‘‘I don’t even know what my caste is!’’
“We don’t need caste reservations anymore!”
These are the statements which are often given by those belonging to the upper or the general castes, to invalidate the current caste-based reservation system. The reservation policy has always been a popular topic for debate, often conducted with much vehemence, ever since it was introduced in the Indian Constitution.
The people who argue against this caste-based reservation system, claim that it deprives them of equal opportunities. According to them, such deprival goes against the very spirit of the Constitution. But the question is: how much substance does this argument hold?
It could be noted that in history, from ancient times our Indian society has been divided by caste, promoting economic as well as social disparity among social groups. ‘The Brahmins’ and ‘the Kshatriyas’ were considered to be the most superior castes, who were entitled to education and reverence from the others. While ‘the Shudras’ and ‘the Vaishyas’ were considered inferior and less revered. But, ‘the Dalit caste’ was altogether missing from this clear declaration of social division, giving them the title of ‘Avarna’ or ‘outcastes’ (“varna”, n.d).
For centuries, the Dalits have been oppressed and mercilessly exploited by being made to perform jobs that rob an individual of their dignity. This long-continued oppression has resulted in atrocious poverty, poor hygiene, illiteracy and misery among the community.
However, this is not to be mistaken as some unfortunate history as one in every four people still practices untouchability. According to the National Crimes Records Bureau, a crime is committed against a Dalit person every 10 minutes (Vasanth, 2021). Hence, it could be said that the oppression of the Dalit is still very much prevalent. If so, then how come we are not told more about this aspect of our society? How have we remained so ignorant of this social evil?
Perhaps the answer to these questions has something to do with these factors: around 121 leadership positions in national news channels are occupied by upper-caste Hindus (Tiwari, 2019). Also, all popular actors and directors in the Bollywood industry belong to the general caste (Viplav, 2015). Given these circumstances, it is no wonder why the general castes make such a hue and cry regarding seats being reserved for the SCs in educational institutions when the actual number of SC students studying in top institutions is ridiculously low!
According to data revealed by the Education Ministry, of the total admissions made by all IITs from 2015 to 2019, only 9.1% went to SC and 2.1% to ST. Only 23.2% of seats went to applicants from the OBCs. The remaining 65.6%, or roughly two-thirds of all the seats, went to General Category applicants (Vasanth, 2021).
And, even those who do manage to get in are subjected to discrimination. In fact, according to an informal survey conducted by an IIT Alumni Support Group, 93% of 60 respondents (Alumni and students) believed that there was caste bias at IIT-B and most of them said they had not reported instances of discrimination to the SC/ST Students Cell (Vasanth, 2021)
Another argument which is prominently used against the caste reservation system is that a family’s economic status should be taken into consideration rather than their caste. However, those who propose this tend to neglect the fact that good economic status does not guarantee that a Dalit person would not face discrimination in society, just like how good economic status does not ensure that a woman would not fall prey to the misogynistic attitude of the society, especially in a largely conservative country like India. so, this argument seems to be coming from a position of indifference and sheer ignorance.
To conclude, in my opinion, the general castes need to understand that it is impossible to imagine a progressive society when at least 70 percent of our population does not have access to equal opportunities and resources. Therefore, the caste-based reservation system is a ray of hope for the oppressed sections of our society and not some ‘unnecessary privilege’ to denounce.
"Caste is not a physical object like a wall of bricks or a line of barbed wire which prevents the Hindus from co-mingling and which has, therefore, to be pulled down. Caste is a notion; it is a state of the mind." (Ambedkar, 2014, p. 20)
DR.BR Ambedkar
References
Ambedkar, B.R. (2014). Annihilation of Caste (Annotated critical edition ed. London: Verso.
Tiwari, A. (2019, August 2). Indian media is an upper-caste fortress, suggests report on caste representation. News Laundry. Retrieved March 22, 2024, from https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/08/02/caste-representation-indian-newsrooms-report-media-rumble-oxfam-india
Jyoti, D. (2021, September 16). Crimes against Dalits, tribals increased in Covid pandemic year: NCRB. Hindustan Times. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/crimes-against-dalits-tribals-increased-in-covid-pandemic-year-ncrb-101631731260293.html
Vasanth, P. (2021, February 12). Higher studies and the marginalised | Ph.D. entry in IITs tougher for students from marginalised communities. The Hindu. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/phd-entry-in-iits-tougher-for-students-from-marginalised-communities/article33824475.ece
Viplav, V. (2015, October 1). How inclusive is Indian cinema? Forward Press. Retrieved March 22, 2024, from https://www.forwardpress.in/2015/10/how-inclusive-is-indian-cinema/
Varna (Hinduism). (n.d). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Varna_(Hinduism)#:~:text=In%20India%2C%20Communities%20which%20belong,any%20varna%20were%20called%20avarna
