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Archive for category Casteism in India-Alive & Thriving in Stealth Mode

Indian liberalism is a historical myth that must be countered if we want to understand our society

Indian liberalism is a historical myth that must be countered if we want to understand our society

We continue to believe that what is happening today is simply an aberration and long to return to a past that did not exist.

Mar 09, 2020 · 06:30 am

Sanjay Srivastava

The last few years have been particularly noticeable for remembering dead and ageing parents. Not just any common garden variety ones, of course, but a very specific kind. These are the parents who, apparently, bequeathed a tolerant, liberal and non-majoritarian India to their children. They embraced religious diversity, resisted various forms of bigotry and promoted the values of constitutional morality. They instilled in their progeny the importance of imagining a post-colonial republic where differences of class, caste, religion and ethnicity would be unequivocally erased.

In media articles and social media outpourings, these parents – narrators of a tryst with destiny – are sorely missed. Over the past six years, everything that the immediate ancestors dreamt of has been, apparently, upturned. In around half a decade, centuries of Indian tolerance – the aforementioned parents being its clearest exemplars – has been wiped out.

The romance of Indian liberalism, fed by the ever-nourishing rivers of historical myth-making of recent origin, needs to be countered if we are ever to undertake the task of taking a good hard look at ourselves – and our parents. Liberal ancestor worship does not serve us well. It certainly does not allow for an understanding of the nature of Indian society either over the longue durèe or in the recent past.

The good Muslim syndrome

The most fundamental aspect of our recent past is that our parents were not particularly committed to the values of religious tolerance that they are frequently credited with as a pre-Modi phenomenon. Their relationship with their Muslim co-citizens was premised on a specific set of circumstances.

Firstly, it had to do with Muslims “knowing their place”. Muslims were to act as mascots of Hindu India’s tolerant culture, rather than exercise an identity that might assert equality with members of the majority community. This was the condition of Hindu contextualism where “secular India” was deeply rooted in the values and public symbolism of Hinduism. Our public functions began (and still begin) with lighting lamps, ships were launched by breaking coconuts and we sang (and now sing with greater fervour) Sanskrit hymns at various national occasions as if these were areligious markers of post-colonial identity.

That is the world our parents grew up in and subscribed to: the “good Muslim” was the one who knew his or her place in a society marked by Hindu contextualism. Even Nehru, perhaps one of the very few who might have understood the meaning of genuine multiculturalism, was not able to counter these tendencies.

Eliding caste

Secondly, there was no India of our parent’s generation that seriously engaged with the caste question. Rather, if we have now come to believe that our parents decried casteism – and that its resurgence is linked to the break-down of their culture of liberalism – this is an entirely spurious view, nurtured by a very Indian culture of filial obligation.

Men and women of an earlier generation – the first and second generation of post-Independence parents – were as deeply casteist as their apparent antithetical contemporary counterparts. What was true of the earlier generation was that – like the Left parties – they pronounced that “in their circles” caste was not a problem.

There is a very common refrain among many now in their seventies and eighties that as school-going students, they had no idea about the caste of their fellow students. This does not, of course, prove that India of the 1950s and ’60s was not marked by caste hierarchies. Rather that in our parents’ generation, there was no occasion for encountering it as those among whom they moved were uniformly upper-caste. The comforts of caste-homogenous social circles ensured that there was no necessity of thinking about caste as a problem. This might only have been the case if different castes encountered each other in the same social milieu.

A soft bigotry

The fact of the matter is that neither was our parents’ time one of a golden age of tolerance and constitutional morality nor is it the case that we have now – in a space of six years! – dramatically changed. The first perspective is misplaced filial obligation and the second is a simplistic understanding of social and cultural change.

Our parents practised bigotry of a quiet sort, one that did not require the loud proclamations that are the norm now. Muslims and the lower castes knew their place and the structures of social and economic authority were not under threat. This does not necessarily translate into a tolerant generation. Rather, it was a generation whose attitudes towards religion and caste was never really tested.

The loud bigotry of our times is no great break from the past in terms of a dramatic change in attitudes – is it really possible that such changes can take place in such few years? Rather, it is the crumbling of the veneer of tolerance against those who once knew their place but no longer wish to accept that position.

