Parallels have been drawn between racism in the west and casteism in India - both are social constructs, both privilege groups of people, limiting the life chances and horizons of millions of people because of where they are born

For everyone interested in race, an understanding of caste it essential. Pulitzer Prize winner and author Isabel Wilkerson says, "We cannot fully understand the current upheavals, or almost any turning point in American history, without accounting for the human pyramid that is encrypted into us all: the caste system"

Since, I re-started my DEI journey a couple of years back after hitting a career wall I have been advocating for a fairer, equitable and more representative industry and society. As a founding member of the Race and Ethnicity Equity Board at the PRCA and Co-Chair of the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council, I am passionate about what I do and am determined to help bring change.

I talk about about race, ethnicity, equity and inclusion all the time, so I think it would be very hypocritical of me to not talk about caste - the proverbial elephant in the room and the pervasive inequalities and inequities it breeds.

So, over the coming months I will be speaking with subject matter experts, thought leaders, academics and individuals to throw more light on this behemoth that castes a dark shadow over our society. I am no expert, so this is an exercise in learning and mainstreaming conversations about caste and hearing perspectives from those who continue to be marginalised and afflicted by it.

My hope is that people stop considering being 'caste blind' as the gold standard for fairness (both in corporate India and society); and start acknowledging the deep divisions that exist in our society and the caste penalty that millions of people pay every single day.

In this episode I also speak about 👇🏾

👉🏾 India's affirmative action programme a world first that is enshrined in its constitution which was written by a visionary, intellectual giant and Dalit, Dr B.R.Ambedkar

👉🏾 Isabel Wilkerson and her take on caste in India

👉🏾 A recent Pew Research Centre Report on religion and caste in India 

👉🏾 Caste, Privilege, and its manifestations

There are also a few sound bytes from people sharing their personal views on caste in 2021

#societyandculture #inclusion #fairness

Listen here👇🏾👇🏾

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room/id1540074396?i=1000536469957

Memorable Passages from the Episode:

👉🏾 Welcome to The Elephant in the Room podcast. Today's episode is about caste, what it means to me, my personal experiences, the Indian constitution and a recent Pew Center Report. This episode is standalone but over the coming months I hope to explore the various dimensions of caste with subject matter experts, individual and leaders from the Dalit community and my broader network. In today's episode you will also hear voices from people across India and their personal views on caste. 

👉🏾 What does caste mean to me? As someone who grew up in India, I have always been conscious about caste and it's insidious hold on our lives and how it permeates the very fabric of our society and being. With the advent of new technology, and 24x7 media - caste inequities and atrocities are more visible now than it was a decade ago. But, like most people caught up in the humdrum of life, I have never done anything about it - except to push back if it threatened to infringe upon parts of my life. 

👉🏾 When I launched The Elephant in the Room podcast last year, it was with a view to mainstreaming conversations that are taboo, speak about people's lived experiences and give voice to issues that are important to building a fairer and more just society. As an advocate for equity & inclusion it would be downright hypocritical of me not to talk about the deep inequalities that exist in the society from where I come. So this is my opportunity now to learn about this behemoth that castes a dark shadow over our wonderful land.

Vox Pop

👉🏾 For most professional Indians their social identity is rooted in where they work, their designation, what they earn, what they own - which is linked to class. Once you have crossed that barrier there is a guessing game, about where they are from based on their surname. Indians are notoriously curious, aspirational and interested in other people's status and standing in society - this is usually to size up and see where they stand. And it is not considered rude or nosy to know about the history of a person who is perhaps standing in front of you in a queue within 10 mins. 

 👉🏾 When I was in school, people often thought I am from southern India because I was one too many shades dark to be a North Indian. After marriage I took my husbands surname - Singh - which is ubiquitous for northern India. People often ask me are you Punjabi/Sikh? And if I said no, they wanted to know where I was from then. My parents were born in the Rajput community but are not from Rajasthan. I felt a sense of shame admitting that my parents were from Bihar a state in Eastern India - being called a Bihari was like a slur - the associated stereotypes were - uneducated, backward, cannot speak English and of course, Bollywood has contributed to perpetuating that myth. Regional stereotypes abound in India. The other factor for me was that I felt I belonged to the state where I grew up, rather than where my parents came from - the values, the culture, the people - it all resonated with me. 

