I was in 3rd standard when in the history book, it was written that Gandhi took the ‘untouchables’ under his wings and called them ‘children of God’. My 9-year-old innocent self-thought ‘bichara ko hola untouchable haru..gandhi is so nice’.

I was in 8th standard when I had a fight with a girl in school and she yelled ‘sala kami’. It was weird for me because first of all, I’m Damai. Second, I didn’t know how this was supposed to be an insult. But now that I think of it, she had learnt how to use it as an insult at such a young age. A convent educated girl. So for the ones who say casteism doesn’t exist in ‘high societies ‘, it very much does.

In 10th standard, while filling the form for ICSE, is when I realised I am what is called scheduled caste. At this, one of my friends went ‘omg you’re a Damai?’. It was a big deal for others, I couldn’t understand why.

In 11th I started dating a guy. About 6 months later, a cousin of mine got surprised at this. She asked me, ‘have you told him about your caste?’ I didn’t know that mattered. She knew. I shrugged it as a very weird thing to address, unaware that eventually he would be pressured by his brahmin family into leaving me when we were only in school. Why? Because I was a certain caste. Not because we were kids.

By then, the stigma of being a ‘Damai’ had already implanted a deep shame in me. I wasn’t sure why…but I would hope nobody would ask me about my caste. My grandmother was a graduate. My parents were government officers. A close relative (Harshita Sharma talking about Lalit bajey) was the only IAS officer in the district. The lady who helped us with the household chores was a Chettri. I didn’t understand why my identity stopped at being a low caste. I didn’t understand why I was different than the rest of them.

College taught me a lot about all of this. More so because I was a student of social sciences and we had amazing professors who address my guilt about using my caste certificate for a seat. The stipend was another benefit although we had to fake an income certificate. “If you don’t take it, the government is going to waste it anyway. Take it as a compensation for being made to feel less”. My dad wasn’t in favour of it. He would say I’ll give you that 10k, why will you run around for that money? But I took it anyway. Cuz a college student always needs money.

I found a very good friend in Atisha Sunar whose mother is a Chettri. Prestiged Presidency University students, Atisha and I, got involved in a minor fight with another girl from Darjeeling. Her boyfriend yelled “sala kami ko beura na dekha”. Kamta dhulai bhetena tya bata tyo keti le hamro bata.

Thus started my journey of caste awareness. It started with being unapologetic about being a Damai. About being born to this beautiful family with a beautiful ancestry of hard-working people who were oppressed so systemically. A family that worked hard despite that and made me this person at par with the people who oppressed them.

I learned about Babasaheb Ambedkar who made this possible… a name that gets lost in our history textbooks. I realised that the Eklavya story we were taught in school as kids, about guru-reverence, should’ve been actually taught as caste oppression by a ‘high caste’ who couldn’t tolerate a low caste being so good at a skill that as a gift, he asked for the finger that would take Eklavya’s skill away.

I started to wonder if despite all this privilege people look down upon me and insult me, what must’ve been the plight of my ancestors …. what must be the plight of the sea of Dalits still being oppressed and their voice was taken away. Why do people think they are superior to a whole section of society only because they happened to be born in a certain family of a certain caste? Why are the educated lot still complaining about reservation?

In 2017, I went to Nepal for the first time. I had heard that Nepal people are way casteist than people in Darjeeling could ever be. And it was true. “What is your caste?” was a very important question to ask people, even before asking their name. I realised I couldn’t escape this for long. I had to fight my own demons. What would they do if they got to know? Make me eat in a different plate? Look down upon me? I stopped caring.

And it started. People asked me my jaat wherever I went. My reply ‘Damai’ kept getting steadier, louder, and more confident. Their reactions were varied, it was borderline amusing. Some said, “But you don’t look like one”. Some said “haha. Don’t mess with me. C’mon, tell me the truth”. Some said, “oh, no no, we don’t believe in caste anymore”. Some made a face and looked away and didn’t talk to me like they did with others.

