{"id":10739,"date":"2021-01-29T22:18:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T22:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavozlit.com\/?p=10739"},"modified":"2021-01-29T22:18:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T22:18:57","slug":"on-the-caste-question-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/2021\/01\/29\/on-the-caste-question-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Caste Question in India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

What is Caste ? An Introduction\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the fundamental characteristics of Hindu society , is the presence of castes. What the role of\u00a0 the caste is has been a question of much debate among scholars and activists alike. It is\u00a0 unquestionable, that this social system is at least several milennia old in its origin, there is\u00a0 consensus that at some point after the fall of the Roman Empire, the system became rigid and\u00a0 acquired its present more oppressive form.<\/em>
\n 
\nBy Adhiraj Bose\u00a0 \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 \u00a0Mazdoor Inqilab \/\u00a0 India<\/strong><\/em>
\n 
\nIn summary, there are four castes which pertain to four\u00a0 social positions in the hierarchy;
\nBrahmins<\/strong> \u2013 The uppermost caste with the most privilege, is meant to be the priestly caste, and those destined for intellectual pursuits and careers.
\nKshatriya<\/strong> \u2013 Their position lay just below the Brahmin, and are the caste of rulers and warriors.
\nVaishya<\/strong> \u2013 The caste of traders whose position is below that of the Kshatriya, despite their wealth\u00a0 they remained below the warrior caste.
\nShudras<\/strong> \u2013 The lowest in the caste ladder belong the caste of workers and labourers who are destined to remain trapped in backwardness and poverty.
\nNehru opined in his book \u2018A Discovery of India\u2019 that the caste system helped organizing early state\u00a0 based society after the coming the Aryans. The division of labour created the foundations for what\u00a0 was then a productive and sophisticated system. However, it was not unchallenged even in its time.
\nBuddhism emerged in the 6th century BC with an egalitarian message that hit at the caste system.\u00a0 Buddhism appealed to the lower castes, the Vaisya and the Shudra. It allowed opportunities to\u00a0 advance in society and respect, that would not have been possible within Hindu society. In modern\u00a0 times, the same dynamic can be seen with the re-emergence of Neo-Buddhism after independence.
\nThroughout the centuries the upper castes who have held administrative positions, primarily the\u00a0 caste of brahmin and Kshatriya, have enforced discriminatory rules against the Shudra to ensure\u00a0 they remain subordinate to their rule. This included laws forbidding marriage of castes below the
\nladder, so no one may marry into a shudra family, and no shudra may try to marry up and such\u00a0 marriage would bring punishment. There were laws restricting the shudra from learning the vedas\u00a0 and ritual incantations which are the preserve of the brahmin. The main text laying out the caste\u00a0 system was the Manusmriti. Here you may find a collection of some punishments for the lower\u00a0 castes and verses establishing discrimination against the dalit :
\nhttps:\/\/velivada.com\/2017\/05\/31\/casteist-quotes-verses-manusmriti-law-book-hindus\/<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\nThe precise point of origin of the caste system in Indian history remains a matter of debate, but\u00a0 there is an emerging consensus that the caste system grew into it\u2019s rigid and more recognizably\u00a0 repressive form sometime around the beginning of the middle ages of Indian history, between the 3rd and 5th century AD. Some opine this was caused by the fall of the Roman Empire and the loss of\u00a0 trade.
\nFrom this point onwards the caste system remained as an oppressive social instrument ensuring the\u00a0 backwardness of the Shudra caste and to a lesser extent the Vaishya caste. This preserved the\u00a0 hegemony of the brahmin and kshatriya over these two castes who form the majority of the Indian\u00a0 population.<\/p>\n

Caste and capitalism \u2013<\/h2>\n

The fundamental capitalist social dynamic, is the exploitation of the working class, the proletariat,\u00a0 for the enrichment of a capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. All other divisions get subordinated to this\u00a0 fundamental division. Barriers of race and caste, at least in theory, ought not to exist under\u00a0 capitalism, yet they do.
\nIn case of india, we must understand the trajectory of capitalism in order to understand how caste\u00a0 survived this. Earlier pre-capitalist modes of production with their rigid hierarchies and\u00a0 unproductive methods could never destroy the caste system. Religious opposition to the caste\u00a0 system from Buddhism, and then from Islam and Christianity, failed to abolish the caste system\u00a0 either. What has been common in each social transformation India has undergone, is the\u00a0 maintenance of a hierarchical and exploitative system of social division, be it in the Asiatic mode of production, or the uniquely Indian social system which evolved in the medieval era after the Gupta\u00a0 Empire (4th to 5th century AD) .
