CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY

series of weekly lectures at 5 p.m. on every Friday

at Sahitya Academy Vyloppilly Hall, Thrissur

from 21st September 2007

Challenges to Democracy:

9th Lecture in the series on 16-11-2007  
By Sri. Sunny Kapikkad

Leading Dalit thinker and theoretician 

I am happy to present before you a Dalit Perspective on the on-going debate on Challenges to Democracy, initiated by Jananeethi Institute.

The word “Dalit” itself represents a loose concept. The idea of ‘dalit identity’ has been over simplified and reduced to that of an anti-elite view which naturally is opposed to the vision of dalit identity and interests of dalit communities. As in the past, caste is the major concern and the focal point at all spheres of our contemporary existence. Perhaps the least read and the least discussed intellectual giant, political philosopher, social philanthropist and constitutional expert in India was Dr.B.R.Ambedkar.

If you want democracy to continue to be the radical character of nation and the basic texture and framework of this country, the society should first believe in democracy and should be governed by its democratic principles. Caste is the characteristic feature of our collective social existence right from the time of our birth till death. However, our so called intellectuals and social philosophers are visibly reluctant to acknowledge or approve the importance of caste and its ramifications at various stages of human development. The dominance of the elite has been quite visible and conspicuous in all movements evolved both in pre-independent and post-independent India as well as other socio-cultural institutions and programmes. It does exist even today. The chauvinistic hubris of the elite and the middle class apparently gets manifested even in the case of citizenship that is most fundamental and vital to any democracy. The most distressing situation any dalit citizen in this country has been facing all these years is that the dalit as individuals or communities are not counted or acknowledged as national citizens of this country.

Many of the liberative movements India consciously and intently avoided dalit leadership from such people’s front and only the elite and middle class leadership got themselves at the key positions of such movements, and that such sectarian movements subsequently got into politics and became share holders in political regime. The dalit rights, by and large, are deemed to be secondary or lesser in India for obvious reasons. Reservation policy in the country did play and continues to play a major role in ensuring opportunities to vulnerable groups in decision making process.  Democracy becomes relevant only when there are proficient and highly successful men and women from all classes and communities of the society. Reservation as a Constitutional mandate and Fundamental Right was aimed at to ameliorate the sense of indignation, strong feeling of social ostracism and neglect that existed in the marginalized communities. Perhaps India would have been further divided into many more unless there came in force the reservation policy to address deprivation of the dalit rights. I do not think that the citizenship in India is honoured to all ethnic and linguistic communities notwithstanding the caste and communal considerations. It would be opposed to truth; if at all some one asserts it. When the dalit leadership speaks about brotherhood, the elite leadership is concerned with equity. Whoever comes in political regime, it would surely be a rule by the elite. No party, no political coalition in power - no matter whether one is left or right – has been able to question the elite hegemony.

Another fundamental handicap of the dalit community is the economic backwardness. The dalit ownership to landed property comes far behind all other communities like the Christians, the elite Hindus, Muslims or the Ezhavas. The stigma attached to the dalit community that it has no space to claim for themselves always is a stumbling block to voice for their infringements of rights. It is either hypocrisy or ignorance to say that there is no caste. We have every thing based on caste considerations and determinants of castes. Hence what is required is an attempt to ensure communal harmony based on cultural diversity rather than trying for social equity based on uniformity.  I prefer fraternal co-existence a better option for an ideal democracy.