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With the debate on the Arya-Vysya attack against me was taking place at the national and international level two things have happened. One, the Chandrababu Naidu government in alliance with BJP in Andhra Pradesh confined me in my home on October 28 so that I would not go to Vijayawada (Amaravathi) and attend a public meeting being held by the Samajika Joint Action Committee of Andhra Pradesh.

They also arrested thousands of people from all over Andhra Pradesh. All those detained are from productive communities, including Kammas, Kapus and Reddys. The Banias and Brahmins were opposed to that meeting irrespective of their parities. The SJAC was headed by Y Koteshwar Rao (80) with a spirit of young man who worked tirelessly. The police arrested him and several hundred others. At several places lathi-charges were made. From Karnool — the town where TDP MP TG Venkatesh owns massive properties and lives in a mansion –, hundreds of men and women reached Vijayawada. There were more women in that team than men. They were all arrested at Vijayawada and taken to various distant police stations.

At Hyderabad, when more than 150 people belonging to T-MASS and other organizations started for Vijayawada from my residence they were all arrested. U Smabashiva Rao, well-known social activist, Vimalakka, a well-known folk singer, were arrested in Hyderabad city itself and and taken to different police stations. Why did the Hyderabad police take this step when the meeting was in Vijayawada? Obviously the Centre was involved in the whole issue. Since Naidu functions under the direction of Delhi he had no option but do this. The Hindutva government at Delhi is hostile towards the right to freedom of expression. Unfortunately Naidu followed their dictate.   

All this brutal suppression exposed the Arya-Vysya community to more scrutiny of the SC/ST/OBC and the Sudra producers from village shops. Checking and mass auditing of their businesses across Andhra Pradesh more than in Telangana is now being done by the village youth. This conflict between the producer-sellers and the buying Vysyas in the Telugu states is going to be a long term issue. This will have huge impact on the seller-buyer relations for long time to go.

In the political domain every party has its own concerns as the Vysyas are the richest cash donors for elections. The most worried party is the BJP. The BJP gets highest amount of donations. After the attempt to subvert the public meeting by arrests, as that itself exposed the role of social smuggling in business, the same forces started another ploy of plastering ‘Jai Sriram’ posters around my apartment. On November 4, they put a poster, Moorkudaina Ilaiahnu Skamiddam, Hinduisanni Kapadudam—Jai Sriram! It roughly translates as “Let us excuse idiot Ilaiah and save Hinduism—Jai Sriram’’. One can easily understand what its actual meaning is.  As I said in my police complaint at Osmania University police station on November 6, 2017 on this poster issue:    
   
“When they use the slogan ‘Jai Sriram’ it has a serious attack connotation. If they were to say ‘Jai Srikrishna’, that would have connoted peace and love. In the whole country, the Yadava community (to which I am a part) uses ‘Jai Srikrishna’ as god of animal grazing and production, but not as war hero. My community is the one which grazes sheep, goat, buffaloes and cows. In this context ‘Jai Sriram’ has a dangerous warning signal to me”.

According to Bheenaveni Ram Shepherd a young and upcoming social anthropology scholar, who teaches at Osmania University: “Krishna was born in a prison and later shifted to Gokulam, a place of cattle-raisers. He was brought-up by his foster parents Nanda and Yashoda as a cow and buffalo boy.  Raja Ravivarma has shown only white cows around him. But Yadavs in the post-Harappa period grazed both animals… It is crystal clear that Krishna is not a strict follower of Varnadharma as he himself married a Kshatriya (Rukhmini), Adivasi mountaineer (Jambavati), Naga (Nagajithni), and Satyabhama (Ahir/Yadav). Krishna was always an independent thinker and doer whereas Rama was dependent and loyal to Manu dharma. Krishna possessed the courage to disturb the Varnadharmic structures.  This is why, Sangh Parivar took Rama as their icon and they made Krishna as a playboy”.

This is a significant narrative that tells why the Yadavs adore Krishna but not Rama. This is amply clear in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political battles, where the Yadavs stood up against these ‘Jai Sriram’ forces. 

However, why do hate mongers or murder strategists use divine images to communicate their plan to attack someone? The ISIS forces use the name of “Allah” to communicate similar game plans. The Hindutva forces use the name Ram to communicate their nefarious designs. They have used this slogan just before every communal riot.

Why did the Arya-Vysya community which is said to follow the Gandhian tradition get into this vertex? Look at the big business and the capitalist immorality that sinks to the level of using the Nathuram Godse kind of strategy against me for writing a book, a book that was cleared by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court. The love for money and luxury of community can take it to any level, as against a movement of anti-caste and anti-exploitative order.

The BJP owns all these strategies quite unabashedly. It is the ruling party in the nation. If a dissenting voice is threatened with this kind of violence, we all must stand up and say, “this nation will not allow this, death or no death”. If the capitalist ethic gets into a communal garb and threatens every working class voice with this slogan, I am sure that nation is on the way of moral and ethical death.

