A surprisingly popular new
film is forcing Indians to examine a past filled with atrocities committed in
the name of caste
By SAIKAT DATTA | SHREYA
SEHGAL
For over 2000 years Indians
have lived in a strict hierarchy, called the caste system, that
mandates a social structure in perpetuity. Now a new film – quietly
released last week only to become surprisingly popular – has proved powerful
enough that some privileged people seek a ban.
On June 28, Article 15, a Hindi film,
was released across India. Already declared a successful money-spinner, it has
opened up space for debate on an issue that usually remains buried from public
space.
The caste structure that was
created by ancient Hindu texts saw a minority of the population labeled as
“upper caste” while the rest came to be called “lower caste” and, at the very
bottom of the social structure, “outcaste” – the “untouchables.” This led
to centuries of oppression and denial of basic human rights.
Article 15 is
already being
compared by critics to Alan Parker’s Mississippi Burning, the
seminal film on racism and oppression in the American south, and it has scored
93% on the film critic aggregator site Rotten
Tomatoes.
The film takes off from
the rape
and murder of two young women in Badaun, a small place in India’s
largest state, Uttar Pradesh, in May 2014. Descendants of untouchables, the
women belonged to the Dalit Maurya community.
Priyanka Dubey, a young
journalist with the BBC, India, wrote
about the case in her book No Nation for Women and detailed
how the families of the girls had to face many tribulations in their quest for
justice.
The film’s title refers
to article
15 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits any discrimination on the
basis of caste, creed or religion. Adding redolence to this reference is the
fact that Dr B R Ambedkar, the national leader who is known as the father of
India’s Constitution, hailed from the Dalit (former untouchable) community.
Truth and fiction
“I have been angry for a very
long time,” Anubhav Sinha, the director of Article 15 told Asia
Times, “but I had not realized how angry I was until I started scripting the
film with Gaurav Solanki. We see discrimination and oppression every day around
us, but we have internalized it and willingly ignore it.”
The film departs from the
basic premise to weave the story of a young upper caste police officer who is
sent to his first posting in the boondocks of Uttar Pradesh and chances upon
the rape and murder of the two young women. His attempt to investigate the case
sparks off an exploration into themes of caste, oppression, justice and
identity.
Sinha is aware of the many
controversies that have erupted after the film came out. A hitherto
little-known group, the Brahmin Samaj, filed a petition in the Supreme Court
seeking a ban on showing the film.
The pushback from Dalit
intellectuals and writers surprised Sinha. Senior journalist and author Dilip
Mandal was one of the first to raise
a nuanced critique that addressed a major lacuna in the film.
“The Dalits, who have been
waging a relentless struggle against the caste system for ages with their sweat
and blood, have no agency in the movie,” Mandal wrote on June 2, long before
the film was released. He pointed out that the lead protagonist was depicted as
an upper caste Brahmin, reminiscent of films that depicted white men as
“saviors.”
Mangesh Dahiwale, a scholar
and activist for Dalit rights, also criticized the “Brahmin savior” in the
film. ”The movie shows Dalits as weak and helpless and in need of a savior, who
turns out to be a person of upper caste and a Brahmin,” he said.
“This is very problematic. Brahmins
cannot be the savior of the Dalits,” Dahiwale told Asia Times. ”The upper
caste has normalized caste and most organizations, including the media, are
dominated by them. So the kind of circles where conversations on caste are
happening is crucial.”
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, a
political theorist, writer and activist for Dalit rights, said such films
should not be taken seriously. “Many films have been made on such issues but
the caste system still exists. Biographies on lives of Dalits or Shudra leaders
will create better value and a new discourse in the society,” he said.
“I understand what they are
saying,” Sinha said. “I truly agree with the criticism, but my position is that
those of us who are privileged have to use it to fight against what has
prevailed for centuries. It is not to depict the privileged as saviors, but to
show them acknowledging what has gone wrong.” To Sinha, the film is already a
success because of the many debates it has sparked across the the country.
“I wanted to address a
generation, which has been immunized to these issues,” Sinha said. “In our
gated apartments we happily practice segregation by keeping our drivers, helps
and maids away by assigning them different elevators. That is how we have
become. Our generation failed to address these issues. I am hoping this film
will help the next to take them on.”
Unending schisms
The film’s appearance followed
the suicide
on May 22 this year by a young physician from the Dalit community, Dr
Payal Tadvi, which itself sparked off discussions on the atrocities and
humiliations that had been endured for centuries.
The National Crime Records
Bureau (NCRB), which collates data on crimes in India, records a steady rise in
atrocities against Dalits. However, the conviction rate for such crimes has
also declined substantially. In 2016, 40,801 atrocities were reported, up
from 38,670 in 2015. And Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of
atrocities against Dalits at 25.6% of all cases reported across India.
Researchers like Dahiwale
question the “reality'”of the NCRB data. ”Police records and reports have shown
that out of 10 crimes against the Dalit only one is registered as an FIR [first
information report]. And the FIR is the basis of this NCRB data. So the
number of crimes against Dalits reported need to be multiplied to understand
the actual numbers,” he said.
Perhaps, the most inhuman
symbol of the atrocities against Dalits is the practice of manual scavenging.
Dalits have been traditionally forced to lower themselves into sewers and
manholes choked with human excreta to clean them.
Even though manual scavenging
has been officially banned, Dalits continue to be forced into it and many
die after being exposed to poisonous gasses. The National
Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) is a statutory body set up by an act of
Parliament for the welfare of sanitation workers. This is something that is
depicted in the film: a manual scavenger is called to clean a choked sewer
outside the police officer’s office.
According to data
from NCSK, between 2016 and 2018 up to 123
manual scavengers have died on the job. However, the Safai Karamchari
Andolan, an organization run by Bezwada Wilson, leading activist and Magsaysay
awardee, has rejected the NCSK number. The group claims that 429 manual
scavengers died on the job between 2016 and 2018.
Know your place
India’s system divides caste
Hindus into four main categories. In descending order of status the top three, considered
upper-caste, are Brahmins (priests, scholars), Kshatriyas (warriors, kings) and
Vaishyas (tradesmen, merchants, landowners). Upper castes account for about 15%
of the population.
The fourth category,
considered “lower caste,” are Shudras (commoners, peasants, servants), who
constitute 42% of India’s population (2011 census). For purposes of affirmative
government action in hiring and educational opportunity, Shudras are now
officially categorized as “other backward classes.”
The basic breakdown is further
divided into about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on
a specific occupation.
Outside of the original
Hindu caste system was the category of people who were subjected to
untouchability. Since 1935, their descendants are known
as “scheduled castes” under a government act, but politically they
prefer to be known as Dalits. They make up 16.8% of the population.
For centuries the Dalits were
condemned to carry out all menial tasks. Any social change of status was
strictly forbidden. While many converted to Islam or Christianity, descendants
– of whatever faith – have continued to encounter mistreatment on the basis of
ancestral social status.
Even India’s President, Ram
Nath Kovind and his wife, who are Dalits, were allegedly
barred from entering a famous temple in the state of Odisha.
In India, no one can escape
caste.
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