Shamsul Islam

It is terribly sad, in fact, shattering that a shocking report in a prominent English daily of Delhi (The Times of India, ‘Dalit nominee sits on floor, carries own cup’, February 9, 2017 by Alok Sharma) about practising of Untouchability, what to talk of creating ripples, did not even become a news for more than a day. It did not shake conscience of the judiciary, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and administrators. It was missing in print media, the paper which published this story from the ground zero disabled the link within 8 hours. Electronic media which is generally fond of exposing the anti-nationalist agenda went into hibernation or some yoga posture which required ‘maun varat’ on this issue. This story was reported from Iglas (Hathras) Reserved constituency of UP the Assembly, three hours’ drive from Delhi, where currently Assembly elections are on. It dealt with the daily election routine of the BJP candidate, Diler (brave) whose father was also BJP MP and made following disclosures.

  1. “A Dalit BJP candidate here not only sits on the floor when he goes canvassing to the homes of upper-caste voters, he never forgets to carry a steel glass along to drink tea. Here's why: A Dalit using a cup at an upper-caste home would make the utensil ‘impure’”.

  1. “It is dominated by Jat voters, about 90,000 of them. They decide the winner. So while other Dalit candidates here, too, show respect to upper caste voters, he takes things to the extreme. Diler calls his ways of sitting on the floor and using his own glass his ‘par amparagat aadat’ (family custom). And the ‘paramparagat aadat’ is followed at every step. Metres from the panchayat office Diler in his late 40s, repeatedly touches the feet of Mohan Singh, Jat pradhan from Tochhigarh, who is years younger to him. ‘Main aapke pair padhta hun, mujhe meri galti to batao. Main ek gaon ka chowkidar bannna chahta hun, vidhayak nahin’. (I beg of you, please tell me my fault. I'd rather be a watchman than an MLA if you are angry with me)”.
  2. “Diler is candid in justifying his desire to remain shackled in Casteism. ‘Main ek bhangi ka beta hun. Mere pita bhi yahin karte thhey. Main apni maan maryada khatm nahin kar sakta. Zama na chahe badalta rahe.’ (I am the son of a Valmiki. I cannot break away from tradition. Let the world change, I won't).”
  3. “He pulls out his steel glass from his pocket when asked if it is true that he doesn't drink tea in cups provided by the upper castes. Valmiki is the lowest among Dalits in the caste hierarchy and Diler inherited the so-called tradition from his father Kisen Lal, five term MLA and one-time MP. Diler's supporters say people of all castes love him for his desire to remain steeped in discriminatory Casteist practices.”

The most worrying part is that a victim of the dehumanized regime of Casteism and Untouchability attached with it, is himself a protagonist of Untouchability and is happy with his sub-human status. It may be claimed that nobody is practising Untouchability with Diler and it is his own choice so it is no crime. This scenario is far more dangerous as victims have been convinced that there is no respite from Untouchability and they should accept it is as part of their fate despite a Constitution which banned Untouchability on November 26, 1949.

But the most notable part of this brazen love for Untouchability is that Diler is contesting elections on the BJP, political arm of the RSS, ticket. He comes from a Dalit family which has been with the RSS, his father Kisen Lal, five term MLA and one-time MP. Diler despite being a Dalit has been groomed by the Hindutva set-up as staunch believer in Casteism which is synonymous with Untouchability. His self-imposed practice of Untouchability is the outcome of his training in RSS where all Hindus have their roles and status determined by Manusmriti. He is a true Hindutvadi Sudra.

According to MS Golwalkar, the most prominent ideologue of the RSS, Hinduism, Hindu nation and Casteism were synonymous. of :

“The Hindu People …is the Virat Purusha, the Almighty manifesting Himself. Though they did not use the word ‘Hindu’, it is clear from the following description of the Almighty in Purusha Sukta wherein it is stated that sun and moon are his eyes, the stars and the skies are created from His nabhi (navel) and Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands, Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is our God. This supreme vision of Godhead is the very core of our concept of ‘nation’ and has permeated our thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural heritage.”

Golwalkar must have been familiar with the fact that Manusmriti in chapter 1 and verse 91 decreed that the only job for Sudras was to serve 'meekly' the other 3 castes.

The democratic-secular Indian Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, RSS English organ, Organizer in an editorial on November 30, 1949, complained:

“But in our constitution, there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing”.

