Rajshekar’s writing: Shape of the Things to Come (2005) reflects Reconsidering The Ideas Of Nationality And Religion In The Context Of Ethnic Identities in Present Context.

Dalit literature basically is, thus, counter-hegemonic. The ideas which the writers develop reflect their own social consciousness determined by their structured social existence. Dalit writers hence come from a most subjugated class and caste origin. They are necessary to share a common critical attitude towards the hegemonic upper-caste ideologies.

In search of their new socio-cultural identity and difference, they have developed their own writing style and skills with their own historical symbols and literary concepts. In general, prejudice is the cause of racial and other forms of inequality and discrimination is propelled by this prejudice and directed towards social groups such as Blacks or Dalits. As attitude apartheid combines beliefs, values and judgments, and positive or negative emotions that White directs at blacks. It nourishes stereotyped beliefs about racial differences in such areas as intelligence, motivation, moral character and ability.

Other differences are then judged according to cultural values to the detriment of people of colour. It also generates attitudes such as hostility, contempt and fear between two races. Since people of colour in Europe and the U. S. live in the dominant culture of White, racial prejudice will also to some degree affect blacks as to how they perceive, evaluate and feel about themselves.

Exploitation is one of the outcomes of apartheid and casteism. Exploitation, incidentally, is a process by which a strong group attempts to control and exploit the weaker group by using its all resources in order to protect its own interests. In this supremacy dynamics, it uses its power and means for domination, exploitation and humiliation. The class of oppressors invariably discourages the independence of the exploited. Therefore, it always attempts to instil a sense of inferiority complex in the exploited by forcing them to believe their culture is inferior.

The constant conflicts between the oppressor and the oppressed, between the Black and the White and between the low caste Dalit and the caste Hindus in India have been the feature of the modern world history. Rajshekar’s writings generated common concerns among the new generation of Dalits and BCs. In fact, Rajshekar has not written on any isolated matter, his purpose has not been writing history but to explain the impact of events and personalities upon society.

Therefore, it is significant to study the services rendered by Rajshekar for knowing and understanding Dalit cause. Shape of the Things to Come (2005) is a collection of Rajshekar’s reflection on the failure of democracy, hegemonic nationalism, economic implications of globalization and cultural war that take place between the majority and the minority. This work, unlike the other works of Rajshekar, discusses more of the international issues though it also touches upon the Brahminism and its impact.

Shape of the Things to Come holds up the basic argument that in the 21st century, we will have to reconsider the definitions of nationality and democracy. The basic argument in the text is that democracy is a failure in the Third World Countries mainly because it is a western notion. He also argues that democracy in a country like India fails to take into account the identities and aspirations of the indigenous people. According to Rajshekar, White Western racism, Brahminical forces and capitalist have formed the ruling tripod that oppresses all the minorities. He also explains how such a ruling-class conspiracy relegates people of the Third World into the margins.

Rajshekar opines: The problem with the peoples in the Third World and the Fourth World is they are victims of the First World media blitz. The ruling Tripod controls the mind of not only the peoples in the First World but also those in the II, III and IV Worlds. That is why when these submerged peoples struggling for their human rights fights and die for self-determination, they are dubbed terrorists. (SOTC: 10) Rajshekar also considers the problem of casteism in the wake of globalization and market capitalism and argues that these economic forces have effectively destroyed caste consolidation and caste struggle by destroying the indigenous cultures.

Rajshekar also observes that globalization and market capitalism are the weapons of the so-called democracies. He also explains why democracy does not work in Asia and Africa which are full of people of different heterogeneous communities: Democracy is a White Western concept. Asia and Africa, with hundreds of submerged nations, have not been familiar with democracy which is a Western product not suitable, not palatable to the Asians and Africans divided into tribes, castes and communities. (SOTC: 11) Rajshekar considers parliamentary democracy as a farce in the Third and the Fourth Worlds. He argues that in a country like India parliamentary democracy can only generate hatred between different communities.

