CASTE-BASED POLITICS THREAT TO SOCIETY
WRITTEN
BY: NALLURI CHETAN
3RD
YEAR, B.A.LL. B
VIT AP SCHOOL OF LAW
EDITED
BY: MUSKAN PRASAD
4TH
YEAR, B.A.LL. B (HONS)
AMITY
LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA
ABSTRACT
There has always been a caste system in place throughout society. No one can dispute the fact that a large portion of the population still supports the caste system. To prevent caste prejudice, the constitution included provisions about it and provided reservations for the lower castes, which helped them grow up in society and gain respect from others. Lower caste people have reservations in politics so that they are not discriminated against and that their voice and problems are heard, and the person who is elected will work for the benefit and growth of the lower caste by speaking out against any discrimination; this is how caste politics began to ensure equal treatment. The lower caste people would also be more developed, and their standing would rise as a result of caste politics. The caste politics that was initiated at the time had a good basis. However, after a while, to everyone's surprise, caste politics has simply come to be a political phenomenon, even though it has provided the basis for a great deal of violence. so, this article will mainly focus on caste politics and how it is a threat to society.
Keywords: caste, politics, discrimination.
INTRODUCTION
Caste politics, which has dominated for decades, has left an indelible stamp on society. Caste politics has been widespread in society since the establishment of the Constitution. Although the constitution did not officially address caste politics, it implicitly prepared the door for caste politics by allowing reservations to the impoverished parts of society. Although this was done with the good goal of assisting the underprivileged members of society and giving them a representation in the society the same has evolved into a deadly evil to society over time. Caste politics is increasingly being used for voting rather than development. The caste is now used by two main parties, and the two main parties may even belong to the upper caste in any place. Upper castes have been fighting and promoting hatred against each caste to ensure that at least some of their caste members vote for their party, undermining democracy. The regional parties were largely responsible for the emergence of caste politics. Regional parties are those who have made caste politics worse for society. The regional party that emerged from the caste exacerbated the issue. In Andhra Pradesh, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu party leader Ys. Jagan Mohan Reddy belongs to the Reddy caste, whereas the Telugu Desam party leader Nara Chandra Babu Naidu belongs to the Kamma caste. If we look at the elections, both parties will have an indirect hate for each caste so that people would vote for their leader, which is heinous. The current government, led by Ys. Jagan Mohan Reddy is doing the same thing because the previous government designated Amaravati as the capital of Andhra Pradesh, which he does not like, so the party declared that the capital is not Amaravati but Kammaravati and attributed the capital to one caste and destroyed the capital area, and there is no development in the area, and the government wants to change that. As a result of the insecurity in government choices, there is no development in Andhra Pradesh, which is one of the biggest challenges that people face as a result of caste politics. Caste politics would not allow for progress since it will be centred primarily on fighting against one another. Even though people are realising there is no point in realising now because precious time has passed and there is no development in the state, the government's decisions based on caste have caused the Andhra Pradesh brand name to deteriorate as a result of this dirty caste politics[1]. As many are unable to identify the current capital of Andhra Pradesh, this demonstrates how badly caste politics would influence society. There are several caste-based political parties. The finest example is the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is predominantly led by Kumari Mayawati and will play a role in the development of Dalits. Tamil Nadu saw the rise of non-Brahmin parties such as the DMK and AIDMK. Which poses a threat to society. Any party or individual that engages in politics based on caste will benefit just that party or individual, not the people in society. As long as they don't specifically target one caste and injure another caste, the existence of these parties in society is not a concern. If they proceed in the manner where they specifically target one caste then the society will severely break down, posing a threat to its peace as soon as their caste party assumes power, which would result in warfare and retaliation against members of the opposing caste.
Violence
based on caste politics
Manipur
Conflict
The finest example of caste political violence that I can think of is the Manipur conflict, where the only cause for the violence is caste politics. As we can see, two major communities live in the valley area of Manipur. Meitei and Kuki are the names of the two communities. The major reason for the conflict is that the Meitei groups wanted the government to place them on the list of scheduled tribes because they were considered tribes before the merger of Manipur with India in 1949. Their major allegation is that they have been marginalised and are not progressing. The Kuki community opposed this because they are already the dominant community with nearly 45 per cent of the population, have political power backed by politicians, and are already attempting to take our lands. If they are granted scheduled tribes’ status, they will become even more powerful, and we will suffer greatly. The high court heard the case, which asked the central government to consider awarding the Meitei community scheduled tribal status. This is when the clashes began and worsened to a situation in which a woman belonging to Kuki was taken on roads naked as well as there are so many people died because of these clashes, the central government was silent in some ways and even the prime minister was hesitant to speak about the issue[2]. The state government was even more careless in the matter, and they were prepared to suit. Because of the caste politics that have been practised in Manipur, and the state government's failure to take any preventive measures, the violence erupted in such a way that hundreds of people perished as a result. And, to everyone's surprise, the government and opposition were doing politics on the same issue rather than discussing and fixing the problem. They were mostly conducting politics on the caste violence that had occurred, which was shameful. People want peace, but politicians are fighting each other, claiming that you are the one who is at fault, and politics is on the topic of caste. The above one is the best example of how caste politics is a threat to society hundreds of people are been killed by caste politics and there exists no peace.
Haryana
Conflict
The Haryana crisis is similar to the Manipur conflict in that the Jat group wanted to be included on the OBC list, but this was opposed by the non-Jat community because the non-Jat community feared losing their reservations, and therefore violence ensued. This violence also clearly demonstrated the influence of the dominant caste in politics, which paved the way for politics on caste, which led to violent death of people, so this is also the case where people are sacrificing their lives for a futile reason and also clearly showed caste politics will never benefit an individual[3].
CONCLUSION
I
conclude by saying that caste politics need to be eradicated as quickly as feasible.
Caste politics, specifically the parties that are promoting the caste, should
be outlawed as soon as possible because no party shall support one caste over
another and should work for the betterment of all members of society. This is
especially true in a country like India where the constitution guarantees
rights to everyone and calls for equal treatment of all citizens. They are
using caste, which is against the law, but forcing people to use it as a means
of retaliation, which poses a threat to society and democracy. Retaliation
politics are not desirable in any way, and caste politics should be abandoned
because they entail this apparent harm to society. If we look at both the
Manipur and the Haryana conflicts, we can see that they are primarily based on
caste, and politics has made the issue more violent, resulting in the deaths of
innocent people. Politicians, for their gain, have raised some voices that
manipulate people's lives, ultimately leading to violence and leading
people living to disaster, as stated previously. Caste politics are a menace to society since
they only foster animosity, which can lead to violence and, ultimately, no
peace.
REFERENCES
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/jat-agitation-310332-2016-02-25
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/violence-in-manipur
[1]
https://www.indiatvnews.com/amp/news/india/andhra-capital-row-cm-jagan-mohan-reddy-dumping-amaravati-due-to-kamma-factor-574710
[2] https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/violence-in-manipur
[3] https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/jat-agitation-310332-2016-02-25
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