Golwalkar while addressing faculty and students of the School of Social Science of Gujarat University on December 17, 1960 strongly defended Casteism in the following words:

"Today we try to run down the Varna system through ignorance. But it was through this system that a great effort to control possessiveness could be made...In society some people are intellectuals, some are expert in production and earning of wealth and some have the capacity to labour. Our ancestors saw these four broad divisions in the society. The Varna system means nothing else but a proper co-ordination of these divisions and an enabling of the individual to serve the society to the best of his ability through a hereditary development of the functions for which he is best suited. If this system continues a means of livelihood is already reserved for every individual from his birth."

 It is through RSS literature only that we come to know that KB Hedgewar, founder of RSS did not mind practising degenerated and inhuman practice of Untouchability in order not to antagonize high Caste sympathizers. In Nasik Hedgewar went to the house of a Brahmin known as Dr. Gaidhani along with Krishna Rao Wadekar and Bhaskar Rao Ninave. When the time for meals came, Ninave who happened to be from a low Caste asked Hedgewar whether he should sit separately for meals, as was commonly practised. When Wadekar suggested that there was no need for it, as Gaidhani had no way to know Ninave’s Caste, Hedgewar openly disagreed with the suggestion that Ninave should eat sitting beside other Brahmins. Hedgewar’s logic was that it would cause immense pain to Gaidhani. Hedgewar’s argument was,

“what benefit will we get out of it? On the contrary, if he sits separately for the meals that will leave a far better impression on Gaidhaniji. Our swayamsevak may feel a bit hurt but in the view of our work this much pain should be tolerated. First he should win him with our love then these differences will disappear.”

It is unfortunate that while RSS is converting Dalits into its kind of social mould, there is no challenge offered from those anti-Casteist organizations which claim to fight Untouchability. In this terrible scenario rulers who are supposed to defend democratic-secular Constitution have become silent spectators. ONE WISHES DR. AMBEDKAR WAS ALIVE WHEN UNTOUCHABILITY IS RESTORING ITSELF!

(For some of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi, Urdu & Gujarati see the following link:

http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam )

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Dalit-Nominee-Sits-On-Floor,-Carries-Own-Cup/2

M. S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, (Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu, 1996 edition), 36-37.

M. S. Golwalkar cited in Organizer, January 2, 1961.

H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan-Param Pujiye Dr. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan , 66–67.

gujarati

प्रोफेसर शमसुल इस्लाम

प्रोफेसर शमसुल इस्लाम के बारे में जानकारी प्रोफेसर शमसुल इस्लाम (Shamsul Islam) एक प्रतिष्ठित भारतीय शिक्षाविद्, लेखक और सामाजिक विचारक हैं, जिन्होंने दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय में राजनीति विज्ञान विषय में 1973 से 2013 तक अध्यापन कर तथा समकालीन भारतीय राजनीतियों पर अपनी आलोचनात्मक दृष्टि प्रस्तुत की। वह हस्तक्षेप के सम्मानित स्तंभकार हैं। शिक्षक से आलोचक तक: 1973 से 2013 तक उन्होंने दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय में राजनीति विज्ञान की शिक्षण सेवा निभाई, और देश में हिंदुत्ववाद, इतिहास के पुनर्लेखन, धार्मिक असहिष्णुता, दलितों तथा अल्पसंख्यकों के उत्पीड़न पर बेबाक आलोचना की। शमसुल इस्लाम केवल शैक्षणिक नहीं थे, बल्कि सक्रिय नुक्कड़ नाटककार भी रहे। उन्होंने ‘निशांत’ नामक सबसे पुराने स्ट्रीट थियेटर समूह की स्थापना की और कई देशों में जाति, लिंग, धार्मिक असहिष्णुता जैसे विषयों पर केंद्रित सामाजिक मुद्दों पर 6,000 से अधिक मंचीय प्रस्तुतियाँ दीं। उल्लेखनीय: हिंदुत्व, धार्मिक कट्टरता और महिलाओं, दलितों एवं अल्पसंख्यकों के उत्पीड़न के विरुद्ध मुखर रुख। इन विषयों पर उन्होंने कई पुस्तकें और लेख लिखे हैं। आप संदर्भित दस्तावेज़ों में उनकी उल्लेखनीय साहित्यिक कृतियों की सूची पा सकते हैं। उन्होंने कई पुस्तकें और लेख लिखें, जिनमें मुख्य शीर्षक इस प्रकार हैं: Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS. Savarkar Myths and Facts. Know the RSS, Cultural Nationalism, Hindutva and Fascism. Indian Freedom Movement and RSS, Democracy versus Communalism एवं RSS and Modi: An Untold Story आदि।