Caste in Colonial Period

• While caste has been a social reality, for quite long it was the British colonial rule that treated caste as the institutional key stone of Indian society.
• Beginning with the first decennial census of 1871, the census became the main instrument of gathering information about the caste system and classifying it.
• British rulers themselves used caste system as one of the instruments of divide and rule. They enforced caste affiliations rigorously.
• They institutionalized caste into the working of governmental institutions. Some castes were treated preferentially for certain jobs, like in police and army, whereas some were branded as criminal.
• Some laws were also passed keeping in view caste affiliations and making those allies of the regime.
• The immediate effect of this, was that it increased caste consciousness and inter-caste competition, because now it was possible for caste relations to outgrow its regional constraints and develop caste associations to bargain some concessions from the British government.
• The national leaders attempted to reduce the differences and subsume the social justice issues in national struggle but could not succeed much.

Views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on caste

Many social movements were launched by social reformers and religious leaders against untouchability in the preindependence period. A number of such movements launched by the Dalits or the Scheduled Castes under the leadership of Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar gained strong momentum. This was reflected in the growing consciousness of the Scheduled Castes, which continues even today. However, the spontaneous revolts and organized struggles launched in different parts of the country against the practice of untouchability and their economic exploitation are not recent phenomena. There had always been anti-untouchability movements throughout the history. But their numbers had increased since the British rule in India and especially during the freedom struggle.

Gandhi and Caste

• Gandhi also said that all the four varnas were equal in status but not equal in opportunity and occupational division. For him, the various systems were not in the form of a hierarchical order. ‘A scavenger had the same status as a Brahmin’. As stated earlier in this unit, he symbolically called untouchables as “Harijans”, that is “the people of God”. Gandhi believed in the unity of various social groups. This was reflected in all his actions like his adoption of an Harijan girl as his own daughter. He voluntarily decided to live with the untouchables to become one with them in appearance and in the standard of living. He even opposed separate electorate for the untouchables because, in his opinion, it could intensify the social division, which already existed in Hinduism. Gandhi had organized the Harijan Sevak Sangh for improving the life of the Harijans. The Sangh started hostels for the school untouchable children and improved work conditions of Harijans.

Ambedkar

• In 1924 he established the Depressed Classes Institute (‘Bahishkrit Hitkarnini Sabha’) in Bombay for the moral and progress of untouchables.  In 1927, he stared a Maratnhi fortnightly, Bahiskrit Bharat and in November 1930, a weekly, the Janata. Another institution that Ambedkar founded, in 1927 was the Samaj Samata Sangh, its objective being to propagate the gospel of social equality among untouchables and caste Hindus.
• In 1927 Ambedkar launched a satyagraha to assert the right of untouchables to draw water from a public tank at Malad, in Kolaba district. In 1930 he led another satyagraha to claim his community’s right to enter the famous temple of Kalaram at Nasik. 
• Meanwhile he was emerging as a leader of the depressed classes, in which capacity he continued to be a nominated member (1926-34) of the Bombay Legislative Council.  He was also an official nominee to the Round Table Conference.  Following the British government’s Communal Award’, Ambedkar and Gandhi signed an accord called the ‘Poona Pact’ which provide for reservation of seats for the community in the general (Hindu) constituencies.
• He founded the Independent Labour Party in 1936 which captured all the scheduled caste seats in Bombay presidency in the 1936-37 general elections.  Later, in 1942, he organised the All-India Scheduled Cates Federation as a political party. To promote the interests of his community he established the Peoples Education Society in July 1945.
• Ambedkar served on the Governor-General’s Executive Council as member for Labour during 1942-46.  Later, the Congress nominated him to the Constituent Assembly in whose deliberations he was to play a prominent role. Apart from being the law minister in Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet, he was also chairman of the Constituent Assembly’s drafting committee.  He also made a signal contribution towards the drafting of the Hindu Code Bill, which made him known as ‘a modern Manu’. His prominent works include Castes in India : their mechanism, genesis and development (1916) and Pakistan or Partition of India (1946).
• In the late 19^th century also the Mahars organised themselves under Gopal Baba Walangkar, an ex-serviceman and demanded more jobs in the army and other government services.