Funny how people find it hard to believe that a Dalit can speak better English than them, can dress well, is fair-skinned, and has a good education. They didn’t let it happen but here we are, throwing it in their casteist face.

A young guy, about 26-27, in Kathmandu, who was hitting on me non-stop asked me about my caste. I thought he was kinda cool until then. I was surprised because I really had hoped that this generation wasn’t all about that. I asked him why it was important. He said, and I quote, “It’s a very important identity. It’s more important than your nagarikta. It’s like your voter ID.”

I was instantly pissed so I retorted with “Tei karan desh ubo na lageko”…. but this still haunts me.

I am still advised to not date a Bahun guy because his family won’t accept me. Probably kick him out of the family and ostracize us.

I see woke savarnas posting stuff online but won’t really do anything about it. Will stick to marrying within their caste, or any caste but not a Dalit…because, “that’s how it is” .. ” we can’t change it overnight”. They don’t realise what effect their small effort will have.

I can write this in a language the privileged will understand, yet I can’t remotely include the humiliation and struggle of the majority of Dalits who are suffering because they were born to a particular caste. I can’t begin to comprehend the trauma they have been put through all their lives.

A pregnant woman was killed in UP for mistakenly touching an upper caste woman’s bucket. A boy and his friends were killed in Nepal for daring to love an upper caste girl. Yet another Dalit who managed to get education was shamed for using reservation and was shrugged off as ‘rich dalit’.

What exactly will it take for #Dalitlivesmatter to trend on social media?

One day it will end. It will. It’s perhaps way more than a century away, but it will end. And when it is penned down in the history textbooks finally, which side would you want to be on?

Writes: Dristhi Bagdas

The post Casteism is a Disease – Make sure you don’t Suffer from It appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

There are several theories which have different stories about the caste system. Basically, it was the division of the society into four groups based on occupation, they were, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. The Brahmins occupied the topmost position in the social hierarchy, on contrary, the sudras occupied the lowest position and were deprived of basic human rights and dignity.

Caste discrimination is done right during birth, i.e. a person’s social status is defined on the basis of his/her caste in which he/she took birth and that is the sole criterion of establishing his/her social status. People are judged upon something that he/she didn’t choose or have no control over it.

With the advancement of time and spread of education, people realized that Caste System is not healthy for the society so many activists like B.R.Ambedkar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy sought to do away with this social evil. The constitution banned Caste System by providing a various provision against caste discrimination like Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden (Art. 17).

The Constitution mandates that no citizen shall, on grounds only of caste or race, be subjected to any disability and restriction (Art. 15 (2)).

It empowers the State to make provisions for reservation in educational institutions (Art. 15 (4) and (5)) and in appointments for posts in favour of SCs (Art. 16 (4), 16(4A), 16(4B) and Art. 335).

Reservation of seats for SCs in the Lok Sabha is provided under Article 330, in the State Assemblies under Article 332 and in the Local Self-Governments bodies under Articles 243D and 340T.

The Constitution guarantees protection from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Art.46).

Several Acts were enacted by the Parliament like The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, renamed as Protection of Civil Rights Act, in 1976. To check atrocities against SCs, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has also been enacted.

The caste system has been abolished up to some extent but not wholeheartedly. Until very recently I was very proud of people from my hometown Darjeeling as we don’t preach caste system unlike other communities in India but I was proved wrong. A guy from our very own Darjeeling humiliates me on the basis of my caste as I happen to be ‘Damai’. It’s a big shame that even in the 21st century when human society has so much progressed scientifically that people are planning to buy lands on planet Mars, Indian society believes in the caste system.

India cannot become a truly developed country if it fails to abolish this discriminatory practice based on caste. The biggest problem in removing this menace from the society is the general social acceptability of the same. Until and unless this changes no hope is there. Because the law can provide protection from exploitation but it cannot bring an attitudinal change in so-called upper castes.

United we stand, divided we fall. Caste plays only one role, i.e., the role of dividing you and me. Remember there is only one caste and that is the caste of humanity.

Writes – Raksha Pariyar

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