4. Isn't class the real differentiator today and not
caste?
SY: Class alone was a differentiator then there would have
been a revolution by now. But in India people are harassed by caste also and so
there is a need to fight caste along with class. In India labor is exploited
based on caste and after using it can be thrown as they are paying for the bad
karma they have done. Yes, class-based exploitation of labor is there in all
countries and that needs to be eliminated.
But in India caste based on karma provides a support or
ground for the sapling of class and so both needs to be eliminated. In India
there is a study that says 93% of asset is owned by brahmins and baniyas.
Answer:
Labor class consists of all castes and is not restricted to
only dalits in India. In companies and factories there are many brahmins
working as laborers. Yes, poor brahmins also work as domestic help. Everything
cannot be attributed to bad karma. Anything can be corrected with our right
karma / action on which everybody has control
Like in other countries, it is just the physical/mental/intellectual
ability and poverty that makes people go for such labor-intensive jobs. As
already said, class based on guna or characteristics can never be eliminated. More
than half of brahmin population is much below poverty line in India and this would
counter the statistics Mr. Yengde has provided.
As per Bhagavad gita, Varna is based on Guna
(characteristics) and Karma (as in whatever work that one is capable of doing).
This can always change based on one’s inclination. Not all Brahmins are engaged
in priest/religious work. Likewise, not all dalits are doing cleaning work. Maybe
it was so, many years in the past. But Hindu religion has changed and is
changing too. So Mr. Yengde is simply harping upon old and obsolete ideas that
is getting replaced.
5. The violence that Dalit’s face often comes from the
OBC community. Yet caste activists only target brahmins. why is not OBC called
out?
SY: When you take a group photo we always want to look at
ourselves. We are fighting all upper castes that includes brahmins. If brahmins
feel they alone are targeted then it is their problem. It is true that OBC are
imposing violence. But they are doing it under a structure of varnashrama. Everybody
is actually a human. But by caste one becomes brahmin, OBC or dalit. Brahmin
community have to issue a fatwa saying that if any OBC commits violence against
dalits/adivasis then they will be prohibited from entering temples, because
this is against dharma. Brahmins are not doing it.
In fact, OBC's have been given "superficial"
superiority that makes them engage in violence. They have been authorized by
their superiors to engage in violence for which they are compensated
spiritually, politically and what not.
Answer:
Brahmin is not a mullah to issue Fatwa. They don’t even own
or manage the temples. Majority of the Hindu temples are owned by the
Government who take all the income coming through donations and give it to
minorities. So, Mr. Yengde should urge the government to issue the fatwa!
True Brahmins practice non-violence and vegetarianism. They
don't even hurt an ant let alone humans. Brahmins are not responsible for OBCs
violence. There are many cases where dalits also have engaged in unprovoked
violence. Caste based violence is punishable under the law anyway. No Brahmin
will approve violence against the weak and innocent. This is not supported by
scriptures also.
Mr. Yengde is simply bashing Brahmins instead of directly
taking on the OBCs. This is because he knows Brahmins are peaceful and passive
and will never retaliate. If he directly takes on the OBCs they will surely hit
back!
6. I treat my house help like family. Why do you accuse
me as castiest.
SY: The help is a help because she comes from a particular
caste and you have employed her because you are from a better caste which has
granted you that ability. In other countries there has been slavery. But in
India, slavery is tied to the caste which is hereditary. If someone wants to
say he is caste free, the question needs to be asked - what have you done to
eliminate this distinction of master and slave? In upper class house the
servants are served food and drink in separate utensils and they are not
allowed into the kitchen or sanctum sanctorum.
Good news is, younger generation of upper caste is noticing
this and understanding that it is not right.
Answer:
The answer for this is same as #4 above. Domestic help is
not slavery and it is not tied to any caste. Non-dalits including brahmins
engage in domestic help also. What grants the privilege to keep domestic help
is money, not caste. Even rich Dalits use domestic help. What are they doing to
eliminate the Master-Slave distinction? Majority of Brahmins are actually very
poor and so cannot afford to have help.
7. Some progressives say, I don’t believe in caste and don’t
even use my caste surname. How could I be among the oppressors?
SY: Just by giving up name does not make the slate clean. In
Tamilnadu there is no surname, it is like in Iceland where children take the
name of their father. But still one should not mock such people and welcome
their motive to give up caste. But quite often they side with upper caste in
their activities. But there are some genuine progressives who are not right
wing and they are ready to change but they need guidance. But still, they have
so much privileges that just giving up last name does not cut it. There last name
is unnecessary for them to exercise their privileges with caste because in a
cosmopolitan society what you need is your connections. so let us be critical
with regard to what we need to do with anti casteism and how well we are going
to engage in eliminating the divisions.
