The Shame of Being "Untouchable" in Britain

kds1980 · #1 (**permalink**) 13-Dec-2007, 15:48 PM

VIEW FROM LONDON: The shame of being 'untouchable' in Britain-UK-World-The Times of India

VIEW FROM LONDON: The shame of being 'untouchable' in Britain
10 Dec 2007, 0248 hrs IST,TNN
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On Thursday, Britain gets its first play on the caste system still alleged perniciously to operate within the local Sikh community. 'The Fifth Cup', which gets its first outing in Birmingham, is about 15-year-old Amrit Singh whose family moves home from one British city to another, in order to make a fresh start.

But the Singhs find themselves relentlessly pursued by the sibilant hiss of that ancient marker imported from the Mother Country - low - caste origins. They are shunned by the local Sikh community, which presumably counts itself too high-born to consort with dalits. The family unit comes under intolerable strain. Amrit struggles to understand the unfairness of inherited alleged unworthiness, despite living in a 21st-century meritocracy where class distinctions may still matter but certainly not caste.

The play is a debut production from Caste Away Arts, a new Midland's-based theatre company. It says its aim is "to tell the story ...like it is ...of those that have been 'cast away' from society because of their caste, race, religion or circumstances..." More to the point, 'The Fifth Cup' is written by Rena Dipti Annobil and Reena Bhatoa, both of whom claim to have been at the sharp end of casteist discrimination here in Britain.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/18585-the-shame-of-being-untouchable-britain.html

Bhatoa says she was "completely oblivious to what caste (I was)" till she turned 13. It was only after Sikh schoolmates repeatedly asked her that she sought clarification from her parents. "I discovered I was an untouchable... (I was) called nasty names, called an untouchable..." It was a devastating revelation.

Welcome to caste-ridden Britain, home to 1.3 million Indians, many of whom still scour marriage bureaux listings and adverts in the Indian press for the appropriate Ravidasia, Ramgarhia, Lohar, Lohana, Mochi, Mistry, Shah/Vania or Tank/Shatria spouse for their sons and daughters. Suman-online is a point-and-click matrimonial service that proudly claims to be the web-child of "the pioneers of Asian matchmaking in UK and Europe, namely Suman Marriage Bureau (established 1972)".

Those who run it admit British Indians still "don't want to marry into a lower caste. We also find that those who originate from a lower caste prefer to meet someone of the same background because they know that they may be victimized because they are of a lower caste". But the killer fact is Suman's estimate that only 25 per cent of British Indian marriages take place across caste barriers.

Many believe even the hippest bit of our exported fusion culture - bhangra rap - is tainted by casteism. Punjabi Bhangra is seen as an unceasing anthem celebration of jat pride with noted BBC DJ Bobby Friction recently noting it is full of "songs about jat pride, about the life of a jat ... jat nationalism is running rampant in bhangra music now to the point where every bhangra album that comes out in Britain has at least one track that alludes to the power of the jats".
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=18585

So are we - the Indian abroad - really so regressive that our organic lived reality is almost exactly as Dr Ambedkar gloomily described decades ago when he said "wherever a Hindu goes, he will take his caste system with him".

As my colleague Chidanand Rajghatta noted on these pages on December 9, the Indian-American's "dharma of diversity" means "no Indian state or group or caste is too small or too big to form a representative association in America. So, we have everything here from NAMA (North American Manipuri Association) to BANA (Bhojpuri Association of North America), from the Bruhan Maharashtra Mandali to the Bangla Samaj." He went on to lament, "Oh, how they multiply and divide".

Castewatch UK, an activist organization set up four years ago to combat caste discrimination in Britain, believes this is the exact hideous truth of the Indian's life here, though political correctness keeps it securely hidden. Perhaps 'The Fifth Cup' will blow the covers.

dalsingh · #2 (**permalink**) 13-Dec-2007, 23:19 PM

It is high time we face this nonsense within the community and stop hiding it away.

Archived_Member1 · #3 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 00:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalsingh

It is high time we face this nonsense within the community and stop hiding it away.

i don't see it as hidden, every gurdwara in the UK seems to proudly announce affliliation with one caste or another. it's obsurd. from the british sikhs i have met, i'd say that so called "low caste" are just as proud of their caste as so-called "high caste". they keep their caste names rather than using singh and kaur (look at the writers of the play), they have their own seperate gurdwaras, with only people of their caste on the committies... it's really depressing to see, but it's coming from both sides.

dalsingh · #4 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelly_kaur

i don't see it as hidden, every gurdwara in the UK seems to proudly announce affliliation with one caste or another. it's obsurd. from the british sikhs i have met, i'd say that so called "low caste" are just as proud of their caste as so-called "high caste". they keep their caste names rather than using singh and kaur (look at the writers of the play), they have their own seperate gurdwaras, with only people of their caste on the committies... it's really depressing to see, but it's coming from both sides.

