Reforming Caste In Modern India – By CH.J.V.K.S. SWAROOP
Recently Debates regarding taking caste-based census have raised questions about whether caste still matters in modern India, yes caste has been subjected to considerable debate and reform in Indian society predating the struggle for independence and a constant accomplishment to the same as well it is evidenced that contours of caste have been reformed in several positive ways in past 75 years of independent India.Historical perception of caste as a social questionIndia’s Caste-based discrimination has been started from the time of the later Vedic period in this period society became rigid and was divided into 4 castes they are 1) Brahmins 2) Kshatriyas 3) Vaishyas 4) Sudras this kind of discrimination was continued till the time of pre-independence during this period caste system seen as a social question. Caste become a core of Pre independent society but it was a period where there was some cognition of issues linked to discrimination and exploitation on basis of caste and the other hand cast continued to be the basis of the organization of communities at large, It was a subject of social reform which necessitated the creation of more universal opportunities in sectors such as education and jobs by the Organisations. Since pre-independence, there have been deliberate efforts for inclusion through actions of voluntary organisations, by several social reformers, and efforts by activists and advocates to open previously denied spaces such as drinking water commons and access to temples to castes which were denied earlier.In this period social discrimination has been seeded as a social question which means society alone should take an action on the caste system but after the pre-independence era State played a very key role in mobilising underprivileged sections of society.
The state became a key Indicator in mobilising underprivileged sections of society When the state started its intervention, it faced many debates during policy formulation Caste discrimination was a subject of considerable debate in the Constituent Assembly and the adoption of specific provisions for the prevention of discrimination and there is a shift of domain of caste reform to the political and economic sphere was seen during this period that was not just restricted to the social sphere as in the pre-independence era During this period, transformation in the agency of the castes were seen, who were previously labelled only as victims, depressed, and lacking a voice. The transformation of the state agency can be seen in the changes like the affirmative action, the articulation of atrocities as a crime, Dalit associations among business has been raised by recently published that 6% of MSME in India are owned by Dalit community & there is a Recognition of Dalit Rights overall India A Dalit is no longer content to be a passive victim but seeks to be an active interlocutor in events. Also, this is seen as a matter of right and not as a favour to be granted by the state authorities. But Associated with this state has seen many transformative issues like uneven transformation: Transformative actions about caste have not been easy and are highly uneven. Hard to change the structure: Institutionalisation of practices such as reservations in education, jobs, and election of people’s representatives has been much easier than the transformations in the structure of the institutions and the texture of actual governance. Initiation of transformation: The transformations initiated by reservation and their outcomes gave an impetus to the mobilization and organization of other castes. But many challenges still prevail in society Even after 75 years of independence, the recognition of Indian society as an equal society has not been achieved. Lower caste and several sections of the Dalits bear the unfair burden of this inequality, The predominance of Dalits in slums in the cities can be seen as an expression of their legacy of exclusion from the villages, proving that cities as a force of liberation for the Dalits, while some of the meanings of what caste means in social discourse have blurred and transformed, there are ways in which the imagination of the caste has become more entrenched. For example, some studies show that digital space is highly casteist. Caste dominance in politics: Elections at almost all levels of the government accept and are built on caste equations and mobilizations is wrong.
The transformation shift of the state agency in the past years has been responsible for expanding the opening given by the constitutional commitment, Today, the Indian society is maybe far from a casteless society but it has made progress towards a society where dispensation of privilege based on birth is contested and challenged. A review of efforts in the last 75 years indicates that the people of India have been successful in changing the contours of the caste question but were not that successful in creating effective alternate principles for the inclusion and distribution of opportunities. However, the track for a positive change has certainly been set in motion. But there is raising new kind of discrimination in India that is upper class and lower class it truly based upon the way of life, raising urbanisation leading to this kind of discrimination this should be concentrated by governments because Indian urban population accounted for 55% of total India population.