the ancestors of these persons belonged to those professions. In feudal society, apart from agriculture, there was development of handicraft industry. This happened in India too, and the caste system became the Indian variation of the feudal occupational division of labour in society, somewhat like the medieval European guild system. As pointed out by Adam Smith in his book `The Wealth of Nations’, division of labour results in great progress. The caste system in India resulted in great development of the productive forces, and hence in the feudal age it was a progressive institution (as compared to the preceding slave society). It is well known that before the coming of the British, India was one of the world’s most prosperous countries (at that time).  India was exporting Dacca Muslin, Murshidabad silk, Kashmir shawls and carpets, ornaments, etc. apart from agricultural products like spices, indigo, etc. to the Middle East and even Europe.  The discovery of Roman coins in several parts of South India show the great volume of trade from India, which shows the great development of the productive forces in feudal India.  In fact India was once a super power with a 31.5% share in the global gross domestic production, which came down to 3% in the year 1991. The Destruction of Handicraft Industry in India It is estimated that before the coming of the British into India about 40% of the population of India was engaged in industry while the rest of the population was engaged in agriculture. This industry was no doubt handicraft industry, and not mill industry. Nevertheless, there was a very high level production of goods in India by these handicraft industries before the coming of the British, and many of these goods were exported often up to Europe, the Middle East, China, etc. e.g. Dacca Muslin, Murshidabad silk, and other kind of textiles, spices etc. A rough and ready test of the level of the economic development of a country is to find out how much percentage of the population is engaged in industry, and how much in agriculture. The greater the percentage of population in industry and lesser in agriculture the more prosperous the country. Thus, the U.S.A., the most prosperous country in the world today has only about 2 or 3% of its population in agriculture, while the rest is in industry or services. India was a relatively prosperous country before the coming of the British because a high percentage of the people (which could be up to 40%) was engaged at that time in industry (though no doubt this was handicraft industry, not mill industry). Thus, Lord Clive around 1757 (when the battle of Plassey was fought) described Murshidabad  (which was then the capital of Bengal) as a city more prosperous than London, vide `Glimpses of World History’ by Jawaharlal Nehru (Third Impression p.416, chapter entitled `The Indian Artisan goes to the wall’). When the British conquered India they introduced the products of their mill industry into India, and exorbitantly raised the export duties on the Indian handicraft products. Thereby they practically destroyed the handicraft industry in India. The result was that by the end of the British rule hardly 10% or even less of the population of India was still in the handicraft industry, and the rest of those who were earlier engaged in the handicraft industry were made unemployed. In this way about 30% of the population of India who were employed in handicraft industry became unemployed, and were driven to starvation, destitution, beggary or crime (the thugs and ‘criminal’ tribes were really these unemployed sections of society). As an English Governor General wrote in 1834, `the bones of the cotton weavers are bleaching the plains of India’. At the end of the British rule, India, which was one of the most prosperous countries in the world, became one of the poorest, unable to feed itself, with industrial development stalled (as the British policy was to not permit industrialization of  India), low life expectancy and very low literacy rate. As Angus Madison, the Cambridge University historian points out, India’s share of world income fell from 22.6% in 1700 to 3.8% in 1952. In this connection it may be noted that in the revenue records in many states in our country one often finds recorded: ‘A son of B, caste lohar (smith), vocation agriculture’; or ‘C son of D, caste badhai (carpenter), vocation agriculture’, or ‘E son of F, caste kumhar (potter), vocation agriculture’, etc. This indicates that the ancestors of these persons were in those professions, but later they became unemployed (although ostensibly they were shown as agriculturists) as British mill industry destroyed their handicraft. Some people think that if the British had not come into India an indigenous mill industry would have developed in India, because the high development of handicraft industry leads to capital accumulation which is the pre-requisite for industrialization, and India would have become an Industrial State by the 19th Century, like North America or Europe, but it is not necessary to go into this here, as there is no use crying over spilt milk. In England and other European countries, too, the handicrafts were destroyed by the mill products, but the handicraftsmen got employment in the mills, whereas in India the British policy was to prevent industrialization of India (see Rajni Palme Dutt’s `India Today’) with the result that the millions of handicraftsmen either starved or became beggars or criminals. The Thugs of India or the `criminal tribes’ were those former handicraftsmen who became unemployed. Handicraft Industry and Mill Industry In the feudal period there were no engineering colleges or technical institutes, and the only way to learn a craft was to sit with one’s father from childhood and learn the craft by seeing how he works, with some tips from him.  