\nCapitalism too suffers from this weakness, it is a a hierarchical system of social division where the\u00a0 bourgeoisie controls all political and economic power, while the working class remains poor.\u00a0 Despite the formal equality before the law, the reality of capitalist exploitation negates such formal\u00a0 equality. The historical evidence of two hundred years of capitalism in India compels us to draw this conclusion, that the capitalist system, does not stand for the abolition of racism and casteism, rather\u00a0 the system adjusts itself to them. The bourgeoisie in America abolished slavery but retained a racial\u00a0 judicial and political system which ensured the exploitation of African Americans remained at\u00a0 similiar levels. The Indian bourgeoisie, similarly \u201cabolished\u201d the caste system from law, but\u00a0 retained the social system, and utilized it to maintain upper caste hegemony over Dalits.
\nIn case of India we have to take into account not just the penetration of the capitalist world market,\u00a0 but the manner in which it happened. Colonialism brought in additional layers of oppression and\u00a0 inequality which made it particularly exploitative and destructive. The pre-colonial regimes of India under either the Islamic empires or the Hindu kingdoms, had never seriously challenged caste\u00a0 divisions, the Islamic empires on the contrary, tolerated the caste system and the caste hierarchies\u00a0 which existed at the time of their arrival. The overwhelming motivation was practical, brahmins and the unique intermediate caste of \u2018kayastha\u2019 , were necessary in building up an efficient\u00a0 administration in india. Rather than try to rock the boat, the Turks and then the Mughals, would\u00a0 retain them in their respective political and social roles. The only disturbance to the caste system\u00a0 could be the spread of Islam at the hands of sufi saints, which allowed the Shudra caste an avenue to escape the indignity of caste oppression, however the system remained and soon enough a caste\u00a0 system emerged among the converted population, between Ashraf and Ajlaf.
\nWhen colonial capitalism arrived as a major political force, let\u2019s say after the East India Company\u00a0 took control over the Nawabi of Bengal in 1757, they had a ready-made system of administration\u00a0 which they chose not to alter entirely. Many of the administrative systems and roles remained in\u00a0 place along with those who ran the system. Accordingly, the upper caste who had remained in a\u00a0 position of privilege under the nawabs, remained in power under the East India company, despite\u00a0 their occasional egalitarian impulses like opening recruitment to lower caste mahars and dalits into\u00a0 the Bombay Army what is modern day Maharashtra1, the East India Company preferred keeping the pre-capitalist status quo where it served their interests. The company introduced capitalism in its\u00a0 most bestial and exploitative forms, which was devoid of all the progressive features of early\u00a0 bourgeois revolutionism and liberalism, and all of its exploitative and destructive qualities. The East
\n1)<\/strong> They would play an important role in the East India Company\u2019s battles against the Maratha Peshwas in the Anglo Maratha wars. The battle of Bhima Koregaon, where 500 Dalit soldiers of the company army beat a Peshwa army\u00a0 numbering in the thousands has assumed legendary stature. The victory is annually commemorated in Maharashtra.
\nIndia Company also destroyed the political and economic power of the nawabs and rajas, making\u00a0 them subordinate instruments of capitalism, but in doing so it did not seek to fix the worst features\u00a0 of Indian society. Caste hierarchies remained, caste oppression remained, but now subordinated to
\nthe interests and directions of capitalism. For this reason Marx called the East India Company a\u00a0 prodigy of creative destruction, with the destructive characteristics outweighing the creative ones.
\nThus, when Indian capitalism emerged from the womb of colonial capitalism, it did so with all the\u00a0 muck and filth of caste ridden society. The social layer of merchants in India had a curious position, being of the vaishya caste, they could not be equal to the kshatriya or kayasth, nor could they\u00a0 compete with the brahmin in social privileges, yet their wealth made them influential and\u00a0 sometimes quite powerful. With the advent of capitalism in India and the fall of Indian feudalism to\u00a0 the rule of the East India Company, this section of society grew in strength, as they could not\u00a0 improve their social position with the world capitalist market. From here came some of the most\u00a0 prominent capitalist families in India. However, rather than seek to abolish the caste system, they\u00a0 sought to improve their position within the caste ladder, Hindu identity politics emerged in the late\u00a0 19th century and early 20th century from two streams, either the 2marwari and gujarati merchants\u00a0 based in Calcutta and Bombay respectively, or the Hindu landed gentry centered around Calcutta.\u00a0 By and large the caste of Vaishyas and the merchant community as a whole is steeped in social\u00a0 conservatism and is hostile towards progressive movements.
