By Edelbert Kharsyntiew
The Constitution of India begins with three beautiful words “WE THE PEOPLE” followed by the grandiose vision of JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY & FRATERNITY. It clearly lays down the rights of individuals to free speech and belief, equality before law, equal opportunity and protection from discrimination or exploitation; then the collective rights pertaining to protection and conservation of tribals, backward castes and minorities (their language, script or culture); self governance at the grassroots (panchayats), abolition of untouchability, child labour, and other such noble goals. Women in India must know that maternity relief is a constitutional right for them (art.42) and the poor have right to free legal aid in this country(art.39-A). The State can not issue any ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification in contravention of the fundamental rights laid down in the Constitution. The spirit of the Constitution is amply clear in that it seeks the upliftment of the marginalized and weak and envisioned fifty years for this to be achieved (art. 334) through ‘reservation of seats and special representation’ covering the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and Anglo-Indians.
In matters of constitutional ambiguity requiring interpretation and application of its provisions, where the aggrieved party, say a non-tribal demanding his or her legitimate constitutional rights, but the granting of that right impinges upon the very survival and wellbeing of the scheduled tribes or farmers, the Constitutional ruling on the matter is clear. The Posco Steel imbroglio in Odisha, Singur conflict and restrictions upon non-tribals in northeast India on issues of trading licenses, government-sponsored educational seats, jobs or inner-line permits have irrefutable constitutional legitimacy to them. Take a tribal land protection issue for instance; any class V student can understand that a 1 million tribe can easily be displaced and disappear in a few years if their lands are not protected from the usurping power of 1200 million other Indians. Tribals need to be aware, and unapologetically so, about their constitutional privilege of being protected, within this great country, not necessarily from ‘foreigners’ but from their own countrymen. That’s what the Constitution is all about; it creates space for all, particularly the weak.
While I admire the great Constitution of our country, I resent the status it confers on us, northeast tribals. It turned the clock of development that we experienced under missionary service and British rule by at least 107 years. Just imagine how many generations had passed from school before India gained its Independence. Lar Sing died in England in 1863 where he went for further studies. Bah Joy (Rev JJM Nichols Roy) passed his LLB from Calcutta University in 1904. He was the grand nephew of U Tirot Singh and came from a poor family in Shella. Kong Mavis Dunn became the first lady Minister of pre-independent India. Then came 1947.
The Constitution placed us in the Sixth Schedule under a blanket tribal category. The indic varna system makes things awkward particularly for us NE tribals. We were not ‘low castes’ but since we were outside the caste system, we became ‘classed’ along with those ‘they’ consider ‘untouchables’. They were placed in the Fifth Schedule and the Northeast tribes in the Sixth Schedule. Being a ‘scheduled tribe’ carries with it an inference of primitivity and inferiority. Try swallowing this. A century ago your great great grandfather became a medical doctor and the family tradition continues with one dozen members spread out across the globe. You go down from the hills and fellow Indians ask the question “oh you are a tribal. Do you wear shoes back home?”. If you are not affected by that, you are either lying or plain stupid.
Law written with ink but not in hearts
If Law brings life, India would have been beautiful! I watched those who rejected the Constitution and left the country. They believe that success in life must be based squarely on marks cards. They hate the quota system, and cursed the Mandal Commission. At least they are honest about their true feelings. Others, are no different, but have learned to circumvent it. But I have a few Brahmin friends whom I respect for they possess a truly great attitude of caring love.
These few saints apart, untouchability is still rampant. Amir Khan is currently fighting it in real (not reel) life. What has changed is the wording. The ‘Property Plus’ supplement of The Hindu, Bangalore, April 7, 2012, carried an advertisement for the sale of flats with a caption “only Brahmins”. When an objection was raised, the newspaper immediately issued an apology. Housing apartheid is flourishing in Delhi and the ‘no rent, no sale’ policy is strictly followed in Mumbai. Of all places, Bangalore too is in the grip of casteism. Sudipto Mondal in his “India’s IT powerhouse is mired in social prejudice”(The Hindu, Bangalore, July 8, 2012) only highlights what we already know. It is impossible or difficult for Dalits and minorities to penetrate into areas like Jayanagar, Malleswaram, Basav-angudi, Sadash-ivnagar and Upper Palace Orchards. Most advertisements in real estate sections that read ‘for vegetarians only’ come from these areas. The writer knew the true meaning of ‘vegetarians only’ after he contacted one owner. “This is a brahmin layout. We do not want any SC/STs”, she said before slamming the phone. Another blow to the utopian “One Nation” dream!
