Monday, July 29, 2019
What does it mean to oppose Brahmanism?
Anyone who adheres to the principles of the Indian Constitution is automatically anti-Brahmanical
A few months ago, a chilling report appeared in Deccan Herald stating that in 2017, 210 cases of atrocities against Dalits occurred in the urban districts of Bengaluru and 106 in its rural districts. Likewise, Kerala reported 883 cases of such crimes between June 2016 and April 2017. Other reports said that there has been a 66% growth in crimes against Dalits in the 10-year period of 2007-2017.
The horror of these statistics is made vivid when one examines concrete events. On April 12 this year, 200 people attacked a small group of Dalits for swimming in the Bhadra river in Karnataka. As they thrashed these people, the perpetrators screamed that the river belongs exclusively to the upper castes. Evidently, Article 15 of our Constitution is not worth the paper it is printed on. It remains toothless, impotent, ineffective.
What kind of thinking underlies these brutal attacks of social violence in which innocent folk are targeted merely because they belong to a particular caste? Since most atrocities revolve around the basic issues of land, wages and entitlements, poverty and powerlessness are viewed as the cause of such violence.
But such explanations do not go deep enough because they leave out the prime mover behind such atrocities — Brahmanism. This precisely was B.R. Ambedkar’s contention, who argued that without a robust movement against Brahmanism, Dalit emancipation is impossible. But then, we must ask what exactly is being opposed? What are the core features of Brahmanism?
Not ‘anti-Brahmin’
For a start, opposing ‘Brahmanism’ does not entail being ‘anti-Brahmin’. To do so would imply that all Brahmins are responsible for these atrocities. This is as preposterous as ascribing blame to all Muslims for any wrong committed in, say, the reign of Alauddin Khilji, or all British people for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre or, for that matter, all Hindus for the lynching of an innocent Muslim. We should not fall prey to this crude notion of collective responsibility. In a society which is riven by caste, a person may belong to the caste of Brahmins but not adhere to the core ethic of Brahmanism. He may even have morally disassociated himself from it. The resolution to burn the Manusmriti and thereby oppose Brahmanism was taken by Ambedkar jointly with G.S. Sahasrabuddhe, a chitpavan Brahmin.
Indeed, Ambedkar went even further. In a speech at the G.I.P. Railways Depressed Caste Workers’ Conference in 1938, he claimed that “when I say that Brahmanism is an enemy that must be dealt with, I do not mean the power, privilege or interests of Brahmins as a community”. On the face of it, this seems odd. For, what else could Brahmanism be except a defence of the power, privilege and interests of Brahmins as a community? In fact, this statement is not that perplexing.
Take an instance from our own history. The Rig Vedic society of 1500 BCE had a community of ritual specialists that transmitted its ritual related know-how from one generation to another. Others, the political rulers or ordinary householders, did not possess it. This group of Brahmins was granted some privilege on account of the knowledge it possessed. For satisfying the ‘religious’ needs of members of other communities, the group was even accorded respect not owed to others.
This produced an inequality but the resulting hierarchy was fluid, contingent and reversible. This contingently generated superiority of Brahmins was not systemic or integral to the structure of society, and therefore not necessarily demeaning to others. This sacrifice-centred Vedic Brahmanism is not to be conflated with the Brahmanism Ambedkar despised and wished to destroy. One should refuse to conflate the privilege of such ritual-performing Brahmins with Brahmanism.
A deeply conservative ideology
What then is Brahmanism? It is a sociopolitical ideology that encodes a memory of an ideal past and a vision of society in the future, one in which Brahmins occupy the highest place not only as exclusive guardians of a higher, spiritual realm but also as sole providers of wisdom on virtually every practical issue of this world. They possess superior knowledge of what a well-ordered society is and how a good state must be run. More importantly, their superior position in society and their superior knowledge stems from birth. This makes them naturally, intrinsically superior to all other humans, so superior that they form a separate species (jati) altogether. Nothing can challenge or alter this fact. No one becomes a Brahmin, but is born so.
