by Navinn Rajendran
The caste system has always been an issue for an Indian,
irrespective of where the individual is. I have always felt that the lack of
understanding by the Indian Diaspora has led the issue to be hijacked by
irresponsible individuals to be used for personal gain and further split the
community deeply. I repeat, my focus here is narrowed down to the Indian
Diaspora and I am further narrowing it down specifically towards Malaysian
Indians.
I have always had people complaining that the caste system
should be abolished in Malaysia and it is causing racism within the community.
Every time I try to explain it on my point of view, I end up being labelled as
racist and so on. And then it hits me that lack of basic understanding of caste
system in Malaysia had led to a negative viewpoint. Firstly I am going to
further narrow down the subject to Malaysian Indians whom are Tamils. There are
other communities that don’t face much of an issue in general. The Telegu’s
would name their kids and add on the caste they come from such as Rao or Naidu
whereas the Malayalee’s would add Menon or Nair. The only Malaysian Indian
community that has a major problem with caste is the Tamils.
Before we go on even further, let me brief slightly on what
is an Indian caste and how it works. Broadly speaking a caste system is a
process of placing people in occupational groups. It has pervaded several
aspects of Indian society for centuries. Rooted in religion and based on a
division of labour, the caste system, among other things, dictates the type of
occupations a person can pursue and the social interactions the individual may
have.
Caste is an aspect of HINDU RELIGION. OTHER RELIGION in
India does not follow the system.
Castes today are ranked in hierarchical order but what’s
amazing is that the system wasn’t to have a hierarchy based on personality
which leads to my understanding that it has been skewed somehow over time. The
order then further determines the behaviour of one member of society over
another. In the northern region of India, the system is classed mainly in 4.
Whereas for the southern region and the Tamils in particular and as far being a
Tamil myself, the system is divided to either Low Class or High Class. The most
obvious problem with this system was that under its rigidity, the lower castes
were prevented from aspiring to climb higher, and, therefore, economic progress
was restricted. In India the government is sensitive about reserving seats in
colleges and job opportunities for them. The government too has legislations to
make up for the past suppression and oppression of the lower caste. Castes
still rarely intermarry and are definitely not changeable. In urban India and
the diaspora Indians, people of all castes meet socially or for business. This
is indeed the briefest explanation I could give that gives you a general idea
on the Indian Caste system.
But here in Malaysia it’s a very simple issue. The caste
system is indeed a community issue rather than a national issue. Any Indian
irrespective of caste is given equal opportunity and reward according to his
skills and talent. If an Indian commits a crime, he faces the law irrespective
of any preferences. There are only 2 scenarios that the caste issue is brought
up in Malaysia which is at marriages and politics. The caste issues have also
been much diluted by marriages through interracial marriages and inter caste
marriages. Parents these days through experiences rather get their child
married to a good partner irrespective of caste. At times love brings the
differences together and breaks the caste dominance.
The only major breakout of Caste issues comes out of
Malaysian Indian political parties as groups of individuals would accuse
another group for giving positions to family members of individuals of the same
caste. Of course it is for political gains which at times I deem as unnecessary
and dangerous. A split of a major Malaysian Indian political party was heavily
due to caste. Till date they have not been able to patch back for the common
good. Will these politicians ever stop playing the dangerous game? NO. And
having known that the caste card does not determine the livelihood of a
Malaysian Indian, I always wished whomever that played the caste card to be not
re-elected due to the irresponsible motives that brings no good to any
individual.
So is it okay for these caste individuals to have meet ups
and associations?
In my personal opinion I would say why not. When the Chinese
could have associations for a particular community, why not the Indians? When
the Malayalee’s and Telugu’s are proud of their identities, why can’t the
Tamils be? As long the Tamils don’t use the caste card to bring any other
community down and further focus in bringing the Malaysian Indians and the
nation forward, by all means go ahead. In Malaysia hard work and honesty put
food on your plate, not your caste. Caste is just an identity that is upon our
description to either accept it or reject it. We have communities around us
that lives harmoniously with what we are struggling at. To me, the caste system
has been wrongly projected in Malaysia by irresponsible individuals and a
rational understanding is needed not by the Malaysian Indians but by the
Malaysian Tamils.
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