👉🏾 So, what does it mean to be a Rajput, were there some norms, behaviours that one had to adopt because you were born a Rajput. Not in our household but that does not mean that those norms did not exist or do not exist. Being a Rajput accorded me numerous privileges at various touch points in my life - so much privilege that I did not realise that I was different. My first experience with exclusion was only when I moved to the UK, and became a minority and outsider. That experience deepened my empathy and understanding of exclusion and what it meant to be the other. 

👉🏾 Isabel Wilkerson is the author of 'Caste: The lies that divide us' and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. And if you don't already know, she is the first woman of African American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. On the Indian caste system she says and I quote:

"A caste system endures because it is often justified as divine will, originating from a sacred text or the presumed laws of nature, reinforced throughout the culture and passed down through generations."

"As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theatre, the flashlight cast down the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power: which groups have it and which do not. It is about resources: which caste is seen as worthy of them, and which are not; who gets to acquire and control them, and who does not. It is about respect, authority and assumptions of competence: who is accorded these, and who is not."

And if you want to know more about Isabel Wilkerson there are links at the end of the shownotes. 

Vox Pop

👉🏾 In India caste and religion are strongly intertwined - one is the lifeblood of the other, they feed off each other. There are many who would disagree, but this is not a question of our personal beliefs but of ground realities. I grew up in a household where there were no conversations about caste or religion. Religious occasions were treated as high points in the year for cultural and social interaction. Holi was about colours and abandon; Durga Pooja was about new clothes and Diwali was about food, clothes and extended families. 

👉🏾 Like most middle class Indians of a certain age - my brothers and I went to a convent school. That they were run by catholic nuns did not matter and that we had to go to church and learn hymns did not matter either to my parents - as much as the fact that they taught in English and the standard of education was good as per the expectation at that point in time. A lot of the convent schools were subsidised by the government - so fees were low and they were encouraged to have students from economically disadvantaged background. The extent of co-mingling and friendships I cannot really comment on - but I was friends with most of my classmates and nobody at home was controlling or telling me to engage or not engage with certain groups. 

👉🏾 I feel proud to say that India has the largest and most comprehensive affirmative action programme in the world. It is enshrined in Indian constitution. And the constitution written by a visionary and intellectual giant and Dalit, Dr B.R Ambedkar.

👉🏾 And just to demystify the word Dalit. What or who is a Dalit? Dalits were the lowest in the caste hierarchy, the untouchables. Gangadhar Pantawane, a Dalit writer from Maharashtra defines Dalit as a notion of change and revolution. He says,"What is Dalit. To me, Dalit is not a caste. Dalit is a symbol of change and revolution. The Dalit believes in humanism." Dalitness is a matter of appreciating the potential of one's total being.

👉🏾 Fundamental Rights are enshrined in the Indian constitution; including the right to equality, the right to freedom and the right against exploitation. In an attempt to correct historical injustices, the Indian constitution banned discrimination on the basis of caste. And in a world first introduced affirmative action announcing quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for people from scheduled castes, tribes and the lowest in caste hierarchy. This was a concerted effort to correct historical injustices and provide a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged. 

👉🏾 Affirmative action has since expanded to include new categories and the Indian Supreme Court has capped reservations at 50 percent of total jobs and seats. In 2021 caste is a sensitive topic of discussion, the affirmative action programme is controversial as numbers of employable Indians grows and jobs become scarce. In a fiercely competitive education and job market - caste, especially the quota system is a potential flashpoint. 

Caste is the principle that drives electoral politics and like everywhere in the world politicians are not averse to pitting one community against the other as they fight for votes and quotas. 

👉🏾 For an equity & inclusion practitioner I am fascinated with the depth and breadth of the Indian affirmative action programmes but also the learnings on how much angst it has created in communities who are not beneficiaries. For us to understand the success or failure it would be important to have a detailed caste census something that does not exist at this point in time. And for which major political parties have been clamouring in the last year. 

👉🏾 Highly educated Indians are fiercely protective and proud of their caste and the social norms that come with it. Does it mean that they are all discriminatory? In India, caste is not just limited to Hindus, Muslims and Christians also have the caste system - something that is unheard of outside the country. People convert to escape the dogmas of one religion but in their new religion they continue to have a low status inherited from their past life. 

👉🏾 Today, Caste is definitely, the big elephant in the room. It is not something the middle class or upper classes speak about or acknowledge. I have had fierce debates with perfectly decent human beings about caste and 7 out of 10 individuals in urban India will tell you - that corporate India believes in meritocracy (which in itself is deeply flawed); that the media is indulging in sensationalism on atrocities by attributing a caste dimension to the story.

