Our country
is in a really bad shape; here strangest questions are asked, the foremost
concerns the untouchables, who count 6 crores in population of 30 crores.
For instance
:-
Would the
contact with an untouchable mean defilement of an upper caste?
Would the
gods in the temples, not get angry by the entry of untouchables there?
Would the
drinking water of a well not get polluted if the untouchables drew their water
from the same well?
That these
questions are being asked in the twentieth century, is a matter which makes our
heads hang in shame.
We Indian
boast of our spiritualism, but then, we avoid accepting every human being as a
fellow being just like ourselves. Western people on the other hand, who carry a
reputation of being money minded, had unequivocally affirmed their faith in the
principle of equality. This they did during the revolutions in America and
France and above all in Russia.
These days
which is committed to the extension of this principle to all aspects of life
and to ending of discriminations in any form whatsoever, thereby fulfilling the
ideals of May Day declaration. But we Indians on our part who never tire of
boasting about our gods and godliness are, yet seriously debating whether to
permit the untouchables to wear the sacred thread or the janeu and whether the
untouchables be permitted to read Vedas / Shastras. We often complain about our
maltreatment in other countries, and particularly when we are maltreated by the
whites, do we have any moral right to voice such a protest?
In 1926,
Sindhi Muslim gentleman, Mr. Nur Mohd member of Bombay Legislative Council
aptly remarked:-
“If the
Hindu society refuses to allow other human beings, fellow creatures at that, to
attend public schools, and if …. The president of the local board representing
so many lakh of people, in his house, refuses to allow his fellows and
brothers, the elementary human right of having water to drink, what right have
they to ask for more rights from the bureaucracy? Before we accuse the people
coming from other lands, we should see how people… how can we ask for greater
political rights when (we ourselves) deny elementary rights of human beings.
How true!
But since this had been said by a Muslim, Hindus lost no time in alleging that
the Muslim’s real intention was to convert the untouchables to Islam and thus
assimilate them into their own brotherhood. But then, it amounted to an open
admission of the harsh truth--that if you (the Hindus) treat them worse than
your cattle, they shall desert you, join to the fold of other religions where
they hope to enjoy more rights, where they are treated as fellow beings.
Would it not
then be pointless to blame the Christians and Muslims, that they were
undermining Hinduism?
How fair and
true! Yet the Hindus tremble in anger on hearing this plain truth. In any case,
it had shaken Hindus from their complacency in the matter. Orthodox Brahimins
too started re-thinking about it, also joined by some self-proclaimed
reformers. At Patna a gala Hindu meet was held. Lala Lajpat Rai, known for his
longstanding sympathy for the untouchables was presiding. A lot of hot
arguments were exchanged as to whether the untouchables are eligible to wear
sacred thread, the janeu? Could they read Vedas / Shastras? A number of social
reformers lost their temper but Lala ji was able to persuade them to compromise
on these two matters and thereby saved the prestige of Hindu religion;
otherwise, what would have been the consequences?
Just imagine
how shameful! Even a dog can sit in our lap, it can also move freely in kitchen
but if a fellow human touches you, your dharma is endangered. So much so, even
a reputed social reformer like Pandit Malviya ji, known for his soft corner for
the untouchables, first agrees to be publicly garlanded by a sweeper, but then
afterwards regards himself to be polluted till he bathes and washes those
clothes. How ironical! In the temples meant for worshipping God, who lives in
us all, once a poor man enters it, it gets defiled and God gets annoyed. When
this is the state of affairs within the Hindu fold, does it behave us to
quarrel and fight in the name of the Brotherhood? Above all, this kind of our
approach to the question amounts of an ingratitude of the degree; those who
provide us the comforts by doing menial jobs for us, we shun them. We could
worship even animals, but would not tolerate fellow humans to sit beside us.
This is an
issue of hot debate these days, the poor creatures getting special attention in
this way. In the context of our advance towards national liberation, the
problem of communal representation (seats in the legislatures allotted in
proportion to Hindu/ Sikh/ Muslim population) may not have been beneficial in
any other manner but atleast Hindu / Muslim / Sikhs are all striving hard to
maximize their own respective quota of seats by attracting the maximum number
of untouchables to their own respective folds. Accordingly Muslims started by
providing them equal rights after converting them to Islam.
This
naturally hurt the Hindus. Bitterness mounted, riots too broke out. By and by
Sikhs, too woke up lest they be left behind in this race. They too started
administering Amrit; tension mounted between Sikhs and Hindus over the removal
of janeu or hair shaving. All in all, all the three are trying to out do the others,
resulting in widespread disturbances. Christians sitting on the fence are
quietly consolidating their hold.
Be as it
may, this turmoil is certainly helping us to move towards the weakening of the
hold of untouchability.
As for
themselves, when they discovered that all this great turmoil was on their
account and Hindus / Muslims / Sikhs, all were trying to profit at their cost,
they have also started thinking, “Why should we not organize on our own?” No
one is certain whether they are doing so as a result of official prompting or
at their own but once this line of thinking had taken roots, certainly this
trend is being fully backed up by official quarters. “Adi Dharam Mandal” and
the like are the end result of this trend.