\nThe inequalities of caste ridden society in India influenced the growth of Indian nationalism as well. The upper caste of Indian society, particularly brahmins, monopolized administrative positions and\u00a0 professions requiring intellectual talents, such as teaching, lawyering, and the medical profession.\u00a0 From this layer came the first leadership of the modern Indian independence movement, and it was\u00a0 overwhelmingly upper caste and almost entirely Hindu. The Dalits were never considered a part of\u00a0 this movement, and the upper caste leadership never let go of their caste privileges, rather they\u00a0 retained it as part of their social standing within wider Hindu society.<\/p>\n

The trajectory of Dalit struggles \u2013<\/h2>\n

What is remarkable about the caste system is how long it has lasted and how it continues to last,\u00a0 albeit without legal sanction. The social institution has been remarkably resilient to almost every\u00a0 challenge it has faced. It leaves analysts confused as to what keeps it ticking, some leftists have\u00a0 even claimed the caste system will somehow exist under socialism !
\nIn truth, Indian history has been through phases when the role of caste was either marginalized or\u00a0 nearly undone. The effect of Buddhism and it\u2019s spread was one such period. Buddhism was in many ways a direct attack on the Hindu caste system, as the religion preached egalitarianism and denial of creator Gods. The struggle between Buddhism and Hinduism assumed a political character through\u00a0 the Mauryan Empire, when the religion became the state religion of India. Furthermore, aggressive\u00a0 proselytization resulted in the majority of indians leaving the fold of hindusim to join Buddhism.\u00a0 However, Buddhism was not a socio-political movement, it provided an escape from the caste\u00a0 system, it did not provide the means for abolishing the social institutions nor the political means to\u00a0 do it. The fall of the Mauryan Empire led to the establishment of the Sunga Dynasty\u2019s rule over\u00a0 Magadh (located in modern day Bihar and Jharkhand) and with came the return of Hinduism as the\u00a0 state religion. By many accounts the Sunga dynasty enforced the return of the caste system as the\u00a0 dominant social order of india and began persecuting Buddhists, though the motives behind it is\u00a0 debatable. What this does show , is the political conflict on the basis of caste taking place in Ancient india.
\n2)<\/strong> Marwari is a mercantile community from the Western Indian state of Rajasthan, specifically from the province of\u00a0 Marwar. Gujarati merchants hail from the Western Indian state of Gujarat.
\nSuch struggles have shaped indian society throughout its history, with movements often influenced\u00a0 by theology and religion, critiquing the caste system, and providing the oppressed castes an escape\u00a0 from the enforcement of caste dominance. In almost every case the movements have either been\u00a0 suppressed, or incorporated into the amorphous fold of Hinduism, where they no longer served to\u00a0 attack the social dominance of the caste system. The rule of the upper caste, Brahmin and Kshatriya over Indian society, was thus guaranteed by a combination of coercion and assimilation.
\nThe contest between Hinduism and Buddhism was settled in victory for the former by the time of\u00a0 the Gupta Dynasty (3rd century AD \u2013 6th century AD) , it was under the Gupta dynasty, that most\u00a0 historians agree that the Hindu caste system became \u2018rigid\u2019 , and grew into it\u2019s more oppressive form that we are familiar with today. One phase of a centuries long struggle between the caste of workers and peasants (Shudras and Vaishyas) and the castes of Kings and priests (Kshatriya and Brahmin)\u00a0 ended with a victory for the ruling castes. Buddhism by this time had become corrupted and was in\u00a0 decline, mahants grew corrupt and exploitative, and no longer did the religion provide an escape for the lower and middle castes of Dalits and Vaishyas. The Brahmins had reinforced their hegemony\u00a0 and it remained uninterrupted till the advent of Islam. The role of Islam was not fundamentally\u00a0 different from that of Buddhism, in that it provided an escape for the oppressed castes, however\u00a0 they failed even in this.
