To be born as a human

To be born as a human, and to be acknowledged as one, seems to be such a big deal in this part of the world. It truly is heart wrenching. I was reading this market media headline that has Rohith Vemula’s mother asserting as she pleaded that “Rohith was born as a Dalit”. This, as competing forces, as is the case in this squatter ensconced degraded society, fighting to prove who is what as the poignancy of suicide of a young scholar was relegated as far from discourse as possible. While the market driven casteist media gleefully put it across with all its manipulative skills, which surely can be traced to hallowed traditions of sanctum scums, meanwhile effete elites playing liberal intellectuals were seen negotiating their own little world that mimicked higher ethical values with dextrous word plays and clever defecation herewith while remaining deeply dug in putrid pit. The calmness of it, the self-assuredness, is what baffles me all the time. This kind of entitled immunity from the miserable realities of surrounding that is sustained and nurtured can be only orchestrated by psychopaths or people with deeply flawed value system. That they hide behind the garb of religion and tradition makes it truly horrible and sinister. That a semiliterate mother is forced to utter these as part of justifying son’s cause and redeem her dead son showcases to what deep levels of moral bankruptcy this society has stooped to. Not that there was any moral ethical context to begin with, this amazingly primitive society.

Rohith Vemula was born as a human, he may not been treated as one, but he took his life to maintain his dignity as a human. Any infringement of this sanctity is unpardonable, and will be dealt with all the severity that it demands. There is constant effort by squatter ensconced elite to carve out “Dalit” identity. In this crude world humans are not born as humans but something else that crass elite will assign and then squeeze for benefits. That is why casteism is much heinous and sinister than racism as it fails to see humans as humans, the outside world cannot be so careless and inhuman to not recognize this serious violations of human rights.

Natural extensions of physical features influenced by geographical climatic factors are no distinction but a social construct that has been recognised by civilised people around the world. The reason why racism is dealt with zero tolerance, so is sexism, therefore asserting the inviolability of human beings. Some crude people may still see physical distinction as source for their prejudices and hence discrimination, these are being dealt severely. This little background is necessary to put in context the sinister nature of casteism and degraded people who cunningly orchestrate these miseries. To be able to distinguish and discriminate people who are similar in every conceivable way and have been staying for ages in the same region, locality, and neighbourhood sometimes within the family on a fiction perpetuated by very cunning people needs special mention in the annals of brutalities perpetuated by human societies. Taking these degraded ways as basis and inviolable reason to place innocent hapless people in fanciful hierarchy and brutal prejudices that it sustains, biases of inhuman level, and the worst being making it hereditary. Therefore genes as basis of distinction is created from nowhere. There are also crude stories created to sustain these through control of narrations, that is pushed through mythology and now constantly rubbed through popular media. Contexts changes but the intent remains the same, you could see these being normalised through TV serials, movies, literature (the degradation happens in all languages in differing level of disgust and traditional nuances herewith, zestfully sold as diversity), or even in as benign as science or technology. The reason why nothing from this part of the world stands the scrutiny of standard or quality and remains mediocre and only degrades further with more effort, as they work with minimum of competence, connected as they are with camaraderie and high humility references, though there is always an indication of high intention (better ‘pure’ intention). Herein alive the entitled elite riding the misery with characteristic immunity as they negotiate modern ways by playing liberal and awe the outside world with their moral piety and angst driven concerns. So we have higher and higher grand standing in amazingly deteriorated world, so much concern for human rights in possibly the tardiest judicial system that has no concern for human being is astounding. Ironically, placing themselves in this pit, they not only classify themselves as liberals but also carve out right wing narration as representing conservatives and therefore a threat, hence position themselves as saviours.

