Critical Caste Theory: A Dubious Discourse - Part 2
Continuing my exploration of Critical Caste Theory and its implications in Indian politics and society today.
So now that we’ve got our prescription in order, what is the description of our issue? Well, as in most cases of any sociological topic, it depends on the time and the terra. Heterodoxy is so rife in India’s caste system that it can be difficult to discern what “orthodoxy” actually was.
Early Greeks and Chinese, some of the first foreigners to record their journeys across India, do not particularly pay special mind to caste. Some chroniclers mention castes, whether in a set of 7 or 4 or an innumerable count, but they see it as just another way to organize society mirroring their own. What they do notice that is different immediately is the way of the Brahmins, and this is exactly where CCT hits a massive hinge.
In countless Indian tales, the Brahmin lived a life of mandatory poverty. Their method of procuring sustenance was by begging (bhiksha) or simple professions such as teaching and priestly duties. Buddhist monks (bhikshus) would later adopt this Brahmin asceticism and austerity. Only later in history as new texts were created did Brahmins begin accumulating wealth, though many continued their practice of material aloofness and bhiksha. Some ancient Hindu scriptures confirm this “check” on the varna system as castes that had more ritual responsibility also had to adhere to more rigorous disciplines and rules in life. The Greeks especially were in awe of the Spartan discipline of the Brahmins they encountered.
Yet it is not just the bhiksha of the Brahmin that poses problems for the narrative of CCT, ironically the most misbehaving caste is that of the Shudra. The Shudra, who languishes at the bottom of the iconic caste pyramid did not conform to his duty of being oppressed. While caste fractured the potential of a widespread peasant rebellion you’d see in other societies, it harnessed a strong sense of asabiyya amongst different peasant or Shudra groups. Sickles slicing hay became swords slashing heads as Shudras would militarize and crown themselves rulers. Various chroniclers mention this phenomenon and some Shudra royals would proudly embrace their supposed “low-born” roots as they harkened back to the lotus feet of God crushing their enemies. So widespread was this phenomenon of Shudra militarization and mobility that it is not inaccurate to say that very large minority and even perhaps a majority of recorded Indian kings have origins in the “lowest” varna.
Over time, from the Shudra were born groups that would become exiled from the varna system altogether. There was no such thing as a “Dalit” in earlier Hindu scriptures; rather, untouchability emerged later as being practiced on and indeed by certain Shudra castes onto other Shudra castes. This horrid custom would become a long-lasting stain on the Indian psyche and society, but it was not a primal practice of Hinduism as CCT activists claim.
CCT presents the Indian caste system as akin to chattel slavery, particularly the Trans-Atlantic variant. Yet across history, violent slave rebellions have been ubiquitous across different societies, including multi-ethnic rebellions, but caste rebellions are nearly nil. This is a major disconnect in framing the caste system as an analog to American slavery. Caste was simply a pre-modern method of organizing society. Being born into a lower caste or class in any place in the pre-modern world could be a miserable existence, not just in India. What really distinguished caste was its metaphysical roots as well as an extreme level of endogamy that developed over time. And it is in these extremities that we start seeing externalities that profoundly shaped Indian society to this day.
With time, varnashram itself began evolving and calcifying and then evolving again. The original commitment to bhiksha, in many ways the vital axis of varnashram had waned as new scriptures explained away the lapsing of hereditary duties. Endogamy became much more rigid and prized around 500 CE as we see a mass adoption setting in. This means for much if not most of Hindu history, a highly rigid caste endogamy was not necessarily a cornerstone of Hinduism. India’s caste system is more endogamous in 2023 CE than in 23 CE or 2023 BCE.
With the arrival of extreme levels of endogamy, much of the churn in Indian society was reduced. The previously adventurous Indians seeding their ideologies across Asia and commandeering the wheel of Dharma across land and sea were now becoming increasingly parochial. Zeniths of purity replaced the zeal of pursuit. Groups of jātis could ascend and descend the varna system, but the movement of individuals was severely curbed. And of course, while other societies were not exactly paragons of individual liberty and social mobility, they did not have the extremity of a near-ironclad endogamy. Al-Biruni notes how knowledge would be effectively siloed in individual caste groups so that the cross-pollination of wisdom that led to technological advancement would slow in India. While scholars such as Dharampal note the wide array of educational opportunities to available to all castes in the years prior to British colonization, it seems for large parts of post-endogamy India, individual outliers were essentially outcast by this system.
