- Since times immemorial, the bane of the country is class categorization based on caste, creed, religion, and race that continue to hold sway despite efforts at provisioning level playing fields for every citizen. Ideally speaking, the secular and democratic nature of the country should treat everybody equally as mandated in the Constitution. However, the deeply entrenched fault lines in the society courtesy of religion and the accompanying social standing find themselves in the center of our day-to-day lives in one or the other forms. Every social policy being framed is centered around caste speaks volumes about our obsession even to this day. What is lost out in the bargain is merit-based ascendancy that should have been the norm rather than the exception.
PC: Diva Rai
- People in the know would agree that in many parts of the hinterlands, especially Hindi heartland as well as rural areas, the divisive caste lines are demarcated subjugating the Dalit community with oppressive and anachronistic practices as we read. It is not surprising to witness how supposedly superior castes are placed on a higher pedestal and the lower castes are still despicably treated as untouchables. This is a stark reality that plays out quite consistently everywhere even though the SC/ST atrocities act enacted provides a shield/protection for the oppressed community. No wonder, cases of crimes have not witnessed any significant downturn despite successive regimes introducing social engineering measures like quotas, reservations, and statutory acts to safeguard Dalits from further exploitations.
- Of course, sensing an opportunity to make inroads into tapping an enormous resentment prevalent amongst the Dalits are many political parties who were hell-bent on meeting parochial considerations to cultivate vote banks by whipping up pent-up emotions. Rather than focus on empowering the historically stifled people by exhorting them to choose education as a means to come out of the suffocating environment to be counted amongst and at par with others, our political class conveniently chooses to fish in the troubled waters. Who cares about promised upliftment? Sadly, the narrative keeps gaining strength by the day. The Dalit population in India accounts for almost 16% and an estimated one-third of the casual labor workforce. Understandably, how vulnerable the community is viewed vis-à-vis the country’s economic growth per se is palpable.
PC: AVINAV VERMA
- Need of the hour is to ensure easy accessibility to quality education, equitable employment opportunities, adequate healthcare, and dignified living standards. It is a sad commentary as to how the political class thinks otherwise by persisting with diabolical exploitations alone to consolidate the vote banks. Do not look far from the recently extended Union Cabinet which saw several OBCs getting appointed alongside dominant caste representatives. The newly sworn-in first Dalit Punjab CM is being bandied about like a trophy worthy of showcasing to the world even as Dalits form more than one-third of the population in the state. As the general election nears, the usual wooing of the Dalit community will reach a crescendo. The narrative will be all too familiar. Remember the adage, old wine in a new bottle. The politics will ensure continuity.