The capitalist exploiters have to be exposed in terms of their nefarious day-to-day designs, whether casteist or not. Exploitation is exploitation. If the ruling party goes to the rescue of exploiters using religion or caste comfort zone, the left liberals should not remain silent as they are doing now. Do they think that what I have coined as ‘social smuggling’ does not apply to the Indian mode of caste-class exploitation? Let us join hands to ensure that the ‘Jai Sriram’ slogan does not intimidate us put into putting our pens down. 

(The author is a member of T-MASS that works for SC/ST/OBC and poor people’s rights).         
 

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Noted writer Kancha Ilaiah’s car being mobbed during the attack at Parakal town on Saturday.

This was done in my book entitled  ‘Post-Hindu India’ published by Sage in 2009 after the lower castes and Adivasis failed to get any reservation agreement within the private sector.  The Telugu translation was published in 2011.  The booklet that has been made controversial with a title Samajika Smagglerlu is only the Teluguised version.  The central theme of the whole book is whose merit is merit and on what is merit quantified? And how every sort and kind of work has its own merit? Therefore, the private sector has to open up for the entry of the lower castes and Adivasis, as they too are meritorious.    

The UPA-I government had conceived of  such a proposal that created a mechanism but top scions of industry rejected it on the ground that lower castes and Adivasis have no MERIT to handle the jobs in the private sector.

I wrote this book to show that the real producers of the wealth of the nation are castes that range from Adivasis to all Shudras (including kapus, Kammas, Reddys, Jats, Patels, Gujjars and so on).

The two dwija castes—Banias and Brahmins— by my generation (with a personal experience all around) are outside the basic production controlling the business from rural grain markets to Ambani, Adani, Vedanta kind of monopoly capital. The richest among them come from the Vysya community. Caste, thus, is  a reality.  The Brahmins have a control over the Hindu spiritual system and also educational institutions and the bureaucracy.   
     
The Brahmins are there in all Government jobs, the software industry and higher education. They are also there in all kinds of private sector jobs. The ratio of Directors of the Companies as per a study by Prof. D. Ajith, Han Doker and Ravi Saxena ((EPW-2012), Corporate Boards in India -Blocked by Caste? August 11, 2012, Vol. XLVII, No. 31, p.41)) shows this representation, caste-wise in the industrial and financial sector: Banias 46%, Brahmins 44.6%, Kshatriyas 0.5%, OBCs (that includes all Shudra castes) 3.8%, SC/ST 3.5% and others 1.5%.  This shows an absolute control of these two castes on the industrial and financial power.  

Everything is being linked to nationalism these days. That is, in a way, good.  When foot soldiers are fighting on the Himalayan borders facing cold and bitter winds, in overall difficult situations on the Pakistan border, why should not Indian Industry give one job to a person from one soldier’s family member within industry based on qualifications?  Why does Indian industry not create a Farmer Protection Fund from its annual profit at least to the tune of 1 percentage?  In a caste based system, they too should have a Social Responsibility towards then lower castes and Adivasi masses. This system can run through the economic system: from top industry to the grain market Shahukars in the rural sector.  Why do not the Shahukars establish humanitarian relations with farmers, at least by helping them at the time of suicide deaths by going and helping them? Today the social relations between the Bania Shahukars and the farmers are very negative.  This has to change at all levels.

The private sector can provide one job for those constables died in bouts of internal conflict.  Anybody can see their family conditions being pathetic after such sudden deaths.  Year after year, the state’s public resources are being shifted into the private sector, by rendering that sector JOBLESS.  In the last three and half years of this ultra-nationalist regime,  so-called development has become JOBLESS.  Therefore, everybody should have a share in the private sector jobs.  

Why is the Modi regime silent on this fundamental issue?  Our demand is at least start an opening with 5 per cent reservation for the above mentioned nation defending forces and the lowest caste categories like Adivasis, Dalits, Dhobis and Barbers depending on their qualifications. In a country like this industry must also show its nationalist commitment combined with positive moral sentiment as Adam Smith theorised, several centuries ago.

It is a researcher’s duty to do research on all communities. If the richest community does not have any positive moral sentiment towards the poorest and weakest people, hurting that sentiment in the process of writing is unavoidable. When Dr.B.R.Ambedkar wrote the Annihilation of Caste Mahatma Gandhi in his dissent letter said that you have used less harsh words for the hardships that the untouchables suffered for centuries. Why is that spirit missing today?

If the Vysyas that include many top industrialists like Ambanis and Adanis take the initiative to give some token preferential treatment for the people I mentioned above the health of the national economy will  certainly improve. In our view that is their nationalist responsibility. 

Also Read

Why are we silent on the grave threat to Kancha Ilaiah?
What is Social Smuggling by Sahukars (Traders)? asks Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd

The post In this Age of Nationalism, It’s Not Just Citizens but Industry that Should be Nationalist appeared first on SabrangIndia.