He explains: An election under a “parliamentary democracy” divides brothers and puts one brother against the other brother. In a Jat stronghold in Western UP, a Jat is set up by all political parties and thereby the Jats, who are the victims of the ruling Brahminical races of India, are made to fight each other and cut each other’s throats. (SOTC: 13)

According to Rajshekar, the so-called democracy in India is controlled by the ruling class and it also tries to use coercive forces against the minorities. He cites the example of Kashmir problem while analyzing the failure of democracy: The upper caste rulers of India want to impose their hegemony on an unwilling Kashmir which has become the second most important trouble spot of the world after Palestine. India fought several wars with Pakistan and yet India’s rulers are not realizing that their fake democracy will not be accepted by Kashmir which continues to be a disputed territory as per the UN records. (SOTC: 16)

Rajshekar reminds the readers that a country like India is made of different tribes, castes and communities and hence it is not possible to bring such a country under the simple formulas of democracy and the rituals of elections. He observes: Democracy does not merely mean the holding of periodical elections. But these elections should be free from the influence of money, caste and violence. This is not possible in an extremely divided, unequal society like India where the Untouchables and Tribals are even today not allowed to vote. ( SOTC:16) Rajshekar is of the opinion that democracy has failed even in the U.S.A. Despite being the largest democracy in the world, America is trying to impose its superpower hegemony on many countries. He also reminds that the whites in America have been politically and culturally high- handed against Afro-Americans.

He also points out that no democracy in the world has really ended the ruling class hegemony. He explains: Democracy will not destroy the urges of a ruling class to impose its hegemony on weaker peoples through war and violence. War, therefore, cannot be wholly eradicated even if a majority of countries become democratic. War will still be there in spite of the democratic world government established through the United Nations. (SOTC: 24)

A similar view on democracy was articulated by Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar in his work Annihilation of Caste in which he had tried to redefine the principles of democracy: Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen. (Dr. Ambedkar:1944:47) Rajshekar also differentiates the political identity of a nation from its ethnic and cultural identities. According to him, the nation is a hegemonic notion propagated by the ruling class and hence, it is different from the identities like ethnic and cultural plurality.

He explains why democracy and nationhood will not work in a multiethnic society: Neither democracy, IT, nor globalization has reduced the role of state or nationhood. Nationhood and ethnic identity of a nation still get the highest importance. A nation still likes to remain as a separate entity. (SOTC: 26) Rajshekar also indicates that movements like Marxism and Communism have only strengthened the Brahminism by erasing cultural identities and ethnic identities. He maintains that Marxism, Capitalism, and I.T. (Information Technology) have all strengthen Brahminism regardless of their ideological differences.

He observes: Marxists weakened the identity of the people by using Marxism to strengthen Brahminism. It is these upper castes/Aryan rulers who today the most vociferous advocates of globalization, market capitalism and IT because they have come to know that these three instruments will ensure further enslavement of the existing slaves. (SOTC: 28) Rajshekar goes on to explain that Casteism is a violation of human rights.

However, he argues that though racism is considered as a violation of human right by media, casteism is not. Hence, he believes that casteism is not addressed at the global level and in India; it is silenced by the media. He says The Black, Muslims and India‘s Black Untouchables-the three principal deprived populations of the world-have no human rights. Neither the rich Western rulers bother about their human rights, nor their media. (SOTC: 31) Rajshekar proposes to consider, Caste as different nations within a nation.

According to him, Hindu unity is myths and political parties are divided along the caste lines in India. Hence, he maintains that caste is the most reliable marker of identity as it also resists Brahminism and its efforts to Hinduism the nation. According to him, Hindu identity needs to be replaced with the caste identities to liberate various interests of the jatis.

