“In this era where Dalits, women and children are attacked and assaulted, it is very relevant to think about Misrabhojanam. The event was an announcement of equality on behalf of a group that was enslaved for centuries. Through the event the suppressed were given dignity. It was Sahodaran Ayyappan who sowed the seeds of forward and logical thinking in Kerala,”
CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Breaking Down the Barriers of Caste
Breaking down social barriers towards creating a more equal world Breaking down social barriers towards creating a more equal world An important area of social intervention that has a far-reaching effect on fostering caste unity and greater social accord, is the concept of community inter-dining of all social classes, eclipsing all man-made barriers and divides, that have worked to the detriment of the socially poor all through the ages. Mid-day meal scheme for the school children was initiated by the Government of India to reduce the school drop-outs, increase retention, provide nutritional supplement to the children in a country with a very high incidence of severe malnutrition and serious child undernourishment. But, one important consideration for an intervention of this kind was also to foster social unity and bring children of all the social classes together in partaking meal, and in the process, help in dismantling the external and visible features of caste inequities, a practice that has been so well entrenched and resilient as to survive for thousands of years, despite the efforts of great religious and social reformers to lessen the caste rigours. Buddhism and Jaimism were the first to challenge the established hierarchical orthodoxy, strongly disapproving of the socially discriminatory practices that relegated certain social classes to the margins. There were instances of some of the most enlightened souls setting personal examples of defying the rigid norms of social behaviour towards greater equality. It was Sujata, belonging to one of the socially marginalised communities, who served a bowl of milk porridge to Gautama Buddha after he had given up the path of asceticism following years of extreme austerity. This event had a major effect on his subsequently attaining enlightenment. During the modern era, the freedom movement was not just seeking political emancipation; it was social too, and saw several movements being launched to oppose and look down upon myriad superstitions, outmoded practices, dogmatic beliefs, and regressive social practices, responsible for the misery for so many, for so long. Kerala was a pioneer in ushering in the concept of community inter-dining, where it was rightly believed that if all were to eat together, the social rigours would be lessened, and it would help in fostering greater social amity, leading to overall and holistic progress, socially, economically and culturally. In celebrating the 100th year of ceremonial inter-dining of all social groups, including those who were socially marginalised, Kerala has shown that it led a virtual social revolution of breaking down the caste barriers and giving the much-needed self-respect and dignity to the hitherto excluded. Social discrimination and exclusions have historically divided the Indian society into a maze of myriad castes and sub-castes, hierarchically placed and rigidly stratified, never presenting a picture of social cohesion and unity. In ushering in this very significant and far-reaching measure of social intervention, a result of enlightened and progressive social policies by the successive governments, Kerala is reaping the benefits today of the most admirable human and social development indicators that it can boast, including high education and health outcomes. Not even Bengal, which was the beneficiary of enlightened liberal thoughts all through the nineteenth century, and where there was a succession of social reformers from Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, could be so pro-active in this very momentous area of social intervention. Till the mid-thirties and forties, separate dining for different castes continued. Even in Tagore’s Shantiniketan, this social evil was not nipped in the bud till the twenties of the last century. For far too long, we have lived with social prejudices and exclusions, and hierarchical privileges. But, times are changing. In the last five decades or so, this country, even where the social indices are quite low and hierarchies are well entrenched, has taken definitive strides towards breaking down all human-made barriers, despite occasional lapses, and towards modernity. We often hear of heart-breaking stories of social exclusion and people being denied their dignity and self-respect, but they are few and far between. The discriminatory practices, and dehumanising too, that were quite in the open in the past, are no longer so. Social reforms are always slow in coming, India being no exception, but the fact that the Constitution and the laws themselves act as a deterrent, would go a long way in ushering in a more equal world, humane, fair and just, as ordained in the Preamble to the Constitution.
An important area of social intervention that has a far-reaching effect on fostering caste unity and greater social accord, is the concept of community inter-dining of all social classes, eclipsing all man-made barriers and divides, that have worked to the detriment of the socially poor all through the ages. Mid-day meal scheme for the school children was initiated by the Government of India to reduce the school drop-outs, increase retention, provide nutritional supplement to the children in a country with a very high incidence of severe malnutrition and serious child undernourishment. But, one important consideration for an intervention of this kind was also to foster social unity and bring children of all the social classes together in partaking meal, and in the process, help in dismantling the external and visible features of caste inequities, a practice that has been so well entrenched and resilient as to survive for thousands of years, despite the efforts of great religious and social reformers to lessen the caste rigours. Buddhism and Jaimism were the first to challenge the established hierarchical orthodoxy, strongly disapproving of the socially discriminatory practices that relegated certain social classes to the margins. There were instances of some of the most enlightened souls setting personal examples of defying the rigid norms of social behaviour towards greater equality. It was Sujata, belonging to one of the socially marginalised communities, who served a bowl of milk porridge to Gautama Buddha after he had given up the path of asceticism following years of extreme austerity. This event had a major effect on his subsequently attaining enlightenment.
During the modern era, the freedom movement was not just seeking political emancipation; it was social too, and saw several movements being launched to oppose and look down upon myriad superstitions, outmoded practices, dogmatic beliefs, and regressive social practices, responsible for the misery for so many, for so long.
Kerala was a pioneer in ushering in the concept of community inter-dining, where it was rightly believed that if all were to eat together, the social rigours would be lessened, and it would help in fostering greater social amity, leading to overall and holistic progress, socially, economically and culturally. In celebrating the 100th year of ceremonial inter-dining of all social groups, including those who were socially marginalised, Kerala has shown that it led a virtual social revolution of breaking down the caste barriers and giving the much-needed self-respect and dignity to the hitherto excluded.
Social discrimination and exclusions have historically divided the Indian society into a maze of myriad castes and sub-castes, hierarchically placed and rigidly stratified, never presenting a picture of social cohesion and unity. In ushering in this very significant and far-reaching measure of social intervention, a result of enlightened and progressive social policies by the successive governments, Kerala is reaping the benefits today of the most admirable human and social development indicators that it can boast, including high education and health outcomes. Not even Bengal, which was the beneficiary of enlightened liberal thoughts all through the nineteenth century, and where there was a succession of social reformers from Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, could be so pro-active in this very momentous area of social intervention. Till the mid-thirties and forties, separate dining for different castes continued. Even in Tagore’s Shantiniketan, this social evil was not nipped in the bud till the twenties of the last century.
For far too long, we have lived with social prejudices and exclusions, and hierarchical privileges. But, times are changing. In the last five decades or so, this country, even where the social indices are quite low and hierarchies are well entrenched, has taken definitive strides towards breaking down all human-made barriers, despite occasional lapses, and towards modernity. We often hear of heart-breaking stories of social exclusion and people being denied their dignity and self-respect, but they are few and far between. The discriminatory practices, and dehumanising too, that were quite in the open in the past, are no longer so. Social reforms are always slow in coming, India being no exception, but the fact that the Constitution and the laws themselves act as a deterrent, would go a long way in ushering in a more equal world, humane, fair and just, as ordained in the Preamble to the Constitution.