Saturday, September 14, 2019

Reducing unique humans to collective category


The core of Nazi barbarism, Primo Levi wrote, was its reduction of unique human beings to anonymous things, mere instances of a collective category. That is how brutality works by dehumanizing vibrant lives, by segregating and relegating individuals into mere category. This then becomes easy to manipulate and exploit, meanwhile not only silencing the individual into the fiction of group but also wasting in the infightings as also working to create dissension among groups. That is how nations are manipulated by moneybags, many times detrimental to its own people and environment. Economics too is also cleverly worked out to spread the fiction of competition (‘survival the fittest’ if you will) as natural to create system at individual level to alienate humans not only from others but from oneself. Wherein evidence suggest nature works in entirely different parameters, of energy efficient mutualism attuned to surrounding to create conducive space for life to thrive.     
Not coincidently barbarism is precisely how anachronistic religions too work. Few centuries back these understanding had some relevance, despite the fact it added to the brutalities and as an institution mostly sided with power, there were too many unknowns factoring hence provided solace in increasing troubled times. Now in the contemporary context these are regressive presence and are becoming a nuisance as definite source of undermining the reality, indeed fiction becomes more important than facts thus opening space for all kind of exploitation. Escapism, fatalism, miracles and inevitability of god’s words becomes barriers for solution least critical thinking.  Fake news too have seeds in these. Religions too work at different levels where some have made attempts to reform and factor in changing times and understanding, empathize with tribulation of followers. What remains true though is that there are regressive elements in religions whose attempts at radicalizing have been fairly successful indeed religion in most cases have become an easy conduit. It’s a frustrating dead end.
Indians are as trapped in the quagmire of devious ecosystem that is very much fed and sustained by primitive forms of faith. With castetva neoliberal feudals giving way to hindutva nationalism things are set to become much more obvious and easy to analyze. These are natural evolution as the mask slips from cannibalistic society which has so far being projected as civilized (indeed ‘incredible’) through firm control over narration. Castetva was able to morph itself in the pointers of civilized by aping the colonial masters and studiously working on nuances of west to present itself as liberal secular and indeed modern. The negotiation skills were appropriately worked to create narration of grand diversities. It seemed to have sufficiently awed the west or atleast exoticed as mysteriously wonderful peaceful people. With gandhi as definitive reference things were easy to work out. English polishes loose end and is able to easily work its nuance into the western audience. Castetva was able to work on this as they sought comfort in richer civilized setting as arbitrators and negotiators. They knew the diction and nuance. It was therefore not very difficult to work on narration. It was easy to normalize caste into diversity and brutal home truths as culture. Hindutva lacks such niceties. Their audience too are different. Hence this constant need in recent times to demarcate ‘brahmin’ from ‘brahminism’ (it’s a different matter both are same and equally obnoxious). It’s an existential urge for many who have positioned themselves in highest moral gravy grounds and are quite aware how precarious these are unless it is quelled at the outset and narration kept under firm control, atleast for the western audience where they pose as benign arbitrators with best of intention for humanity and world (indeed beyond, if given some space!).
No less than the uncouth uneducated (probably semi-literate) speaker of loksabha was seen making some casteist remarks, it was quite natural and indeed fits well within ecosystem that is thriving since the so called independence wherein primitives have used the state machinery to severely degrade Hinduism and made it bereft of any egalitarian context. Caste based organisation has no place in civilized setting, and then to attend and authenticate these by one of the highest constitutional functionary is shocking but not at all extraordinary. Castetva forces have been nurturing these at the expense of common people for ages but they were cunningly subtle and devious which the hindutva has lot to learn from. His statement on squatters was hilarious irony that only helps to showcase what is being morphed. What though is not hilarious is an attempt by market media (nurtured by castetva forces for last many decades, hence created an ecosystem that works to safeguard these narrations, exotic feudal pets from other religions are also fattened as embellishment while sidetrack secularism works in favour) in its editorial, let me digress to point out here that these are echo chambers meant to impress very few. English is not read by many, also not many people even read least one in hundreds of newspaper. Therefore these are insignificant but for me these are pointers to how things are worked out. The same that conspired to make mahatma from devious casteist racist patriarch. There is lot at stake. It is an existential issue, a lynchpin on which their diversity, community … and all the cunning semantics to showcase as civilized is hinged on. They have lost the power but not the narration, it is too entrenched. The cunning editorial posits, indeed acquiescing to casteist feudal neoliberal deep state narration so as to not attract ire. “To place Mr. Birla’s retrograde observations under scanner is not to denigrate those born into brahmin caste, but question the ideology of brahminism…” I had flagged this casteist semantic jugglery sometime back. This a crucial aspect on which moral high grounds is being drilled with impunity. Ofcourse the whole caste balderdash has put into its place by enlightened saints for centuries. The narration after the transfer of power from colonial forces has given the castetva force a free run. They severely degraded the society, while appropriating humanist narrations into caste fold and working on semantics to normalize these. Meanwhile they severely undermined anti-caste humanitarian movements and went about to viciously stamp out these ethical compassionate attempts while cunningly capturing the high moral gravy with atmost ease posing as gandhian trustees.

To dehumanize individuals by segregating them through birth based categorizing within a society (i am pointing this because even nation-state is a similar conception) is the worst form of exclusion that can be inflicted on humans, also factoring other regressive toxic value system that works with this degradation (including patriarchy and segregation) that seeps into society and minds of individuals. In its perverse rationality atleast racism has a context of objective reality of skin colour that is used to create fiction to dehumanize. World has handled these quite well, there is a strong value system that is opposing these encroachments into humanity. What the world seems to have missed (indeed it could be patronizing of low expectation) is the evil of casteism –which has fiction of caste as basis that surely is much sinister than racism. Casteism is firmly about caste –the devious conception of branding and segregating people based on birth within a society. This is worst form of human rights violation. There must be zero tolerance for caste and any expression of these must be stringently dealt. Since Indian society being a putrid pit (a cannibalistic conception with nothing much to offer to the world except probably amazing level of mediocrity and devious value system) where the narration is controlled by cunning manipulators these are too entrenched by vested interests. Any attempts of these to express itself as benign outside India must be quashed with iron fist and sufficient determination. While casteist racist devious caste icon gandhi was judiciously packaged as great humanist and presented as mahatma for the world anti-caste humanist Ambedkar seeking the egalitarian traditions of the society was overtly and surreptitiously sought to be reduced as dalit icon. It’s about time that gandhi is dismantled across the world, and very rightly starting from African continent (idealistic youngsters in Ghana are an inspiration). He is an unethical reference and a negative influence for youngsters and society in general. Meanwhile casteist primitive Indians posturing angst for human rights and sniffing for world/universe peace opportunities must be held accountable, shamed and chucked out from squatting the high moral pedestal. These have been vandalized with characteristic impunity for too long. Meanwhile places of worship that has caste basis for priests and other dealings must be closed or demolished, these are gross violations of human rights. Caste must be dealt with the seriousness it deserves. There is an inbred morally vacuous ability to seduce conscience, detach morality and degrade reality with clever semantics.