He opines: In India, the Brahmins are doing the same: the destruction of the identity of different nations to get them dissolved into the imaginary “Hindu identity”. But the best efforts of the Hindu Nazis are going futile because of the existence of hundreds of castes (jatis) which can be equated to different nations. We have equated the Indian caste to a nation and called the caste a nation within the nation. (SOTC: 40)

Rajshekar continues with this argument and explains that nationality does not exist in any aspect of Indian life. According to him, there is no nationalism, in political parties because they are founded on ethnic and regional identities. He comments: Already regional and caste-based political parties are getting popular and the “national” parties are dying. Caste-based parties are becoming increasingly popular. This is a sure indication of the cultural breakup of the country unable to tolerate the weight of the Hindu rulers. (SOTC: 44)

Rajshekar calls Hinduism a gas chamber that suffocates and inhibits ethnicities and caste identities. He also observes that Hinduism is sanctioned by the idea of democracy whereas there is no true democracy as the power is held by the minority in a country, where the minority, monopolies media, there cannot any true democracy. Rajshekar explains the nexus of media and Brahminism: The democracy –mongers say that a system of governance by which a majority decides is the most healthy one.

But our experience is that by monopolizing the media it is possible for a micro-minority to manipulate the opinion and become a majority. The best example for this is India where the Brahminical strategy is to keep the masses deliberately poor and hence illiterate and then manipulate the hungry stomachs. (SOTC: 53) Rajshekar also points out that the inherent paradox of Indian democracy. He argues that in India, it is actually upper-caste hegemony that works under the mask of democracy. He explains why it is so: If democracy is a system by which a majority of the people in any given country can decide how they want that country’s affairs to be run, how a micro-minority of Brahmins can become the majority? (SOTC: 54)

According to Rajshekar, no ideology or belief can hold all identities and ethnicities together. He reminds readers that India was a sub-continent of several castes, ethnicities and communities and hence it can never be brought under one cartographic projection as a nation. He also predicts that even Indian map will redefine in the future on the basis of ethnic identities.He observes: That means the map-makers of the world will have a busy time drawing and re-drawing the map with the birth of more and nations. And more and more identities coming to assert itself as against the Western attempt to destroy the identity of rivals through WTO, anti-terrorism war and violence and finally “Clash of civilizations.( SOTC:60)

Rajshekar’s view on ethnic nationalities is a clear echo of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar who had argued that Hinduism cannot form a society or a nation. He had explained the pitfalls of Hindu national consciousness: There are, however, many Indians whose patriotism does not permit them to admit that Indians are not a nation, that they are only an amorphous mass of people. They have insisted that underlying the apparent diversity there is a fundamental unity which marks the life of the Hindus in as much as there is a similarity of habits and customs, belief and thoughts which obtain all over the Continent of India. (Dr. Ambedkar:1944:38)

Thus in Shape of the Things to Come, Rajshekar tries to establish the argument that casteism like racism is a fascist force. He also urges the readers to reconsider ideas such as nationality and religion in the context of the multiplicity of ethnic identities.

Reference: Primary Sources:

Rajshekar, V.T Shape of Things to Come. Bangalore: DSA, 2005. (The quotes from these texts have been indicated with page number/s in the brackets in their respective places and they have been acronymized as SOTC)

Secondary Sources:

Ambedkar, B.R. Annihilation of Caste. Nagpur: Samata Prakashan, 1944.

Fraser Nancy. Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics. New Delhi: Critical Quest, 2008.

Gail Omvedt, Dalit Vision, New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2006.

Ghurye, Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakashan, 1996.

Jangal, Sukhdev Sing. Caste-Class Struggle. Patiyala: Hashia Publication .2009.

Joshi, Laxman. Brahminism, Buddhism, Hinduism. New Delhi: Critical Quest, 2007.

Thangaraj, P. (Ed) Selected Thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar. Madras: Puratchikkanal Publications, 1980.

Thaper, Romila, Syndicated Hinduism, New Delhi: Critical Quest, 2010.

Author – Dr. Grishma Khobragade, Assistant Professor, Department of English B.K.Birla College, (Autonomous) Kalyan. (Affiliated to University Of Mumbai) Dist. Thane.