The emerging class formations

A new sense of class formation is blurring the rigid ideas of caste divisions in the society. There is now an intermixing of different castes within the same class

We are living in a time when the country is undergoing a process of class formations. Class formation can take place only when castes show fissures and implications of decline as an institution.

Class is more about the material privileges and caste revolves around the social world. In a class-based society, a Dalit with a Mercedes and a Rajput with his Mercedes would be more similar in attitudes than dissimilar. But in a caste-based society, the duo cannot be neighbours and will be more dissimilar in attitudes than similar. Inequality is a fundamental feature of a caste-based society.

On the other hand, in a country like ours, class formations too would contain multiple characteristics. Put frankly, class formation in India would mean the intermixing of people from all castes and outcastes on a variety of scales — education, profession, income, residential location, modes of transport, and so on.

Further, the class markers attract few more identities: Infants of the underclass would be born in government hospitals and would grab the alphabet in government schools. The middle class children would be born in private hospitals and study in private schools. linguistics will differ too. The underclass will speak vernacular languages, English will belong to someone else.

There is enough proof that Dalits also belong to the middle class howsoever small in number they may be. They also book flats in apartments that are predominantly non-Dalit. There is also evidence that the Dalit middle class is sending its kids to private English-medium schools that are predominantly attended by children from the upper castes.

Howsoever prosperous a nation might be, there will be class distinctions — upper class, upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class, and the underclass. However, the Dalits are now rising up and integrating into a world owned by the upper castes.

However, as far as I can recollect, there is no empirical study that measures a situation where members of the upper castes are taking up jobs that once only Dalits and the lower castes did. There is hardly any study showing that the upper castes too live in the slums or that their children of the upper castes study in Government schools too.

last week, I visited Tronica City where Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), Delhi Chapter, president NK Chandan is setting up a manufacturing unit that will produce industrial safety helmets. In order to source belts used in tying helmets, he visited a factory that manufactures school bags where belts are used.

I accompanied Chandan and while he did his business deals with the factory owner, I took time off to move inside the manufacturing area. I saw 12 women at work. With some hesitation, I asked the owner if he could find out the caste backgrounds of his women employees. “Most will be Dalit”, he replied. When enquired, following results were found:

Upper Caste

•  l Sharma, a Brahmin from Delhi’s Mahendragarh. Husband is a security guard.
• P Dixit, a Brahmin from Gopalganj, Bihar. Husband is a painter.
• A Sharma, Brahmin — unmarried from Azadpur, Delhi.
•  N Singh, a Rajput from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Husband works at a packaging unit. 
•  S Singh, a Rajput from Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Husband is a driver.
•  D Agrawal, a Bania from Jamui, Bihar. Husband is an industrial worker.

OBC

• T Chaurasia, from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Husband is an industrial worker.
•  Rani K, a Kurmi from Nalanda, Bihar. Husband is an industrial worker.
• Rati Rani, a Kanhar from Patna, Bihar. Husband is an industrial worker.
• P Devi, a Saini from Delhi. Husband is an industrial worker.

Others

• Rukhshana, a Muslim from Muzaffarpur, Uttar Pradesh. Husband is an industrial worker.
•  M Maseeh, a Christian from Delhi. Unmarried.

In all cases, spouses worked as security guards, house painters, helpers at grocery shops, etc.