-Ramesh Chander 

(Asian Independent)- Today’s (August 17) Halla Bol TV debate show on Aaj Tak prompted me to pick up a current issue and write. The debate run and presented by a said to be a prominent TV journalist and Anchor, Anjana Om Kashyap, an iconic figure in the so called ‘free and fair’ media, now a days popularly called ‘Godi Media’, rightly or otherwise. Anyway, I have no intention to divert my focus from the issue which was the theme of the debate – Beating and killing of a 8 year old dalit boy by his own high caste teacher for touching the pitcher of his drinking water in Jalore in Rajasthan. The mainstream media, particularly the electronic media, generally is not interested in such said to be ‘trivial’ issues, as usual, as it pertains to hapless dalits, the condemned lot even after 75 years of independence and abolition of untouchability legally and constitutionally. It was surprising as to how come Anjana Om Kashyap has shown magnanimity and professional honesty to Halla Bol on the condemnable and heinous crime when all others are blissfully silent and feigning to be ignorant of the fact that ‘castiest mindset’ was still as strong as it was before. But, as expected, it was a fake and shameless attempt to encash the vested agenda by shooting from the shoulder of dalits and their misery. The Anchor was lop-sided with her motivated agenda to embarrass the Ashok Gehlot’s Congress government to the benefit of BJP rather than condemning, questioning the society and the authorities on the gruesome murder of the dalit boy by the castiest mindset and Manuwadi thinking. The cat was out of the bag and Anjana Om Kashyap was caught red handed doing glaring injustice to the dalits of India, a slur on the face of the so called free and fair press, said to be the fourth pillar of democracy.

Let us Halla Bol on the so called ‘free and fair’ media run by the likes of Anjana and her tribe. I raised this issue in my blog of August 15 with reference to PM Narendra Modi’s address from the ramparts of Red Fort and wrote, “PM Narendra Modi termed India as ‘the mother of democracy’ in his long speech in the morning of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotav. But, on ground, our political democracy is yet to be transformed into social and economic democracy as visualized by Babasaheb Ambedkar.  The speech was full of hope to make India a ‘Developed country’ in the next 25 years; a long way to go. At the same time, the speech tended to create further confusion with the assertions like ‘Gulami Ka Ansh Mitana Hai’ – eradicate the mindset of servitude. It would have been better and in order, if he had mentioned about the beating and killing of a dalit boy of 9 years by his school teacher in Jalore, the other day, just because he touched the water supposed to belong to some high caste in the school. Caste system, about which the society and the government, is blissfully silent, is the biggest negation of the very edifice of our constitution which professes; Equality, Liberty, Justice and Fraternity. The Hindi heartland, the states of UP, MP, Bihar, Rajasthan, are the states where atrocities on dalits are committed at a large scale. Every 10 minutes, a case of atrocities is registered. Most of the cases remain pending for a long time as the disposal and conviction rate is dismal. The Halla Bol TV show was flagging this data repeatedly but without a word to condemn the ‘castiest mindset’ of the society except trying to get brownie points in corning the State Government for political mileage. Caste system has failed us. It is a total negation of our constitutional stipulations and moral high-ground which we tend to boast of as ‘Hindu Culture’. Babasaheb faced the same inhuman treatment in his school days and also Babu Jagjivan Ram as underlined by her daughter Meira Kumar, “100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved,” and added, “Today, a nine-year-old #Dalit boy has been killed for the same reason. 75 long years after Independence, caste system remains our greatest enemy,” Prof. A Ramaiah of TISS, a visiting fellow of London School of Economics has analyzed the issue and said, “Despite this legislation and the establishment of special commissions to monitor its working, caste discrimination and caste-based crimes persist throughout India.  It is well documented that the police are reluctant to register complaints about caste-based discrimination and violence so national statistics on caste crimes against SCs are grossly underestimated figures. However, even this limited data is enough to understand the gravity of the problem.” The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of the death of the third standard student of Sarasvati Vidyalaya in Rajasthan’s Jalore. The NCSC might also do so. Nothing has changed on ground and, it seems, nothing will change, unfortunately. The society, particularly the Hindu society has to stand up and accept the challenge rather than defending the indefensible. Dalits are up in arms against the inhuman and illegal treatment to the dalit boy as only the bearer knows where the shoe is pinching. But they are hapless and powerless people – Nakar Khane Mein Tuti Ki Awaz. Where those who shout from the roof are tops against the reservation for dalits and other affirmative actions?

Why the outfits like RSS, SGPC and others are blissfully silent who profess ‘Samrasta’ as per the Hindu code of conduct and ‘Casteless’ society as professed and propagated by the great Gurus. The visualized ‘Developed India’ is a far cry in the so called democratic polity and a compassionate society, if we go by the ground realities.

Babasaheb Ambedkar rightly said that democracy had no meaning without establishing a casteless society – Jine Naaz Hai Hind Pe Woh Kahan Hain? This poetic assertion of Sahir Ludhianvi is as valid today as it was before. The society must rise to the occasion and Hall Bol on the Manuwadi Mindset and reform the society, if we want to see India a civilized and progressive country in the next 25 years. Governments and the Society will ignore this fact at their own peril. How long may we play ‘Goody-Goody’? I am sorry, to conclude, by quoting Allma Iqbal which may not be stomached by the main stream of the society; let it be:

आह! शूद्र के लिए हिन्दोस्तां गम-खाना है
दर्द-ए-इंसानी से इस बस्ती का दिल बेगाना है।

ramesh chander Retired diplomat 17/08/2022