DALIT IDENTITY: A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

Transcription

1 322 ISSN April 2003, Vol. 3/IV DALIT IDENTITY: A THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION When I was doing my 7th standard, I came to know that I belonged to an untouchable community. From that time onwards, whenever there was a discussion about caste among my friends circle, or in other surroundings, I felt very lowly and embarrassed and I tried to hide myself inside a shell, acutely aware and conscious of my caste and avoided discussing it. In all my school certificates, by putting Indian Christian in the caste column, my parents tried to hide my real caste. In college, when other untouchable students were there, I avoided them consciously and, instead, related with students of other castes voluntarily. The reason for this was the fear that if I revealed my real caste; the status, respect and prestige I enjoy in society would be damaged. However, I realised later how false these values were, though I doubt that if I were placed in the same period and time now, I would react in the same way now too. Some may think and question to what extent caste, as a concept, can be the criteria for judging or finding out a person s identity. In reality caste is the one and only criterion for identifying anyone in today s caste-ridden society. I once searched for a house, for rent, for a friend of mine, at Somasundaram Colony, which is situated behind my Seminary. The first question the owner asked was, What is his caste? As this colony is populated by a large number of Brahmins, they April 2003

2 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 323 invariably give various excuses and refuse to provide a house for rent, if the applicant for tenancy happens to be an untouchable. It is immaterial for them even if the applicant is highly educated and works as an Officer or as a Professor. My younger brother and my nephew; are both well educated, employed and are earning well. They fell in love with two girls, who were Roman Catholics and were of Pillai caste. These girls were both education-wise and economically lower than my brother and my nephew. But even so, the girls parents did not encourage this and objected to it. Their argument was that their prospective sons-in-law could even be peons, but should belong to their own caste. My teacher-friends have had different but thoroughly depressing experiences. When my teacher-friends, irrespective of their religion, go to work in the villages, the first thing the villagers want to know is their caste. In some places they are asked directly while in some places, the villagers try to find out by asking questions in a round about manner. Once they find out the caste of the person their attitude changes completely. The same experience is shared by my pastor friends also. When they join a new church, the congregation gets to know their caste even before he arrives. It is irrelevant how he does his Ministry. If they do not know his caste, the elders of the congregation slowly enquire about his background, his parents, their occupations etc., and identify his caste. After it is known, the congregation splits into two groups his own caste group becomes closer to him while the others keep a respectable distance. The present educational set up is such that it is necessary to enter the name of the caste in all kinds of certificates. Even if one says that he/she does not belong to any caste, his/her claim is not accepted. And only the untouchables are the ones who say that they do not have any caste. In India, one s caste identifies a person, and his education, status etc., are totally disregarded, and they are deemed secondary and immaterial. Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

3 324 The Tension Between Caste Identity and Dalit Identity Once it is known that you belong to a particular caste, you are recognised and identified with that particular group. Indirectly you are forced to recognise all the castes, i.e., recognising the caste system. Whether you belong to a high caste or a low caste, once you mention it then it means you are accepting it. If you use your caste classification for the purpose of school certificates, marriage etc., then it means you have accepted the caste system. For example, now my daughter is studying in fifth standard. May be, next year the school will ask for her caste, for the certificates. And if I state it, then it amounts to my accepting the caste. If on the other hand I state that, I am a Dalit, the authorities will not accept it, since it is not a caste name. But quite often nowadays, the word Dalit is given a connotation of being a caste word and is misunderstood as such by caste Hindus as well, as Untouchable. They still do not know that it is a casteless identity. But the Dalit identity is, basically, an anti-caste identity. It stands for the rejection of the caste system, totally. Thus the important need today is to think creatively on this question with our own reasoning, because all our thinking and rationalising has been so far shrouded by caste. The caste system has totally degraded our intellectual faculty. It is necessary for us to develop a new frame of reference, which transcends the barriers of the caste system, which has made the Dalits feel that they are inferior to others. The caste Hindus have wiped out our History, destroyed our self-esteem and made us feel ashamed. They have created an atmosphere which makes them rule over us and dominate us. Thus the immediate need before us is to search for a frame of reference to our oppressors and create a new perspective which will liberate us from the system. April 2003