\nMuslim rulers who first came from Arabia, and then later from among the Turks in Central Asia,\u00a0 needed to enforce their political and economic will over India that was largely Hindu and very\u00a0 much under the hegemony of the upper castes. The upper caste held an absolute dominance over\u00a0 administrative functions, and most economic functions, they held knowledge of administration and\u00a0 religious functions, which kept their relevance as intermediaries for muslim rulers, thus preserving\u00a0 their position in relation to the lower castes. Even if their hold was weakened, the caste system was\u00a0 not undone. The nature of land ownership also plays a part in this, as property held in common or\u00a0 under the state as the property of the king, did not change one bit under the Arabs or Turks. The\u00a0 rural sphere was almost entirely unchanged. Rather than convert Indian society to it\u2019s terms, Islam\u00a0 adapted to Indian condition and in time even incorporated a caste system within itself.
\nFrom the failure of Islam to abolish casteism, emerged Sikhism, again a religious movement that\u00a0 combined features of Hindu ascetism and Islamic tenets like the belief in one God. Such syncretic\u00a0 movements while not unique in India, did not emerge as a power to the same level as Sikhism.\u00a0 However, this too fit into a pattern of such movements failing to undo the caste system. Throughout\u00a0 the medieval era till the advent of the East India Company and the imposition of capitalist rule in\u00a0 the sub-continent, numerous movements rose and fell which critiqued the caste system and sought\u00a0 to challenge it, but none succeeded in even ending it as a formal institution. The trend changed with\u00a0 the emergence of the enlightenment, while the modern phase of the Indian independence movement was starting in Bengal3 in Western india, modern day Maharashtra, saw the rise of what would be\u00a0 the precursor of a modern dalit movement under the Satyashodhak Samaj.
\nThe Satyashodhak Samaj was formed in 1873, by Jyotirao Phule who is arguably the first modern\u00a0 leader of the Dalit caste and is credited with having established the term \u2018dalit\u2019 which means broken\u00a0 or oppressed. Like many social reformers of his time, he did not oppose British colonization of\u00a0 India, rather he sought to find emancipation of the Dalits through the institution of the empire, this\u00a0 was a fundamentally wrong assumption, as the British empire was not a force of progress but in it\u2019s\u00a0 own way reinforced the caste system, allowing its transition into capitalism. Despite the formal
\n3)<\/strong> It is commonly held that the end of the sepoy uprising and the beginning of the indigo revolt in 1860 is considered\u00a0 the start of the modern independence movement in India. The Indigo revolt was led by the urban intelligentsia in\u00a0 Calcutta, but dealt with indigo farmers who were viciously exploited by indigo plantation owners, most of whom\u00a0 were foreign. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_of_Koregaon<\/a>
\nabolition of caste from the legal framework, it remained as a social force, and in certain cases, like\u00a0 devolution of property, testamentary succession, marriage and religious affairs still remained within\u00a0 religious laws and thus within the ambit of caste boundaries. The British did little to change these\u00a0 laws or customs. However, we must acknowledge Jyotirao Phule\u2019s contribution as the pioneer of the modern Dalit movement, for the first time, the struggle against caste assumed a clear and self conscious political expression.
\nJyotirao Phule was given the title of \u2018mahatma\u2019 for his contribution to the cause of Dalit\u00a0 emancipation and his role in supporting the education of women along with his wife Savitribai\u00a0 Phule. His work with the Satyashodhak Samaj laid the groundwork for the rise of B.R Ambedkar\u00a0 and the modern movement for the annihilation of caste. Around the same time Erode Venkatappa\u00a0 Ramasamy, commonly known as \u2018Periyar\u2019, built up the \u2018self-respecting\u2019 movement in the Southern\u00a0 state of Madras, present day Tamil Nadu. He built what would become the precursor of both\u00a0 modern Tamil regional bourgeois parties, the Dravid Kazhagam.
\nBoth these figures stand tall among the early modern leaders of the Dalit movement, and both\u00a0 provided leadership to the dalit community in what was the first socio-political challenge to the\u00a0 system of caste. The growth and impact of this movement cannot be understated, however we must\u00a0 acknowledge their failures as well. Both Periyar and Ambedkar sought solutions for the eradication\u00a0 of caste within the framework of a capitalist state, but as history has shown, the mere formal\u00a0 removal of caste distinctions through constitutionalism and the establishment of a republic would\u00a0 not be enough to eradicate caste oppression, it requires a change that is more fundamentally rooted\u00a0 in the revolutionary transformation of society.
