The Assassination of Caste

रिता नाहीं कोणी ठाव । सर्वां भूतीं वासुदेव ॥

तुका म्हणे तोचि दास। त्यां देखिल्या जाती दोष ॥

(No one is devoid of imperfections, the supreme consciousness resides in everyone,

Tuka says a true devotee is one who views everyone equally irrespective of their Caste)

INTRODUCTION:

Caste, a menace to this land, a hypothetical notion contemplated as a reality remained one of the most prominent hindrances for the growth of this land. Indeed, India’s unity has been tremendously maligned by this notion of caste. As a matter of fact, India is considered as a symbol of inclusivity with respect to numerous religions, sects, languages, races and so on and so forth but it remained exclusive with accordance to certain sections of the society. Yes, this is a significant Paradox of this land. Nothing in this world is utterly perfect and India is a beautiful instance of this. 

Nevertheless, India gave rise to some commendable and extraordinary ideas via thinkers who were far more ahead of their times. One of the significant thinkers amongst them was Veer Savarkar who was an ideologue of Hindutva and a staunch Rationalist. Both the Right as well as the Left of the political spectrum fail to appreciate him as a whole. In other words, their biases don’t let them identify and implement what Savarkar spoke of. There are prominently two Savarkar’s. One is a pure Nationalist and the other one is a renowned  name that surely comes in the list of significant social reformers particularly in Maharashtra. The former is immensely revered by the Right but the latter is perhaps deliberately or unknowingly ignored or not paid attention to by the same. The Left seems to deliberately exclude Savarkar as a whole. The polarisation is so intense that people tend to consider certain leaders as Persona non Grata. For instance, Gandhi’s existence is neglected by the Right and Savarkar’s existence is neglected by the Left. Due to this polarisation, Savarkar seems to receive injustice with respect to his ideas particularly his social revolutionary ideas that are unknown and extremely relevant to our contemporary society. Therefore, it is necessary to put forth these ideas of Savarkar in the public discourse. Savarkar definitely comes amongst those individuals who have waged a fierce war against Caste system and discrimination in the contemporary history of India.

Savarkar’s Perspective:

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a prolific marathi writer who after getting released from the Cellular Jail (Kala Paani) started writing some thought provoking articles on numerous social issues of the society. He wrote articles in marathi for several newspapers including Kesari, Nirbhid, Kirloskar and so on. A good chunk of his articles were firmly dedicated towards the issue of Caste.

a) Enemies of Sanatan Dharma:

Hitherto, there was a colloquial belief in the society that the eradication of the Caste System would be equivalent to the eradication of Sanatan Dharma. On 2/12/1930, Savarkar wrote an article titled,“Sanatan Dharma Mhanje Jaatibhed Navhe” for Kesari. In this article, he attacked the above belief and stressed on how the Caste System eradicated the notion of Chaturvarna. Chaturvarna refers to the four Varnas (Brahmin, Kshatriya, V aishya, Shudra) that had their genesis on the basis of the qualities and character of the individuals and not on birth. Every individual from the time of his birth is a Shudra by Varna and then depending on their qualities their Varna changes. But, let's believe for the time being that it is birth based. Then, there won’t be any fifth Varna (Atishudra or Panchama). Savarkar questioned the champions of Chaturvarna regarding the existence of a fifth varna which were considered as untouchables and were not a part of the Chaturvarna system. Therefore, he urged the champions of Chaturvarna to consider this as a moral responsibility to eradicate the notion of fifth Varna and rigorously destroy the Caste system. He opined that the Caste system and Chaturvarna are “Aachar” (Customs) and not “Tatva” (Principles). According to him, the staunch enemies of Sanatan Dharma were pro-sanatanis who considered the Caste System as eternal rather than reforming the society by eradicating it.

b) Types of Castes:

If we hypothetically assume that the ancient Caste system was an integral part of Sanatan Dharma, then we can recognise that the contemporary Caste system is such a heinous distortion of Sanatan Dharma according to Savarkar. Earlier, there were only four to five Varnas but in contemporary times, we have thousands of Castes persisting in our society. He wrote an article titled, “Chaar Varnaan Chya Chaar Hazaar Jaati” on 9/12/1930 in Kesari where he postulated several types of Caste distinctions.

1) Varna vishisht jaatibhed: This is a Varna centric Caste distinction which includes the typical Brahmin, Kshtriya, Vaishya, Shudra and the fifth Varna which is Atishudra or Panchama. But there is no one objective answer to explain the existence of these Varnas.

2) Praant vishisht jaatibhed: This is a Region centric Caste distinction. For instance, Punjab centric castes or Maharashtra centric castes including Kokanastha, Devastha and so on.

3) Panth vishisht jaatibhed: This is a Sect centric Caste distinction. Varna is same, Region is same but the Sect or the School of thought is different. For instance, one may be a Brahmin from any region but he may be inclined towards Shaivism or Vaishnavism. One may be a Vaishya but a Jain Vaishya or a Lingayat Vaishya and so on. 

4) Vyavsaay vishist jaatibhed: This is an Occupation Centric Caste distinction. For instance, Kunbi (Farmer), Maali (Gardener), Nai (Barber), Dhobi (Washermen), Sutar (Carpentry), Shimpi (Tailoring), and so on.

