The then Delhi based South Asia correspondent of the Time magazine, Ned Desmond wrote a number of cover stories on Kashmir during his stay in India in early nineties. He covered all aspects of the 1990 militant uprising in the valley. He had also been to Sri Lanka where he covered the IPKF operations against the LTTE. He used to mention that IPKF did worse things in Sri Lanka than their counterparts were doing in Kashmir. On being asked why the west was silent about the massive human rights violations being committed in Kashmir, he remarked that people still believed in the west that India was a non-violent country, the land of Gandhi! There was a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in New York and he was considered to be the apostle of non-violence like Martin Luther King! Just before his departure for Tokyo where he got his next posting, he wrote his last cover story on India, which was totally of a different nature. It was titled, “The Caste War”. It was a comprehensive coverage of the caste prejudice in all spheres of the Indian society. At that time which is about two decades back, the caste factor was not so much in the news except the sporadic violence which had been generated by the Mandal report. No one could at that time imagine that the caste would be a decisive factor in Indian politics. However, Ned prophesied that the future of India will depend upon the way the caste conflict progresses. According to him the most decisive issue for the Indians will be a caste war which may engulf the entire country sometime in the future!

The way the things are moving now vindicate his prophecy. The phenomenal rise of Mayawati and her staking claim for the post of the Prime Minister depicts the dramatic rise of the lower castes. India has historically been a caste ridden society. The system has been in existence for ages and the members of the lower caste used to take it as their fate decried by the divine power. Brahmins have always been the ruling class and even during the British rule it was the Brahmin bureaucracy, called the Indian Civil Service which kept India running for them. These colonisers had very cleverly used the federal administrative set up to keep their hold on this vast country. After their departure, the same system continued and only the nomenclature was changed to Indian Administrative Service and similar other central services. All these federal services were manned by the Brahmin elite which became the India’s new ruling class. Even now they have the over all strangle hold on most of the services and continue to rule India. In spite of the extensive modernisation the caste prejudice runs too deep among the upper castes. Recently it was reported that the childless couples looking for sperm donors demand to know the sperm’s caste!

However, the hold is beginning to loosen due to the rise of the lower castes. There are many factors responsible for this rise of the lower castes. The spread of modern education made these lower castes realise that it was not because of a divine decree that they were at the lowest end of the social ladder. On the contrary it was the Brahmin hierarchy which had ensured their lowly status for ages. The caste prejudice had been ingrained in their blood by the Hindu Clergy. The intolerant Hindu elite could go to any extent to keep them down. The story of mistreatment of the lower castes including even burning alive of some rebels was quiet common in earlier times. In fact, even now there are many instances of revenge against the members of these castes which dare to raise their heads. Simultaneously the tireless working of Christian Missionaries started large scale conversions of the members of the lower castes into Christianity. This has been more so in tribal belts where the treatment meted out to these people belonging to lower castes is the worst. To overcome this rise of the deprived, the Brahmin class thought of a very clever subterfuge. They raised the bogey of the Hinduism being in danger at the hands the of the Muslims and the Christians. This was purely to divert the attention and the energy of these lower castes to a new imaginary enemy. India has a population of 800 million Hindus. There is absolutely no chance of Hindus getting reduced into a minority even if mass conversions take place all over the country. On the other hand there is every chance of the Brahmin elite getting reduced to the actual minority of not more than 5% in every sphere of activity in India. It is not the Hindu versus the Muslim problem which all the members of the ruling elite fear but the lower castes versus the Brahmins. This is also the reason for the upper castes to embrace the Bharatiya Janata Party leading to virtual collapse of the Congress Party. Muslims left in India after the partition are living in a miserable condition which is even worse than those of the lowest Hindu castes as certified by Justice Rajinder Sachar in his report.

After the Independence of the country in 1947 one would have normally expected emancipation of the down trodden but the caste system was further strengthened by giving them a new name, “Harijan”, the Children of God! The name was given by the Father of the Nation. By specifically classifying them as a separate class he did a disservice to their lot rather than bring them equality. The real service would have been to abolish the caste system by law. To keep these people quiet the Government introduced the reservation system in all services. This helped them to fill substantially many central services. This was more so because the progeny of the Brahmin elite due to globalisation preferred multi-national jobs than government service. The new generation of the Brahmins took to west like a fish taking to water! This trend continued even in politics where lower caste leaders came to the forefront. Simultaneously, the aura of the family and dynasty rule has also started wearing out. For a long time the poor masses of India considered Indira Gandhi as a Maharani and she was fondly addressed as Indira Rani.

Those days seem to be getting over now. The new political groupings may give a chance to the lower castes to have a decisive control over various branches of the state executive. Mayawati’s bid for the post of the Prime Minister of India is a typical example of this possibility. It could have turned out to be a nightmare for the Brahmin elite. Luckily for them, Mayawati though claiming to be a popular leader and a challenge to the upper caste is probably one of the most corrupt and unscrupulous politicians India has ever seen! The lower castes have not been able to throw up an upright leader of repute and standing in recent times. They need one more Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar to make the difference. The father of Indian constitution himself was so much frustrated with the discrimination based on the caste system that he converted to Buddhism! One never knows that future may throw up another statesman of his stature to lead the down trodden masses of India. In any case, as predicted by Ned Desmond, the caste conflict may be the most important factor in determining the shape of things to come in India sometime in the near future!