Sunday 22 March 2015

Gandhi and Caste


Gandhi repeatedly said in the 1920s that ' Hindus must follow their hereditary professions ' and that ' prohibition of intermarriage between people of different varnas was necessary for a rapid evolution of the soul '. In the 1930s he changed his tune and started saying that he was opposed to caste but supported varna and hereditary professions, as if there is a difference between the two

 This hypocrisy was typical of Gandhi. Whenever he found his stupid feudal ideas unacceptable he tried to obfuscate.

 Thus in 1921 he said in his journal Young India " I am a sanatani Hindu. I believe in varnashram dharma. I believe in protection of the cow "

 He also said " I believe that caste has saved Hinduism from disintegration. One of my correspondents suggests that we should abolish the caste system but adopt the class system of Europe, meaning that the idea of hereditary castes should be rejected. I am inclined to think that the law of heredity is an eternal law, and any attempt to alter it must lead to utter confusion. Hindus believe in transmigration of the soul, and Nature will adjust the balance by degrading a Brahmin if he misbehaves to a lower caste, and upgrading one who lives the life of a Brahmin to a Brahmin in his next life. "

He also wrote " The beauty of the caste system is that it does not base itself upon distinctions of wealth-possessions. Money, as history has proved, is the greatest disruptive force in the world C aste is but an extension of the principle of the family. Both are governed by blood and heredity. Western scientists are busy trying to prove that heredity is an illusion andthat milieu is everything. The.experience of many lands goes against the conclusions of these scientists; but even accepting their doctrine of milieu, it is easy to prove that milieu can be conserved and developed more through caste than through class. As we all know, change comes very slowly in social life, and thus, as a matter of fact, caste has allowed new groupings to suit the changes in lives. But these changes are quiet and easy, as a change in the shape of the clouds. It is difficultto imagine a better harmonious human adjustment.Caste does not connote superiority or inferiority. It simply recognizes different outlooks and corresponding modes of life.But it is no use denying the fact that a sort of hierarchy has been evolved in the caste system, but it cannot be called the cre-ation of the Brahmins. When all castes accept a common goal of life, a hierarchy is inevitable, because all castes cannot realize the ideal in equal degree."

 Again in 1921 Gandhi said : “I believe that if Hindu society has been able to stand, it is because it is founded on the caste system. A community which can create the caste system must be said to possess unique power of organization.To destroy the caste system and adopt the Western European social system means that Hindus must give up the principle of hereditary occupation which is the soul of the caste system.The hereditary principle is an eternal principle.To change it is to create disorder. It will be a chaos if every day a Brahmin is to be changed into a Shudra, and a Shudra is to be changed into a Brahmin. The caste system is a natural order of society.... I am opposed to all those who are out to destroy the caste system.”

 In 1926 Gandhi writes ": In accepting the fourfold division I am simply accepting the laws of Nature, taking for granted what is in-herent in human nature and the law of heredity.... It is not possible in one birth entirely to undo the results of our past doings."

 Gandhi's hypocrisy can again be seen by the following statement in 1927 :

 : " In my conception of the law of varna, no one is superior to any other.... A scavenger [.a rubbish-collector or a latrine- or street-sweeper] has the same status as a Brahmin "

 Is this not ridiculous and farcical ? Do Brahmins regard shudras as their equals ?.It is like the devious doctrine of  'separate but equal ' propounded by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. Gandhi does not want abolition of the caste system, he says all castes have the same status, which is nonsense.

 In 1925 Gandhi says: " There is no harm if a person belonging to one varna acquires the knowledge or science and art specialized in by persons belonging to other varnas. But as far as the way of earning his living is concerned, he must follow the occupationof the varna to which he belongs, which means he must follow the hereditary profession of his forefathers.The object of the varna system is to prevent competition and class struggle and class war. I believe in the varna system because it fixes the duties and occupations of persons.Varna means the determination of a man’s occupation before he is born. In the varna system no man has any liberty to choose his occupation."

 This statement is again obfuscation. Why will anyone acquire a skill unless he can use it to earn his bread ?

