June 02, 2019

India’s caste system claims another young life

located:	India
editor:	Tish Sanghera

In India’s financial capital, Mumbai, a young female doctor chose to end her life this week after suffering months of prolonged harassment by her senior ‘upper caste’ colleagues.

Dr Payal Tadvi’s death has sent shockwaves around the country. It has not only exposed the prevalence of regressive views among the medical community but demonstrated that even in educated, urban spaces, bigotry and casteist hate persists

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) have not yet released a statement condemning caste-based discrimination and has in turn come under fire for failing to recognise the issue, despite having experienced similar cases in the past. Earlier in the month the hashtag #deathofmerit was trending as some upper caste doctors rallied against reservation policies for minority communities in medical schools, claiming that they produced poor quality doctors. The suggestion is that low caste doctors do not deserve their positions, despite having to pass the same medical exams as everyone else.

The caste system may seem like a relic from a bygone era – something which should have disappeared as the country modernised and society became less feudal – but it continues to inflict violence on individuals even today. The system, which categories people into four main groups according to the family they are born in to, is comparable to the racist structures that fuelled apartheid in South Africa or segregation policies in America prior to the civil rights movement. It can determine who you marry, the type of job you can secure and is a significant indicator of one’s education level, earning potential and future health.

In an attempt to stimulate social mobility India has a system of educational and job reservation in place to ensure low caste groups are represented in universities and government institutions. However it is still unclear whether this policy is doing enough to remove caste boundaries if the message is not getting through at the ground level. Casteist attitudes have even been found to follow Indians abroad, with multiple examples of discrimination meted out along caste lines among diaspora communities.

Unfortunately there are no signs that Indian society is shedding such toxic practices any time soon. Rising economic anxiety as employment opportunities shrink and the economy slows could even be making things worse.

Quotas that reserve jobs for minority communities have led to traditionally dominant upper castes now demanding their own too. Protests against Dalit or low-caste grooms riding on horses in wedding processions have also become a potent symbol of the backlash against upwardly mobile low-groups (who previously could not afford this) and are a visible sign of wealth redistribution.

If India can not tackle caste-based discrimination in its educational centres, then future generations will continue to be party to an abominable system of oppression. The IMA’s leaders should therefore make it clear they are on the side of caste equality. By staying mute they validate the actions of those that caused Dr Tadvi’s death.