On the other hand, Scheduled Castes (SCs), which includes dalits, and Scheduled Tribes (STs), also known as tribals, earn 21 per cent and 34 per cent less than the national household income average respectively. Without much economic potential, most traditional lower-caste and low-income families cannot get access to good educational systems, larger and more developed neighbourhoods in urbanised areas, health care, or other necessities. “There is only one Government school till Class 5, and the caste Hindu parents ask their kids to keep a distance from Dalit children in the class,” said Gauri, who was disheartened by the fact that her children have to bear with such prejudices that the society imposes upon her community. “The caste Hindu people even mock us for educating our children.”
In 1990, the national quota for university seats and Government jobs for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes was raised to 49 per cent. Despite such amendments, traditional lower-caste families intrinsically continue the same occupation from generation to generation. According to data from the Indian Human Development Survey (2011-2012), among SCs, only 3.3 per cent of labourers’ sons became professionals, while a staggering 68.4 per cent of labourers’ sons remained labourers. Similarly, among STs, only 2.5 per cent of labourers’ sons become professionals, while 67.5 per cent of labourers’ sons remain labourers. The reason behind this is there is a major risk factor in starting a new life because of the lack of opportunities. “I cannot leave this place and go. We have about five cents [worth of] land and a house in this place. If we go somewhere else, we have to pay rent and start work all over again,” said Gauri.
I was born and brought up in a city called Ranchi in Jharkhand, also known as a tribal State. Growing up, I remember seeing dark-skinned, indigent locals, waiting outside the house gates in desperate search for a source of livelihood. I never understood what was happening, until now. The State was formed in 2000, as an Adivasi State, to safeguard the tribals’ land rights and eradicate any discrimination towards their community; but this only made them more defenceless. The Chotanagpur Plateau, where Jharkhand is situated, is rich in mineral resources and home to many tribes; but, many of these tribes have lost their homes due to development activities. Mining, dams, and factories have become excuses for the displacement of these tribes, leaving them destitute with amorphous cultural identities. Despite being a tribal State, the official religion of the tribes, Sarna, is not even included in the religious census data. Since their ancestral lands are seized and they are left jobless, the relentless displacement has downsized their population to a mere 28 per cent on paper. This raises questions about how successfully the Government has implemented the promise of an Adivasi State.
I was brought up in a place where I was surrounded by people from a ‘lower’ socio-economic background, without ever realising it. Before joining a boarding school, I studied in a school where some of my closest friends were Adivasi. Everything felt normal to me, just as it was supposed to be.
But as I moved away from home, I realised there is taboo around such people. They are considered inferior, untouchable; but have we ever asked why? Do we even have a reason to consider them inferior? The answer lies in exposure. In big cities, where they are subjected to most prejudice, people are not used to perceiving these disadvantaged communities as anything more than sweepers or cleaners. I realised, they do not find them as normals I do--and that’s what needs to change.
Caste can only cease to exist through changes in the mindset, not in the laws; the Government can only implement laws that support these changes. The idea of caste that clings to most Indians will only fade by eradicating the labels that define them. The only way India can become truly egalitarian is by understanding communities like Gauri’s and communities like mine, by accepting their culture. Before perceiving someone as a Dalit or an Adivasi, we must recognise them as part of the same brotherhood, the same country, the same human race. As Gauri believes, “one day, my children will be able to bring a change in this system.”
A change that will hopefully break the walls of stigma that surround Indian communities.
Syma Sahu is a student of class XII Woodstock school Mussoorie.
