Economic Disparity And Casteism

Economic Disparity and Casteism – India needs another battle of Independence INDIA SHINING was the platform of a political party that was vanquished in 2004 electoral polls. Because though India was shining but Bharat that is 77% of the population was NOT. And in Indian system of electoral collage with first past the post system , you cant win elections on the basis of the “Indian” electoral college. It has to be done with the support of the weak and fragile rural Bharat. The hi tech SMS and high octane Mass media campaign can not garner enough support to get one past the post. The Economic disparity in that of the so called urban and laptop trotting yuppies and that of the country side peasants and proletariats is so wide that one cants see or perceive each others life style or predicaments. Both of them exist impervious of each other. We have young BPO or KPO kids sporting their blue tooth enabled cell phones on one side of this chasm and farmers committing suicide because of mounting and non payable loans on other side. The unorganized workers , land less tillers, large 10% tribal population have little to reckon with the 9.4% growth. The trickle down effect to them is ZERO. Providing of the basic human needs is the Primary responsibility of the state. Health and Education are the two very basic needs and not servicing this need is nothing short of criminal negligence of the Sovereign Democratic State. We have non functional schools, ill spent funds in great and novel poverty eradication program viz., National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme that are lost in the SARAKAARI mire(A recent newspaper report stated that only 6% of the NREG funds reached the target beneficiaries) . All good intended schemes are lost in the cesspool of corruption. Casteism , Religious fundamentalism are the ultimate bane of India. Scheming Britishers divided India into two segments and our own politicians have divided Indians into hundred cast based and similar other segments. Mahatma Gandhi had said if Hinduism is to survive casteism has to be eradicated otherwise Hinduism would be eradicated. The brahminical class committed the sacrilege for hundreds of years to maintain their superiority, the politicians have done it TEN times more severe for their narrow parochial vote centric benefits. Today the status as it stands no political party of any colour is prepared to bell the cat and disembark from the casteist band wagon. Rather each one is

continually trying to add confusion to the chaos by dividing casts into sub casts, pitting them each against one another , rendering sarkari benefits to one and depriving another that makes them go at one another’s throat. We need a total paradigm shift to enable the political parties to come out of the morass of casteism. Nothing short of another freedom struggle to throw away this yoke of casteism is imperative and essential.. Recalling the clarion call of Jai Prakash Narayan of 1974/75 I perceive we need nothing short of another independence struggle or as JP termed it ‘TOTAL REVOLUTION’. Most of the efforts of any Government or political outfit are nothing more than ‘Band Aid’ approach to these deep rooted cancers. You need surgical intervention to root out cancer. ‘Band aid’ approach would only keep the wound festering. It is not going to be of any help. Our freedom struggle was a total committed drive to root out slavery. Gandhiji had said ‘Independence is ability to resist a wrong and not transfer of Power from White to Browns’. We have to work towards devolving power to the have nots too. A poor illiterate citizen for petty crimes such as ticket less travel undergoes imprisonment of several years as an under trial prisoner. Whereas the Rich and Powerful get away with committing the murder in front of four hundred witnesses. The marginalized Bharat’s percepts of Independence is lost in struggle of procuring daily bread. We need to embark upon a second battle of independence to complete the unfinished task of achieving FREEDOM and devolving power to the people at the bottom of the rung. Extreme Economic Disparity such as one present in Indian society would never permit homogeneity. Haves and Have-nots would always exist and coexist. Yet the extreme profligacy of few viz., gifting a 125 crore jet to ones spouse as a birthday gift and majority subsisting on less then Rs.20 a day reeks of putrefied death of sensibilities. It is high time that the people living on the fringe too get counted in the process of NATION BUILDING. Gandhiji again had said ‘The Rich are nothing but trustees of the Poor. They are holding their wealth as trustees. If they do not return the same at some point in near future , the poor would have no other option but to seize it from them’. It seemingly appears to be an extremist’s slogan. Yet it was spoken by the MAHATMA the ultimate practitioner of non violence.