A person’s acts may determine the position he occupies in the next life, but not in this one. Of course, this is true not only of Brahmins but of every other jati. The position of each jati is unalterably fixed at birth. The ati-shudra, the ‘untouchable’, is born into and therefore must occupy the lowest, most inferior rank; no action of his can alter this fact. This sociopolitical ideology makes hierarchy necessary, rigid and irreversible.
The hierarchical social order, it follows, corresponds to the natural order of things. No one can exchange his position with that of another, or move up or down. Any attempt to do so is morally wrong. Dalits, according to this view, must remain in ‘their place’ and if they try to move up, they must be put down.
Brahmanism then is the most perfect form of conservatism, a status quoist ideology par excellence, entirely suitable to elites who wish to perpetuate their social status, power and privilege. Paradoxically, this is the also the reason why it spread everywhere in India and beyond and why it endures: regardless of your religio-philosphical world view, if you are a privileged elite, you would find this ideology irresistible.
So, there can be Brahmanical Buddhists or Jains. And those who convert to, say, Islam or Christianity may still continue to embrace this sociopolitical ideology. Many Muslims and Christians, for all practical purposes, are Brahmins or Thakurs who continue to inferiorise Muslim or Christian Dalits.
Brahmanism naturalises existing power, privilege and higher status. The kings love it, the wealthy merchants and landlords are happy with it. Indeed, because it gives them power over ati-shudras, even the high-placed shudras in this system of graded inequality are willing to acquiesce to it. In short, everyone at the top finds it appealing because everyone below is required to carry out the task as dictated by his current social position and to not ask for more. Anyone who consents to, endorses or justifies this hierarchical order, regardless of his caste, creed or gender, is then a ‘Brahmanist’.
Because this ideology is fundamentally against any kind of social mobility, it restricts individual freedom; because it is totally enamoured of hierarchy, it is ineluctably inegalitarian; and because it separates one group of human beings from another, it is deeply incompatible with any idea of fraternity. No wonder Ambedkar defined Brahmanism as the negation of the spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity. This makes Brahmanism and the Indian Constitution fundamentally opposed to one another. Anyone who sincerely adheres to the core principles of the Indian Constitution is automatically anti-Brahmanical. And one committed to Brahmanism disabled from embracing the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
Rajeev Bhargava is a political theorist with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi
Source: The Hindu, 23/07/2019
Why do women have to conform all the time?
So many of us have felt burdened to become the perfect wife, the perfect daughter-in-law, the perfect mother — because that is what this society expects of its women.
If you are a girl or woman past your 30s in India, chances are a big portion of your childhood memories consists of grown-ups constantly telling you how girls were supposed to sit and walk and talk and sleep and how you were not supposed to indulge in a variety of activities — a list that grew in size as time went by. Someone at some point had decided what a girl’s ideal behaviour was supposed to be and thus every girl was now supposed to act in a manner that would be in line with others’ expectations and earn her the title of “a good girl”. Don’t spend too much time in the sun, don’t stay out late with your friends, dress properly and modestly, don’t attract attention on the streets, don’t go out alone in the evenings — the list went on and on and on. And if you happened to be one of those girls with a mind of her own and who wanted to live life by her own rules, then you were immediately branded a bad girl and a problem that all your relatives now felt they had to play a role in fixing.
How many of us have felt disillusioned and lost? We grew up getting ready to become successful women gainfully employed or running a business and in control of our own lives where we were free to make our own choices. Rather, so many of us felt burdened to become the perfect wife, the perfect daughter-in-law, the perfect mother — because that is what this society expects of you. And if you aren’t all of those, then be prepared to be called out and shamed and bullied openly and loudly. And such shaming and bullying would take various forms — verbally and through judging glances, privately within the house and openly in public, by those closest to us and others we could hardly care about. And we as women have dealt with this phenomenon forever.