“Dalit” can be a classification only in context to discrimination, for those who were dehumanised as never was done by any society anywhere in the world nor can anyone even conceive. “Dalit” is not an identity nor is it a community, some may claim to get benefits that they surely deserve, as an antidote to nepotism driven feudal society that works on god blessed entitlements and has absolutely no concern for poorest and systemically marginalised. Every possible statistics will point to a willful and systematic negligence, concurrently mediocre nature of society without any significant competence to lay claim on. Therefore this clever depraved strategy to classify to create “Dalit community” is nothing but self-justification and assertion as it gives legitimacy to casteism as representing many communities, a vision of ‘unity in diversity’, an attempt towards normalising discrimination and to create a compassionate world within the pit. That is why MKGandhi became an alibi for mahatma, he was posited as an enlightened soul (which ofcourse he wasn’t) hence authenticated the depraved discriminatory narration (that he is now being revealed in Africa is no surprise, segregation mindset exhibits wherever it goes) by rubbing in further misery. Gandhi very cleverly worked out, keeping the sensitivities of power structure that he sought to tap, the need to remove ‘caste based discriminations’ without any hint at casteism thus charmed his way through squatter ensconced scrutiny towards higher moral grounds and special camaraderie, an understanding that casteist feudal have found lots of use since. Amazingly depraved people, while keeping all their depravity alive, easily acquired gandhian glow and sashayed the world in awe inspiring ease. It may be noted that many enlightened souls over the centuries as also rational quaint people with egalitarian mindset called for complete rejection of heinous casteism that had severely degraded the society and created an appalling level of dehumanisation (indeed Ambedkar quite appropriately called for “annihilation”). You cannot remove race based discrimination without removing racism, the same logic holds for casteism. But clever casteist feudals masking liberal know that this is the end game as this will quite clearly showcase their true colours and disturbing hometruths hence this frenzy to impose Gandhi.   

Ridiculously casteist feudal indian elite now posit ‘Dalit’ as community with even literature and art!! It is as if people cannot be seen as humans. I can understand tribal art as they lived in forest for thousands of years and were mostly isolated from mainstream for geographical reasons, and therefore quite close to nature like the aborigines. But to divide people living among us as different with even different literature and culture (?!) is undoubtedly cruel and devious that has few parallels in human civilisation. It is so devious that now we will have to even redefine the word ‘community’ to factor in this Indian degradation. It is a sinister attempt by scheming section who have been toying with souls of people for long time now, it is an attempt to not only normalise these inhuman contexts, but also showcase themselves as civilised. There is also dubious sickularism at work and this high intention gives effete elite right to divide people and rearrange according to their will, and yes all the while remain at the helm and tighten the grip with debauched blessing and camaraderie. There is an attempt drawn to see a parallel between Afro-American (i.e. black) and “dalit”, and the elite section therefore position themselves as kindred souls and try close the gap with the enlightened section in the West (who show genuine concern and go all the way to remove racism) and pose to save the world. Dubiously, as they try to elevate themselves from this self-defeating morass, they are careful not to acknowledge their casteist realities which they actively participate and nurture. It is as if the disgusting traditions are normal, which obviously they are the prime beneficiary with little of talents and non-existent competence, meanwhile exhibiting lots of humility that they keep sharing and comparing with each other indeed many times the only defining factor!! The emergent problem for these people seems to be how different people living in their respective pits interact with other, as they putrefy and dig further. Gandhian tolerance germinate from this putrefaction and when taken out and showcased to the world looks a clincher (some even see Jesus!!), and the recalcitrant West didn’t find it necessary to scrutinise. Gandhi says “there is no god higher than truth”! Yes there is and it is called kindness. His insistence on truth (satyagraha, an attempt at sanskritisation to please the casteist feudal powerbrokers) was at the expense of people. The problem with ‘truth seeking’ in Indian context is that it is used as a convenient subterfuge to insulate oneself from realities of people (or even ethics), they seek rarefied pastures that common people are not supposed to comprehend and are never a factor. We have suffered the haughtiness of these truth seeking pretenders who show no qualm of being placed in entitled position and casteist pits. 