4 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 325 The Dalit Identity The Dalit Identity we are talking about is a certain awareness, one of pride and not inferiority. The Dalit Identity I am talking about is not an emotional outburst but a newly realised self-love and self-affirmation. Jesus said, Love your neighbour as yourself. So, I cannot experience loving others unless I experience loving myself. Dalit Identity, as such, means, developing the Dalit perspective, which means searching for a new identity, self awareness, self esteem and rejection of the stereo typed morals and values of the caste system. It gives us the consciousness, which implies a vision of the heritage of our fore parents. It is the beginning of a new search for our roots, to anchor us firmly to ourselves. The False Identity In the recent past, there is a growing tendency among untouchables to pronounce themselves with their caste names like Samuel Parayar, Paulchamy Pallar, or Mallar etc. Even Dalit groups are being organised on these titles, and the argument is: Let us organise ourselves with the present identity, i.e., with a sub-caste identity, before we move on to the Dalit identity. Those who do this are not able to realise and understand the danger involved in identifying themselves as Parayars, Pallars and Chakkiliyars, because these are titles which exist as part of the caste hierarchy. Once we recognise these titles, we are directly recognising the titles of the other castes, and at the end, recognising the caste system itself. Those who pursue such a course of action cite the example of the Black Movement. But that is a flawed argument. The Black identity as such, is being affirmed by the Blacks, mainly because it is natural and imbibed in their heritage, while it is not so in the case of the untouchables, where their identity is one which was imposed by others and it certainly is not a proud thing to be upheld. Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

5 326 Another serious development to be noted is the act of a section of untouchables calling themselves as Devendrakula Vellalar (Pallar), Thirukulam (Parayar) and Arunthathiar (Chakilliars). This is similar to what happened in the case of Shanars calling themselves as Nadars and climbing up the social ladder. It must be told that a mere change of a name is a mythical pursuit, which will lead nowhere, since there are many other factors which helped Nadars to climb up, besides the name change, and it is not so simple as equating the two. Another thing is that the leaders of these movements claim that We were the rulers, and they also say that they once stood side by side with other castes and that they had descended from high society. This attitude again establishes the hierarchy complex rather than demolish it once and for all. The worst part of this phenomenon is that the wording of such titles are nothing but expressions of Brahmanical Hinduism. For example, the word Thirukulam means Divine Community. But the divinity as such, is again attached only to the Brahmin gods. Again, the word Devendran arises from Deva Indiran the name of God Indra or Vishnu, as he is better known, out of whose body, the myth goes, the Varna system emerged. It is ironical that such leaders are accepting the Brahmanical god in whose name my people were exploited. Similarly Arundhati is a character in the epic Ramayana. If we accept this, then we also accept that the avatar of Vishnu as Rama is a historical reality. So, we must be very careful about accepting such false identities. The Nomenclature The most unfortunate thing for us about all our sufferings, was the names given to us by the upper castes, through which, we were subdued and marginalised. These names were given by others and not chosen by untouchables ourselves, with others terms of reference of our own. Naturally, these names were most degrading. April 2003

6 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 327 By design, we were left out of the Varna system, since the ruling forces felt that these people cannot be considered even for being grouped among the respected ones. So, we were not given any name. But historically it can be seen that my people were baptised with different titles such as Dasa, Dashyu, Asura, Avarna, Panchama, Chandala, Melichcha, Swarpaka etc. These were the names mainly used in pre-vedic, Vedic and precolonical times. During the Colonical rule, we were called as Exterior caste, Depressed classes, Backward classes, Untouchables, Scheduled Castes and as Harijans. The Britishers, for the purpose of government procedures and government programmes brought us under second categories and denoted us as Exterior Caste, Depressed classes, Backward classes and Scheduled Castes. Dr. Ambedkar used the title Untouchable, with the feeling that the disease should be known by its weakness and that only then will the person react or respond. So Dr. Ambedkar continued to refer to them as untouchables. M.K. Gandhi, to inform the world that he was a champion of the welfare of the untouchables, branded them as Harijans, which was vehemently opposed by the leaders of the untouchables. The reasons are well known. Our leaders challenged, We are not fatherless people, i.e., we are not No history people, rather, we have a very rich tradition to identify with. So they rejected the title, but because it was first used by Mr. M.K. Gandhi, and since this country was ruled by Congress for a long time, this term Harijan was widely popularised. There are also a number of titles which have been given to us at the regional level, such as chuhras in Punjabi, Bhangi and Lalbegi in Hindi, Mahar in Marathi, Mala and Madiga in Telugu, Pariyan, Pallan and Chakkiliyan in Tamil, Pulayan in Malayalam and Chandala or Namo Sudra in Bengali. As mentioned earlier, none of these titles were our choice. After 1970, a group in Maharashtra started to use the word Dalit as the title of their movement called Dalit Panthers. But for a Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