Particularly terrible was the condition of the newly concocted “avarna” or untouchable castes. The injustices they faced would be a feature in various poems during the rise of the Bhakti movement. While the Bhakti movement was definitely not a social revolution against caste, it did feature a reignited pathway for spiritual liberation for many depressed classes and castes. As I said before, the strongest emanations against caste discrimination have come from Hinduism itself. From its birth in Tamil Nadu, the Bhakti movement featured lower caste saints such as Thiruppaan and Nandanar overcoming discrimination through faith in their God. The crown jewel of Tamil Nadu’s Bhakti renaissance would be the masterful Ramanuja, who went against the norms of his day to embrace many lower caste devotees he encountered including Kanchi Purna who he would revere as his Guru, a scandalous notion for such a learned Brahmin as Ramanuja. This thread of upliftment would be sewn across India as various Gurus and movements would be stitched across the subcontinental tapestry over time mending the injustices of caste discrimination. Just as Ramanuja had done, many of these Dalit saints would be joined by and empowered by their high caste brethren such as Ramananda of Kashi becoming the Guru of Ravidas or Dyaneshwar of Pandharpur redefining the worship of Lord Vitthala thereby creating an illustrious line of supposed “lower caste” saints in Namdev, Chokhamela, Janabai, and Tukaram. But unfortunately, some places had to wait longer than others to address the scourge of caste discrimination.
Vivekananda described his contemporary Kerala as a lunatic asylum due to the discrimination that lower castes faced. If CCT had a poster child, it would unfortunately be the highly stratified and ritualistically rigid Malabar of the 19th century. Dalits were said to have had to maintain 64 steps from upper caste Nairs and 128 steps from Brahmins during this time. They were not permitted to buy or ride in bullock carts and were barred from using roads for upper castes. Education and even inter-dining with other castes were denied. In certain regions, Dalit women were not allowed to wear an upper garment as it would be reserved for upper castes. This dehumanization would soon be fought by Dalits as well as leaders from other castes. Dalit leaders such as Ayyankali and Dakshayani Velayudhan would emblazon a path forward combatting these injustices joining forces with Hindu reform movements such as those led by Sri Narayan Guru to remedy these terrible conditions. These reforms would take root as Kerala would become a land associated with social justice as Travancore kings instituted various policies to amend these past wrongs.
While spiritual reform to aid lower castes was a part of Hinduism, what was missing was a social revolution to materially empower the lowest of Hindus. This is where more modern caste dynamics emerge.
Varna Vendetta
For some, the Hindu spirit was inextricably connected to caste discrimination and had to be exorcised. In Maharashtra emerged the most kinetic of all Dalit reformers as BR Ambedkar as well as Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule would sear their relationship with Hinduism in their quest for Dalit upliftment. This fractious approach to combatting caste discrimination would involve attacking Hinduism itself and a reductive but very mimetic rhetoric homogenizing and demonizing Hinduism into essentially a Brahmin conspiracy. Critical Caste Theory derives its animus toward Hinduism and conspiratorial thinking from these early activists. Ambedkar and the Phules would heavily and rightfully advocate for education as the deliverance from destitution that Dalits faced. Ambedkar later helped frame parts of the Indian Constitution and codify laws to protect Dalits in a fledgling nation as well as implement the reservation system which at the time was seen as a temporary measure. The temporary soon became a mainstay.
Dalits today still face discrimination and difficulties posed by the wider Indian society. From not being able to carry out funeral processions to being attacked for sporting a mustache or riding a horse to being barred from water sources or even temples in some isolated cases, still we have the doldrums of discrimination present in India. But due to Ambedkar’s provisions in the Constitution as well as modernity flattening caste dynamics, Dalits can push back.