Thus the father was not only doing the production work through his craft but also teaching the craft to his son. This was totally unlike modern times where the teacher in an engineering college or technical institute is not a producer engaged in some industry. In other words, in modern times the vocation of a teacher is separated from the vocation of a producer, but there was no such separation in the feudal age. In feudal times one had no choice of one’s profession, one had to follow his father’s profession, and thus the son of a carpenter (Badhai) became a carpenter, the son of a blacksmith (lohar) became a blacksmith, etc. In this way carpenter, blacksmith, potter, etc. all became castes. The same thing happened in Europe too in feudal times (as mentioned above). Modern Mill Industry In the modern industrial age the demand for skilled technical personnel is much larger than in the feudal age, because the demand of goods is much more (due to increase in population, etc.). Hence the traditional feudal method of teaching a craft, in which only a handful of persons, (usually the sons of the handicraftsman), were taught, no longer sufficed for modern society. Now technical institutes or engineering colleges have become necessary, where a large number of students are taught the technical skill.  Obviously all these students could not be sons of the teacher. This destroyed the very basis of the caste system in which one had no choice in choosing one’s vocation and had to follow his father’s profession. The caste system, in which one’s vocation is chosen by one’s birth, is thus totally outmoded in the modern age. Today a boy of the badhai (carpenter) caste comes from the rural areas in India to a city where he becomes an electrician or motor mechanic or takes up some other vocation. If he gets some education he becomes a clerk or even a doctor, lawyer, engineer or teacher. He does not usually follow his father’s profession, and this has largely destroyed the basis of the caste system economically. The caste system is now being artificially propped up socially by some vested interests e.g. vote bank politics, but when the basis of an institution has been destroyed (by the advance of technology) how long can that institution survive? To my mind the caste system in India will not last for more than ten or twenty years from now (because its very basis has gone). A modern mill no longer bothers about the caste of the worker it employs, it only sees his technical skills. The caste system was a social institution corresponding to handicraft industry. Now that handicraft industry has largely been replaced by mill industry, the caste system has today become totally outmoded, and is hindering our progress. The sooner it is destroyed the better. Was the Caste System Bad for India? Many people think that the caste system did a lot of damage to India. This is undoubtedly true of modern times. But it must also be said that in the feudal age the caste system did good to India because it corresponded to the feudal occupational division of labour in society (as pointed out above), which resulted in the great development of the productive forces (at that time). It is a myth that the Scheduled Castes of today were always treated with indignity. In fact upto the coming of British rule, these castes were usually in some handicraft vocation and were earning their livelihood from that vocation. It was only when the British mill industry destroyed their handicraft and they became unemployed that they began to be treated with indignity. An unemployed man becomes a poor man, and a poor man is not given respect in society. For instance, the chamars were at one time a respectable caste because they earned their livelihood by doing leather work. It was only when Bata and other companies destroyed their handicraft (and thereby their livelihood) that they sank in the social ladder, so much so that today to call a person a chamar is often regarded as a word of insult (see the judgment of the Supreme Court in Swaran Singh & Ors. vs. State through Standing Counsel & Anr. [2008(8) SCC 435, JT 2008(9) SC 60]). Similarly, other castes whose handicraft occupations were destroyed by the British mill industry also became unemployed and thereby fell in the social order. How will the Caste System be Destroyed? To my mind the caste system will be destroyed (and is in fact being destroyed) in India by (1) The advance of technology (2) The people’s struggles, and (3) Inter caste marriages. As regards the advance of technology, it has already been pointed out above that in modern industrial society the division of labour cannot be on the basis of one’s birth but on the basis of  technical skills.  Hence industrialization destroys the caste system, and in fact the caste system has become weak in a State like West Bengal, which was partially industrialized before most other states. As regards the people’s struggles, these are in fact going on everywhere in view of the harsh economic conditions in India (price rise, unemployment, etc.). People in India are realizing that united they stand and divided they fall, and caste is certainly a dividing force. As regards inter caste marriages, I have stated in my judgment in Lata Singh vs. State of U.P. [2006(5) SCC 475, JT 2006(6) SC 173], that inter caste marriages are in the national interest and hence should be encouraged. ................................................................................................................................................................. Original source : http://justicekatju.blogspot.in/2012/02/caste-system-in-india.html?spref=tw

Banana Republican Party for Mango People !!

Following the threats created by the “Aam Aadmi Party(AAP)”  launched by Arvind Kejriwal, which is perceived to possess threat to business transactions of MR. DON (Damad Of the Nation) and other reality companies, if voted to power. Mr. DON on Sunday afternoon announced setting up of a new political party named “Banana Republican party (BRP)” to counter “Aam Admi Party”.  The new party is supposed to have financial backing from all major real estate companies and will act as a close UPA alley. The Election commission has secured a banana in hand symbol for the party.

The Banana Republican Party has confirmed setting up an all new five star office complex in a specially developed “Special Political Zone” with an investment of 800 crores of non-refundable interest free loans from large no. of Mumbai and Gorgon based Reality giants. Haryana govt. has agreed to provide 200 acres of prime land in the heart of Gurgaon City for free, has promised to cooperate and has shown its willingness and strong determination by transferring 3 IAS and 2 IPS officers.

While there was some initial unrest in Kongress party due to launch of this parallel organization, some members were asking why Damadji (DON) is starting his own party if he can easily join Kongress and claim Priministership or a Cabinet berth any single day. But Kongress president explained them that our Damad Ji is a person of high dignity and moral and quite entrepreneur in nature and is rather determined to start on his own. Mr. Zero Hero Sibble famous for his High IQ and Reasoning power explained the new Zero Loss Theory of the new Banana Republican Party, he explained how Banana shake has overtaken Mango shake business and similarly the new Banana Republican Party will eat out votes of Aam Aadmi Party and hence again a zero loss!!, he was applauded for his explanation with claps of all party members. Mr. @Hashi Tharoor also twitted: I can affirm now that cattle class will soon become a settle class!! which was re twitted 1100 times and 300 times Favorited.

Mr. DON while addressing press conference in New Delhi, looked very confident and declared his agendas and election manifesto. Some of the highlights were : 

·      

•      Free and compulsory interest free loans for all to multiply everyone’s wealth;
• ·   Invalidating all kinds of auction processes (except party seats) and free distribution of natural resources and revenues among all;
•      Dismantling the bureaucratic setup, as it is causing hardships for entrepreneurs and is the only obstacle   towards the path of development;
•      Development of Agriculture sector with major focus over Banana Cultivation;
• ·    Ban on dharna pardashan and protests. Only a single annual meeting of parliament as it is just a waste of time and money;
•      More Sweat Equities for MPs, MLAs and their family members in IPL franchises;  
•      Wildcard entry in parliament for Big-Boss and laughter challenge winners.
•      Bharat Ratna for “Raju Srivastava” for his contribution to the society and the people.

He further announced to transform the life of  mango people to banana people and assured for a completely transformed India. From the same platform several eminent Khongress personalities holding bananas in their respective hands (as a gesture of unity cooperation and brotherhood) wished him all the very best and announced alliance with the new party. Mr. Sick Vijay Singh named new alliance as banana in hand !!

 ..................................................................................................................................................................

Disclaimer : All the views and information expressed in the article are completely fictitious and is intended for fun and entertainment purposes only. There is no intention from the author to hurt anybody's feelings, sentiments or put any kind of allegation on any one .

Ballistic Missile Defense Shield a Psychological Warfare

New Delhi : India celebrates seventh successful test of its home grown " Ballistic Missile Defense  (BMD)" system and hopes to install an effective interceptor missile shield for the protection of Delhi by 2014. On Friday DRDO successfully demonstrated the interception of two incoming ballistic missiles one of whom was a real target mimicking M-9/M11 class of Chinese Dong Feng short-range ballistic missiles while other was a virtually simulated target of 1500 km range class. While the quantitative aspect of the successful tests is a good confidence booster for the Defense Research establishments as well as for the Country facing so many serious Strategic Challenges from all around.

