The Marginalized Groups in Indian Social Construct: A Critical Study of Mahesh Dattani

Oppression in India has been happening for over a thousand years with little to no action being done to stop the caste discrimination. There has been oppression occurring in India against Dalits, people below the caste system who are also known as Untouchables, and to lower caste people because of their culture and their religion, Hinduism. In order to rid caste discrimination facing Dalits and lower castes in India, people of India must know and evaluate the history of the oppression, the current situation India is in, and what has been done, needs to be done to solve this issue.

“All the convergent influences of the world run through this society: Hindu,Moslem,Christian,secular;Stanlist,liberal,Maoist, democratic socialist, Gandhian. There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind.” E.P.Thompson

The Indian caste system is historically one of the main elements where people in India are socially differentiated through classes, religions, regions, tribes, genders, and languages. Caste is a term which is used to specify a group of people having a specific rank. The Indian term for caste is jati and generally designates a group that can vary in size from a handful to many thousands. The various jati are traditionally arranged in hierarchical order and fit into one of the four basic varnas – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. Each caste had a clearly defined role. Members of each caste were obligated to look after one another, so each caste had its own support system. This paper describes the role of each varnas in the society.

In this essay I will be discussing the impact that the rule of the British Empire had on India’s development as a nation. I will be looking at how British imperial rule both benefitted and hindered the growth of India economically, socially, and culturally. To do this I will be looking at the beginning of the British Empire’s involvement in India, right up until India gained its independence from Britain on the 15th of August 1947. The purpose of this essay is to examine the long lasting effects of the British Empire on the Indian nation. India, like all colonies, was affected in many ways by the age of imperialism, and those effects are still evident today. The essay will look at both sides of the argument, allowing for positive and negative effects before finally concluding with a summary and re iteration of the points and arguments made throughout the essay. The essay will avoid taking sides, but rather the aim is to merely give an account of the positive and negative effects of British imperialism in India. The essay as previously mentioned will focus on the economic, cultural, and social effects.

Many people believe that in the 1940’s most of India’s problems involving independence was to do with divisions within India rather than British imperialism. In this essay I will be looking at both points of view and finally giving my opinion. I will be using three sources also to help me show both sides of the story. I will also be using my further knowledge to add a wider range of knowledge.

            The internal divisions and complexes hierarchy of the Indian society served an important social function.  The system provided each individual with a clear identity and role and offered the benefits of group solidarity and support.  Certain interactions and behaviors were appropriate only between those of equal status. The system assured that the religious, political, and financial powers were all separated into four different social classes (Bulliet, et. 2011).

He also mentioned that for a long time ago, there has been a caste system which organized the social structure in India. There were four major castes: Brahmans, who have spiritual wisdom or act like a priest, Kshatriyas, who are a ruler or an organization, the Vaisya, farmers and traders, and the Sudras, the follower or servants. However, he argued that the stratification is now becoming not so relevant because people can access education and reach a better condition. This information similar to Hodge (2004) explanation about the caste system and the structure now is transformed by the modernization (Fuller, 2009).

Historically, India was under British rule until 1950. Many people in India felt that during British rule they were powerless (Beteille, 2010). All of the problems in the country were blamed on this helplessness (Beteille, 2010). When India became independent and developed its own constitution, a large amount of emphasis was placed on the role of government in solving social problems (Beteille, 2010). During British rule, many customs and practices in India were based on the Hindu religion (Beteille, 2010). The British left those in place, neither making them unlawful nor supporting them (Beteille, 2010). When the new government was established, the caste system that had so sharply defined India was declared unlawful (Beteille, 2010). While this was a step in the

India is no different, the Sepoy Rebellion was one of the main stands the Indians took to defend their beliefs. With the British's complete disregard of Hindu and Muslim practices, Indians broke into outrage when asked to bite off the ammunition cartridge greased with pork and beef fat. How could they not? Their entire belief system itself was being threatened. Although out of this gruesome cultural war Gandhi emerged with a new way of thinking, without violence. With Gandhi’s defiance, a salt taxation was released which gave even more control to the British Raj. Although stopping Gandhi’s way of thinking was helpless and the Indians took yet another stand with the 1930’s Salt March. Though there were some laws that Gandhi could not take a stand too. Some of the government released laws were careless and did not seem to have any purpose but to irk the Indian people. Being treated as second class citizens in their own home is what the people came to know, racist attitude also dominated around the country of India.

Indians were becoming politically active in the late 1800s. During this period, they founded institutions that would help end colonial rule. In 1885, Indian modernists formed the Indian National Congress to reform Hindu and Muslim practices that did not match up to their liberal ideals and to change British Indian policies that were opposed to democratic ideals. However, many internal issues within the Indian culture were obstacles to independence. Most notably are the differences in language groups. Despite these problems, a nationalist movement took root within the country that ultimately led to the creation of India and Pakistan in 1947. There were three principles to this movement that helped the movement succeed.

Although every caste in the World State is meticulously conditioned to accept the hand they are given, there are still many citizens who are dissatisfied with the quality of life available to them in society. Knowingly or unknowingly, these outliers reject their conditioning and strive for something more, whether it be adversity, danger, or passion.

Contemporary comparative erudition on the topic of nationalism proposes another reason for India’s democratic survival. Under the independence movement, with the governance of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress party turned what formerly had been a cultural unit into a nation with a cultural political unit. This transformation perpetuated Indian democracy: “There has to be a political unit before there can be a democracy” The strategic communications between British authorities and national movement leaders also laid the fundamentals of democracy. No historical explanation can be comprehensive unless it takes the “agency” of India’s freedom movement into justification – with the attainment of India’s autonomy. (Varshney 1998: 38)

At the turn of the century, many of Indians accepted their life under British rule. However, the racism and discrimination lead by the Europeans inspired Hindus to create a political

Caste has always been integral to the Indian social structure. Be it in the historical era or be it in the globalized era, caste has managed not to cease from the Indian society. Though the nature of caste system has changed tremendously, the basic crux remains the same, i.e. the majority of the backward castes/ social groups still remain backward. The globalization era might have an era of positive impact on nations world wide, ironically, it has managed to leave negative impacts too. Similarly, globalization has impacted caste too. It is a phenomenon that has not only led to pauperization but has rapidly increased social inequalities. In this paper, an attempt shall be made to analyze the impact globalization has left on castes. The following section of this paper shall try and reflect on issues like education, employment, poverty etc in context to Dalits in India.

Anand, Mulk Raj. “The Indelible Problem: Mulk Raj Anand and the Plight of ...” www.postcolonialweb.org /india/anand/ stracuzzi1.