The great problem with all this is that we continue to believe that what is happening today is simply an aberration and that we will, when the nightmare is over, return to the Utopia that was once ours. However, it isn’t possible to return to the past that was never there. It will only lead to an even darker future. And, filial affection is no antidote for it.

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Muslim Genocide In India by Hindu Taliban: Barbaric Murder Of Naveed Pathan / Rafiquddin- ValueWalk

Muslim Genocide In India: Barbaric Murder Of Naveed Pathan / Rafiquddin-

By

ValueWalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A disturbing and brutal video of Naveed Pathan murder could serve as evidence of the alleged Muslim genocide in India.

International social media is wrestling for truth in connection to the barbaric killing of Muslim bodybuilder Naveed Pathan, or as identified by India media and police, a gangster, rapist and murderer Rafiquddin Shaikh aka Guddya.

A disturbing CCTV footage, which leaked last Thursday, went viral in the past few days, with social media and state-run Indian media expressing diametrically opposite views on the gruesome murder of the victim, whose identity has been the subject of debate on the Internet.

In what could appear as an instance of the Indian media covering up the report of the brutal lynching of a Muslim man on Parola Road in Dhule district in the Hinduism-majority nation, international social media is grasping for any string of hope to reveal the truth about the barbaric video that shows 11 men hitting an unarmed Naveed Pathan with swords and sticks and continuing to hit his bloody body as the man lies unconscious.

Brutal Murder of Naveed Pathan the Latest of Muslim Genocide Incidents

Many Muslims in India – roughly 172 million people living in India identify themselves as adherents of Islam – woke up to the realization that a massive Muslim genocide may be underway in the nation populated by nearly 1.3 billion people, the majority of whom identify themselves as Hindu.

Something that may have been covered up by the Indian government for years became apparent the second the disturbing video of the barbaric murder of Naveed Pathan leaked on the Internet late last week. While the Indian police continue investigating who was the source of the leak, Muslims living in the nation are up in arms about the alleged religion-motivated murder and the apparent fact that the Indian media is trying to cover up the report to keep a lid on what has been labelled as a ‘genocide in India’.

The barbaric lynching of Naveed Pathan, or Rafiquddin as identified by the Indian media, comes just several weeks after local journalists and police allegedly turned a blind eye on another gruesome incident of public lynching of a Muslim teenager. Late last month, the media reported that 15-year-old Junaid was stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound train from New Delhi. A crowd of nearly 200 people – Hindus – pretended as if there was no murdered Muslim child in front of them, the media reported.

Naveed Pathan vs Rafiquddin: Who Was the Victim of the Barbaric Attack

Social media erupted in anger in recent days, slamming the Indian media for allegedly spreading false propaganda to cover up the alleged killing of a Muslim man.

The unarmed victim, who on the video is seen lying in a river of his own blood after barbarically attacked by about a dozen of men equipped with swords and sticks, was identified by the Indian media and police as gangster Rafiquddin, who was murdered by an enemy gang in a gang-related attack.

But as the video started making rounds on the Internet, social media users were sceptical of the reports and accused the Indian media of trying to cover up what they called was a Muslim genocide in India. Many independent journalists identified the man as Naveed Pathan and described him as a law-abiding Muslim citizen who had been taking part in bodybuilding contests. They claim the Muslim man was murdered in a religion-motivated attack, not an inter-gang rivalry one.

The social media’s side of the story stands in stark contrast to the official Indian media reports, claiming that Rafiquddin was a criminal out on bail and had more than 30 cases of extortion, rape and murder against him. The Indian media downplayed the brutal lynching of the victim, who was killed in broad daylight in front of many witnesses and CCTV cameras, as gang rivalry.

 

Religion-motivated Attacks Against Muslims on the Rise in India

The mysterious case of Naveed Pathan (Rafiquddin) remains unclosed, as Muslims living in India, who are concerned about their safety as religiously-motivated murders in the nation are reportedly on the rise, want an unbiased investigation into the barbaric killing of the alleged bodybuilder.

The disturbing video, which has been viewed by many social media users after its leak, shows that about 11 men pull the victim onto the street and strike him with swords and sticks 27 times. As Naveed Pathan (Rafiquddin), who was reportedly having tea in the nearby roadside stall, lies in his own river of blood dead, the attackers are seen hopping on motorcycles and scooters to flee the horrendous crime scene.