Here, the
basic question arises, how precisely can we solve this tangle? The answer is
quite obvious; above all, it needs to be settled for good, that all humans are
equal without distinctions of birth or vocation. In other words since someone
is born in a poor sweepers’ family, he shall continue cleaning toilets all his
life and thus getting deprived of all chances of progress in life, all this
nonsense. Historically speaking, when our Aryan ancestors nurtured these
practices of discrimination towards these strata of society, shunning all human
contact with them by labeling them as menials, and assigning all the degrading
jobs to them, they also, naturally started worrying about a revolt against this
system. All this is the result of your past sins; what can be done about it?
Bear if silently! and with such kinds of sleeping pills, were they able to buy
peace for quite some time. All the same they were guilty of a great sin on this
account, since this amounted to the negation of core human values like
self-esteem and self-reliance; a grossly cruel conduct by all means. Yet
present is the moment of its atonement.
In a broader
social perspective, untouchability had a pernicious side-effect; people in
general got used to hating the jobs which were otherwise vital for life. We
treated the weavers who provided us cloths as untouchable. In U.P. water
carriers were also considered untouchables. All this caused tremendous damage
to our progress by undermining the dignity of labour, especially manual labour.
We have thus to accept it, once for all, that in order to move forward we have
to give up either considering or calling them untouchables.
Everything
else shall fall in place by itself.
In this
regard strategy adopted by Naujwan Bharat Sabha and the Youth conference is,
most apt--to seek forgiveness from those brethren, whom we have been calling
untouchables by treating them as our fellow beings, without making them go
through conversion ceremonies of Sikhism, Islam or Hinduism, by accepting food
/ water from their hands. On the other hand quarrelling among ourselves in the
race to win them over, without restoring to them their human dignity is futile.
But the
moment we went to villages with our message of human equality and brotherhood
mentioned above, Government agents started inciting the Jat community saying
that this would embolden these menials to refuse serving you. This was
sufficient to provoke the jats, to oppose our efforts in the right direction.
But the
upper castes should also realise that their own status in life cannot change
for the better as long they persist in considering these people as inferiors,
calling them menials, and keep them under their heals. It is argued, they are
unclean. The harsh truth is that they are poor; remove their poverty and they
shall be clean. Don’t we find that the poor even among the upper castes are no
less unclean? Besides doing unclean jobs is no bad; for example mothers perform
all the unclean duties for their children. Do they become unclean?
However,
ultimately the problem can not be satisfactory solved unless and until
untouchable communities themselves unite and organize. We regard their recent
uniting to form their distinct identity, and also demanding representation
equal to Muslims in legislatures, being equal to them in number, is a move in
the right direction. Either reject communal representation altogether, else
give these people too their due share! In principle, Councils, Assemblies are
duty bound to ensure full and free access for all these communities to schools,
colleges, wells and roads; that too not only on paper but by actually
accompanying them to wells, schools and get them admitted there. But can these
legislatures, where a lot of hue and cry is raised even over a bill to ban
child marriages, on the grounds that it shall be a threat to their religion,
dare to bring the untouchables to their own level on their own? No, never, that
is why we plead that they must persist in pressing for their own distinct
representation in legislatures in proportion to their numerical strength. We
mince no words in proclaiming: Arise! So called untouchables, the real
sustainers of life, awake and reflect over your past, you were the backbone of
Guru Gobind Singh’s army. Shivaji was able to achieve all that with your
participation which made him ever shining in history. Your sacrifices are
worthy of being embedded in golden letters. The way in which you sustain us and
add to our comforts ought to make us feel grateful to you. It is we who fail to
appreciate. The land Alienation Act (banning transfer of land to
non-agriculturist communities, defined as per caste) does not permit you to buy
land ever if you manage the necessary amount of cost. The way you are being
oppressed had prompted Miss Mayo of U.S.A. to label you “less then man.” As a
matter of fact, without your own efforts, you shall not able to move ahead.
“Those who
would be free must themselves strike the first blow.” It must be kept in mind
that every one belonging to the privileged class, strives to enjoy his own
rights, but would try his utmost to keep on oppressing those below him, and
keeping the underprivileged under his heel. Thus might is held to be right.
Then waste no time and unite to stand on your own feet and challenge the existing
order of society. Let it then be seen as to who dares to deny to you your due.
Do not be at the mercy of others and have no illusions about them. Be on guard
so as not to fall in the trap of officialdom, because far from being your ally
it seeks to make you dance on its own tunes. The capitalist bureaucratic
combine is, truly speaking responsible for your oppression and poverty. Hence
always shun it. Be on guard about its tricks. This is then the way out. You are
the real working class. Workers unite – you have nothing to lose but your
chains. Arise and rebel against the existing order. Gradualism and reformism
shall be of no avail to you. Start a revolution from a social agitation and
gird up your loins for political economic revolution. You and you alone are the
pillars of the nations and its core strength. Awake, O sleeping lions! Rebel,
raise the banner of revolt.
[Curtesy to Bhagat Singh Study (The
Untouchable, Published in ‘Kirti’ (Punjabi) June 1929]