With the advent of social media and the way it has permeated our lives, I see a lot more shaming and bullying online these days as people take comfort in hiding behind their screens and are so much quicker to play judge, jury and executioner, when they come across someone who dares to break out of the mould that has been assigned to her. Women across the world are fighting for equal rights, the freedom to make choices for their own bodies, for equal pay in the workplace and so much more, and we can make meaningful progress only if we are able to pull together to support each other and raise each other up. Can we as a society, stop shaming women who refuse to conform to unfair societal norms and choose to celebrate them instead?
And to that girl or woman who chose to break out of that suffocating mould and chose to trailblaze her own path to her own destination, I have nothing but respect and love for her courage and drive. Go be who you want to be and do what you want to do and find your happiness your own way. Because to a growing tribe, you are not a tomboy, ambitious, opinionated, or other such labels. To us, you are a force that is unstoppable!
Source: Hindustan Times, 29/07/2019
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Indian Economic and Social History Review: Table of Contents
Volume 56 Issue 2, April-June 2019
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 119–145
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 147–169
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First Published May 7, 2019; pp. 171–194
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 195–226
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Book Reviews
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 227–230
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 230–232
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 232–234
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 235–237
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 237–241
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First Published May 22, 2019; pp. 241–245
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DU Recruitment: Delhi University is hiring 869 professors, associate and assistant professors. Here’s how to apply
Delhi University has advertised about the recruitment of professors, associate professors and assistant professors. There are a total of 869 vacancies in Delhi University. Check full details here.
Delhi University has advertised about the recruitment of professors, associate professors and assistant professors. There are a total of 869 vacancies in Delhi University.
The last date to apply for the post of professor -- August 8.
The last date to apply for the post of assistant professor --- July 27
The last date to apply for the post of associate professor -- August 4
Vacancy Details:
Professor- 166 vacancies ---- Check department wise vacancy break-up here
Associate professor- 428 vacancies --Check department wise vacancy break-up here
Assistant professor- 275 vacancies-- Check department wise vacancy break-up here
How to apply:
“Online applications are invited in the prescribed Application Form from eligible candidates for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor, in the Academic Pay Level 10 of 7th Central Pay Commission Pay Matrix, in various Departments of the University. The last date for receipt of application is 23.07.2019 or two weeks from the date of publication of the advertisement in the Employment News, whichever is later. For details, please visit the University website www.du.ac.inand click “Jobs and Opportunities” under the Head “Work with DU”. Any addendum/corrigendum shall be posted only,” the official notice reads.
Eligibility criteria:
For the disciplines of Arts, Commerce, Humanities, Law, Social Sciences, Sciences, Languages and Library Science.
Professor:
An eminent scholar having a Ph.D. Degree in the concerned/allied/relevant discipline, and published work of high quality, actively engaged in research with evidence of published work with, a minimum of 10 research publications in the peer-reviewed or UGC-listed journals and a total research score of 120 as per the criteria laid down in the Screening Guidelines annexed with this advertisement.
(ii) A minimum of ten years of teaching experience in University/College as Assistant Professor/ Associate Professor/ Professor, and / or research experience at equivalent level at the University/National level Institutions with evidence of having successfully guided doctoral candidate.
Associate Professor: A good academic record, with a Ph.D. Degree in the concerned/allied/relevant disciplines.
ii) A master’s degree with at least 55% marks (or an equivalent grade in a point-scale, wherever the grading system is followed).
iii) A minimum of eight years of experience of teaching and/or research in an academic/research position equivalent to that of Assistant Professor in a University, College or accredited research Institution/Industry with a minimum of seven publicationsin the peer-reviewed or UGC-listed journals. A total research score of seventy five (75) as per the criteria given in the Screening Guidelines for this post annexed to this advertisement.
Assistant Professor:
A Master’s degree with 55% marks (or an equivalent grade in a point-scale wherever the grading system is followed) in a concerned/relevant /allied subject from an Indian University, or an equivalent degree from an accredited foreign University.
2) Besides fulfilling the above qualifications, the candidate must have cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the UGC or the CSIR (exemption from NET shall be granted in accordance with clause (ii) & (iii) of General Note in the last section of this document).
Source: Hindustan Times, 25/07/2019
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