Why can't we cast caste out?

Caste. A word that in India could spell power or misery. Privilege or dishonour. Influence or helplessness. Don't you think it's time we cast it out?

Ironically, in today's India the caste knife cuts both ways. Earlier belonging to a high caste was like being born with the silver spoon in the mouth. No longer. The chauvinists among the high caste groups still haven't come to grips with the fact that people they consider lesser mortals are getting preference in education and employment, while also becoming considerably influential politically. But discrimination against the lower castes is certainly not a thing of the past. There are still thousands of temples that bar entry to "untouchables". Thousands of villages even today don't allow people from the lowest castes to live among them or draw water from their wells.

Today India is extremely nervous that the United Nations will declare caste discrimination a violation of human rights. But I think we should jump at this chance and sign on, as our neighbour Nepal has reportedly done.

Wouldn't it make sense to just declare caste discrimination immoral and illegal? Lots of old, anachronistic practices have slowly died out after being declared unlawful. For instance, widows no longer burn on their husbands' funeral pyres (except for a few shocking cases now and again) and child marriage appears to be on the decline. This change has come very slowly, over many generations. But at least we seem to be moving in the right direction on these fronts.

I know hundreds will pounce on me for advocating this, claiming I am over-simplifying a very complex issue. But then sometimes the easiest and most obvious solution can be the right one, especially when the problem is tremendously complicated. