Caste discrimination is racism?

"CASTE DISCRIMINATION is racism'' - this is the contention of all the NGOs working for the dalit cause. Hence their coordinated effort for its inclusion in the Durban conference. One fails to understand how sociologists are silent on this argument, namely making the dalit discrimination a racist discrimination. There is no quarrel on the fact that dalits have been and are discriminated but simply because a global forum will give greater world focus one cannot intermix sociological facts. NGOs get enormous funds for both women and dalit causes. These are two perennial money drawing sources for the NGOs and hence they unite on this, to catch the world attention and boost the funding prospects.

What is race and what is caste? These are two different sociological constructs which cannot be one and the same no matter what the NGOs say or want. A simple question is to which race do the Vanniars belong? To which race do the Pallars belong? For that matter all the so called upper castes in Tamil Nadu, to be more specific, belong to the Dravidian race; so too are the SCs. Discrimination again is inflicted on the SCs not by the upper castes alone; within the SCs, the subsect the Pariyars is the most discriminated by the other subsects. Hence the former is doubly discriminated. Yet there is no special focus on this. By lumpening discrimination of the SCs, the discrimination within the SCs subsects has been largely overlooked. Similarly, the benefits and the concessions given to the SCs are mostly cornered by the upper subsects of the SCs. Discrimination, apart from being a violation of human rights, is also poignant when one realises that it is by the same race against the same race.

Cultural barriers

Historically citing occupation varna, mythology, conqueror/conquered, etc., whatever came handy was accepted to rationalise and justify the discrimination and exploitation system. Religious sanctions abetted and reinforced the perpetuation of this oppressive system. Society was thus hierarchically stratified with proscriptive and prescriptive norms. Fenced in by endogamy these segments of society became watertight compartments and suited the hierarchical upper segments of society. But this all happened within the same race of people. With the kind of occupation assigned to the SCs, and the denial of education, cultural barriers also arose. While the upper castes had the benefits of education and were quick to assimilate westernisation and modernisation those who were oppressed were forced to continue to live under the oppressive yoke. This is historically true.

Sanskritisation

A phenomenon which M. N. Srinivas termed as `Sanskritisation', a process by which the upward mobility was sought by the so called backward castes in the caste hierarchy. It has also led to they becoming the immediate oppressors of the dalits. Today one can see this process of Sanskritisation among the Pallars too. This was possible because of the gradual empowerment process - political power, land ownership and government jobs. It is not uncommon to discover a `puja' room in a Pallar's house. This upper sect of the SCs is adopting the brahminisation of rites and rituals and all religious functions. The point I want to make is that the process of Sanskritisation seems to be confined mostly among the Pallars - a definite sign of empowerment and mobility.

It seems to me that a whole range of historical facts and processes cannot be buried to suit the myopic perception and vested interests of NGOs and shuffle `caste discrimination' under race discrimination. True that dalit rights are human rights - all rights in the world are human rights and any denial of rights needs to be fought against and eliminated. This cannot be achieved by using wrong premises and constructs and by putting caste discrimination under an entirely different category. The historical and cultural background of discrimination, its evolution, the structures which upheld it, the methods of perpetuation, the religious sanctions, etc., are essential for working towards its effective elimination. The move to push it under `race' may serve the NGOs but will not serve the dalit cause. It may bring some global publicity and more funds. But I am afraid it will help the violators to get away with discrimination. This `spread' will also dilute the focus. Caste discrimination will continue because there are many vested interests enmeshed within the dalit issue - be they the politicians and/or the NGOs. It brings money and power. That the dalits are today a power to be reckoned with cannot be denied and I am confident that they will within the framework of the country's polity assert their constitutional rights as citizens of this country belonging to the same race.

HILDA RAJA

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