Class as Caste turns sociology upside down

Aug 15, 2010

A request by one of the followers of my blog, a young journalist, has evoked the sociologist in me to rethink the way we interpret caste and class. Even though my journalistic and migrant background has always goaded me to activism on issues ranging from caste, class, diaspora and regionalism, my understanding of Indian society and culture made me believe that caste is more often than not class in this part of the world. And hence the rebellious writer in me has always been up against challenging the class conscious society which has by and large stood shamelessly by its commitment to status quo.
The query that whether class has turned out to be caste now in the modern India actually led me to introspect as to whether the class & caste conundrum needs a fresh perspective. Has the conventional wisdom of sociology that caste is class not been relevant in today’s market driven elitist society? Certainly if the young generation like Abhishek Kumar of Political & Business Daily feels offended when asked as to how much he earns as his first class identity, I feel it is time for a serious discussion on the subject. A young man’s offence to his class in question also gives a ray of hope that the market driven society has not completely captured the class the way they would like to.
After all, the class conscious society in Delhi would have easily cornered a young migrant from non-descript city like Raxaul in Bihar. But my objection to the class as caste runs much deeper. Of course, I come across almost on a routine basis with such class conscious elitists for whom one’s address and swanky cars are the only introduction to the individual’s class. The more shameless breed doesn’t even mind getting into the economics of whether the flat that you live in is a rented accommodation or you own it.  The car you drive is on loan or purchased with down payments….the list can be filthy disgusting.
However, the above examples are just tip of the iceberg and this shift from traditional school of sociology is merely the symptom, not the disease. If free market economy believes in currency as the new class, the social divide on grounds of rural-urban, native-migrant, English-vernacular and many such chauvinistic parameters make the notion of class even more profound. It seems the larger section of the society that has been at the receiving end of class ostracism will continue to suffer. It is just the fact of academic interest that while earlier their respective caste had been relegating them to that class, now the class (socio-economic) is relegating them to caste, or better to call them outcastes.  
There are certain other parallels to be drawn out of this class and caste conundrum. While the social barrier still remains the same, the prerequisites to switch to the other side of the fence have not changed either. Of course, it has to meet the acid taste of not rubbing the sensibilities of the so-called upper class. Earlier it was the elevation of the lower caste in economic stream (read elite government jobs) that was qualifying them to rub shoulders with the upper castes, now it is the same professional ladder that provides them acceptability and turns their caste as per the elitists.
We as migrant professionals in Delhi and other metro cities witness this class turning out to be our caste day in and day out. The very same class which pretends as upper caste and disapproves our presence in the city wants to rub shoulders with us once we rise up the professional ladder. This may not be an acceptance of our migrant identity or our regional identity, but the acceptance is for our elite class, that suddenly turns out to be our new caste. 
I know the truth is a bit bitter but there are a number of friends in Delhi who are neither comfortable with a migrant in me who has proven intellectual and professional sharpness over them, nor have they accepted a resident of Bihar. But then a communication professional in me is welcome to the very same people whose profile of CEO, TRACK2MEDIA Consulting defines his elite class to them, which in their perception is also his new caste. Call it fair or foul, but class has become the new caste today and it is definitely turning the conventional sociology upside down.

.........to hell with nationalism

“To hell with nationalism…..” I said in reaction to a friend’s overt criticism of attack on the Indian students in Australia. My agitation has less to do with his nostalgic patriotism and more against the moral high ground in a society that is widely responsible of reverse racism on more than one account. Of course, it hurts to me also when I find an innocent Indian being under the racial attack for no fault. However, the question remains as to whether we Indians as a collective society are left with any moral right to condemn the kind of xenophobia that we too have subconsciously inculcated in us.

What kind of nationalism do we talk about in a country which is largely xenophobic within itself? People from Delhi and western UP think Bihar is all about labour class, Maharashtra gives a clarion call to ban the entry and work of people of UP and Bihar, a singer & a politician is asked to apologise for speaking as an Indian and not Marathi, a film star is victimized in his own Karmabhoomi for speaking the language of peace and harmony with a neighboring country, there is widening north-south divide, people from North East are victimized in north India, and a minister in Andhra Pradesh asks cricket team to boycott tournament since Hyderabad is not selected as venue for game….the list is endless suggesting aloud that we are all racists.

India as a society has the legend of championing the notion of nationalism much before the world knew the concept of nationalism as a fall out of French Revolution and Nation State. The claim may be challenged by the western historians but the fact remains that the legendary Chanakya of country’s first and mighty Magadha Empire had espoused the cause of nationalism much before the French Nationalism came into existence. The war rhetoric of “Kashmir se Kanyakumari tak sarvatra bhoomi hamari hai” is something that goes into the folk lore for its overt nationalist pride.

However, the friend of mine who has all the soft corner for the fellow country men being thrashed in Australia has no knowledge of the historical fact that the state of Bihar in its primitive stage of Magadha Empire has the credit to teach the nation what nationalism is all about. Being born in Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh and brought up in Delhi, he has no idea as to what nationalism is and what it should be in a modern progressive society and economy.

The migration of labour class from the vary same state of Bihar which taught the world what nationalism is all about, makes him think that Bihar is all about labour supply chain, with no academic excellence. This inherent superiority complex makes him overlook the fact that Bihar has been centre of academic excellence since ages and Nalanda along with Taxila had been the only universities to begin with and torch bearers of academic excellence since ages. Even today sixty percent of the country’s premium service, including the IAS, comes from the very same state of Bihar.

The places like Banaras and Allahabad might have produced some of the best talents in the country, but for a section of Maharashtra the state of UP is all about Bhaiyyas and milkmen. This regional profiling is an inherent reality in today’s India suggesting that perception is larger than reality. As per the records of the National Crime Records Bureau, Muzaffarnagar may be the crime capital of India, but perception backed by myopic and xenophobic mindset would love to believe that it is Bihar that is producing all criminals. When I find people in Delhi and some other parts of the country taking a moral high ground on the issue of Marathi versus the rest, I feel as if we are not just racists but shameless too. Our sense of self-righteousness awakens only when we are confronted with someone who is more racist, more xenophobic and more unethical than us.

The fact of the matter is that racism is, more often than not borne out of our own incompetence and hence helplessness. Had it been the case of Maharashtrians excelling in the competition with incumbents from other states, the issue of Maratha pride would never have snowballed into political spectrum. The same goes true for Delhi as well. If the second-generation Delhi residents would have competed ahead of first generation migrants there would have been no sense of hatred. But high academic institutions like the JNU and Delhi University are being filled by the students of Bihar, UP and now South and North East. Not coping with this meritocracy, racism is the only undemocratic low that people often stoop to.

Let us face the facts. We as the collective consciousness of the society are all bloody racists. And till the time we live in the glass houses, we should refrain from throwing stones. To champion the cause of nationalism we must first get rid of bigotry, persecution complex, jingoism and conspiracy theory.