The untouchables of India had had to assert themselves with herculean efforts in recent times. They managed to invent self-respect, using the name ‘dalit’ (broken or crushed) instead of the despicable word ‘harijans’. They did rule in UP, and did produce token leaders at the very top, but overall they too are fighting a losing battle. There are more poor in India today than in 1947. It is getting more unsafe for women in this country with 24,000 reported rape cases in 2011 alone. Many have given up hope that the lecherous Delhi males would ever change, before whom their Guwahati counterparts are mere kids. While even the ultra-rich in India benefit from subsidies, only 15% of all subsidies reach the poor and 85% get spent on the bureaucrats. Nandan Nilakeni’s ‘Imagining India’ toys with an enticing idea of crediting subsidies directly to the accounts of the poor through banks. 48.5% of teaching positions for SCs and STs in 24 Central Universities are vacant during 2010-2011. The ambiguous advertisements for the posts are evident that it was planned to keep them that way. Parents belonging to caste Hindu Kambalathu Naicker community in Tamilnadu boycotted a school after it appointed two Dalit women as cook and helper in the noon meal center. Shockingly, the BDO promptly transferred the Dalit ladies. Last week, the poor children in a Bangalore school who get admission through RTE face discrimination, and had portions of their hair shaved for identification.
The Church too is not guiltless when it comes to caste prejudice. There was confusion in the ranks as to its approach to caste. Robert De Nobili of the Jesuit Mission (1606) in fact adopted the caste system, and became a Brahmin himself. The protestant Tranquebar Mission (1706) accommodated it, while the Serampore Mission ((1793) rejected it only to discover its dubious power in that the children of Brahmins who married lower castes became low castes themselves. Others argued that in time caste system would be replaced by class sytem, but they were proven wrong. Meinzen is right when he pointed out that ‘class’ is based on competition, and therefore there is mobility, whereas in ‘caste’, membership is hereditary and is fixed for life. Caste Christians put the blame on the larger environment around them. A Dalit seminar held only yesterday (July 22, 2012) in Bangalore that addressed the discriminatory nature of the Presidential Order of 1950 with regards to quota for backward classes, which identified only Hindus (and later added Buddhists and Sikhs) as backwards, but left out Muslims and Christians till date, was brought into focus, which in itself is tale telling.
Corruption
While the esteemed Constitution is almost flawless, people running the political system are not. Corruption became institutionalized. Someone asked ‘if they could make money out of coffins (Kargil), where would they stop?’ The Constitution is turned on its head, in that while it envisions a power hierarchy which is grassroots-based, it now turns into a Delhi-based monster. Excessively centralized power begets tyranny, and it is what we are observing today. Shanti Bhushan, a former Union Law Minister, wrote ‘a step away from corruption is anarchy’ which rings true. The corrupt system is swaying under its own weight. Glaring fault lines are appearing which cannot be ignored anymore, and they may crack any moment leading to a plunge into the abyss of anarchy. The anger level of a common man in India today over corruption and black money is just waiting to erupt.
The latest estimate from Tax Justice Network of black money is £13 trillion (Rs 110,000,000 crore). (equivalent of the combined GDP of the US and Japan). But monetary aspect of corruption is only symptomatic of a deeper malaise. We are proven to be a country with a huge character void. Arrogance and apathy are the other symptoms. It is plain arrogance when one refuses to serve due to a superiority complex. My father told me that Shillong was impeccably top class and clean in his day, and golf link was renowned. I met a few elderly American gentlemen who told me they were stationed at Dacca and regularly came to Shillong to play golf. Elephant’s Falls had a canopy of trees on its path. I too shed tears over its destruction and I pray for a change. I must confess that I am not in the least impressed with those who wax eloquent about city management. India’s ability to manage its cities has been indicted. From totally unplanned drainage system in every city, appalling flood control methods, never-ending road digging due to co-ordination problem, dangling live wires, open wells, trenches and drains, garbage, stray dogs, to men’s peeing habits in public places, open defecation and the general lack of civic sense. It is a murderous apathy that we witness in this country, and it has become so deep that we need not just a radical systemic change but a definite change of heart. Like Narendra Modi, we need to call the Japanese to help.
India is not shining, but corporate India does. Whatever excellence we find in India today comes from either the multi nationals or corporate India. For the northeast, however, minimizing the threat perception is a must and multi-national companies fit the bill since they will be perceived differently without the socio-political agenda ‘tag’ attached to them. The region must be given a chance to come out of the present culture of gloom and into the bright sunshine of JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY with the rest of India. Let the ‘PEOPLE’ arise!
(Edelbert Kharsyntiew works as a youth pastor and counselor among the Northeast diaspora in Bangalore. He can be contacted at edelbertk @gmail.com)