Answer:
It is Dalits who are reaping the birth-based caste privileges
and not brahmins. There is reservation for Dalits and OBCs everywhere, so much
so that Brahmins have no other option at all but to settle for low level
schools/jobs. In spite of that Brahmins strive to obtain education and become
successful. This is because they are naturally intelligent and hardworking.
Others could learn from that.
Many rich dalit landlords in India always rent out their
property to brahmins. This is because brahmins are peaceful, law-abiding ,
spiritual and pay their rent promptly without any complaints as opposed to
other non-brahmins.
Genuine privilege or respect is available to anyone with
good conduct. So the need of the hour is mutual respect between dalits and
brahmins and not unwarranted mudslinging.
8. It is not about caste at all, but I have noticed that
being from the same community often makes for an easier marriage. It is
culture.
SY: It is ok for people to marry anyone they like. But
culture is caste in India. British Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm has written a
“Critique of tradition”. He says there is no such thing as tradition and it is
something humans created to impose on others. Culture needs to have historical
citation and caste provides that.
It is ok to marry within caste but if someone wants to marry
from other caste, they should be allowed. But if a dalit marries an upper
caste, the society is killing them.
Answer:
Actually, inter-caste marriages go against Dalit's interest.
If a Dalit girl marries a brahmin boy then she may lose her dalit status and
the child that is born to them could not be dalit and so will lose all the privileges
given by the Indian government. Also, if it is argued that the Brahmin boy
would become a dalit, it is also good for him as he gets to enjoy the benefits
of reservation.
Birth based caste matters for dalits and not so much for
"progressive" Brahmins!
Eric Hobsbawm’s theory may be true with respect to human
created cultures/religions. But Hindu tradition is based on the eternal impersonal
consciousness which is always going to be eternal.
9. How do you manage to connect every single thing with
caste.
SY: We actually oppose many other forms of oppression but
caste is the main thing. Man oppressing women, majority religion oppressing
minority and so on, has its roots in the caste which has sanction from the
Hindu scripture. In addition to perpetuating discrimination the caste provides
power for upper caste. But still not every oppression is connected to caste and
they need to be opposed also, but certainly there is an economy of cultural
production that maintain the status co of the society and to challenge that we
need to go to the roots. Long time ago we used to say population is the cause
for all problems right, but now caste is the mother of all problems.
Answer:
All the above questions are essentially saying the same
thing that all kinds of oppression has it's roots in varna/caste taught in the
Hindu scripture. The philosophical basis of that has been already explained
earlier. It is sheer stupidity to argue that one's own face/arms are oppressing
one's own legs!
The Varnasrama dharma in simple terms is just a
"division in labor". The division is essentially based on one's
innate characteristics and capability (guna & karma) as taught in the
Bhagavad gita.
The root of Hindu culture is the indubitable Absolute Self,
that nobody can deny. Varnasrama dharma would then be a natural consequence of accepting
the society and the universe in the form of body where all the parts are doing
their respective dharma/duty. The relationship between the Self and the
society/body is in the form of sustainer/sustained or protector/protected.
Mr. Yengde's obsolete idea of oppressor and oppressed based
on Marxism will never succeed.
10. If you want me to engage with caste you have to stop being so abrasive in your tone.
SY: Why does the principle of civility apply only to the
oppressed. We dont live in a civilized society yet. We just learned civic
education. We are living in a very intolerant, violent and obnoxious society.
But still, I have the privilege of being nice and can tone down my language.
But a poor dalit who is going through oppression need not be polite and you can
expect him to be so.
Answer:
The same logic applies to poor/oppressed brahmins also but
still Brahmins who are essentially peaceful and dharmic will not hit back.
Mr. Yengde should realize that other non-Brahmins may not
keep quiet without any retaliation. Yes, like any other religion, there are cases
of oppression of the weak are there in Hindu society and the root cause of that
is ignorance and selfishness which is there in all humans belonging to any caste/gender.
So, the need of the hour is for all varna/caste to work collectively
to support and uplift the downtrodden with mutual trust and co-operation.
Here is a thought experiment:
Imagine a society where there is no caste OR where everybody
is a dalit. In such a society someone has to be spiritual/intellectual, someone
has to govern and fight the enemies, someone has to do business/trading and someone
has to do the labor and clean the gutters. What else is this if not varnasrama
dharma? In such a society could it be said that rich dalits would be oppressing
poor dalits!!??
In other videos, Mr. Yengde is advising children to break
away from their families as their parents are instilling caste ideas in their
minds. What about dalit children? should they also have to break away as their
parents are teaching birth-based identification of their dalit-hood and hatred
for non-dalits?
So, the problem will not end with mutual mud-slinging. Based
on the principle of VedAnta, we need to recognize God in each other and only
then there can be mutual respect and prosperity.
Namaste
Suresh
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