BMD system itself a very complex technology and no country has yet matured it completely. Effectiveness of these technology is a serious question of debate. BMD is something like a bullet to kill a bullet. Only a handful of such missile batteries are operational  world wide and seriously lack credibility to track down and shoot down the incoming threats. Patriot and THAAD Missile defense systems developed by USA, Russia with S-300/400/500 Variants, Israel with AIM, Indian PAD and AAD are some of the systems to count but none of these a 100% reliable solution against mid and long range missiles and almost ineffective against ICBMs. USA even after, had already invested more than hundreds of billions of dollars is still lacking the credibility to shoot down Advanced Russian and Chinese ICBMs. There are several successful and trustworthy counter measures like use of  Multiple Independent Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) where a number of separate reentry vehicles including the real warhead(s) and dummies enter into the atmosphere of enemy territory and fools the Fire Control Radars to escape identification, interception and hit the target, Several very high velocity ballistic missiles consistently change their speeds, height, and designated trajectory paths and therefore make it almost impossible to track and shoot them, Russia is said to mastered this technology.

In first and second gulf war USA successfully demonstrated interception of some Iraqi Scud missiles in real war situations but Iraqi missile were very outdated and short ranged, which are very easy to intercept and no conclusion can be derived from these successes for their possible defectiveness in today's era of modern warfare. Even today a large number of these tests conducted fail to yield satisfactory results and BMD system is therefore more a psychological warfare than a practical one. But on Psychological prospects, it provides you a distinct advantage over your rival and puts weight in your strategic and diplomatic actions, specially if you already own large armed forces with arsenal of conventional and non-conventional weaponry.  

An Anti Ballistic Shield for  major Indian Cities, major defense, strategic and economic installations would be a nervous situation for our conventional rivals like Pakistan and China. As we are already a nuclear state with one of the best, sophisticated and modernized armed forces in the world with almost all class of weaponry in our inventory ranging from all classes of Ballistic, Cruise missile to a widest portfolio of air defense infrastructure. In such situations no country would be able to use "Nuclear Blackmailing" for securing its Political and strategic interests as happened after Kargil war and after Operation Prakarm. We will be able to launch limited penetrative attacks inside enemy territory under a nuclear umbrella to break down terrorism infrastructure, training camps etc. and answer enemy in case of hostility like related to border disputes etc. Enemy would find herself in huge dilemma, whenever she thinks of nuclear alternative. Our cities and value assets would be considerably more secured and protected therefore if the enemy opts for a powerful nuclear first strike  to blow off our retaliation capability and cause major damage there would be complete uncertainty and darkness about the performance of our BMD system and if it proves at per with its planned objectives and protects maximum of value targets, a powerful  retaliation from Indian side (which on the verge of completing a nuclear Triad ) would not leave the enemy anywhere to escape. 

The said technology if installed in large numbers would give a new dimension to the foreign policy of our country and would provide spines to our political leadership to take tough stance over issues of border disputes, Kashmir Issue, Pak Occupied Kashmir, Terrorist camps in PAK territory, International Diplomacy, Chinese hostility etc. This technology is not just a technology in itself but a complete game changer. Our Air defense would get considerable boost with the Radar networks, dedicated satellites based launch monitoring systems, secured data networks, 24 hr air surveillance etc. which would make our air defense completely non penetrable at least for our Asian rivals. 

In few years India will receive Admiral Gorshkov and Indigenous Aircraft Carrier and along with present INS Viraat, for the first time we will have three operational aircraft carrier, Arihant class nuclear subs already going through sea trial with 4 others under construction. Air force receiving MMRCA winner Rafale aircrafts and Russian made Super Sukhoies (modified su-30)  and army with its own huge modernization plans there will be the best time to show muscle power and increase our influence in International Political and Strategic environment. We would be able to optimize our economic and strategic power to influence the world and play some formidable role in international politics and decision making. That will be right time to bid for the permanent membership of security council without any terms and conditions and we would be able to pressure our rivals and secure our political, commercial, economical and Energy interests any where in the world.