Psychic basis of exploitation of dalits in India

Section I. Introduction

A unique feature of poverty in India is its direct association with caste strata and caste related social rankings. This amazing dimension of poverty (both absolute and relative) in India has vividly been highlighted through the dalit issue which has become a hot topic of discussion in India in recent years. This has also become a political issue as the large number of dalits in India is likely to have an important bearing on ballot box outcomes in certain areas of some States in India.

The meaning of the term dalit (the word derived from Sanskrit and now in common usage in most of the major language in India) means tortured and trampled. Rightly the conglomerate of caste groups, collectively christened dalits in India, are literally trampled and tortured – socially, economically and politically – by the people belonging to the upper castes. Over and above, a tiny minority of the dalits who have been pampered and uplifted by the upper classes and shrewd politicians with the specific target of creating an intermediary group for smooth running of the machinery of exploitation of the majority of the dalits, also take part in this process of torture and exploitation of the unprivileged majority of the dalits.

It is very difficult to estimate exactly the number of dalits in India. But the most liberal estimate would make the number larger than the population of any country of the world except China, India, USA and Indonesia. Roughly they comprise about 16.6 per cent of India’s population. But their share of ownership of land and property, and access to education and employment and basic social amenities is miserably low. The worst inhuman practice against them is the practice of untouchability, which is rampant in all the States of India. This is associated with various kinds of atrocities perpetrated on them by the rich (mostly belonging to the upper castes and the upper strata of the lower castes). All these social exploitation have been associated with economic exploitation and slavery.

Most of the evidences reveal that the administrative machineries of all the State governments in India have been playing a pro-rich role in all cases of exploitation, atrocities and oppression of dalits by the upper castes and the rich irrespective of caste, although there are some legal provisions to prevent such activities to some extent.

All policies like land reforms and other measures intended to empower the dalits (economically, socially or politically) have been foiled by the bureaucrats belonging to the upper castes and the privileged minority (through the policy of reservation) of the lower castes.

So far as the motivation of the policies of the government is concerned, it has been to isolate the advanced segments of the dalits and other lower castes from the downtrodden majority, and to create a lower caste aristocracy to distract attention from the basic problems of the exploited majority. Moreover, the method of reservation has given a permanent stamp of social stigma to all lower castes including the dalits. So the short-term job or other opportunities offered to the advanced minority of the dalits and people belonging to the other lower castes has long term adverse consequences for the majority as the legal recognition of caste distinctions would be very difficult to erase even if the majority of the dalits and people belonging to the other other lower castes were economically and politically empowered.

So in all respects the dalits in India reveal a miserable picture and an affront to humanity. Their plight has further degenerated in course of economic reforms in India since 1991, because of endangerment of food security, shrinkage of employment opportunities, inflation, reduction of social sector amenities and increasing incidence of violence and atrocities committed against the dalits by the upper castes.

In this article, however, we are not going to explore these matters in detail. Our task here is to trace the origin of the concept and exploitation of the dalits in India and to highlight the ethical aspects of this issue. In general, the root of the malady may be traced back to Manusmriti (M.S.)1, the earliest dharmashastra (law book) of ancient India. In fact, the practice of caste system in India in its real form always revealed a design of the well to do minority to live on the surplus generated by the majority. So it actually became hereditary and became the most powerful tool for economic exploitation, which brought forth, as necessary concomitants, the social and political aspects of the caste system. M.S. ascribed a legal, ethical and religious justification to the existing system of exploitation. M.S. delineated how a plethora of new sub-castes was generated through inter-caste marriage. Here lies the root of origin of the dalits of modern India.

The basic objective of this article is to get down to the depth of human psychosis that gives rise to the exploitative and discriminatory socio-economic practices related to the dalits and people belonging to the other lower castes like the Shudras. In this connection we are going to highlight the primordial psychosis of the intelligent and privileged minority to give birth to and perpetuate discrimination against and inhuman exploitation of the majority. The psychosis is deeply rooted in basic human modes as analyzed and elaborated in the Samkhya Philosophy2 of ancient India.

According to Samkhya Philosophy, human consciousness is a part of material manifestation of Nature and it is the combination of three modes viz. Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas, endowed by Nature. All these basic modes combine in different degrees to assign different characteristics to different individuals. If isolated in the abstract, unmixed Sattwa pertains to gudness and virtue, Rajas to passion and insatiable desire and Tamas to darkness of mind, obsession and inertia. All our mental and intellectual faculties originate from these three basic modes. Accordingly all individuals may be classified broadly into three major categories, viz. Sattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic.

The people in the upper strata of the society are on the whole in the Rajasic state and the dalits are forced to be at the lowest echelon of the Tamasic state through poverty, illiteracy, social customs, religious beliefs, and legal measures by the state machinery which is being controlled by the Rajasic minority. This process of de-humanization of the dalits started long ago to fulfill the greed and power mongering of the Rajasic upper strata as is evident from the prescriptions of the Manusmriti.

The only way out of this malady is to raise the dalits and the people belonging to the other exploited classes like the Shudras from the state of Tamas to the state of Rajas and later on to Sattwa through rapid industrialization with modern technologies, removal of illiteracy and abject poverty of the exploited majority and spread of scientific education and scientific world outluk to eradicate all Tamasic modes like superstitions, obsessions with religious rites, classification of the population and the practice of discrimination against specific groups of people on the basis of caste, creed, mother tongue, religious practices etc., blind devotion of common people to religious gurus and priests, celebrities and political parties and political leaders. To this end it is necessary to inculcate ethics and Sattwic values among the exploiting minority, the politicians and political parties and the mass media.

To understand clearly the positions of the dalits in India, let us have a glimpse of the broad caste structure in India existing since prehistoric times and modified from time to time according to the specific requirements of the ruling and vested interest classes.

Section II. Caste System in India

The existing caste structure in India has a long history of evolution and its roots may be traced back in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda, the most ancient religious and philosophical treatise of India. Now let us first have a glance at the original caste division as conceived by the ancient Indian shastras (religious, philosophical and legal texts of ancient India).

The four major castes, (i.e. hierarchical ranking of the society) in India prescribed first in the Rig Veda and repeated and elaborated in later shastras were:

1. Brahmana: Priests and scholars engaged in religious, academic, literary and philosophical activities.

2. Kshatriya: Political rulers, warriors and soldiers.

3. Vaishya: Persons engaged in trade, commerce and productive activities.

4. Shudra: The lowest caste in the Aryan hierarchy, comprising the majority of the population and serving the three upper classes. They were mainly laborers, peasants, artisans, and servants of the three upper classes.

The ancient Indian term for caste was ‘varna’ i.e. complexion. In general people belonging to the three upper castes were of fair complexion and the Shudras of swarthy complexion. So, it may be conceived that the former were were primarily Aryans (believed to be belonging to Cacasoid whilte races from central Asia which had invaded India and subjugated the ingenous people and got settled as rulers of the Indian suncontinent) and the Shudras, indigenous people (mainly proto-Australoid or Dravida) whom the Aryans had subjugated while invading the Indian subcontinent and incorporated these vanquished black people into the Aryan hierarchy as the fourth and serving class for their own interest.

The Vedic Concept

The relevant sloka from Rig Veda is:

“The Brahmanas were His Mouth, the Kshatriyas became His Arms, The Vaishyas were His Thighs, and the Shudras were assigned to His Feet” (Rig Veda, 10.90.12)3.