Ambedkar-Philosophy of Hinduism

AMBEDKAR'S PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUISM AND CONTEMPORARY CRITIQUES
PROF. M. M. NINAN
II
RAJEEV
http://
rajeev2007.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/in-defense-of-caste/
Rajeev Srinivasan is an Indian intellectual. He is a native speaker of Malayalam the language of the Indian state of
Kerela. T.P. Sreenivasan describes him as a popular commentator, and discusses his work in rediff.com, where he
is a columnist.
" Nothing wrong with caste
Birth and berth — Rajeev Srinivasan | Public affairs commentator
It has become a conditioned, Pavlovian reflex for Indians to condemn the entire idea of caste unthinkingly. It has
become a cliché to rail against caste, but jati and varnam are just a codification of the fact that all humans are not
born equal in their endowments: Some are tall, some are fat, some are musically talented, and so on. We cannot
escape the ruthless Bell Curve.
The very term ‘caste’ is not proper, because it is a European Christian distortion of the ideas of jati and varnam,
which the colonialists condemned out of ignorance and prejudice. Yet, given the widespread notions about caste, I
am forced to use the term.
What is deplorable is not caste per se, but casteism, or discrimination based on caste. This is similar to the
rightly abhorred discrimination based on other inescapable biological facts: Race, gender, or age. Casteism must
be condemned in the strongest possible terms, but that does not mean caste has to be thrown out, baby with bathwater.
Caste is a convenient organising principle. Being social animals, humans need to belong to groups. There is a
tendency to manufacture in-group/out-group differences and mythologies. However, if groups are roughly equal, we
end up with collective bargaining where a group member has a better chance than an unattached individual. This is
the reality in India today: Caste as trade union, attempting to grab more than its fair share of the fairly small
pie.
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