Cast away caste before it hurts more

Dalit rights infringement and violence against them have always been a subject of concern in a country where the community still experiences large-scale discrimination in almost every sphere of life. In highly literate Karnataka too, such violations of Dalit rights keep happening time and again despite vigorous campaigns carried out by social rights organisations and the government itself. A week ago, Karnataka woke up to the agonizing story coming in from Hubballi-Dharwad where a pregnant young woman who had dared to marry the Dalit youth she was in love with, was murdered by her father who belongs to an upper caste.

The young couple had decided to get married despite fierce opposition from the girl’s family and had returned to their native village just a few days ago only to experience the horrible attack which left the girl dead and the husband grieving for life. On Saturday, another horrific incident happened in Yallapur where a Dalit woman was murdered by a man from another community after she refused to marry him. The incident continues to reverberate in the region with various organisations calling for strict action in this regard.

Oppressed for centuries because of an obnoxious caste system which virtually imprisoned them in the lower rungs of society, the Dalits have never received their due whether it be jobs, education, social status or other privileges. Though every textbook for every class stresses on the need to get rid of the evil caste system and ensure equality and rights for everyone on the same scale, it hardly happens in realty. The prejudices against those of other castes runs pretty deep and whether it be social events, marriages, political alliances or even contesting elections, caste always looms in the shadows ensuring that all choices whether they be poll candidates or marriage alliance partners, are made as per the set caste norms.

There are many social reformers and experts who had contended that with the passage of time and the continuous impact of education and reform programmes, people would no longer accord caste the importance it hitherto commanded and would go on with their daily lives not bothering for it. That has hardly happened with the younger generation forced to give in to the preferences of caste conscious elders at the cost of their true feelings. Most of them are wary of living the life of ‘outcasts’ which happens to those who dare to defy the rules.

And as the Hubballi incident proved, families neither forgive nor forget and parents could go to extreme lengths even if it means taking the life of their dearest ones. Unless the government and social organisations make sure that those defying the norm and cutting across caste barriers get all the protection and respect they deserve, such gory incidents like the Inamveerapur murder could happen again and even.  

They should also ensure that punishment of the most severe kind is handed out to those who dare to be so cruel to innocent souls who have crossed the caste divide.  Caste after all is an artificial system hoisted on us by those who lived centuries ago in different times. It is high time we decided to ignore it and got on with our lives, keeping lofty concepts like freedom, equality, justice and human dignity high in our minds.