• Caste system – Initiatives in Post-independence Period

  In 1947 India became free and our constitution makers decided that in free India caste should have no place. Accordingly both constitutional and legal steps have been taken to end the system. Some of the important steps, which have been taken in this direction, are as follows:

• The framers of the constitution were committed to the formation of an egalitarian, equitable, fraternal and just society. Constitution, therefore, eliminated caste system, as instrument of discrimination, restrictions of any kind, particularly the practice of untouchability, through fundamental rights of equality, liberty and freedom.
• For all public appointments in public services no consideration is now given to caste. It is the ability of the person, which matters than anything else. The same rule applies to all such bodies, which are receiving financial assistance from the government.
• In order to uplift the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes and other backward classes in the states, seats have been reserved for them for admission to educational institutions and scholarships have also been reserved for them.
• Seats have also been reserved for those belonging to these castes in all the elected bodies including Panchayat Raj institutions, State legislative bodies and in the Parliament.
• Educational qualifications and age relaxation are given in matters of appointments to public bodies and undertakings.
• President appoints a Commissioner for Scheduled Castes who reports to him on (a) the actual implementation of constitutional and legal measures in letter and spirit and (b) suggests steps to be taken to uplift the people belonging to scheduled castes etc. so that they could come up to the level of other sections of the society.
• State governments arrange pre-service entry training classes for caste people so that they are well prepared for the competitive examinations for entry to the public services.
• The people are being awakened against the high handedness of the high caste people against the low caste ones and also about their sufferings.
• Stringenent action is taken against those who violate the provisions of ‘Prohibition of Untouchability Act’.

• Constitution and the scheduled castes

• Before being scheduled and embodied in the Government of India Act 1935 and later in the constitution of free India in 1950, these castes were classified as “exterior” or “depressed” castes or classes. With the coming into force of the constitution of India the scheduled castes have assumed certain essential rights and benefits.
• Under Article 341(1), the Constitution after consultation with the governor of a State may specify, “The castes, races tribes or, parts of groups within castes or races, tribes which shall be denied to be scheduled castes for the purpose of the constitution.”
• However, according to the Article 341(2) the Parliament of India by Law can include or exclude any group from the list of scheduled castes.
• Under Article 46 of the constitution, it is the responsibility of the State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of people and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in particular, and to protect them from social injustices and all forms of exploitation. The Preamble reflects the basic philosophy of the Indian constitution, which stands by the scheduled castes.
• Article 14 of the constitution provides right to equality before law that means, every citizen in the country is equal before law.
• Article 15 prohibits social and educational discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. This article provides that no citizen shall be prevented from access to shops, public restaurants, hotel, place of entertainment, use of public facilities like wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, places of public resort, etc. This also empowers the State to make special provision for advancement of the socially and educationally backward classes of the citizens.
• Article 16 prescribes the equality of opportunity in matters of public appointment. It provides that the State can reserve posts in public services for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• Article 17 of this part of Constitution legally abolishes the practice of untouchability in any form against the Scheduled Castes. This article treats practice of untouchability as a legal offence and the offender is to be punished in accordance with the law. The offender may be imprisoned and or be subjected to fine. Later the provisions made under this article of the Constitution were strengthened and made more stringent under the Untouchability Offences Act in 1955.
• Two Articles 330 and 332 lay down that there shall be reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha (Article 330) and State Legislative Assembly (Article 332) in proportion to the number of the Scheduled Castes in various states.
• And finally, Article 340 the President can appoint a commission to investigate the difficulties under which the socially and educationally backward classes of the citizens and to make recommendations to remove such difficulties.