Even utterly committed leftists have overlooked caste discrimination in India. They have focused on the industrialists but always ignored untouchability
In the east Uttar Pradesh countryside, there is a parliamentary constituency named Ghosi. It cuts through the northern parts of Azamgarh district. Most parts of the district Mau Nath Bhanjan that was carved out of Azamgarh fall in Ghosi. The Ghosi constituency has Bihar on its east side and Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh to its north.
Between the borders of the Mau Nath Bhanjan and Gorakhpur districts flows the river Ghaghra. On the right bank of the river is situated a town called Dohar Ghat that falls in the Mau Nath Bhanjan district and on the left bank of the river is a town called Gola that falls in the district Gorakhpur. A large bridge connects both the towns.
Both Dohari Ghat and Gola double up as places of pilgrimages for Hindus on a particular day — Kartik Purnima — that falls in the month of November. A miniature version of Kumbh of Prayag, the mela begins with sunset and concludes the next morning after sunrise. Women, men and children take dips in the river during sunrise.
Something spectacular would happen beyond the mela during my childhood. During the overnight mela, the Communist Party of India’s local unit would set up a large pandal and platform on one side of the road, and the Congress party would set up a similar platform on the other side. leaders from both sides would give speeches all night accusing each other of disservice towards the people of India.
While the Congress leaders would take credit for the Independence movement and pro-poor policies — Garibi Hatao, for instance — people relished narratives that sprang from the Communist Party platform. “Tatas, Birlas, Dalmias are all blood-suckers”, they would say at regular intervals. “Till the mansion was being built, workers would live in those upcoming structures. Once the building was ready and whitewashed, workers would be hounded out. Is it justiceIJ” “No, never!” the audience would say in loud voices.
The left leaders would cite the total expenditure incurred on a foreign vacation by an industrialist. “With that money, we can build a hundred primary schools and a few colleges”. “Shame, shame”, the audience would now turn into a crowd.
“Their one bottle of imported Scotch equals your son’s college fees for the entire year”. The audience would turn abusive towards the industrialists. “The amount of money they spent in buying ice-creams for their kids would be more than the salary of one of his employees”, they would thunder. “The price of the lipstick madam industrialist buys would be more than the price of the saree a worker’s wife wears”, they would argue.
“Have you seen an industrialist sweatingIJ”, the leaders would enter in conversation with the crowd. “The money madam industrialist spends on her diamond necklace can save lakhs of poor people from starvation”.
“Their dogs and cats eat better than their workers”, the speakers would conclude. “Hang them”, the hysterical crowd would demand.
“Madam industrialist would carry their pet on their laps at times but wouldn’t even look at their workers’ kids.”
In the end, an industrialist is a vampire, a crook, lazy, greedy and sadist. A villain, the industrialist was hated by all in my native place, and most certainly in the Ghosi Parliamentary constituency.
What, however, the left leaders would never flash in their narrative was why the upper caste people in the very Dohari Ghat neighbourhood would wash the plate that a dog had touched and used but would throw away a plate that was touched by a Dalit.
I ask my childhood friends and contemporaries who participated in the Dohari Ghat political wrestling if they can recall an occasion when untouchability was ever debatedIJ The answers are in negative. Was the brutality of landlords ever debatedIJ “Never”, say my friends from the upper castes.
I am addressing this question because I am dismayed at a variety of people — from thinkers to white collared workers rejoicing that Mr Birla and Ambani are booked for some ‘crimes’.
Are Indian industrialists vampiresIJ
I will debate the issue next Sunday.