\nIn all of this the role of the Congress party is revealing of how the Indian bourgeoisie approached\u00a0 the caste question. Gandhi was heavily criticized during his time and even now, for his apology\u00a0 towards the caste system, and his tepid defense of it. He never stood for the eradication of caste and\u00a0 saw Ambedkar\u2019s movement as \u2018smearing hinduism\u2019. Gandhi would enunciate the \u2018merits\u2019 of caste\u00a0 while defending the system.4 At the same time, the Congress could not turn it\u2019s back on the dalits\u00a0 nor on Dalit politics, they desired hegemony over every community in India but could not overcome their own biases. They failed to win over the muslims and would eventually fail to win over the\u00a0 Dalits. The contentious and shaky relation with the Dalits and with Ambedkar in particular would\u00a0 come to a head in 1946 on the eve of partition.
\nDuring the first ever Constitution Day celebrations on 26 November 2015 in Parliament, the\u00a0 ignorance of some members of parliament from West Bengal about the election of Dr B. R.\u00a0 Ambedkar to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 was deplorable to say the least. His election forms a memorable chapter, marked by tension, lawlessness and violence in the streets of Calcutta, besides\u00a0 illegal confinement of a supporting MLA by opponents of Dr Ambedkar. The Indian National\u00a0 Congress had waged a hidden war, turning the whole of India against his entry into the august house that was to draft the Constitution of the newly independent nation. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel led the\u00a0 charge against Ambedkar by publicly proclaiming that \u201capart from the doors, even the windows of\u00a0 the Constituent Assembly are closed for Dr Ambedkar. Let us see how he enters into the Constituent Assembly\u201d.5
\nThe election of Ambedkar from the Jessore-Khulna constituency ensured his presence in the\u00a0 assembly as well as his position in the drafting of the constitution. This victory also represented a\u00a0 consolidation of the Dalits of Bengal, called the namasudra. As such it was a dire threat for the\u00a0 upper caste leadership of the Congress challenging their hegemony. Such a threat would be
\n4)<\/strong> https:\/\/thewire.in\/history\/mahatma-gandhi-jayanti-ambedkar-caste<\/a><\/strong><\/span> ;\u201dEnunciating all these merits of caste, Gandhi \u00a0declares, \u201cThese being my views I am opposed to all those who are out to destroy the caste system.\u201d \u201c 5 https:\/\/www.forwardpress.in\/2016\/11\/how-the-bengali-chotalok-shaped-indias-destiny\/<\/a>
\ncompletely undone by partitioning Bengal as well as the communal carnage which preceded it that\u00a0 led to nearly a million deaths by 1947. Thus, while the Congress Party had conceded some ground\u00a0 to the Dalits through Ambedkar, it also craftily destroyed the organized power of the Dalits as well\u00a0 as stem the rising tide of class struggle emerging in India, as seen from the revolutionary events of\u00a0 February 1946 when the naval ratings rose up in revolt, along with the workers, students and peasants across the country.
\nWhile speaking of the Dalits of East Bengal, it is important to mention what followed partition, as it reveals how the elites of India and Pakistan, both worked together to destroy a powerful social\u00a0 movement and maintain caste hegemony. Most Namashudra remained in Pakistan after partition,\u00a0 largely due to the influence of Jogendra Nath Mondol. In time, the full barbarity of the Pakistani\u00a0 state would be revealed as the country largely ruled by Punjab based landed Ashraf landed gentry\u00a0 would usher in a veritable genocide against Hindu Dalits in East Pakistan, to destroy the nascent\u00a0 language movement in the 1950s. A much larger slaughter would ensue in the 60s and 70s, where\u00a0 hundreds of thousands of mostly Dalit hindus, would be subjected to large scale massacres and\u00a0 forced displacements. As refugees, the Bengali dalit would not fare well, as the Indian state treated\u00a0 them poorly, and subjected them to massacres of their own, like the one at Marichjhapi in Southern\u00a0 West Bengal. They remained at the margins of bengali society and remained in the reserve army of\u00a0 labour, an easy source of cheap exploitable labour for Indian capitalism. Thus, one of the most\u00a0 politically advanced Dalit communities was shattered by the combined action of the Indian and\u00a0 Pakistani bourgeoisie.6
\nAfter independence and partition, the Dalit movement took a different trajectory. Ambedkar\u00a0 formally endorsed Buddhism as a religion that could help in the emancipation of the Dalit\u00a0 community. He was known for deeply symbolic events and building mass mobilizations around\u00a0 them, such as the mass burning of the Manusmriti, and the strike for access to water. In the 1950s,\u00a0 disillusioned by the failure of the newly independent republic to pass the Hindu Code Bill, which\u00a0 would push for the abolition of caste, Ambedkar sought conversion as a means for liberating the\u00a0 Dalits from their bondage to the Hindu caste system, and chose Buddhism as the proper route. A\u00a0 mass conversion ceremony was held in which hundreds of Dalits converted, echoing the dynamics\u00a0 of past social efforts against caste discrimination.
