Part 6: Jati: a practical weapon to split society

Waman Meshram, National President, Bharat Mukti Morcha

Jati - A Brahmin weapon of dismembering society

One specialty of our people is that while disclosing their own samaj (society) they say Mahar Samaj, Matang Samaj, Kunbi Samaj, Mali Samaj etc. if one has to study sociology carefully then you will understand that ‘Jati’ is not ‘samaj’. ‘Jati’ is bad thing, while ‘samaj’ is good thing. Individual always needs samaj. World is need of samaj that’s why there is no need to finish it off.

Instead there is need to strengthen it. But ‘jati’ is not samaj. ‘Jati’ is a weapon of Brahmanism. By using and deploying this weapon Brahmins has split samaj. In India there is no samaj, only jati. In india instead of teaching sociology jatilogy must be taught. If Jatilogy is taught then it is possible to change people mindset against Jatis.

In India there is no samaj (society), whatever is there it is jati and from jati has evolved jatilogy and this very jatilogy had done the job of dismembering society. If jatis are the weapons of dismembering society then Mulnivasis Bhahujan samaj that forms organizations by making jati as a foundation they carry on the work of making jatis stronger. And those who make jatis strong carry on the task of making Brahmanism strong. And those who make Brahmanism strong they go about the task of making their slavery strong. How many people have realized this? Amount of energy Mulnivasi Bhahujan samaj applies that much energy even Brahmins don’t apply. There must have been time when Brahmins must have played their role in creating jatis. Brahmins created jatis. In order to make sure that ‘jatis’ remains intact in society they created the positive feelings, they promoted jatis. And not only this, they got religion in support of jatis and established jatis in society as institutions.

Brahmins established them in the beginning, put in all the available energy with them but in today’s date the way Jatis are promoted by mulnivasis bhahujan samaj people themselves, that much promotion even Brahmins are not doing. Brahmins have left this task on us and we ourselves are promoting jatis. Not only this possibly mulnivasis have even created the saying: ‘We may eat soil of our jati, but not eat gold of another jati’. Why did Mulnivasis must have created this saying? This is so because Brahmins created pride about jatis. This is not the matter of pride. There can never be pride of one’s lower status. This pride was created by Brahmins and that’s why every man living in Jati takes prides in ones jati. There is a feeling in pride in his mind about his jati. If any person after he lands in USA is asked as to who he is, then he replies that he is an Indian. Same person if he comes to Delhi and if he is asked in Delhi as to who he is, then the same person begins to tell that ‘I am Brahmin’, I am Kshatriya’, ‘I am Vaishya’. This means the reply depends upon as to what question is asked and in which location, there is importance to this aspect too. This pride about jatis was created in us by Brahmins and because of this pride our people are forming Jati based organizations but we don’t find it wrong. By making jati based organization jatis become strong. When Jatis become strong Brahmanism becomes strong. When Brahmanism becomes strong our slavery becomes strong, we don’t even realize all this. We organize programs by spending our own money.

In all this programs jatis get stronger, jati organizations get stronger, all this we understand. This means that we buy our slavery. I was sitting in the house of our activist in Punjab’s Phagwada city, over there one broom cleaner woman came over with her son. That activist was working in Municipality, that lady began to say now the post of sweepers has been advertized in the Municipality, you give the job of sweeper to my son. If required I am willing to pay you Rs 50,000/-. Dr. Ambedkar has given an example at one place that when Brahmin woman is pregnant that time she searches as to where the post of Magistrate is vacant for her yet to be born son. And sweeper woman when pregnant thinks as to where the post of sweeper is vacant for her son.

There is limit to our thinking as to how high we must think. Our people feel that they should not think too high. Once in Nanded streets one leader named Shyamsunder carrying on the transformative movement in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) was passing by. He saw one beggar begging at the edge of the street. When he took 5 – 10 paise to give to that beggar he saw that this beggar had taken out two pieces of his dry roti and was eating in such a style as if he was eating chilies with roti. When Shyamsunder asked this beggar about it that, when you don’t have anything in your hand, even then how come you are eating in a style as if you are eating the roti with as if with chilies. Then beggar replied to Shyamsunder that I go about believing that I am eating roti. This way taste buds on my tongue are awakened. It becomes easy to swallow piece of roti.

Then that leader Shyamsunder said “If you want to think then you would have thought about Ghee, why you thought about Chili? You don’t have to buy Chili nor Ghee, only you have to think. You should have thought about Ghee.” There is also limit to thinking. He can think only up to Chili, he cannot think about Ghee. Jatis has given rise to number of limitations. By imposing limits to thinking Jatis fulfilled the task of counter revolution. There is no need for Brahmins to generate counter revolution every day. This counter revolution is carried on by people living within jatis, every day they generate counter revolution within themselves. There is no need for Brahmins to carry on this work themselves. The people who form jati based organizations make Jatis strong. Those who strengthen jatis strengthen Brahmanism. Those who make Brahmanism strong, make their own slavery strong. Not only this, they even purchase their slavery. Their intelligence, their money, and their labor they invest on jati gatherings, jati programs. Our people invest all their resources on this.