Critics of the Caste System – Indian Political Thought – O.P. Gauba

The Curse of Untouchability

• The curse of untouchability represents a distortion of the Hindu caste system, which has historically been a central feature of Hindu society.

• The caste system originally implied a division of labour in society that was linked to an individual’s social function and status.

• Hindu society was traditionally divided into four major castes arranged in a descending hierarchy of social status:

  • Brahmans – priests and scholars,

  • Kshatriyas – warriors and rulers,

  • Vaishyas – traders and merchants,

  • Shudras – labourers and service providers.

• In its original conception, an individual’s caste was determined by Guna (qualities), Karma (actions), and Swabhava (temperament) rather than by birth.

• Over time, this original logical basis was forgotten, and caste membership gradually became hereditary.

• Consequently, the division of labour transformed into a rigid hierarchy of higher and lower social ranks.

• This transformation produced social stagnation and eliminated opportunities for social mobility.

• Under the rigid caste structure, those who performed essential physical labour for society were placed at the lowest levels of the hierarchy.

• Communities engaged in cleanliness and sanitation work were relegated to the lowest social position.

• These groups came to be treated as outcastes and labelled untouchables.

• They were also referred to as depressed classes or Dalits, meaning the downtrodden and oppressed sections of society.

• Members of higher castes relied on the services of these communities but refused to maintain social relations or interaction with them.

• If an untouchable person happened to touch the body, food, or personal belongings of a higher caste individual, it was believed to cause pollution, requiring ritual purification.

• Even the shadow of an untouchable was believed to cause pollution according to orthodox beliefs.

• Untouchables were subjected to severe social restrictions, including

  • denial of entry into temples,

  • prohibition from using common wells, ponds, and inns,

  • exclusion from common bathing or eating places, and

  • general social segregation.

• These inhuman practices were reinforced and legitimized through customs, popular beliefs, and religious doctrines.

• As a result, a large section of society was forced to live a miserable and degraded life for centuries.

• The depressed classes were systematically deprived of education and professional opportunities.

• They received very low wages for their labour, preventing them from improving their economic condition.

• Consequently, the lowest castes remained victims of exploitation by the higher castes.

• Various social reformers occasionally launched movements for the uplift of these oppressed communities, but their overall condition did not improve significantly for a long time.

• Despite these constraints, many talented individuals from the depressed classes emerged as saints, poets, and philosophers, especially during the medieval period.

• However, the social system still denied them opportunities for wider development and recognition.

• With the advent of modern industrialization, urbanization, and expansion of education, societal attitudes began to gradually change.

• During this period, leadership also emerged from within the depressed classes themselves.

• Several thinkers belonging to these communities analysed the causes of their oppression and proposed measures for social justice.

• Among the most important leaders and thinkers who worked for the uplift of the depressed classes were:

  • Jyotirao Phule,

  • B. R. Ambedkar, and

  • E. V. Ramasamy.

Social Mobility

Social mobility refers to the process whereby an individual or a family is able to move from its present status to a higher status, or it is liable to lose its present status if it fails to fulfil certain norms. For example, an unskilled worker may move upwards by learning new skills, or a businessman may lose his present status if he fails to manage his business properly under the changing conditions.

Hinduism has sinned in giving sanction to untouchability. It has degraded us, made us pariahs. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Exploitation

Exploitation refers to a form of social oppression in which one party takes undue advantage of the vulnerable position of another party. The stronger party uses the physical and mental capacities-resources, talents and skills, etc. of its victim for its own profit or gratification of its own desires.

Social Justice

Social justice refers to the social policy which seeks to prevent concentration of valuable resources of the community (wealth, prestige and power) in the hands of the chosen few, and to create a social order which will enable the deprived and underprivileged sections to gain a respectable share thereof by virtue of their ability, effort and need.

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule

Introduction

• Jyotirao Phule, popularly known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, was a prominent social reformer and social thinker who worked for the uplift of oppressed castes and vulnerable sections of society.

• He was born in 1827 in Pune in a Mali (gardener) family, which belonged to the Shudra caste.

• Being part of a lower caste community, Phule directly experienced the social injustices created by the Hindu caste system.

• Reflecting on the caste system, he concluded that the upper castes deliberately kept lower castes illiterate, poor, and ignorant in order to maintain their exploitation and dominance.

• According to Phule, the eradication of blind faith in the sanctity of the caste system was necessary to end social oppression.

• However, he also believed that mere ideological reform was insufficient, and that a thorough socio-economic transformation was essential for eliminating caste-based exploitation.

• Phule is credited with introducing the Marathi word “Dalit”, meaning the broken or crushed, to describe the downtrodden castes.

• The term Dalit later became widely used in many Indian languages and English to refer to historically oppressed communities.

• In 1888, he was honored with the title “Mahatma” (Great Soul) by a prominent social reformer, which was later endorsed by the people of Bombay (now Mumbai).

• Phule received his education at a Scottish Mission School, where he became proficient in English and Marathi.

• His education exposed him to modern ideas and rational thinking, which influenced his critique of social injustice.

• In 1848, Phule established a school for girls and children belonging to untouchable castes.

• His wife Savitribai Phule played a crucial role in running and expanding these educational initiatives.

• In 1851, he opened two additional schools for girls, promoting women’s education at a time when it faced strong opposition.

• Phule also advocated widow remarriage and worked against oppressive customs affecting women.

• In 1863, he established

  • a Home for upper-caste widows, and

  • a Home for unwanted newborn infants, aiming to prevent female infanticide.

• In 1873, he founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) with the help of other reformers.

• The Satyashodhak Samaj

  • opposed idol worship,

  • criticized the rigidity of the caste system,

  • promoted rational thinking, and

  • rejected the authority and necessity of priestly intermediaries.

• Through this organization, Phule aimed to liberate the oppressed classes from religious and social domination.

• Although Phule worked for the uplift of all marginalized groups, the major part of his efforts focused on the emancipation of the untouchables.

• Phule authored several influential works addressing social injustice, caste discrimination, and economic exploitation.

• His important writings include:

  • Jaati Bhed Vivek Saar (1865) – an analysis of caste discrimination,

  • Brahmanache Kasab (1869) – exposing the exploitation by Brahmin priests,

  • Gulamgiri (1873) – a historical account of the slavery of lower castes,

  • Shetkaryacha Asud (1881) – describing the exploitation of peasants,

  • Sarvajanik Satya Dharma Pustak (1891) – presenting the idea of a universal and rational religion.

• Phule wrote mainly in Marathi using a simple and accessible style, so that ordinary people could easily understand his ideas.

• Because of this popular style and language, his works did not initially receive extensive attention from academic scholars, although they later gained significant recognition for their revolutionary social ideas.

Nationalism in India cannot develop as long as restrictions on intercaste dining and intercaste marriage continue to exist. ~ Mahatma Phule

Downtrodden sections are in urgent need of education in order to enrich them with wisdom, morality, progress and prosperity. ~ Mahatma Phule

Discrimination between human beings on grounds of caste, creed or gender is a sin. ~ Mahatma Phule