Debating discrimination differences and dissent in our part of the
world
By Vidya Bhushan
Rawat
The issue of racial
discrimination has been in the news for quite some time. Some Indian
pretended that they have been discriminated against in Britain while
rarely speaking that India does not have its own house in order.
Despite 60 years of independence India has not been able to
transformed into a modern state, in terms of freedom, dissent and
life of the common men. Though it may be a great satisfaction for
some of us that India surrounded by autocratic military dictators
still managed to strive the political democracy but instead of
basking on the glory of 'successful democracy', we need to
introspect our persistent failures of social life. If democracy has
not reached the last man as envisaged by Gandhi or if social life
does not convert into a social democracy as envisaged by Dr Ambedkar,
Indians all over the world need to investigate that without
empowering common man, India can neither claim a powerful nation nor
an intellectual giant which many of the commentators do not stop
claiming all the time. Pakistan has the same problem though it is
not a democratic state yet its ruler claims a secular army and a
working democracy on various occasions. Question is democracy is
thwarted by the identity politics and undemocratic caste Panchayats.
They are a threat but these caste panchayats are now being
modernized in the name of new identity assertion among every one
from the non-resident Indians to urban Indians under various shades
and names. This assertion reinforces and justifies the age-old
traditions in the name of culture. It jump on the bogey of
victimization as soon as an elite of its own class face
discrimination as in the case of Shilpa Shetty but remain
conspicuously silent on the issue of its own contradictions and
discriminations. Hence the Indians, Pakistanis and the other South
Asians would rarely speak on their own track record of
discrimination against ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
in their own country. Oppression of women is always justified in the
name of culture and vigorously defended.
A few days ago, I
was reading the horrible tale of Mukhtar Mai who faced tyranny of
the caste Panchayat called as Jirga in the North West Frontier
Province, in Pakistan, which ordered her rape for a crime allegedly
committed by her minor brother. Mukhtar Mai has become a legend in
her own life times. Fighting against the feudal lords of the
notorious North West Frontier Province, Mukhtari Mai showed how the
village women in the Indian subcontinent have the courage to
challenge the system. That, this system degrades and humiliates the
victim is a well- established fact. And based on this principal, the
rural women suffer in utter humiliation and indignity. Mukhtar Mai
is not alone in such cases. Things are same in India, though a bit
sophisticated here. It is important that a woman like Phoolan Devi
would not have born if she had not shown the courage to fight
against the humiliation. Rather than surrendering to the whims of
the local powerful caste groups, these women stood up. Some chose
the constitutional path while other decided to avenge it according
to their own way. While Bhanwari Bai had to face the humiliation
even inside the court where the judge in the Jaipur court released
the accused establishing that an upper caste person would rarely
rape a woman.
In her wonderful
memoirs ' In the name of honor', Mukhtar Mai, now symbolizing as an
assertive woman protesting against the man made rules, says,' police
are directly controlled by the upper castes. Policemen act as the
fierce guardians of traditions, allied with the tribal authorities.
Whatever decision a jirga (caste Panchayat) makes will be accepted
and backed up by the police. It is impossible to charge an
influential family with a crime if the police consider the matter a
village affair, especially if the victim is a woman'.
What Mukhtar Mai is
saying reflect the farce in our system. As propagandists of family
virtues, we, the South Asian have been at the height of hypocrisy
blaming the west for every fault of their own. I am sure one would
agree that these feudal values, the Manus law are not the invention
of the wild west which our commentators often describe. The recent
issue of race relation in Britain where a B grade Bombay film
heroine earned huge amount of money, the South Asian communities are
being presented as if everything has been imposed upon them and are
being victimized. Ofcourse, the same South Asian would not like to
be reminded about the growing number of honored killing in UK among
the South Asian Communities. Shocking it may sound, but the fact is,
that South Asians have more racial contours than their British
counterparts. A study in UK showed how the Indians still are
confined to their caste identities and how to get marry, every
Indian boy come to India to look for an 'ideal' ' cultured' and
'fare' color girl. Will we tell the world that we are more colours
conscious than the British or European? That our boys are deeply
intoxicated in the idea of varna and colour and that dogs can enter
our temples and urinate over the gods but when the Dalits want to
enter there the Gods become angry and their followers on earth goes
on rampage.