More than anything else it was arrogance and complete lack of empathy that led to these exaggerations, and Gandhi played it well but in his entitled self-assuredness the fellow didn’t have the capacity to realise that he constantly crossed the lines of ridiculous. He could rarely empathise or understand suffering becomes clear, and that he firmly hinged these on fate (it’s a defining aspect of casteist outlook) hence sided with perpetrators while actively quelling any dissent. Westerners will understand these contexts of showcasing as saint devoid of kindness if they care to look closely and not be carried away by humbleness exuding gandhians. If they scrutinise Gandhi’s advice to German Jews, who were facing horrendous realities, that even now while I write these makes me shudder with deep felt anger and pain. Gandhi was characteristically calm, and patronising, “…But if the Jewish mind could be prepared for voluntary suffering, even the massacre I have imagined could be turned into a day of thanksgiving and joy…” And he had the temerity to advice the sufferers of WW2 atrocities “…If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman, and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them ... my non-violence demands universal love, and you are not a small part of it. It is that love which has prompted my appeal to you.” It is shocking, and the arrogance of placing “my non-violence demands” above slaughtering of innocents for universal love! Clearly some lives are cheap and don’t deserve any love and are fodders for his “universal love”. Later he called for Indians to ‘do or die’, and the misery of religion infected politics led to the worst misery for common people through partition. Gandhi indeed was speaking from the Indian frame that was meant to degrade and demean people in the loop of fatalism and “voluntary suffering”. Who could say such a nasty arrogant thing, and significantly what can one expect from such a fellow to even begin to understand the realities of caste atrocities and the misery that common people are put through. Gandhi is promoted through State power, and a well fed cunning coterie, to intellectualise these to make it presentable, any counter narrations is brutally dealt. Gandhi has been imposed on common people through occupation of public spaces and mindspace through school texts, the persistence of these by effete elite also reveal a deep seated anxiety (Now ofcourse these statue building exercise has been taken up every godforsaken group, and millions are spent on these nonsenses, creating more misery for common people). It has also provided casteist feudal and sycophantic mediocres to impose ‘universal love’ while exploiting people and have severely eaten into the ethical fiber of the society.

Psychologists have recently found that we see poorer people as fundamentally different and less important than other human beings. Now imagine a system that degrades and dehumanise people, and you will understand the skewed nature of Indian society, and appalling level of insensitivity from anyone who acquires power or influence. It’s about capitalising the opportunity hence you will emulate the established pointers for ease of climb, so these degradation gets consolidated further. It’s about debauched blessing, in form of good fortune and nepotism (and that comes so very easy in camaraderie). Apart from incompetence it is about complete disregard, not even basic concern or responsibility, as blessing supersedes human context hence these huge donations to feed the sanctum scums. Sometimes these irresponsible ways get into news when lots of people die, like say, the fire in a hospital yesterday where it was found they didn’t have any safety standards, concurrently media found that majority of hospitals don’t have any! Now these are rich people, who just want to double their money, they have no other concerns or competence and people are only fodder (meanwhile recollect what the fellow says people are meant to undergo “voluntary suffering” for higher truths). People must react and respond swiftly and not fall for these gandhian talks that has been used by cunning to trap hapless gullible people into the quagmire of deceit and irresponsible ways. As it is life of a common indian is quite cheap and people die all the while for no fault of theirs while the authorities look the other way. While death is only a finality, there is everyday cheating and mistrust. Fatalist outlook of common people always help the effete elite in consolidation of their vice like grip while justifying their entitlements.  

