Ruthless truths

Prof. Dipankar Gupta of JNU writing in indiatimes says : 'This is why opposition to the OBC reservation should not be approached from the angle of downgrading merit but from the larger democratic principle of citizenship. When Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were given reservations it was to make sure that they would get some help to pull themselves out of centuries of discrimination and disprivileges. But this was not the case with the OBCs. They were certainly never discriminated against and kept from going to schools and picking up an education. In fact, after land reforms and zamindari abolition these agrarian castes, that prefer to be called Backwards today, became the dominant communities in rural India. Further, it may also be recalled that many Scheduled Caste activists have pointed out that it is these dominant agrarian castes that are more exploitative and ruthless against the subjugated communities than members of the other three varnas.'

The Professor wants you to accept his opinion that the 'Backwards' are now the dominant communities in rural India as clinching proof that they do not deserve reservations. Here's what another egghead, Satish Deshpande has to say, with the help of some figures (from the NSSO's much disputed 55th Round, but figures nonetheless): 'Looking at the land ownership data from the 55th Round, we find that the ``Others'' comprise 50 per cent of all households owning more than 4 hectares of land, while the OBCs are 35 per cent, Scheduled Castes 6 per cent and Scheduled Tribes 8 per cent. Although this does not tell us how much land is owned by each group, it does suggest that popular stereotypes about the OBCs having ousted the upper castes from land ownership may be somewhat exaggerated.'

So, those figures tell us the OBCs haven't replaced the upper castes as the 'dominant communities' in rural India. But they still don't disprove the 'fact' that the these 'dominant (?) communities have been more 'exploitative and ruthless against the subjugated communities than members of the other three varnas'. The Professor must have exclusive access to every single record of 'exploitative and ruthless' acts against the Dalits for the last three thousand and odd years to conclude with such confidence that the OBCs have been 'more exploitative and ruthless' in the fifty odd years since Independence!

Let's look at Bihar, one of the chief akharas of Mandalised politics, for instance: '..A look at the 'chronology of massacres' in the rural south Bihar shows only a few incidents show the 'backward castes' or 'upper backwards' being involved in attacks on SCs - 11 out of 90 incidents...This means that roughly only about 10% of attacks, involved the 'upper backwards' attacking Dalits.' That was from a paper presented by Shaibal Gupta at the "Conference on State Politics in India in the 1990s'.

The well recorded incidents of 'ruthlessness' in States such as Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu can't be denied - but who did they involve? A few 'upper backwards' like the Yadavs and Thevars. And a few other castes whose names have been selectively picked and brandished as evidence that the OBCs are, not the 'oppressed', but active 'oppressors' by anti-reservationists cutting across IQ levels. These 'oppressing castes' - how many are they? Not more than a few dozen. Only two dozen or so perhaps. Out of 3700 odd castes across the country - most of whom traditionally practised such occupations as fishing, snake-charming, rat-catching..begging, among others. Apart from bead-making, pottery, stone-cutting, hairdressing, tailoring and...(this, as a blogger I have come to admire- Apurva Mathad suggested, deserves another post). Oppressors?

Don't you agree this 'exploitation and ruthlessness' needs to be seriously investigated before any judgments are passed?

This expansive use of generalisations, this mixing of 'the gossip of menials' (as JM Lyngdoh would have probably called it) with the language of academia and this parading of prejudices as 'proof'.. beamed across national television by a beaming media.. make reservations a very ruthless 'debate'.