7 328 long time, even this title was not familiar. Only in the 80s did it started to pick up slowly and now, it is generally accepted. Even the Brahmanical newspapers have started identifying untouchables as Dalits. Identifying untouchables as Dalits has its own strengths. 1. It is a title chosen by ourselves. 2. It explains our own situation of suffering. 3. It is a political term which inspires us to revolt. 4. It is an all inclusive word which can bring many others into its fold in the process of change. Original Identity The issue of Dalit consciousness is the issue really of Dalit identity the question of our roots. There are two arguments about the presence of Aryans. One argument that Aryans came from outside and the other argument is that they are also natives. But both recognise the presence of the indigenous people in India. Shyam Sundar, the father of Indian Dalit Movements, in his book, Mool Bharatis, bluntly tells his fellow untouchables that, We were the rulers of this country, before the advent of uncultured Aryans. Dr. N.K. Dutta says: the Dashyu s were the natives of the soil, whose towns and fortresses were captured and properties seized by the aggressive Aryans, who were gradually being pushed away from the country. These natives were enjoying full freedom and were moving around the country by enjoying the natural resources without exploitation by any one. They all belonged to one particular race and spoke one particular language. There was no ethnic, racial, lingual, colour and religious differences among them. Only after some time, they got divided by themselves. According to the thesis of Dr. Ambedkar, the same race was moving around in different groups. The conflict started only between these groups and they split into the broken community, April 2003

8 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 329 the settled community and the nomadic community. Dr. James Massey describes Dr. Ambedkar s position, as the divisions in our society began with a primitive society which consisted of many local communities (or tribes). In the beginning all these communities were nomadic in nature. But with time, and because of intra-tribal warfare, they got divided into three groups; a settled community, a Raider community belonging to nomadic tribes, and a Broken Men s Community consisting of people of the defeated tribes. Here the last group is important, because it is these Broken Men, according to Dr. Ambedkar, who at a later stage, were turned into untouchables or today s Dalits. These Broken Men were the people of a defeated tribe, who with their defeat got scattered or broken from their original tribe. Even today, we can see the similarities of physical, identity between Dalits, tribals and the communities which were called as the criminal tribes by the Britishers. So, only these groups were the aboriginal natives of India. Dr. Srivastava also supports the same view: Therefore, the defeated aboriginals were made slaves in the social order... These slaves have been included in the fold of Hinduism by placing them on the lowest rank of the social ladder... Those who did not accept the offer of becoming slaves were driven into forests and they remained Aboriginal with their social, economic and cultural distinctions... In the course of time, these people were divided into classes. Some became nomadic tribes and other roaming from place to place. Those roaming people were called the criminal tribes. The problem started only after the process of Aryanisation took place. The Broken People, were scattered all over India and linguistically assimilated by the ruling groups. These ruling groups destroyed the indigenous culture of the Broken People almost wholly. But still, these groups are able to maintain the rudiments of their culture. Their religion also has been subordinated and absorbed into brahmanical Hinduism. These indigenous people now had become the people without their own History and their own cultural identity. Even though one can trace certain cultural Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

