C/a/s/t/e

Oxford Mini-dictionary says caste is social class, especially in the Hindu system. But according to Indian dictionaries, caste is a golden key to the locker called vote bank or a gizmo in the hands of parents against inter-caste marriages of their children to show their power or society following nature. This tag has been attached very clearly to most of the social animals on this soil in the form of surnames, even though many are not aware of what harm it can or would do.

Whenever there is a division amongst people, it just signifies that one is better than the other or one is trying to be better than the other although all are equally good in advocating “all are equal” policy. Only extremely wise people do not give any importance to this division even after growing older (very important). Does caste measure IQ of a person? Can it determine the character of a human being? Will it be able to tell the financial status of a man? The answer is a definite and big no to all the questions. Then why still carry this tag of no use is a million dollar question to be answered. And this tag in many cases helps people to form a preconceived image about a particular person even before getting to know about him/her completely. Even today some people taking the form of a religious figure and representing a particular caste are cheating the masses and getting caught at last. One can argue that it helps in finding the suppressed people of the past and providing reservations for their descendants to come up. But then, upliftment of financially weak people is fine and a must. And perhaps quota system should be directly aimed towards this. Some people in this country are against reservation system. But they again would be justified, only if they are specific in going against reservation system just based on caste. The damage done to the society with caste is getting worsened with it being added to the excel sheets of Census 2011. This divisive force would, for sure, trigger many issues related to existing reservation system with the support of majority of people. And the day is not far when caste fights would pave the way for big demolitions akin to the case of Ayodhya.

There are many people in this country who say “I hate politics”. But if they are ready to say “I hate caste system”, maybe we all would get better politicians. The day should not be far when it’s going to be short and sweet Dinesh, Ramesh or Suresh instead of a big “Dinesh Ram Gopala Malik”.