5) Aahaar vishist jaatibhed: This is a Diet centric Caste distinction. One may have one Varna, Region, Sect, Occupation but he/she may be a Vegetarian or a Non-Vegetarian.

c) Pothijaat:

Although the contemporary understanding of Caste is that it is purely based on birth which is known as Janmajaat Jatibhed, Savarkar opined that this is purely Pothijaaat which means that it is sanctioned by the Scriptures. He wrote an article titled “Pothijaat Jatibhedhochedak Samajik Krantighoshana! Todun Taak Hya Saat Swadeshi Bedya” in Nirbhid. In this article, he articulated that people tend to derive their caste identity based on their birth. Nonetheless, their socio-economic status is distinct from each other. A renowned Scholar like Dr. Ambedkar and Saints like Chokamela and Tukaram weren't born in a Brahmin Caste but still had the potential to proliferate their knowledge and wisdom. Several Brahmins by caste from north India remained illiterate despite being a Brahmin by caste. Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghosh, Subhash Chandra Bose and so on belonged to the Bengali Kayastha Caste but still were ahead of the Bengali Brahmins. Savarkar with the help of these instances explained that we have a birth based and a scripturally sanctioned caste system which is fake and man-made that persists in our society.

d) How to determine someone’s qualities?:

Savarkar opines that just because someone is born in any particular caste does not become a determining factor for that person’s superiority or inferiority. A person should not be judged on the basis of where he or she is born but the profound emphasis should be on the qualities and the character which they inculcate. The opportunity of developing and building qualities should be equal for all the individuals. Anuvansh that translates to Heredity in English is nothing but the passing of the qualities from one generation to another is considered as the basis of the contemporary caste system. But, Savarkar argues that Heredity is not the only determining factor for the development of qualities but other factors like Situation or Environment are also equally responsible for the same. For instance, if we wish to travel by a car, we will check whether the driver of that car has the eligible license or not. We won't be checking whether his parents or grandparents were excellent drivers. If we consider that someone is a good driver just because his parents were good drivers, then it will be the stupidest thing to believe. Similarly, to decide someone’s qualities on the basis of their caste in which they were born will be an equally stupid idea according to Savarkar. Therefore, Heredity is not the only sole factor but other factors like Environment should also be considered as crucial for determining someone’s qualities.

e) How to Assassinate Caste?:

Savarkar wrote an article titled, “Hya Aapatti var Upaay Kaay” on 13/12/1930 in Kesari. In this article he used a small phrase to put forth a solution in order to assassinate this heinous caste system. He says, “Janmajaat Jaatibhedacha Uchhed aani Gunajaat Jaatibhedacha Udhhar” meaning to start emphasising on qualities rather than birth-based caste of an individual. He opines that in reality it is not birth-based. It is just a pure game of emotions. Once this approach is changed, we can easily relinquish the caste system. Savarkar in the above article where he spoke about the notion of Pothijaat simultaneously talks about the Saat Swadeshi Bedya which means Seven Indigenous Shackles of our society which should be abolished mandatorily for the assassination of the caste system. This concept is like the base of his social thoughts. These shackles were not invented by any external force which would probably have made it difficult to abolish. These were internally invented by our society itself due to which he refers to them as Swadeshi that is Indigenous. Once we get rid of them, we can automatically eradicate the caste system. These Seven Shackles are:

1) Vedokta Bandi: This is the first prominent Shackle which has to be abolished. Everyone’s right to read and understand the Vedas should be equivalent. Individuals irrespective of their caste should have the opportunity to perform the Vedic rituals which is indeed helpful for the promotion of Vedic religion.

2) Vyavayasaya Bandi: This is the second Shackle which has to be abolished. Anyone should have the liberty to follow whichever occupation they want to do. They should not be obliged to do something just because they are born in a particular caste.

3) Sparsh Bandi: This is the third Shackle which has to be abolished. Imposing the identity as an untouchable to someone just because they are born in a particular caste is tremendously disastrous and has to be abolished. A touch from someone should be restricted if and only if it is harmful to others. But, Untouchability on the basis of caste has to strictly be banned. He famously established the Patit Pavan Mandir in Ratnagiri which permitted everyone equally to worship irrespective of their castes.

4) Sindu Bandi: This is the fourth Shackle which has to be abolished. The colloquial belief was that if someone goes abroad to any foreign country, then they tend to lose their caste. Savarkar insisted that this has to be abolished.

5) Shudhi Bandi: This is the fifth Shackle which has to be abolished. If someone has converted to some other religious faith or if they adhere to some other religion since their birth, then they should not be neglected with their opportunity to embrace or reconvert to Hinduism.

6) Roti Bandi: This is the sixth Shackle which has to be abolished. A common widespread belief existed in our society which was that just by inculcating inter-dining with other communities will lead us to lose our caste and religion. This belief is immensely stupid and dangerous for our nation’s progress according to Savarkar. Thus, this has to be abolished.

7) Beti Bandi: This is the Seventh and the most prominent Shackle of our society. The absence of inter-caste marriage is significantly responsible for the existence of the caste system. People should marry someone by choosing them not on the basis of their caste but on the basis of their qualities.

Once all the above Seven Shackles are abolished, the birth-based and the scripturally sanctioned caste system can be sheerly assassinated according to Savarkar.

f) Conclusion:

Savarkar remains one of the most contentious thinkers of contemporary India. In marathi, he is referred to as a Buddhivaadi which means a Rationalist. With his Rationality, he vehemently attacked the caste system which remained a hurdle for our society’s progress for several years. Obviously, his visionary ideas, if properly implemented, will play a pivotal role in gradually eradicating the caste system. Just like these prevalent social reformers like Dr. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Vitthal Ramji Shinde and so on, Savarkar too remains an epitome of Social Reform.

Reference

सावरकर, व. द. (2012). जातीभेद उर्फ जात्युच्छेदक निबंध. मनोरमा प्रकाशन.