Whatever the situation is, it needs addressing on all fronts. No one should imagine it is something that will disappear overnight but we should at least aim to go roughly in the right direction.

Archived_Member1 · #5 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 02:09 AM

i can agree with that.

Kirpal Singh · #6 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 02:21 AM

I believe more plays like this should be considered by enlightened sikh young sikhs to get rid our society from the menace of caste system,jatt-bhapa syndrome,urban-rural divide, female infanticide,dowry menace etc.

Sinister · #7 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 05:40 AM

Well lets talk solutions

And start with this;
“There is something behind the throne Greater than the king himself”
-Sir William Pitt

If you want to hack this problem at its source look no further than hacking away at some widely held pseudo-Sikh beliefs….KARMAIC ideology being the first.

The notion of Karma and its relation to the transmigration of souls within the caste system was the very first step in solidifying the Brahmins superiority. The idea of Karma provided the justification for the Brahmin for his abuses of power.

The logic came down to:
If you were born into serfdom it was because of the actions you performed in your previous life. This meant that you were obliged to die in serfdom (because only another life would bring you in the higher moral order).

Thus Weber called India “the perfect theocracy”. (I encourage people to read his work on the formation of the pariah class/caste in India).

The Sikh Guru’s tried to eliminate this but did not succeed…why?

Well for starters,
Because the new economical model that was being preached was unbeneficial and ill-developed without capitalism. Thus not many early adopters of Sikhism changed and retained their respective group titles.

Secondly,
The Guru’s never out rightly condemned Karma ideology, but rephrased and repackaged it. Much of Sikh theology rests on this till today. (this must have confused people)

The easiest way of getting rid of this silliness is simply to frown upon Karmaic Ideology. And capitalism is the strongest agent for this change. A poor High caste person cannot call himself superior to a person of lower caste that has more money and power (it defies all logic)… India is experiencing its enlightenment. And sadly materialism is the only thing that can destroy the caste system. Class awareness will soon trump the Caste divide as Marx pointed out some time ago.

Many of you might be wondering…well if that’s the case why do castes exist today in situations where everyone is economically on more or less the same level (in developed countries)?
Well first off that is self-explanatory.

The ultimate result of this caste system was the formation of tightly knit groups/guilds and sub-cultural ethnicities.
--The caste system is not what it once was; it has taken on an entirely different meaning. It has evolved into an entirely different beast. Capitalism is the agent that pushed the change and will continue to complete this change. Castes awareness will be present in the future but it will synonymous with race. For example, Racial awareness exists today as well but that doesn’t mean we now think one race is superior to the other.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=18585

“Educate the masses in social history and they will inevitably come to accept that all humanity is born equal”.
Max Weber.

It is religion that sought to justify this divide and it secularism that shall break it.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=18585

NOT the other way around.

Archived_Member1 · #8 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinister

Well lets talk solutions

...

If you want to hack this problem at its source look no further than hacking away at some widely held pseudo-Sikh beliefs….KARMAIC ideology being the first.

The notion of Karma and its relation to the transmigration of souls within the caste system was the very first step in solidifying the Brahmins superiority. The idea of Karma provided the justification for the Brahmin for his abuses of power.

The logic came down to:
If you were born into serfdom it was because of the actions you performed in your previous life. This meant that you were obliged to die in serfdom (because only another life would bring you in the higher moral order).

guru sahib has given us a way out of both caste and karma. it's called amrit sanchar. when you become amritdhari, all of your past karma is wiped clean. you become part of the khalsa family. every amritdhari has the same mother and father so caste is wiped clean as well.

seems like a simple solution to me.

Sinister · #9 (**permalink**) 14-Dec-2007, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelly_kaur

guru sahib has given us a way out of both caste and karma. it's called amrit sanchar. when you become amritdhari, all of your past karma is wiped clean. you become part of the khalsa family. every amritdhari has the same mother and father so caste is wiped clean as well.

seems like a simple solution to me.

The Guru’s indeed thought of a system that would bring about equality. But the reality is, it failed! The rest of my post tries to explore the reasons why it failed.

So unless we show interest in the ‘why’ we will never know the “how come”.

One thing we have to understand is that traditional ‘CASTE’ IS DIEING (not becoming worse). Caste has completely changed: first it was used to denote and justify economic prowess…but under the new economic order it is simply a meaningless label of group formation. IT IS LOSING ALL VALIDITY AND POWER.

Sikhs must understand this transition…CASTE HAS BEEN DEFEATED (or at least is in the process of defeat) in the new world order.

It is not the victory of Sikhism (although one may argue Sikhi played a role)…this is the victory of secular capitalism.

cheers