Recasting Caste – Utopian and Scientific
(Suresh Srivastava)
I normally
do not involve myself in any discussion on the proposition of convergence of
class and caste, and am apprehensive whether any fruitful result can be
achieved by identifying caste as class, because the discussants are normally
petty bourgeois pseudo left intellectuals, who are not trained to think
dialectically, hence there are arguments only and no discussions. But after
reading the article written by Mr Asit Das, titled THE REAL WORLD OF
CASTE IN INDIA, as a prefatory to Mr Hira Singh’s RECASTING CASTE, and
circulated on a group of socially conscious young intellectuals, I could not
restrain myself from intervening. Need of the time is to provide socially
conscious young intellectuals every opportunity to help them develop a
dialectical reasoning and scientific outlook so that some of them could play
the historical role of torch bearer for emancipation of the human society. And
nothing could be more effective than to juxtapose dialectical and metaphysical
interpretations about any phenomena exposing inherent contradiction in the
metaphysical analysis.
Ever since Marx and Engels enunciated the theory of
dialectical and historical materialism, and on the basis of that theory suggested
a revolutionary praxis for the working class, in the form of ‘Manifesto of the Communist
Party’, multipronged attack by bourgeois intellectuals was unleashed against
the theory. When bourgeois intellectuals failed in their frontal attack to
contain the spread of Marxist ideas among the working masses all over the world,
they chose to sabotage the theory from within, by obfuscating the core content
of the Marxist theory, importing numerous metaphysical concepts, in the name of
developing Marxism in line with ever developing society.
In last 175 years, plethoric documentation has been
churned out by middle class left intellectuals, in the name of development of
Marxism with reference to the modern and post modern stages of development.
About any social phenomenon, first they choose an interpretation at will, and
then to justify the veracity of their conclusions, conveniently gather some
data and some quotations from Marx, and configure an analysis in a metaphysical
manner to claim their interpretation to be dialectical. In the preface to his
famous pamphlet ‘Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism’, Lenin
categorically warned against this revisionist trend. He writes ‘In view of the
extreme complexity of the phenomena of social life it is always possible to
select any number of examples or separate data to prove any proposition.’
With their petty bourgeois consciousness, self-proclaimed
Marxists fail to distinguish between dialectical approach and metaphysical
approach, and feed the young minds with their utopian concepts in the name of
scientific concept of socialism. In his preface to ‘Anti-Duhring’, Engels
writes ‘And
finally, to me there could be no question of building the laws of dialectics
into nature, but of discovering them in it and evolving them from it’. Pseudo-Marxists,
unable to comprehend the philosophical aspect of Marxian dialectics, fail to
understand that the whole world of political, social and religious ideas of any
class is a superstructure built on the infrastructure of material production
relations between various classes, and which may appear to be completely
unrelated with its foundation.
Those
leftists who propagate the idea that Marxist understanding of caste and
Ambedkarite understanding of caste are convergent or that the caste shall be
annihilated with class, have not been able to get themselves rid of their
petty-bourgeois consciousness. Again in the above pamphlet, Lenin writes ‘For
they are the real agents of the bourgeoisie in the working class movement, the
labour lieutenants of the capitalist class, real vehicles of reformism and
chauvinism. …….. Unless the economic roots of this phenomenon are understood
and its political and social significance is appreciated, not a step can be
taken toward the solution of the practical problem of the communist movement
and of the impending social revolution.’
If one has
understood philosophical aspect of Marxism - which most of the leftists either
do not understand or consider unimportant – one will be clear, that caste
system is an ideological manifestation of, division of labour in the process of
material production and relations of production, and hence question of caste
cannot be solved in a predominantly feudal society but will fizzle out as
division of labour fizzles out with the growth of capitalist mode of
production.
Marx had
identified that division of labour was based on the development of individual
skills and on an individual providing specific kind of skilled labour power in
the production of one particular kind of product. But production of one particular
kind of goods was not confined to an individual or a family, in some areas like
India, a whole community was producing one kind of product which is the basis
of development of caste system in India. Even today a cast is identified by the
kind of work the community has been doing.
