Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

Living in a metropolitan or a cosmopolitan city and being able to watch NDTV or IBN CNN or Times Now over the TV and Internet and then starting to support the protesting (IIM or IIT or Medical) students just because they were attacked by police lathicharge doesn’t mean you are on the right side. We can hardly understand the intensity of casteism in India living in a metro. Just catch a train, or a bus and try visiting the interiors of India, and the truth will taunt at your face.

I was born in Tiruppur, which is one of the largest exporters of Knitted garments in South India. That is how at least the media projects the city. But how many of us know that, even today there are different areas allocated for forward community people and backward community people. Forget about Tiruppur, visit Trichy for that matter. Even they have specific areas allocated for different people based on their castes. And they have this condition that when a backward caste person enters a forward caste area, he should not wear a shirt and should always carry the towel under his armpit. And I am not joking! There are numerous places in Tamil Nadu where tea and coffee are served in different glasses based on their caste – EVEN TODAY. (Area allocation based on economic background, as it happens in cities, is acceptable but not on the basis of caste).

Kerala was known for breast wars. The backward caste women were asked not to wear anything on the top by the forward caste men. This was forced on them so that the upper caste men can have a BALL of a time when they saw the lower caste topless women working as daily labours at their fields.

At hostel we had enough debates on whether reservations be given to people based on their castes, and I was always against it. I always thought that the more informed and the more intelligent person should always get the chance to move ahead in life and not the one who scores less and goes ahead having a SC or ST certificate in his hands. But what makes a person score high or low in curriculum? Is it his intelligence or is it the time he gets to focus on his studies.

For one of my friends, belonging to a backward class, studying was always secondary. As he had to do other works like – looking after the fields, feeding the cows, and even working for few days so that the family doesn’t starve. Studying in a vernacular medium, with no extra money or time for coaching classes, no tuitions, and also no guides – with his sole effort he could make to our college. We had a bet, with equal opportunities given to all who will score well, and to my astonishment – he scored better than any of us, as living in hostel he didn’t have any other work than to study.

Also why is this hulla gulla created when it comes to IIT or IIM or Medical students, who otherwise think are created and sent directly by Gods. I don’t think any IITian or IIMite or any doctor of India has won a Noble prize after CV Raman. Neither did we invent anything nor did we discover anything. All that we did was studied here, went abroad and paid taxes to the foreign government. We anyways have become mental slaves to the white skinned people, so what difference does it make if the seat is given to the forward caste student or a backward caste student?!