Recently, some one wrote on FaceBook:
"For the past few days, I have been noticing some friends uploading some posters on their walls seeking pride for the respective castes they belong to. The sentence remains the same; the name of the caste changes depending on who is seeking pride.
This is both sick and funny. In Indian history, every caste is found to have done something horrendous at some point of time that its members must be embarrassed about in this modern age. First, identifying with this unscientific classification is regression. Second, if you must relate to it, have the moral courage to own up your mistakes as well: from persecutions to capitulations to manipulations."
I do not see anything wrong in one celebrating success by any caste provided they also own the horrendous treatment of other castes, especially the downtrodden castes. For example, I am proud of my "caste"; I am a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin. We are a community of just about 20,000 world-wide, but have incredible achievements. One of us (Sir B Narsing Rao) was one of the drafters of the Indian Constitution. We have had four star generals and Air Chief Marshals (a distant uncle of mine), and we have had some of the finest Bollywood producers and directors. There are literally thousands of doctors, professors, engineers among us. It is virtually impossible to find among us non-college educated, and almost no one goes to bed hungry. That is certainly an achievement worth celebrating about.
And yet I am ashamed of the way our temple musicians, who are usually of lower caste (so-called untouchables, perform from outside the temple and yet are not allowed inside the temple. But then I am also very proud that my father treated everyone alike and even allowed the so-called untouchables inside our house even for food. That is the way I was brought up, to treat all human beings respectfully. That is worth celebrating too.
Caste system can peacefully and amicably coexist with decency and respect for each other if there is a will.
"For the past few days, I have been noticing some friends uploading some posters on their walls seeking pride for the respective castes they belong to. The sentence remains the same; the name of the caste changes depending on who is seeking pride.
This is both sick and funny. In Indian history, every caste is found to have done something horrendous at some point of time that its members must be embarrassed about in this modern age. First, identifying with this unscientific classification is regression. Second, if you must relate to it, have the moral courage to own up your mistakes as well: from persecutions to capitulations to manipulations."
I do not see anything wrong in one celebrating success by any caste provided they also own the horrendous treatment of other castes, especially the downtrodden castes. For example, I am proud of my "caste"; I am a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin. We are a community of just about 20,000 world-wide, but have incredible achievements. One of us (Sir B Narsing Rao) was one of the drafters of the Indian Constitution. We have had four star generals and Air Chief Marshals (a distant uncle of mine), and we have had some of the finest Bollywood producers and directors. There are literally thousands of doctors, professors, engineers among us. It is virtually impossible to find among us non-college educated, and almost no one goes to bed hungry. That is certainly an achievement worth celebrating about.
And yet I am ashamed of the way our temple musicians, who are usually of lower caste (so-called untouchables, perform from outside the temple and yet are not allowed inside the temple. But then I am also very proud that my father treated everyone alike and even allowed the so-called untouchables inside our house even for food. That is the way I was brought up, to treat all human beings respectfully. That is worth celebrating too.
Caste system can peacefully and amicably coexist with decency and respect for each other if there is a will.
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