Prashant Bhagat

[Though India is fast galloping towards industrialization and a booming market economy, some despicable ancient practices are still maintained—ensuring that a large segment of its population remains subjugated with no opportunity of redemption. One reason is because the caste system is supposed to be conferred by God; therefore divine intervention is required to change the scheme of things. As a result casteism has become is entrenched upon the psyche of the people as illustrated by the following two stories.]

We have the ‘three cups practice’ in our Kshatriya household—one cup is kept for the use of a dalit, another for the family, and the third is for my use.

I was the only non vegetarian in my family. That is why I was not permitted to cook and eat in our kitchen. I bought some utensils and started cooking non vegetarian food outside the house, where husk and other fodder was stored for our cows and buffaloes.

Some old and broken utensils meant for the use of dalits were also there. Whenever any dalit person visited us, she or he would be served in those utensils. One day by mistake a dalit lady used my glass to drink tea. My grandmother saw this but did not say anything. When I returned, she told me that one of my glasses was used by a dalit lady. She instructed me to stow away my utensils in a bag, lest they be misused.

When I asked my grandma “why didn’t you stop her when she was using my cup?” She replied, “How can I let her know that these utensils belong to my grandson? That’s why I let her use it; and now I am giving you another cup; it is better if nobody in our family finds out about this matter”. She gave me an old glass from the kitchen and asked me to keep it for my use.  She told me to put back my glass with the other utensils.

I was very disappointed by this state of affairs. I told my grandma that if she considered me a dalit, then why was she trying to segregate me from other dalits. She said, “You are not yet a Thakur (or Kshatriya). You will become a full-fledged thakur only after the ritual ‘upnayan sanskaar’. Once that is done, you are forbidden to eat non-vegetarian food. You still have time to enjoy a life, before you start living a disciplined life as a true thakur. Whenever I cooked non-vegetarian food I was debarred from access to any other food that was prepared in the kitchen at home.

The following day, I was permitted to get food from the kitchen only after I had bathed and performed other ablutions. However, I was not allowed to use my grandmother’s utensils, as she was considered ritually clean, and she prayed daily. Others in the family only prayed occasionally. I had to avoid non-vegetarian food for a couple of days before engaging in ritualistic prayer.”

“When my sister got married, she was the only vegetarian among her in-laws. When her in-laws visited us, I was very happy to have them join me in enjoying non-vegetarian food. One day my grandma tried to convince my sister to persuade her in-laws to quit non-vegetarian food. She replied very innocently, “When our God and Goddess accept offerings of non-vegetarian food, how can I coax my in-laws to give up that.

Today, my nephew is also a non-vegetarian, but my sister has no objection. She also cooks non-vegetarian food for her husband and son. When I ponder on what happens in these two families, I realize that in a thakur’s household, women and children have no choice concerning their food. They are ‘dalits’ – ostracized within their own family.”

Get out your hockey stick

When I was young, I shouldered the responsibility of managing the agricultural fields and harvesting the crop. I was barely 14 years old then. It was the summer season in June. The monsoons threatened to destroy the crop; hence I was anxious to harvest the crops as fast as possible. I approached the dalit settlement nearby many a time to hire labourers, but with little success.

They gave me false hope, saying they would come the next day and the next, but they never turned up. I noticed that those who promised me they would come, were often working in the neighbouring field. One evening, as I sat dejected outside my house, my father inquired as to what was weighing on my mind and why no labourers had come to harvest the field.

I simply said, “They are working in our neighbour’s field.” He laughed and said, “You are a worthless boy; you will never be a successful man. I have some advice for you, take it or leave it. Get your hockey stick or any other stick, and be prepared to use abusive language. As soon as you reach the settlement of the scheduled caste, beat up whomever you meet first. Then warn them, that if they fail to come to our field the following morning, you would meet them again along with your father.

I did what I was told and to my surprise the labourers actually came to my field the following morning. When I returned home that evening, having harvested the crop, my grandmother said, “Son, ‘Dhol, ganwaar, shoodra, pashu naari, ye sab taadan ke adhikaari” (the drum, the uneducated, the dalit, the animal and woman deserve to be beaten) says our sacred book.”

I successfully harvested the crop every year thereon. But as far as I can remember, this was the first and last time I ever obeyed such advice.”