Human life is not
equal in this part of the world. Honored killing are not happening
in Britton and Pakistan only but are very much part of our
traditions. After all, all our marriages are not meant for the bride
and the groom but for the parents of the both. Reputation is the
biggest thing in these marriages.
A boy from the
Valmiki family is still facing threat to his life for felling love
with a girl from a Jaat family. Jaats are the peasant community and
their men dominate the Delhi police hence when I visited along with
other friends to the Assistant police commissioner some three years
back, to provide security to this young boy, the officer said '. You
see organizations like your should come forward and train the
policemen, after all they too are human being and family. How do you
expect them to change over night.' I told the officer: Do you want
to justify police negligence in the name of tradition.' No, he said,
but see how the society is changing. The girls move out in the
evening without any escorts. How can police resolve every crisis
that the society faces? I was aghast at this answer by the police
officer that proudly claimed a JNU background. The officer
certainly was not interested in telling that the police had failed
to protect the victim and that such things should be stopped. I
still remember how a younger sister of a girl who was slaughtered by
her family and entire village community along with her husband, was
happy and said that those who goes against social norms would meet
the same fate.
Yes, the South Asian
would not like to speak about the horrible culture of moral policing
that they have developed without any change. The paradox of this is
that they all enjoy best of multiculturalism in Europe and America
but are highly paranoid of granting minority rights or space to
dissent. For instance, Gujaratis world-over, have enjoyed the
hospitality of multiculturalism. United States, United Kingdom and
South Africa were their hunting ground. They build up huge empire.
And see what is happening their native Gujarat? Most of the Non
Resident Gujarati's are financing the Babas, and the right wing
elements. Narendra Modi might call Gujarat a vibrant state but it
remains totally out of bound for the non-Gujaratis particularly
Muslims and Chrisitians. During a trip to Gujarat last year, I put
this question to a friendly Gujarati as why do they not want to keep
Muslims in Gujarat. And the cryptic answer that this businessman was
that the outsiders are creating problems in Gujarat. Gujarati's are
peace-loving people but it is the Biharis and others who created
havoc in the aftermath of Godhara. It is tragic that India's new
vibrant culture is very much in tone with what is happening in
Gujarat. There is no freedom in the air. The darkness in the noon is
visible in Gujarat. The only thing is that you need to go and see
beyond what is visible. The dangerous aspect of this newly immerging
India is the growing middle class of upper caste Hindus which
clearly want to look exclusive. Hence Dalits, Adivasis and others
who are at odd with the current economic social set up feel
suffocated and completely isolated. The government at the center is
interested to placate this elite class and has launched another
India shining campaign without including the poor people.
South Asian
therefore needs to speak more vigorously against their own value
system. That very few people stood up with both Mukthar Mai and
Bhanwari Bai is reflection of our mindset. While Shilpa Shetty has
detracted from her statement regarding racial discrimination, it is
painful how the British upper caste Hindus and other upper South
Asian elite made this a racial issue. Did they ever protest against
the merciless treatment meted out to disabled in the Bombay films?
How many of South Asian stood up and say that the depiction of the
blacks in the Hindi films is most racial in nature. They are
laughed. Our fascination for the fair color is well known. A dark
skinned woman in India will hardly find a partner of her choice.
Women's skin her biggest ability or disability. Another disability
in India is the physical disability, which is visible. One will
rarely find a physically disable woman getting married to a 'normal'
man because such things are not ever thought off. She will find a
man in a 'disabled' person only. The girls born 'Mangalik' would be
very difficult to get marry. And see, how our superstar icon Mr
Amitabh Bachchan is behaving? One needs to see his discomfiture with
a Manglik daughter in law. He goes from one temple to other temple
to perform Yjnas and Pujas so that the evil spirit get off from the
world queen Aishwarya Rai. More shocking is the fact as alleged in
the media that the poor woman was asked to marry the tree to rectify
the misfortunate. What these signals. Rather than becoming
enlightened and accepting the person as she is or he is, Indian's or
South Asians still think in terms of his birth sign, physical
appearance, cast and clans. Can we launch a movement against it or
not. How long should we blame that the onslaught of the global
powers have destroyed our culture and values.