9 330 distinctiveness when they lost their freedom, their whole history became one of suffering and pathos. One thing emerges clear in this identity, and it is the essence of freedom of movement, the right to roam around anywhere on earth, the right to enjoy the natural resources of this planet. Simply put the right to be free and be oneself. This I would like to call as the Nomadic Identity as experienced by the fore parents who later became untouchables. Historical Identity Throughout History, the Dalits were oppressed by every other group. They were completely pushed to the lowest strata as menial servants. Slavery in a different form was experienced by these people. They were forced to stay outside the villages and were treated as polluted beings. They were not allowed into the villages. An extreme form of untouchability was experienced by these people. A.P. Nirmal describes the historical pathos of our people as, They did not enjoy the nomadic freedom. As an out-caste he/she was also cast out of his/her village. The Dalit bastis were always and are always on the outskirts of the Indian village. The Savarnas also tied an earthern pot around the Dalit ancestor s neck to serve as spittoon. His spit should not pollute the earth. If even the Dalit ancestor tried to learn Sanskrit or some other sophisticated language, the oppressors gagged him permanently by pouring molten lead down his throat! The Dalit mothers and sisters were forbidden to wear any blouses and the savarnas feasted their eyes on their bare bosoms. The Savarnas denied to the outcastes any access to public wells and reservoirs. They denied him entry to their temples and places of worship. This reveals the systematic and gradual decline of the nomadic and Broken men into their being segregated as untouchables. It is revealed how the upper castes cunningly manipulated my people from free men into slaves and further pushed them down the social ladder and thus effectively led them into bonded slavery. I would like to call this identity as the Slave Identity. April 2003

10 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 331 The Dalits who have been suffering endless hardship at the hands of upper castes, were given a ray of hope when the Bakthi cult which originated in the 12th century, expressed concern for Dalits as one of its ideals. Besides prominent saints like Ramanuja, Ramananda, Kabir, Tukaram, Meerabai and Chaitanya, the Bakthi cult also attracted, in its fold, Dalit saints such as Ravidas, Chockmela Nandanar and others. However, the Bakthi cult did not bring about any social change. Then came the Muslim rule, which admitted Dalits into the Martial services, which hitherto had been the exclusive domain of upper castes. Some of these Dalit soldiers rose up to be rulers. Kalapahad, a Dalit ruler in Bengal was a terror to the caste Hindus who exploited poor Dalits. In 1542, the Christian missionaries started arriving, the first being St. Francis Xavier from Portugal who came to Goa. In the South the Danish missionaries, Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Henry Pluschau established their mission in the Kingdom of Tanjore. William Carey arrived at Bengal in 1792 and established the Baptist Mission. It can be said that it was the Christian Missionaries who first started some serious social and educational work among untouchables. It is, without doubt, the seeds sown by the Christian Missionaries, which were the root cause of Dalit upsurge, but conversions were construed as a challenge to the Hindu society. John Webster affirms that, the primary good the converts had in mind was not economic (as economic reprisals far outweighed any economic benefits received) but social and psychological; a chance to acquire helpful friends outside the village, and most important of all, a new sense of one s own worth, dignity and self respect which came with conversion. Dr. Ambedkar s decision to convert into Buddhism anticipated that the untouchables would acquire a new sense of self dignity and respect and identity. But unfortunately only the Mahar community people, the caste which Ambedkar belonged to became Buddhists, and they have not been able to achieve what the conversion aimed at. As says W.N. Kuber: Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

11 332 Though they achieved an upward mobility, they failed to make a long term and desired impact on restructuring relationship between the caste Hindus and Harijans. Even among those who embraced Buddhism the process of religious mobility was not accompanied by equal economic mobility. As a result while on the one hand, the Harijans renounced the traditional occupations of livelihood, on the other hand they failed to secure the new ones commensurate with their newly developed sense of self-dignity and this caused great internal tensions. The most welcome impact of the conversion lies in the realm of ideology. By renouncing Hinduism they had disconnected themselves from the imposed history as untouchables and had regained their identity as free humans. The Dalits situation, was still the same when the British arrived here and established the empire. The British administration, however, did not bother themselves about the condition of Dalits, since their goal was to plunder the country economically. But the colonial policy provided new opportunities for the Dalits, which they had not had a chance before, such as entry into civil services, the military and in the educational sector. The Dalits were soon filling the army ranks and found employment in factories and mills run by the British. A significant milestone during the British rule was the directive by the administration in 1858, which declared open the government schools in Bombay, to all castes including the untouchables. The judicial system set up by the British also gave the untouchables an opportunity to uphold their rights, though in a very limited way, given the infancy of the system and the dominance again of the upper castes in these systems. The Dalit struggle found its voice, through various Dalit movements which were founded in course of time, in the post- Mutiny period. Dr. Ambedkar s success in securing constitutionally the abolition of untouchability, was a great deliverance to the Dalits which promised them liberty and equality. During the post and pre-independence periods, there have been many efforts, in their infancy, by the untouchables to relate April 2003