The scheme is so sinister that they set to normalise these degradation and authenticate heinous caste system (Gandhi being a generous help and hence was generously helped back). Meanwhile with camaraderie nepotism and debauched blessings they control the narration. In a framework that has no use of egalitarian values and hence equitable distribution, democracy is conduit to spread tolerance (in what is amazingly brutal society) to the degraded ways and showcase the world their higher bearing as ‘unity in diversity’. Lack of egalitarian steps which democracy occasioned amounts to nothing but transfer of power that now had vicious mix of colonial draconian rules and traditional degraded ways of incorrigible elite. Lack of land reforms, or means to control inheritance, egalitarian rules or concern for corruption (particularly by likes of Nehru, who had immense power but was trapped among casteist nepotism driven sycophantic feudals, that this blogger has pointed few years back) saw to it that exploitation and degraded ways were institutionalised into democracy. People now had more reason to be fatalistic therefore ever thriving business of god thus justifying elite as ordained and hence blessed, it all worked with ease of traditional acceptance. Meanwhile as they went about their nefarious ways of normalising degradation, and blatantly converting caste into community garb, they presented themselves to the world as kindred peace loving souls with a gandhian glow. It’s an amazing chicanery ably done with dexterous use of words, enchanting turn of sentences and neat presentation. Concurrently, very judiciously, people who suffer are trained to blame to on the fate, for that sanctum scums have list of reasons and solutions ready. While the elite section keep upgrading their devious ways and camaraderie, common people were trapped in their fate, jobs, earning, and little worlds herein ably guided by traditions that dug them further down. The narration was fully and well in control of few, and went unchallenged as they resurrected whatever helped their incorrigible ways and diminished those that threatened these. Deeply contemplative and awe inspiring young man like Bhagat Singh was brutally relegated to the dustbin is only a hint at how these devious were functioning in the last many decades as they sought to put the foundation of democratic country. Even scholar of the stature and claim like Ambedkar were relegated (while buffoons like CR set out to guide Gandhi and the world), and was only recently resurrected by the grit and trust of the common people as they start to assert themselves in common space. That he now towers over others is a justification of his rightful place in people’s heart.

With market nonsense and easy way, the narration is still firmly among the casteist feudals and beneficiaries who are putting everything to negotiate modern ways and classify as liberals. It is an onerous task to not only go through the mesh of falsehood, deceit and make believe but also to decipher these. That we are being trained and habituated from childhood, and is part of tradition, as also very intimately connected to faith, has made it difficult to weed out these crude cunning ways. So not only one has to isolate oneself from the crowd but also insulate from the influence that has overwhelming presence in the surrounding and creeps in through general talks, habits, celebrations and popular entertainment. Meanwhile one has to constantly read and understand the better ways and enlighten thoughts of the world through fiction, non-fiction, movies, documentary so on. Now this may seem easy but it is quite difficult, in the overwhelming morass of mediocrity that this society churns it is difficult to get the frame of excellence. Anything from literature to TV to movie to whatever is entrenched in the pit and such shoddy work that you soon realise why Indians have no space in world scene, and are woefully inadequate despite higher claims, the best will never be good enough. It is as if there is an attempt to feed people the mediocrities so that their expectations are kept low and are trapped in their own exaggeration while the effete elite with minimum of effort multiply their money, and ofcourse god’s grace becomes defining moment. So to deconstruct these nonsenses and create a frame for excellence can be extremely tiresome process in this overwhelmingly mediocrity thriving society. Meanwhile, unlike entitled, one has to earn also. Now this earning need to be such that the process shouldn’t take much of time as also gives enough freedom to explore, live. Otherwise one is trapped, and effete elite will dictate its misery. Meanwhile one has to also learn to express, through speaking and writing. Writing is a quite difficult art but once you get the nuance of it can be exceedingly exciting, particularly when something urgent to express also when one realises that these have been relegated and negligibly represented by the people in control of the narration, and that there is not only a striking bias but that myths have been created and sold quite successfully with devious intent. Since mainstream is ferociously controlled by the feudal casteist camaraderie, contrarian narration or something that hints a threat at their secured world will be squashed with brutality that is very characteristic of this society. You will be neglected, tarnished and thrown out. Thankfully with the emergence of social media there is an exciting platform, and I am quite prepared to take on. Camaraderie based writings, thick books, tapping each other talks and discourses, clever word defecations don’t influence much. I am able to see through, it is a unique privilege, however scrutinizing these dubious people has the danger of becoming cynical hence loose out, I guess the final frontier. Probably, that is where good poetry helps, to balance it out. And yes I am not an outsider but very much an insider, who understands these fraudsters who have set up their glittering shops to control the narration and trickle down to us their cud. It doesn’t cut.