  In 1931 Gandhi said: " I do not believe in caste in the modern sense. It is an excrescence and a handicap on progress. Nor do I believe in inequalities between human beings. We are all absolutely equal. But equality is of souls and not bodies. We have to realize equality in the midst of this apparent inequality. Assumption of superiority by any person over any other is a sin against God and man. Thus caste, in so far as it connotes distinctions in status, is an evil

.I do however believe in varna which is based on hereditary occupations. Varnas are four to mark four universal occupations – imparting knowledge, defending the defenceless, carrying on agriculture and commerce, and performing service through physical labor. These occupations are common to all mankind, but Hinduism, having recognized them as the law of our being, has made use of it in regulating social relations and conduct. Gravitation affects us all whether one knows its exist or not "

 The above statement really takes the cake. On the one hand Gandhi says he does not believe in caste, on the other hand he says that he believes in hereditary occupations, and says it is like the law of gravity.  But hereditary occupations is the basis of caste ( see my blog on caste system on justicekatju.blogspot.in ). Does this contradictory statement require any comment, except to say that this man can wriggle around and say that 2+2=4 and 2+2=5 in the same breath ?

In 1932 Gandhi said:  "My own opinion is that the varna system has just now broken down. There is no true Brahmin or true Kshatriya or Vaishya. We are all Shudras, i.e. one varna. If this position is accepted, then the thing becomes easy. If this does not satisfy our vanity, then we are all Brahmins. Removal of Untouchability does mean root-and-branch destruction of the idea of superiority and inferiority "

  Does the above statement make any sense ? At least I cannot make any head or tail out of it.

 In 1933 Dr. Ambedkar  said "There will be outcastes as long as there are castes, and nothing can emancipate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system.". This was a logical argument of Dr. Ambedkar.

 But see how Gandhi replies. He said "  Dr. Ambedkar is bitter. He has every reason to feel so. Yet I do not believe the caste system, even as distinguished from varnashrama [the scheme of duties traditionally linked to the caste system], to be an “odious and vicious dogma. It has its limitations and defects, but there is nothing sinful about it, as there is about Untouchability; and if Untouchability is a by-product of the system, it is only in the same sense that an ugly growth is of a body, or weeds of a crop ".

   Thus Gandhi is not against the caste system but only against Untouchability.

Gandhi admitted that his ideal of a varna system with everyone enjoying equal economic and social status probably had no historical warrant:
: But when asked whether in ancient India there was much difference in economic status and social privileges between the four varnas Gandhi replied " That may be historically true. But misapplication or an imperfect understanding of the law must not lead to the ignoring of the law itself. By constant striving we have to enrich it  ".
So Gandhi is not against the caste system but only its  'misapplication.' ( whatever that may mean )..

 The contrast between Gandhi’s and Ambedkar’s views was heightened by their respective relations to the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal, a new organization which was dedicated to promoting a casteless Hinduism. Gandhi told its secretary:in1932:  "If eradication of castes means the abolition of varna I do not approve of it. But I am with you if your aim is to end the innumerable caste distinctions ".

Dr Ambedkar corrrectly analysed  the cause of Gandhi's  contradictory statements and obfuscation regarding caste as " the double role which the Mahatma wants to play – of a Mahatma and a politician. As a Mahatma he may be trying to spiritualize politics. Whether he has succeeded in it or not, politics have certainly commercialized him. A politician must know that society cannot bear the whole truth. If he is speaking the whole truth, it is bad for his politics. The reason why the Mahatma is always supporting caste and varna is because he is afraid that if he opposes them he will lose his place in politics.... Whatever may be the source of this confusion, the Mahatma must be told that he is deceiving himself and also deceiving the people by preaching caste under the name of varna ".

  This is the man who has been thrust down the throats of Indians as the ' Father of the Nation ' !