Ambedkar’s legacy has blossomed in the Government of India as more and more provisions have been added and policies ensured to assist Dalits. In line with the British Raj’s bureaucratization of caste, the Indian Republic has continued to design caste-based policies, which in turn has also dug the heels of caste consciousness into the ground. While lifting up a section of society that is being discriminated against is very laudable, the methods that have caught wind over the years have started to cross the realm of equality of opportunity into the equity of outcome.
Reservations have increasingly begun to eat away at university and government entries. With caste-based reservation touching 50% across India, many states have further bitten into the pie with states like Chattisgarh amounting to 76% reservation for backward castes and Tamil Nadu at 69%. This squeezing of other castes has not only caused increasing resentment but also hurts merit opportunities and market efficiencies in India as more and more young people are pushed out of chances they otherwise would’ve tested into in a straight shot. Even castes who are dominant today and in the past now clamor to get into newly made OBC (Other Backwards Caste) quotas with some movements becoming violent uprisings. Certain welfare policies have also integrated this caste-based approach with the government reserving certain doles and opportunities only for lower castes rather than a more identity-blind approach such as wealth or income levels. And perhaps the most regressive part of these caste based policies is that they entrench caste divisions and animosity.
But perhaps the most raucous example of the overzealousness of social justice is the SC/ST Act, where a person from an SC or ST caste can accuse another citizen of a caste atrocity, and that person will be put into jail without trial and without bail. This profoundly illiberal act is the closest thing India has to a blasphemy law. The ease of use has created a backlog of false cases and perhaps even caused more alienation of Dalits in contemporary society as any conflict can trigger this act which could easily destroy an innocent person’s life. And in an age where Dalit groups can hit back just as hard in community quarrels, this act becomes even more potent. Just recently the Supreme Court attempted to lessen the strictness of automatic non-bailable jail. Thereupon riots swept India as the government caved in and amended the law to keep this draconian element.
The bureaucratization of caste has morphed it into an extremely corrosive force on Indian politics. Caste has become the basic building block of Indian democracy. Elections become fractal and fractious caste contests as instead of meritocracy, demographics becomes destiny. Dynastic fiefdoms masquerade as political parties using the cloak of caste. Frivolous quibbles about the assigned caste of a historical figure or seeing an economic reform as a zero-sum attack on one’s caste is an unfortunate mainstay of Indian politics. Yet rather than having qualms with this, Critical Caste Theory sings to the tune of this dance of division. To break Hindutva or Hindu unity, caste divisions must be emphasized. But the BJP has anticipated this move.
The dichotomy of the Dalit condition mirrors India itself. A land of contradictions and extremes, nuance rests in the chaos of an ever-changing India that can give birth to any anecdote and data point you can imagine. While Dalits today gain more rights than ever, they increasingly vote for the BJP, a sworn enemy of CCT activists and formerly known as a party of the upper castes. The reason for this is that Hindutva, the ideology of the BJP, is not only redefining Hinduism itself but also consists of a strong element of material deliverance. Spiritual reform and a material revolution scent the air of India. While many Hindu organizations are reviving the notion of Hindu emancipation across eras by including Dalits more in their affairs and leadership, the BJP has build a powerful and efficient welfare apparatus to assist Dalits like never before. Hindutva is now positing itself as an emancipatory force for Dalits as spirituality now comes with sustenance.
Urbanization, education, migration, and many other forces of modernity subsume bits of caste consciousness over time. While caste has provided social, financial, and physical security in the past, a strengthening Indian state slowly fills these needs. The fulfillment of caste now must be replaced by something else. Whether the new primary identity is religious, ethnic, political, or another form, the Indian will start to look at a new person when they look in the mirror. CCT activists lament this evolution into something beyond the prism of parochialism that caste has become. As caste consciousness evolves into a more cosmopolitan form, India will become empowered. But Critical Caste Theory does not even see India; rather it fundamentally views the subcontinent as South Asia, an accidental collection of disparate divided people. India by contrast is rooted in an eternal Dharma, uniting the land with pilgrimages and poetry that has stood the test of time. Ultimately, this battle over what caste was, is, and will be will fundamentally decide the fate of India and Indians.
excellent analysis. Thank you.