CPI (Muddled)

It is clear by now that the announcement of caste-based reservations is causing people to identify themselves and each other on caste lines all across the country, writes Samrat.

It is clear by now that the announcement of caste-based reservations is causing people to identify themselves and each other on caste lines all across the country, from Assam to the Andamans. This cannot be the way to a casteless society. It is unfortunate that all political parties have gone along with the move. The role of the Left parties is especially disappointing.

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I’d always thought CPI stood for the Communist Party of India, and CPI(M) for the Communist Party of India (Marxist). However, it now seems that I was mistaken: CPI is behaving like the Casteist Party of India and CPI(M) like the Casteist Party of India (Mandal).

Communism looks at society in terms of class. It recognises only two basic classes, the bourgeois and the proletariat. Accepting a religiously ordained system of social stratification like caste is quite clearly against the most fundamental principles of communism. Yet, that is what both these political parties have done. In deciding, time and again, to support the Mandalisation of society, they have betrayed both their hunger for power, and the ideals they pretend to espouse.

Perhaps they were concerned about the fact that their leadership since Independence has been predominantly high-caste. In that case, they should have done something about inner party democracy. They should also have fought to demolish the caste system itself. Instead, they accepted it as a historical reality. By accepting the paradigm of caste, they became followers of Manu and Mandal rather than Marx.

The caste system is an anachronism that needs to be removed from Indian society. This can only be done if the terms in which people identify themselves and one another are changed. Therefore, to begin with, all surnames that indicate a person’s caste should be dropped.

The terms of the debate about equality of opportunity need to be changed. No sensible person would argue against equality of opportunity. However, it is difficult to accept that only people from certain castes are backward, especially considering the absence of empirical data on this. Instead of framing the argument for equality on caste terms, a more modern way would be to devise deprivation indices to the population. The communists ought to have no problems with all backward people being identified as such, regardless of caste.

If after identifying the backward in a scientific manner, it is found that a certain percentage of the population need a helping hand, they should be given all help. It is a mammoth task, but it needs doing.