8 comments:

  1. Taslima Rushdie
    March 22, 2015 at 1:04 AM
    Captain Ajitji sadar pranam:

    India will be the first country with no duplicacy of voter's list by the end of this year. As per CEC Bramha, linking of Aadhar card biometrics with the voter's ID will make our voter's list 100% faultless.

    http://www.livemint.com/Politics/vK2wcX9C1c3jhWrQOJ05cJ/India-will-be-1st-country-to-have-no-duplicacy-in-voters-li.html

    Is our govt making the Aadhar cards to make us dole-dependent trackable persons or does it want to avail our biometrics to make foolproof voters' list?

    ... Taslima Rushdie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    Capt. Ajit VadakayilMarch 22, 2015 at 5:10 AM
    hi tr,

    AADHAAR card is a new world order tool.

    BIG BROTHER abroad can switch off your life -- if he gets angry.

    it is very easy for big brother to kill you and say that you made 45 calls to your secret lover in one hour-- that you committed suicide out of frustration.

    if you write an article criticising big brother- he will SWITCH OFF YOUR LIFE -LIKE A PRE-PAID MOBILE SIM CARD.

    the crypto jew president of france has just declared that if you write conspiracy theory , you will be thrown in jail.

    saying 6 million jews is 5 million--makes you a conspiracy man.

    saying that jew einstein lifted from the vedas make you a conspiracy man.

    http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2014/08/yellapragada-subbarow-nobel-prize-and.html

    or saying isaac newtwon stole calculus from kerala .

    http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2011/01/isaac-newton-calculus-thief-capt-ajit.html

    IT IS ALL ABOUT CREATING A ZOMBIE SOCIETY.

    when your biometrics are known - anybody can steal your kidney.

    even if you hide in sita guha , there is a chip embedded on the card which will tell big brother your position accurate to 1 cm.

    you cannot withdraw your own money, travel, buy fuel, cook, buy food, get medical help, stay in a hotel, use a computer, communicate -- whatever -- you life is AMPUTATED.

    supreme court has done a good thing by saying that AADHAR card is not mandatory.

    if you want to streamline voting have a stand alone voter card with a photo.

    capt ajit vadakayil
    ..
    .

    ReplyDelete
  2. KAATJU SAAB-

    VESTED FOREIGNERS ARE KEEPING THE MEMORY OF GANDHI ALIVE IN INDIA BY 2ND OCTOBER HOLIDAY .

    THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO CREATED AND ELIMINATED HIM USING A BENE ISRAEL JEW GODSE.

    AFTER GANDHI WAS KILLED- THEY ROUNDED UP A LOT OF PEOPLE AFTER TORTURE -

    ALL OF THEM WERE FAIR SKINNED WITH GREY EYES- WITH BENE ISRAEL DNA.

    CHECK OUT THE DNA OF NATURAM GODSE - WE STILL HAVE HIS ASHES WITH BONE FRAGMENTS.

    AN RTI QUERY TO UPA GOVT DECLARED AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH THAT - GANDHI HAS NEVER BEEN AWARDED " FATHER OF THE NATION TITLE ".

    THEN WHY IS US PRESIDENT CALLING GANDHI THE FATHER OF OUR NATION- THEY WAY THEY ARE PLANNING TO MAKE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR THE "FATHER OF THEIR BLACK POPULATION" ?

    BOTH GANDHI AND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR FORCED THEIR ENSLAVES PEOPLE TO WATCH WHILE THEIR WHITE MASTERS OPPRESSED THEM- IN THE CASE OF INDIA, R ROBBED BHARATMATA BLIND.

    IF ANY INDIAN POLITICAIN SAYS , WE DO NOT CARE FOR GANDHI-- HIS POLITICAL CAREER IS OVER --

    WE ARE STILL BEING RULED BY PROXY BY THE SAME JEW WHO RULED INDIA USING HIS STOOGES .

    YES-- ALL THESE STOOGES WERE SUPER RICH WHEN R LEFT INDIA IN 1947-

    SOME OF THESE STOOGES SUDDENLY BECAME RICH IN 1947, FOR THIS JEW ( WHO WAS MORE POWERFUL THAT THE BRITISH QUEEN ) GAVE THEM HIS IMMOVABLE ASSETS LIKE LAND , BUILDINGS AND MEDIA .

