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Weekly Reflections: Week 3

Vaibhavi Awasthi

Kautilya School of Public Policy, GITAM (Deemed to be University)

PPOL6091: Leaders and Leadership in History

Dr Moshik Temkin, Course Instructor

Date of Submission: December 17, 2023

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Caste System in India: Leaders and the Fading Representation of their Values

Caste evolved as Varna System in the Early Vedic Period, to compartmentalize occupations

into mainly four domains- Brahmins (Educators), Kshatriyas (Warriors), Vaishyas (Traders &

Businessperson) & Shudras (Artisans, Labourers or Servants). A fifth and alienated group

was that of the untouchables or the Dalits. Even though leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and

B.R. Ambedkar fought for the rights of Dalits before and after India got its Independence, the

current scenarioS of caste system in India is an abhorrent reflection of how historical

privilege precedes the present rights of Indian citizens. The Indian Constitution provides for

all sorts of equality among its citizen regardless of their sex, caste, religion, race, colour,

language, etc. It has laid special provision for the upliftment of the lowest strata of the Indian

society, both in terms of social and economic backwardness. Reservation system in India is a

part of the corrective policy measures which were taken to ensure equity in representation of

the less privileged citizens in education and employment. With decades of having such

corrective measures in place, Indian society still struggles with caste-based oppression. A

pregnant Dalit woman got killed in Uttar Pradesh for drinking water from the community

well. Another Dalit man was murdered for having the audacity to keep a moustache for his

wedding. Even Dalit kids have never been spared from caste-based violence. Students like

Rohit Vemula have to contemplate whether to win everyday battles of societal exclusion or to

give up their lives.

In almost every village & city in India (6.5 Lacs villages and 4000 cities), at least one statue

of both Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar can be found. We have roads and societies

named after these two men who were one of the greatest advocates of equality and justice.

While both the policies and the social environment acknowledges and encourages to establish

a dominance ridden state, the question is why people would still prefer to choose violence

and discrimination, given how fast paced our economy has become where most people
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struggle to earn their livelihood. Is it because leaders like Gandhi and Ambedkar were

ineffective in ensuring that even laws if kept in place would restore the sanctity of an equal

society? Is it easy for people to look at their leaders, reflect on their history yet repeat the

same instances which dehumanized a major part of the population? If yes, why is it

convenient for people to carry on with such hypocrisy while taking pride over their leaders

who in the first place condemned such actions. Is this discrimination a result of fear of giving

away the privileges and the power by the elite minority? If yes, why is this fear bigger than

the deterrence of law which encompasses stringent anti-discrimination clauses. Did the

leaders take this fear of losing privileges by the elites for granted and placed blind faith in the

good conscience of their people, only to end up being a hollow representation of values in the

actions of their pupil?