HOW MUCH WILL YOU PAY?

In many a class room in the US the following question is often asked of white students.

Imagine that you are asked  before you are born how much money are you willing to pay to be born a white  rather than a black. What will be your answer ?

Most whites say amounts ranging from  $5000 to $50,000.There is then a debate on the responses . It then is revealed that whites do not fully appreciate the agony  and the discrimination that blacks suffer on account of their colour and race. Blacks are willing to pay several millions to be born white. ! Whites are astounded at the strong feelings of blacks about colour and race and its impact on their  lives.

One of the features about human thinking is the difficulty we have in understanding other people , their perceptions and experiences.

In the Indian context we could ask the question –WHAT MONEY ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY TO BE BORN IN A FORWARD  CASTE RATHER THAN AN  SC/ST  OR  A DALIT? A HINDU RATHER THAN A MUSLIM IN INDIA ?
My forward  caste friends might say that SC/ST people are exaggerating their problems and politicians are ‘ playing the caste  and religion card’  for political ends. I agree with the latter –more about this later—but it is difficult for a forward  caste person to understand what the SC/ST  or  Muslim is going through .  It is true that in some states there is no more the virulent form of caste discrimination that is now found  in states in the north thanks to the social reforms movement that started in the South in  the early 1900’s. This is not yet evident in the north hence the frequent occurrence  of  horrendous incidents of discrimination.

A Princeton university study has shown that in the employment market in India candidates with names that indicate  their ‘ low caste’  origins are discriminated against. A counter argument is that these candidates are not preferred because they got their high qualifications by a process of dilution of marking standards even at the entrance exam stage. This may be true.

The other side of this is the way some people play  the caste or community card when it suits them.

Md.  Azharuddin was loved and admired as one of India’s very successful captains,  an elegant batsmen and excellent fielder. But when  he got into serious trouble in the match fixing scandal the first statement he made was that he was being framed because he was a Muslim .It came as a shock to millions who never ever looked at him with communal eyes and gave him our love and admiration Clearly he was playing the communal card . To his credit he withdrew his statement.

Witness the way Salman Khan puts on his Muslim traditional skull cap whenever he is dragged to court  for his multifarious offences .He also plays the communal card on such occasions forgetting that the mainstay of his popularity  and his billions is his vast army of fans that cut across the communal divide. When not going to the courts he prefers minimalist attire !

The likes of Laloo and Mayawati once they came to power and made their fortunes  are now as distant from their clans as anyone could  be. They have done nothing constructive for their people –education,  vocational training etc for example. They have now enriched themselves on a scale that will make anyone  blush.

 My conclusion—discrimination, divisions and the animosity arising form it are hardwired into the human psyche. It is not true that it is only in recent times that there has been so much hatred and  discrimination . It has always been like this.  It is our tendency towards nostalgic thinking that makes us refer to the ‘ good old days’ I prefer the term ‘ bad old days’.

Humans have a tendency to feel superior to some people and feel inferior  towards others. We bow and scrape before some and throw our weight  around  others.[Just see how I.A.S officers lord it over you and obtain reports of how they bow and scrape  to  ministers]

 I  understand from sociologists that even among dalits –the lowest in the obnoxious Hindu  hierarchy—there are layers and  those perched in the upper layers hate and will not share a glass of water with those unfortunately ‘ below’ them!

There is this biblical metaphor about the Tower of Babel that God deliberately created so that mankind would never unite and live happily ever after. Priests of all religions being ‘men of God’ can only perpetuate the divide.

I have many  reservations about priests and politicians. I can do no better than quote Denis Diderot

MEN WILL NEVER BE FREE UNTIL THE LAST KING IS STRANGLED WITH THE ENTRAILS OF THE LAST PRIEST.

K.R.RAVI

USA