Indian police reportedly arrested one suspect in connection with the public lynching of the possibly wrongly identified Muslim bodybuilder. Reports also claim that police have identified another five suspects.

Zain Khan, a Dubai-based broadcast journalist, condemned the brutal attack and claimed that the Muslim man was targeted by Hindu extremists.

In  today extremist Hindus brutally killed (Lynched) a Muslim Body builder Naveed Pathan aka Naveed Iqbal aka Pappu. 

Many users have taken to social media to accuse the Indian government headed by PM Narendra Modi of ignoring and possibly covering up the increased number of religion-motivated incidents targeting Muslims across India.

View image on Twitter

I very strongly condemn the brutal killing of Naveed pathan in IND by hands of Hindu Taliban,for which Narindra Modi is directly responsible

Real face of so called  state . Brutally murdered a  Body Builder Naveed Pathan. Shame India. Violation of 

Has India Closed its Eyes on Lynching of Muslim People?

While the identity of the brutally murdered victim still remains under wraps – with social media confident it was bodybuilder Naveed Pathan and the Indian media and police claiming it was gangster Rafiquddin – anti-Muslim sentiments are on the rise in the majority-Hindustan nation.

 

Yogi Adityanath: The Devil

The Master Mind Behind Naveed Pathan’s Machete Murder by Hindu Taliban RSS, VHP, BJ, SP

 

 

Opponents and critics of the Indian government claim that the current regime orders to keep media outlets silent about religious-motivated attacks targeting Muslims, while ordinary Indian people – as seen from the brutal lynching of the Muslim teenager last month – are apparently ready to turn a blind eye on such deplorable incidents and violation of human rights.

As the investigation into the murder of Naveed Pathan continues, Muslim people living in India fear that violence against Muslim community in the nation could become worse if the media, police and ordinary people keep their eyes closed on the disturbing reality.

This video may be inappropriate for some users. (GRAPHIC 18+)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc0Wjuh7kLM

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Has Caste Discrimination Followed Indians Overseas? by Priyanka Mogul

Has Caste Discrimination Followed Indians Overseas?

Has Caste Discrimination Followed Indians Overseas?

by

Priyanka Mogul

diplomat.com

 

“One is of the opinion that you leave behind all the trappings of the caste system once you leave India, but perhaps I was naive.”

Saunvedan Aparanti, an Indian student studying in London, has found himself at the center of a heated campaign to introduce caste discrimination legislation in the United Kingdom. Having moved to Britain for university, Aparanti was surprised to find himself at the receiving end of “caste supremacy” from his new flatmates. The caste system he speaks of — and its trappings — is one that the world has, unfortunately, become familiar with. Stories relating to caste violence frequently emerge from some South Asian countries, particularly India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Headlines featuring the rape and murder of so-called “lower caste” people, or Dalits, are no longer rare.

Everyone is in agreement that this mistreatment of people based on an ancient social hierarchy is horrific and that it must be combatted. But when Indians say caste discrimination has followed them overseas, the solution doesn’t appear as straightforward anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the UK, a fierce debate has been playing out within the British-Indian community over whether there is a need to introduce legislation for caste discrimination. In 2011, the employment tribunal heard its first claim of caste discrimination when a couple alleged they had been wrongfully dismissed by their employers because of their inter-caste marriage. Vijay Begraj claimed he was told by a “higher caste” colleague that he was lucky to be working in a law firm as his caste would have made him a cleaner in India. The tribunal also heard that Begraj had been assaulted by relatives of one of the firm’s partners and had been called derogatory caste names. The law firm in question, Heer Manak, denied the allegations until the case was ultimately abandoned in 2013.

Stories such as Begraj’s have united Dalit rights campaigners in the U.K. in the fight for caste law. Caste Watch UK, the Dalit Solidarity Network UK, and the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance are a few who have taken center stage in the campaign, with support from a number of academics. The United Nations has also lent a voice to the debate, urging the UK government to implement caste discrimination law.

Manifestations of Caste in the UK

So who is experiencing caste discrimination in the UK? And where and how are they experiencing it?

Numerous reports have been put together, each compiling a number of U.K.-based case studies of caste discrimination. Due to the stigma that comes along with being a “lower caste” person, many are afraid to speak out publicly. Instead, they choose to isolate themselves from the Indian community in the UK and live among non-Indians who have little understanding of caste dynamics.