12 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 333 their struggles with various movements, which were engaged in various parts of the country on issues facing the untouchables, and it is to be noted that in some of these movements Untouchables were able to achieve their objectives, though in a limited way. The Contemporary Identity After Independence, the Dalits were given a separate identity to enjoy certain rights under the Indian Constitution. Even though these were provided constitutionally, the implementation of the Constitutional provision left much to be desired as these benefits and rights have not reached the untouchables. Their condition remains the same as before and there is no discernible change in the lives of our fore-parents. The rise of various Dalit Movements, mostly on a regional level, promised deliverance, but eventually, it was found that in spite of their existence, there was no significant change for the better. It is a known fact that even now, Dalits are considered as untouchables. There are areas where the Dalits cannot enter certain roads, temples etc. The Dalits have to drink tea in separate glasses and are made to sit on the floor in hotels in order to have a meal. However, with the rise of Dalit Consciousness among my people, there is a marked change. Dalits are slowly starting to question such evil practices which caste Hindus adopt to subjugate the untouchables. Caste Hindus simply cannot tolerate this uprising, and their reaction results in savage retaliation with violence. Scores of examples can be given to establish this. In 1967, in Keelavenmani village in Thanjavur District of Tamilnadu, 44 Dalits were locked inside their huts and were burnt alive for the simple reason that they wanted a raise in their wages. In 1978, in Villupuram, 13 Dalits were killed when they rose up against their oppressors. In 1989, in the Bodi riots, the caste Hindus damaged the properties of Dalits and turned them into refugees. In 1991, in Tsundur in Andhra Pradesh 13 Dalits were killed and their bodies hacked to pieces. In the last two years, atrocities Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

13 334 and violence against untouchables have been on the rise, particularly in South Tamilnadu, in Kodiyankulam, where the hatred and savagery of the caste Hindus manifested itself into attacks on Dalits and their properties. The main reason for this savagery is the fact that the Dalits have now decided not to accept the existing system. The Dalit youth who are not an educated lot, are standing at the forefront of this quest for liberation. Moreover, because of increased opportunities, Dalits have become economically better off than before. In fact, Kodiyankulam, which bore the brunt of caste Hinduism, had a large Dalit population whose members were working in the Gulf countries and earning substantially well, thus making their families economically independent. They have started buying even lands and therefore have started to question all forms of untouchability. The caste Hindus, who want the untouchables to be ever dependent and servile, cannot tolerate this, and try all forms of violent suppression. In the Tsundur incident, the caste Hindus, however, could not escape from the retaliation of Dalits, which was as violent as that of the oppressors. Even in the local villages in Tamilnadu, there have been instances of a strong rebellious mood, among the untouchables, who cannot any more tolerate the caste oppression. There are scores of such incidents which can be described to portray the smoldering rebellious attitude currently pervading the minds of Dalits today. Dr. Krishnaswamy, a leader of the Devendra Kula Vellalar Sangam went on a procession in the streets of Madurai city. The situation was such that; nearly all the shops were closed and the city came to a standstill until the procession was over. Anger and rebellion were seen on the faces of the processionists. After the procession ended, in many places, the caste Hindus reacted with violence against Dalits, as they could not tolerate this uprising by Dalits. April 2003