    WE INDIANS DO NOT CARE FOR GANDHI.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FNSQcEx02A

    capt ajit vadakayil
    ..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Social activists and Experts all over world argued how can India remove caste system. I collected the extract and below is

    1)Modern Education

    Modern liberal education introduced into the country by the British has played a crucial role in undermining the importance of caste in Indian social life.
    Modern education


    Modern education is based on such democratic values like equality, liberty and fraternity. It is also grounded on such scientific values like reason and observation. Hence it is quite natural that with the spread of modern education, the people’s belief in the divine origin of caste, Karma and Karmaphala has received a severe set­back.

    The RSS push of sanskritization will push back India to same era

    2. Industrialization:

    The process of industrialization has affected caste structure to a remarkable extent. Industrial growth has provided new sources of livelihood to people and made occupational mobility possible. Factories, mills and offices are agog with activity.

    3. Urbanization:

    Industrialization has given rise to the process of urbanization. New townships have emerged. The ruralites migrate to these towns in order to avail better employment opportunities. Caste system is rooted in rural India where 65% population resides which is heart of India. With the coming up of big hotels, restaurants, theatres, clubs and educational institutions it is not at all possible to observe communal inhibitions and taboos against food-sharing.

    4) Meritocracy

    The best people for best jobs. No reservation. Reservation keep on reminding them about where they belong. Reservation dilutes meritocracy and the best is not put in government jobs which makes Indian policies ineffective at ground level. More money can be allocated in budget to educate backward class and create NGO or group to help them get best education. But punish those who discriminate them in jobs.

    5 The new legal system:

    The new legal system, introduced by the British Government, has given a severe blow to the caste system in India. Equality before law irrespective of castes has been firmly instituted. Consequently, the age old discrimination against the lower castes has been removed.



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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  4. 6. New social movements:

    Some social movements have also attacked the caste system. The Brahmo Samaj movement led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy rejected the barriers of caste divisions and stood for universalisation and brotherhood of man.

    7.. Rise of new social classes:

    Industrialization has given rise to the emergence of new social classes. These social classes are replacing the traditional castes. Trade Unions, IT professionals, Traders, Merchants, Technical professionals like mechanics, electrician (instead of shudhras) give new name and create a social class. But some argued India is so poor and backward now that unlike west, technical professionals are low paid and that will again create discrimination between managers and lower end technicians ... This needs to be worked out carefully

    8. Influence of Indian Constitution:

    Indian Constitution bestows some fundamental rights on the citizens irrespective of caste, creed, colour or sex. It offers equal opportunities to all. Para 15(2) of the Constitution, which declares all citizens as equal, directly attacks the Hindu social order based on inherited inequality. No wonder that caste system is withering away.Great Lee Kuan Yew said that even after 50 years, 85% of Indian population are not able to read or understand the Indian constitution properly.

    Inter caste Marriage: Ban those people who discriminate or give matrimonial writing wanting a fair good looking upper caste brahman girl , educated .. Same with girl family seeking caste based marriage.


    But India follow democracy... a broken democracy they dont know. It will take 30-50 years to get ride of this only if we get good educated political party who has experience in administration and visionary

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  6. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/humans-are-genetically-modified-organisms/?utm_source=TOInewHP_TILwidget&utm_campaign=TOInewHP&utm_medium=Widget_Stry


    HERE IS DOUBLE SLIME.

    BROTHER OF SLIMY MANI.

    HE SAYS GM FOODS HAVE DONE NO HARM TO AMERICANS.

    OH YEAH ?

    EVEN EVIL PHARMA DOES NOT CLAIM SO.

    AMERICANS DIE OF BRAIN DISEASES / CANCER MORE THAN ANY OTHER NATION BY PERCENTAGE.

    HEY, SA AIYER-- WE INDIANS DO NOT WANT YOU TO SAVE INDIA .

    YOU CAN STICK TO YOUR MINDLESS ECONOMICS.

    http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2012/05/monsanto-and-farmer-suicides-in-india.html

    capt ajit vadakayil
    ..

    ReplyDelete