Research conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and the Equality and Human Rights Commission has detailed various incidents of caste discrimination in the UK. The majority of these appear to occur in the personal sphere, which falls outside the reach of the Equality Act 2010, which relates to education, employment, and provision of goods and services. This has led some to question whether the implementation of caste under the Equality Act would do very much to combat instances of discrimination among social circles.

However, Dr. Meena Dhanda, a leading academic in diaspora Dalit studies, has noted that there is crossover between what happens in the private and public spheres. She argues that if prejudice exists, it cannot always be assumed that this prejudice does not cross over into the areas of employment and education.

Reena Jaisiah, a young woman of Dalit ancestry, illustrates how this crossover is possible. Her experience saw her become the victim of caste discrimination on the school playground, where students would bully her and call her derogatory names relating to her caste. This then carried on into her adult life, when she was running her shop and found that an elderly “upper caste” woman consistently refused to put money in her hand, instead placing it on the counter.

“That is exercising untouchability here in the U.K.,” Jaisiah said in Caste Aside, a documentary that sees her recount her life as a “lower caste” woman in Britain. Jaisiah’s experience doesn’t appear to be an isolated one, with caste rights groups such as the Dalit Solidarity Network UK and Caste Watch UK noting that they receive calls from people across Britain who say they too have become victims of caste discrimination.

“This is a rights issue that’s happening across South Asia,” said Meena Varma, director of Dalit Solidarity Network UK. “In fact it’s happening globally, because wherever the diaspora go, they take their caste with them, and so, therefore, that discrimination goes with them.”

Arguments Against Caste Legislation

However, not everyone in the British-Indian community believes that caste legislation is necessary in the U.K. The Hindu Council UK and the National Council of Hindu Temples UK have both opposed the calls for caste legislation, with politicians such as MP Bob Blackman backing them.

“Caste legislation simply doesn’t stand ground,” said Anil Bhanot, director of interfaith relations at the Hindu Council UK. “Dalits have become rich now here because there’s no discrimination.”

Bhanot goes on to note that the instances of caste discrimination that have been brought up so far relate to prejudice within social circles, rather than discrimination that would fall under the realm of equality law. He also argued that implementing this legislation will make caste more prominent among British-Indians, bringing awareness of caste where he says there is currently none.

Satish Sharma, general secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples UK, takes a similar perspective on the legislation. When asked to characterize the Hindu community in the UK, Sharma commended the “harmonious” nature of the community and emphasized that the current generation of British-Hindus have been free from the understandings of the caste system and do not discriminate against each other in any way. He fears that this legislation, if implemented, will automatically presume certain members of the community — anyone who isn’t a Dalit — are “prejudiced by birth.” He strongly opposed this notion and restated his belief that caste is not an aspect of the Hindu religion. Instead, he argues, caste, as it exists today, is a Euro-Christian concept imposed on Indian people.

“Where does this notion that there is some sort of superiority being played out in the British-Hindu community come from?” Sharma questioned. “It’s purely an act of mischief. And if that isn’t a recipe for friction, then I don’t know what is.”

What Happens Next

On September 18, the British government ended a public consultation on caste and equality law in Great Britain, which invited the public to submit their views on “how to ensure that there is appropriate and proportionate legal protection” against caste discrimination. Groups on both sides of the debate rallied supporters to submit their thoughts on the issue.

Sat Pal Muman, Chairman of Caste Watch UK, has hit back at those opposing the legislation, saying: “They are afraid that if caste discrimination law does kick in, somehow it will affect their religion. They may have something to hide, there may be some skeletons in their cupboard.”

As the debate continues, campaigners are hoping that a decision will be made on the legislation in early 2018. Hindus groups remain concerned that bringing caste into U.K. law will send a message that caste is becoming a prominent feature in British-Indian society; something that they believe is far from true. Meanwhile, Dalit rights groups remain anxious about what will happen to the thousands of caste discrimination victims they say they know in the UK.

Future cohesion of the British-Indian community hangs in the balance as the UK government mulls its next move.

Priyanka Mogul is a freelance journalist based in London. She is the producer of Caste Aside, a documentary about the British government’s controversial decision to introduce legislation against caste discrimination in the U.K.

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