\nIn Southern India, the Justice Party had reorganized itself into the Dravida Kazhagam under the\u00a0 leadership of Periyar. More and more the agenda of the annihilation of caste was coupled with a\u00a0 regionalist agenda pitted against the imposition of Hindi as a national language. Both still sought\u00a0 solutions within the framework of the capitalist republic, not acknowledging the role of colonial
\ncapitalism in retaining the caste system, nor it\u2019s failure to eradicate caste. Modern bourgeoisified or\u00a0 petty bourgeois Dalit Parties, such as the Bahujan Samaj Party, largely based in Northern india, or\u00a0 the failed Dalit Panthers party in Western india, failed to bring about the necessary transformation\u00a0 of Hindu society. Partition only sharpened caste divisions and helped in retaining the hegemony of\u00a0 the upper caste elites who have a dominance in parliament and in professional services such as the
\nIndian Administrative Services, and in the parliament, where Brahmins count for 15% of the\u00a0 legislature, against being 5% of the total population. Efforts at bringing about change through\u00a0 affirmative action have been fiercely resisted, or been corrupted thanks to the dynamics of indian\u00a0 capitalism.
\nThus, in 2020 we still find crimes against dalits committed with feudal levels of barharism, and are\u00a0 forced to fight the struggles of past generations again.<\/p>\n

Conclusions :<\/h2>\n

6)<\/strong> https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Namasudra#Post-independence<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\nThe continuity and resilience of the caste system in india must be understood in the context of\u00a0 historical materialism. This was the result of the growth of a society from primitive communism,\u00a0 into early asiatic despotism, albeit with uniquely Indian characteristics. The resilience of the system\u00a0 owes to the ability of the Indian caste elite to adapt to every challenge thrown at it, and the retention of the social foundations of the system which had not been altered at a fundamental level for\u00a0 centuries. The coming of capitalism did disturb the status quo, but again did not overturn it, because it came to India in a most distorted and reactionary package through the East India Company.
\nEven in the private corporate sector, it is not uncommon to find recruitment to high managerial\u00a0 offices being reserved for the upper caste, while recruitment to lower staff offices being reserved for the lower caste of Dalits and Vaishyas. The influence of caste is even more glaring when it comes to the system of arranged marriage. A most common feature of matrimonial ads in India is to find caste preferences when looking for brides or grooms. Inter-caste marriages, especially in the villages, are\u00a0 often met with hostility, which can sometimes turn deadly. Upper caste members of a village have\u00a0 been known to respond with brutal violence to break up and punish inter-caste relationships. All of\u00a0 this, while we live in the 21st century !
\nIn some ways capitalism only modified the manner in which the oppression of dalits would work, it\u00a0 did not fundamentally change it. We must also acknowledge, that real gains have been won from the decades of struggle under the leadership of Ambedkar, Phule, and Periyar, and others like him.\u00a0 These victories have been, the acquiring of equal rights guaranteed by a constitution, the spread of\u00a0 mass literacy, and most importantly, the establishment of a political tool by way of Dalit parties, to\u00a0 fight for socio-political change. While acknowledging these victories, we cannot deny the\u00a0 fundamental failures that come by their insistence on finding solution to the caste question within\u00a0 the bounds of capitalism, which is an inherently inequal and exploitative system.
\nThe way forward must be to fight for a system which is truly equal and fair, where the exploitation\u00a0 of man by man ceases. That can only come about under socialism. No caste system can survive that.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Caste ? An Introduction\u00a0\u00a0 One of the fundamental characteristics of Hindu society , is the presence of castes. What the role of\u00a0 the caste is has been a question of much debate among scholars and activists alike. It is\u00a0 unquestionable, that this social system is at least several milennia old in its origin, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13882120,"featured_media":10741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27806],"tags":[30353,30352,30354,29960],"class_list":["post-10739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internacionalinternational","tag-caste","tag-caste-oppression","tag-inqilab-mazdoor","tag-oppression"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdQxqk-2Nd","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13882120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workersvoiceus.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}