Vox Pop

👉🏾 The immediate trigger for this episode was deeply personal and troubling experience. My 30 year old niece fell in love, which in itself is troublesome for her conservative mother, and to top it her beau comes from a working class background and from a caste perspective is low ranking. There are so many things that are wrong with this situation a) the lack of decision making power a 30 year old girl has in 2021 is not just disturbing but worrisome. b) The role of patriarchy in the decision making process. 

👉🏾 They say art imitates life and this entire episode had the makings of a melodramatic Bollywood movie. The biggest concern in the family was, ' What would people say'? 'We are going to lose face?' 'What if it does not work out? Kudos to my niece for standing up to the family - but her strategy was more around wearing them out. When I consider my own girls and their ability to make their own decisions - I feel proud of them. Not because I have allowed them to do that - that is not a power I have to give. But, because I have inculcated in them the importance of treating everyone with respect for who they are and irrespective of where they were born or what caste or religion they belong to. We must be able to live the values we espouse and show our children and future generations that change is possible and that there are people in world who are taking the necessary steps to enable that change. 

👉🏾 A Pew Research Center Report from June states that nearly all Indians today identify with a caste, regardless of their religion. The survey finds that three-in-ten Indians (30%) identify themselves as members of General Category castes, a broad grouping at the top of India’s caste system that includes numerous hierarchies and sub-hierarchies. The highest caste within the General Category is the Brahmin, historically the priests and other religious leaders who also served as educators. Just 4% of Indians today identify as Brahmin.

👉🏾 According to the report most Indians do not feel there is a lot of caste discrimination in the country, and two-thirds of those who identify with Scheduled Castes and Tribes say there is not widespread discrimination against their respective groups. This feeling may reflect personal experience: 82% of Indians say they have not personally faced discrimination based on their caste in the year prior to taking the survey.

👉🏾 Still, Indians conduct their social lives largely within the caste hierarchies. A majority of Indians say that their close friends are mostly members of their own caste, including roughly one-quarter (24%) who say all their close friends are from their caste. And most people say it is very important to stop both men and women in their community from marrying into other castes

👉🏾 While not obviously visible in the metros, caste permeates all aspects of social life. And this complex hierarchy is based on a highly regressive book called the Manusmriti written a 1000 years before Christ was born. In rural communities caste hierarchies are more open and obvious - with lower castes living on the outskirts, not allowed to share water from well with upper castes and upper castes sanctioning intercaste marriage. 

👉🏾 I have not read the Manusmirit neither has most of India. Hinduism where this caste system is embedded is not prescriptive on one seminal text to be followed to be a true Hindu - so it beggars belief why people would continue to drag this thing that does more harm than good into the future. According to me progress is when human beings adopt new and better ways of doing things and let go of the old. So why not for this antiquated social construct? Perhaps because it helps protect the power and privilege of a few.

Vox Pop

👉🏾 There is no one homogenous India, no linear thinking about what is right or wrong; often times it is opportunistic, cash your caste when it takes you forward. And by no means am I the only person of Indian origin who feels only horror at the continued marginalisation of poorest and most disadvantaged in the country. 

👉🏾 I will end with a quote from Dr B R Ambedkar, "Caste is not a physical object like a wall of bricks or a line of barbed wire which prevents the Hindus from co-mingling and which has, therefore, to be pulled down. Caste is a notion; it is a state of the mind.” “The caste system does not demarcate racial division. The caste system is a social division of people of the same race.”

👉🏾 Thank you for listening to today's episode and if there was anything you found interesting do drop me a line, I would love to hear from you and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast - The Elephant in the Room. And look forward to seeing you again next week. 

Follow Sudha on: 

Twitter:@Sudha1404 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudha-singh-424ba53

The Elephant in the Room Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room/id1540074396

Website: www.thepurposeroom.org

Important links: 

Pew Report: https://www.pewforum.org/2021/06/29/attitudes-about-caste/

👉🏾https://thediplomat.com/2021/08/what-attempts-to-measure-indias-caste-system-get-wrong/

Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The lies that divide us

👉🏾 https://www.npr.org/2020/08/04/898574852/its-more-than-racism-isabel-wilkerson-explains-america-s-caste-system

👉🏾 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/untouchables-caste-system-us-race-martin-luther-king-india

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