14 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 335 The Messianic Identity The basic issue before us today is to realise our fuller human self-identity. The object of the history so far has to become the subject of history now and in the future. All our efforts so far have been to gain our lost identity and to achieve a new identity. This identity is to struggle to establish our basic human rights. This will be possible only when the whole of our effort is politicised and transformed into a political movement. Dr. Ambedkar s view also is this. But he did not see it from the Marxist understanding of political revolution. According to him, the social revolution should precede the political revolution and this can be done only by the Dalits, because the Dalits are the worst exploited, and they are the real proletariat in today s understanding of the Reality. Only the Dalits can represent faithfully the suffering masses of our country. Thomas Mathew also takes the same stand: In India, the communist Revolution should be preceded by a democratic revolution; the main force would definitely be the Sudras, the peasants, under the communist ideological framework. The question arises, as to which section of the Sudra castes would be in the vanguard of the revolution. Here obviously it is the untouchables, the most oppressed, in economic, social and cultural aspects, who could be the most uncompromising and most revolutionary vanguard of the Dalit-Sudra Democratic Revolution preceding the Communist revolution. (Thomas Mathew, 1991) This new Dalit proletariat becomes the Messianic community which brings liberation to the community at large. Messianic Community Messiah is commonly understood as the one coming from outside, to liberate the suffering masses. The Messiah from above would sacrifice all his power and would identify himself with the powerless. The Messiah who is sinless becomes part of the sinners. All this is to project the Messiah, the redeemer as pure, holy, powerful, divine and sacred. But we reject this Messiah, because the Dalit Messiah is not from anywhere outside but from among ourselves. We reject the white, sharp-nosed, tall, Judeo-Greek- Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV

15 336 Western Messiah. We are not comfortable with the Messiah projected by the caste ridden churches. The Messiah projected by the churches, also sanctifies the divisive hierarchical order. We reject this Messiah because of his Holiness-associations. In history, it is this concept of ritual-purity-holiness, that has made us unclean, impure and polluted. We are not allowed to reach such a Messiah intimately. We are only allowed to see from a distance. This distant Messiah never experienced the feelings of untouchability and he is completely recognised by the Caste people. Since he is accepted by the Caste people, he has also become a Caste Messiah. The Messiah rejected by us is also wealthy and powerful. He always protects the interests of the affluent when we search for the Messiah during our struggles and in our suffering. We only saw the Messiah standing with the caste people. When we drank coffee from broken coconut-shells, when our dead bodies were buried on the road side, when our women were denuded by our oppressors, when we were utterly humiliated, this Messiah did not come to our rescue. And this Messiah never identified himself with ourselves, and always, our identity was not accepted as equal to this Castiest Messiah. By rejecting this pseudo-messiah, we are unearthing, recapturing, realising and recognising the Dalit Messiah who has been present with us throughout our History. This Messiah who resembles us, is black, flat nosed and big nosed, dressed in rags, standing always near our slums to protect us. We have many stories to tell about this Messiah s involvement in our struggles, and sufferings. This Messiah accepts us as we are; we can approach him any time, however badly-dressed we may be, we can sleep, we can play, cry, fight, whatever we do in the temple the Messiah accepts. In the same way our women are also accepted without any inhibitions. With this Messiah, there is no division, neither male or female. This Messiah is on the roadside without any cover overhead, like us. Our Messiah is rejected by the Caste people, since our Messiah is identified with us. This Messiah is non other than our own ancestor, who died, who April 2003

16 Dalit Identity: A Theological Reflection 337 sacrificed his life for us. This Messiah is the one who kindles us and makes us realise our rights, and encourages us to realise each of ourselves and win our self-respect and our self-dignity. Chengalpattu John Thomas and Ezhumalai, Alanganallur Katturaja, Paramakudi Immanuel, Chinthalapatti Subramanian who fought and died for us, to get for us our rights all these have become the Messiahs for us. They are the resurrected Messiahs. The Dalit community which is identified with this Messianic vision, is the Messianic community. This Messianic community is not exclusive, but inclusive of all other similarly marginalised peoples and groups such as the Tribals, the women, who are the most backward and unorganised. This Messianic community also recognises the Messianic communities of the past, where the, God of Creation, acted as a liberator. The real messenger of God s values today, is this Messianic community, which still carries the image of God. This consciousness within the Dalit community strengthens this Messianic Identity. This Messianic community, in the process of its liberation, will not be satisfied with land flowing with the milk and honey or even by winning the rights, reservations and privileges. On the other hand its Messianic hope is, continue to struggle towards and achieving the full humanness and the full divinity: in other words, achieving the very image of God. Global Religious Vision, Vol. 3/IV