Marx had
further identified that ‘Upon
the different forms of property, upon the social conditions of existence, rises
an entire superstructure of distinct and peculiarly formed sentiments,
illusions, modes of thought, and views of life. The entire class creates and
forms them out of its material foundations and out of the corresponding social
relations.’ (Marx, XVIII Brumaire). Thus caste system developed on
the material foundation of division of labour, but took the form of religion
and social stratification with un-touchability. Caste system, like religion is
an integral part of feudalism and continues even during the development of
capitalism.
Marx did
not deal with the subject of caste because he had realised that the cause of
human woes is the private appropriation of surplus value produced by collective
labour and he focused on finding how exploitation of man by man can be
annihilated. Different classes and identities will be having their own specific
problems at different stages of historical development, which will have to be
dealt specifically by people of that particular era, but emancipation of human
race as a whole will occur only when surplus produced collectively, is
appropriated collectively.
Metaphysical
view of Indian left is to assume that, in India, caste is synonymous to class
because both have a common foundation in division of labour and hence class
struggle and caste struggle are coterminous, and since annihilation of class is
possible only with annihilation of capitalism, hence annihilation of cast is also
possible with annihilation of capitalism only.
Dialectical
view is that division of labour leads to production of commodities and division
of society into classes. Within the domain of production workmen were divided
between classes on the basis of skill, but, while in class structure individual
workman is identified by the skill he acquires and becomes member of a class,
in caste structure an individual is part of a caste, which is identified by the
particular trade it follows, and the individual acquires the same skill.
Because in caste structure division of labour was linked to birth, over a time,
concept of caste became part of ideological consciousness of the particular
class and integrated with religion.
In a
feudal socio-economic formation castes and classes are synonymous because
working masses are divided into various classes on the basis of skill. But with
development of capitalist mode of production, machines take over the skill of
the craftsmen and all workmen become simple wage labourer, and workmen hitherto
divided into various classes converge into one class, proletariat and so will
converge all castes into one oppressed class.
At social
level there could be various oppressed groups e.g. ethnic groups, religious
minorities, women and children, refugees etc., and at social level different
groups may have to fight different battles, but at economic level there are
only two classes, oppressed or oppressor, and at political level there has to
be a united fight by all the oppressed people. Any identity politics will
weaken the proletarian class struggle, and hence communists may be part of all
social movements but shall not be in the forefront of social movements. Their
task is to bring in political awareness among the masses through their
participation in these social movements.
With due
apologies to Mr Asit Das and Mr Hira Singh, I have to take up this ungrateful
task of identifying the content in Mr Asit Das’ article which obfuscates
Marxism, and appeal to the young intellectuals not to identify ideas with
individuals, and rather dwell upon the idea forgetting the author, to guard
against subjective understanding of the subject matter. I shall reproduce some
of the phrases from the article which, in my opinion are contrary to Marxist
thought, and leave it to the young readers’ reasoning.
·
The
annihilation of caste is intrinsically related with the abolition of class rule
in India.
·
Identification
of India with caste and reduction of caste to its religious essence is a
product of the colonial process of essentialization.
·
Hence,
caste is very much an important component of Indian politics, and it is a
reality which no sensible Marxist can afford to overlook.
·
Communists should be in the forefront in the fight against caste,
gender, racial, national and ethnic oppressions. One need not miss the wood for
the tree. In the light of above arguments, Hira Singh’s book “Recasting Caste”
is a serious Marxist intervention in the contemporary caste debates.
·
In India, in the era of Mandal and Kamandal politics, caste has
assumed an overwhelming importance both in politics and in the Academia.(The
result of XVI Lok Sabha elections shows that caste has not assumed an
overwhelming importance in politics, rather it is waning. In Academia, yes of
course, because it suits the existing system.)
·
Delineate a strategy for a classless and casteless society.
·
The question whether caste is infrastructure or superstructure is
redundant.
·
It is here that the Marxist and Ambedkarite project of
‘annihilation of castes’ converge.
·
And it is here that the political project of Ambedkarites and the
political left converges.
While fighting against revisionism
in Russuian communist movement, in 1902, Lenin wrote his famous pamphlet ‘What
is to be done’ and in the preface he writes, ‘But the confusion and vacillation
which constitute the distinguishing feature of an entire period in the
history …….. [may be read as history of 90 years of Indian communist movement];
………. also acquires significance, for we can make no progress until we have
completely put an end to this period.’
I hope Indian Marxist will pay
heed to Lenin’s teachings.
Suresh
Srivastava
15
July, 2014
