Religion and Caste – Anecdotes
As far as he can recall, Rahul remembers being told that he was untidy and filthy and forced to sit in isolation from other students. Sometimes, his employers didn’t care to pay him for the month. He was not allowed to enter restaurants or invited to any parties.
Rahul is from the Scheduled Tribe community. But this is not only about Rahul. This is about many other Rahuls who are still treated the same way despite the many stories of progress. Consider another story, for instance.
Shadab lives in the heart of New Delhi. He recalls being called a Pakistani every time a cricket match between India and Pakistan was played. It does not matter how often he has defended himself, this tag never ceases to get off his head, and he is always frowned upon.
The situation is not as difficult now as it sounds, but it is still prevalent in most parts of the country and practiced with pride. This takes us back to the most basic question. Do we really need religion and the Caste System, which has always been the source of so much trouble in India?
Well, as a matter of fact, we did ages before. When religion was started, it was aimed to successfully bind the people together under some set of rules, and every religion supported humanitarian causes. However, things changed over the years. As two different religions started to collide, an outbreak was set to happen, and it did. Discrimination started, and so did wars. Years after this, we are here, stuck in this vicious cycle which doesn’t cease to end.
Caste Discrimination
A similar case was built for the caste system. When it started in India, it was just meant to give people titles according to their nature of work. Things corrupted with time, giving rise to many other sub-divisions. The once powerful caste didn’t want to lose its power and started to suppress the lower ones, never giving them a chance to grow. The discrimination increased over the years to total hatred, which continues now.
You know the history, you see the present, and based on current scenarios, you can easily guess what the future will look like. But, do you still want it? Do you still want to suppress someone born equal to you just because his great ancestors were poor centuries earlier?
Rising Above Religion and Caste
If your answer is NO to these questions, you must take this on your own to complete this uphill task of equality. As long the powerful corrupted politicians are involved, you cannot expect anything to change. Only you have the power to change this. It’s upon all of us. When we look ahead of our ego and think about the community and creating a beautiful place to live, these things will vanish automatically.
If you dream of a beautiful India to live in, you need to start working for it. I need to work for it. In fact, all of us need to work for it. Together we can create a great country given the caliber we have. India’s population is around 1.4 billion, with 15% living under the poverty line. Imagine what would happen if this 30% got equal treatment as we are getting, how prosperous our country would be. The time has come when we should start working on it individually rather than passing the blame. And it can come with only one motto:
Get over your religion and caste!!
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