Caste at the root of the great divide

This post of mine is a continuation of what I had written yesterday. If land is one of the reasons behind the divide, then caste is the other and more deeply entrenched variable making the divide so wide. In one of my much older posts, I had already written about how the divide between Telangana and Andhra is also overpoweringly a question of caste; Reddy-Velama combine in Telangana vs the Kamma of coastal Andhra. The Kamma is seen as the usurper of position of power by the Reddys mainly and the Velamas to some extent. I have also quoted the revolutionary balladeer Gaddar who said Telangana should be of the people and not of the feudal lords. In Telugu he said "prajala Telangana kavali, dorala Telangana oddu". The revolutionary zeal has also settled itself into the question of caste, because for Gaddar and the Maoists, caste is something that cannot be overlooked. But that is old hat now and everybody knows about it. However as an academician (a poseur perhaps) I find it necessary to inquire into what makes the caste variable so powerful in Indian society and politics.

In its origins the caste system was cosmological (I have talked about this too in the past) and slowly transformed into a social variable with the passage of time. This is also time when the caste system transformed into a jati system from a varna system. Endogamy, as Ambedkar rightly pointed out became the ruse through which the jati system was evolved and maintained by the Brahmin caste over centuries, giving Indian society its very unique character and identity. The sad and interesting part of this evolution of the social system is that only the top and bottom castes were clearly defined. It should also be noted that from "chaturvarna" the caste system became a "panchama jati" system. The panchamas were the chandalas or the untouchables condemned for ever to live on the peripheries of life, society and village (literally) and only performing abhorrent tasks such cleaning of lavatories, taking care of smashan or burning ghats and working with animal hides. Both in the chaturvarna system and in the panchama jati system the Kshatriya is the second in the hierarchy with the Vysya being the third. Here I would like to introduce M.N. Srinivas and his theory of Sanstkritization of castes which allows for caste groups to claim higher positions in the caste hierarchy even though individual upward mobility was not possible.

It is not too difficult to see why Sanskritization was possible. Rarely in the history of India have the Kshatriyas been identified indisputably. The Vysya caste group too was not as clearly defined as the Brahmin and the Chandala. If one looks at the history of India most of the big dynasties have been either Brahmin or Sudra. With the exception of the Rajputs there is no obvious example of another Kshatriya caste. This looseness in the middle of the caste system is what facilitated the upward movement of entire caste groupings. The Sudra, unlike the Chandala was not too castigated. The evidence of that can be seen in the big dynasties like the Nandas, Mauryas and in Andhra Pradesh the Kakatiyas all which were powerful and belonged to the Sudra category. In fact, in the last few decades one sees an attempt on the part of the Reddys and more specifically the Kammas drawing their past to the Kakatiya dynasty while the Velamas have steadfastly claimed that they are rulers or Rajus and therefore Kshatriya. All these castes are more or less confined only to the Andhra Pradesh region and their origins are relatively new. All of them managed to find themselves in the upper caste category, but the way in which they derived their power was different. The Reddys derived feudal power from the Nizam's legacy and the Kammas derived a power from capital in the Madras presidency region. Though they started off as an agricultural community (not caste) they were able to use the surplus from agriculture to invest first in the film industry in Madras, then in Hyderabad, the hospitality industry and finally the software industry. It is well known that capitalism by nature seeks to expand its constituency for purposes of profit making. In this fanning out process the Kammas inevitably came into the Telangana region and into conflict with the Reddys.

The other castes, especially the ones that are called the backward castes, like the Munnuru Kapus, the Yadavs and the Gouds were incorporated into this arraignment of power in order to take the fight to electoral politics. The proximity to power has made the backward castes power centres in themselves capable of making or breaking leaderships. It is this confidence that has pushed the issue of a social justice Telangana or a Telangana to be led by the members of the backward castes to the forefront of the separate Telangana agitation. By now caste has undergone yet another transformation. It is no longer a simple social variable; it turns political. This transformation is crucial because the social factor now fades into insignificance and political power comes into the open, with different leaders of different groupings posturing. The variable that had cosmological origins and therefore direct consequence to life goes through a mutation that makes it a sociological one that is also the determinant of social power. This power was mainly held by the Brahmins and in that instance it was the hegemony of one collective over others. But when caste takes on a political colour, there is a change in the nature of power. Instead of groups exercising power like the Brahmins did, it now becomes more individual in nature. Individuals are able to leverage various things such as muscle power, political patronage and history and turn into leaders of consequence. It therefore becomes a dialogue now between the posturing leaders (in this case a break down of the dialogue) where the terms and conditions of the dialogue are no longer in the hands of collectives. So the issue of Telangana vs Andhra unsurprisingly is very much rooted in the question of castes among others. What is important is that the question of caste is the one question that defies logical answers and continues to directly or indirectly divide people of this region in particular and the country in general. Sometimes (in my desperation) it seems as if this is a curse that more and more generations will have to suffer. But my heart and mind both cry out to the possibilities of end to posturing and creating a community based in the virtues of communication and dialogue as possible means of solving problems collectively. When shall we learn the truth of the old adage "together we stand, divided we fall"? I shall always live in hope, long live India. We shall overcome, some day. And soon, very soon, I hope.