Editor’s note – Recently, Krishna Gopal, joint general secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said that in ancient India, people who consumed cow meat were labelled as untouchable. The following article by Amarjit Singh aka Dalit Shukra is a reply as well as deep analysis to that statement. 

The Aryans ate meat; the guest was labelled go gnah or the killer of the cow, but no sin was attached to the priest or one who offered sacrifice and he who performed the action. The ancient Indian literature did not have the word ‘untouchability’ or ‘Dalit’ but the Bible did not have ‘N’ word either. Dr Ambedkar made a distinction between the impure and the untouchable. Impurity could be washed off but not birth based untouchability. Women were the original ‘impures’ due to their periods. According to the Yajanvalkaya Smiriti, on the first day, they were as impure as a Chandal, on the second day as impure as a Brahmin killer and on the third day in between. On the fourth day, they could wash away their temporary untouchability and then could be seen fit to have sexual intercourse with. For the caste Hindus rapists, such considerations of pollution have never acted as a deterrent. Hindu rituals and practices of untouchability are riddled with logical contradictions, as many scholars of untouchability have observed. Such hypocrisy prevails even now as untouchability is banned on paper but like Victorian sex, its practice is widespread.

When the Arabs arrived in Sindh, during the invasion of Mohammed Bin Kasim in 712CE, many Hindus were either converted or were forced to become Muslims by heavy jaziya taxation. Some Buddhists converted voluntarily as it offered them societal and trading advantages. Some Dalits converted for socio-political reasons. When the Arabs left, the converts were given the choice of reconverting back to Hinduism by atonement as prescribed in the newly created Devala Smiriti. There were exceptions; only certain people qualified for reconversion, based mainly on the time factor or for the women if they had not produced any issue. Gopal’s statement for the reason the queens of Sindh King Dahir killed themselves cannot be verified as the custom of sati amongst the Hindu nobility was fairly widespread as was the tradition of victor claiming his spoils including claiming the queens of the defeated king, regardless of the religion of the two parties concerned.

Why was Deval Smiriti never used to purify the Untouchables? Because the impures (like women) were different from the ‘Untouchables’ who were degraded into this position permanently. A situation was created which justified itself in a circular sort of argument. Purification rituals when used on Dalits were of political nature, intended to throw the dust into the eyes of the people, as in Arya Samaj movement of the early 20^thcentury Punjab and dining with Dalit families by BJP politicians in the last few years.

During the Gupta period, cow killing was made an offence, before the above date. Untouchability crept in after this when the Kali Yuga societal turmoil resulted in widespread chaos, Sudras start to behave like the upper castes and in some cases, even women took up the plough. Varna dharma was in such a danger that the situation called for an innovative and robust strategy of divide and rule. Untouchability due to eating beef was perfect when people were forced to live on leftover and carrion and endogamy was enforced by law to split the unity of people. This could be applied to those of rebellious nature or those Adivasis who refused to live under the caste rules or those who did not observe the caste rules and were degraded. The contempt was widespread, even reaching out to the Buddhists. Ambedkar’s theory, although radical for its time needs slight revision as much of the information on Indian history, for example on the Kali Yuga, simply was not available during his times. But the core of the theory remains intact, although it has to be supplemented by the reasons for the violent nature of the times. This divide and rule policy proved to be so successful and useful that in the 21st century it remains prevalent as it was so useful to the Brahmin Bania class as most cheap labour is broken Adivasi people and Dalits. There is thus an unholy alliance between Vedic orthodoxy and Bania capitalism which complement each other in harmony. The very unity of people is compromised by this HIV AIDS-like virus which attacks the body’s immune system itself.

Goebbels, who was Hitler’s deputy said that a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth, but when Germany lost the 2^nd World War, these untruths resulted in a very heavy price being paid by Germany. The dreams of a thousand-year Reich became a nightmare. Indian upper castes have already reaped the benefits and privileges resulting from belonging to Dwija castes for nearly two thousand years. It becomes imperative that Indian society liquidates this custom as soon as possible as this very practice is itself anti-national, hindering the growth of genuine nationalism, national unity, social harmony and preventing good economic growth rather than the parasitical growth we have observed in the last few decades. India is one of the few countries in the world that has this system and no Indian can hold their head with pride when Dalits are mentioned.

Those who are near the Dwijas may wish to believe in such ahistorical nonsense as espoused by Gopal, but the fact remains that that majority of the Muslims and Christians in India are the descendants of Dalits and Adivasis who converted to these religions because of the oppressive caste Hindu practices. All so-called lower castes are the offspring of ancient Adivasis. This blood unity was fractured post-Gupta times when cow killing was made an offence.

The claim that only Hinduism does not believe in conversion is false. In his undelivered Annihilation of Caste speech, Ambedkar said that at one time Hinduism was a missionary religion but at one point it stopped being so. Throughout history, Hinduism was a missionary religion which went into Adivasi areas, breaking the tribal structure and settling the Adivasis into caste-based villages. The Adivasis resisted and what came about in this struggle was the caste system and later untouchability. After the more or less complete victory of Hinduism, it sopped being a missionary for there was no reason for it be so. Currently, violence, supplemented by fake sympathy and divide and rule appears to be paying better dividends.

Author – Amarjit Singh aka Dalit Shukra