It is not that
people do not oppose it. Yes, those who oppose it live on the margin
thoroughly isolated and dejected. But the grave danger comes from
those forces who feel great in glorifying these customs. A
well-known Gandhian activist has been promoting the idea of the
caste panchayats. He would say, how great these Panchayats were in
resolving the village problems. But going by the nature of these
Panchayats, I a sure every saner person in the world would say
demolish and destroy these caste Panchayats. Not only they have been
anti people but also almost all of their decisions are against the
basic tenets of civilization. Whether it is Jirga which gave
decision to rape Mukhtar Mai or some disgruntled Panchayats in
western Uttar-Pradesh which asked Imrana, a Muslim woman who was
raped by her father in law, to marry him, these caste Panchayats are
a blot to civilization and individual freedom and liberty. They
promote fanaticism, parochial values and patriarchy. It is important
that any glorification of these Panchayats need to be questioned.
These Panchayats have authorized the goons to kill lovers, rape
women, and exterminate families, which do not follow their dictates.
In this hour of identity politics in India, these caste Panchayats
are mushrooming very fast. Identity itself is patriarchical in terms
and therefore there is very little that a woman can get out of it.
That Mukhtar Mai in Pakistan came from a backward Gujar community
does not means that this does not happen in that community. Only
question is that she was a woman and her community was at the
receiving end. The Gujjars in India are no better. Fully coated in
the brahmanical stigmas, they do not allow their women to venture
out.
Indians need
to fight against such atrocious social behavior and practices.
Unfortunately, rather than taking a strong action against the same,
we are always put on the flimsy ground the issue of racial
discrimination. One must question the upper caste Hindus as how many
of them mix up with the Scheduled Castes in United States and UK.
Not many years ago when I traveled to Bolivia to participate in a
conference, a Kenyan friend questioned Gandhi and his intentions in
Africa. ' You people have always claimed that Gandhi fought for our
rights but where was the fight? None of the Indians ever want to
share the issues with the blacks in Uganda and other part of the
world. The situation is not much different in UK and USA where
Indians do not want to be clubbed with Pakistanis." Shilpa Shetty
felt very bad when an in house lady called her Paki. This
superiority complex has been injected in our heart and minds from
the very beginning and the sooner we understand that the world has
changed and going to be more civilized, would be better for us.
As I finish this,
the news comes that the parents of the missing Children of Nithari
say that the role of Noida Police was very fine in the act. They
appreciated the state government and particularly the ruling
political party of the state which lodged them in the five star
hotels, gave them land and promised every member of the family a
government job. I think nothing comes more shocking then this. This
culture of considering people, as purchasable commodity is very much
in existence in our part of the world. A majority of the missing
children were Dalits and the upper castes in nearby localities said
that it was not their problem.
British
people gave a resounding verdict in favour a failed Indian star but
will the South Asian communities be as mature enough to respect
dissent, differences with in their own communities. One hope they
would do so for the betterment of their own communities and their
own country. I would like to finish with a Bangladeshi cab driver in
London who was working with a new agency and took me to London Metro
station when he said how happy his children were in London and that
they do not wish to go back to Dhaka simply when they see violence
in the name of culture and tradition. The simple driver had two
houses in London and appreciated the multiculturalism in UK. There
are other stories as well. While all written above does not mean to
exonerate the western power for what they did through their
imperialist agendas but then every one of us has this in our blood,
it is only who is smarter enough then others. We all have at some
point of time exploited the lesser powerful and marginalized
communities. Now, in the 21 st century, such
discrimination and justifications in the name of identity, region,
religion and language must be discarded and rejected.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat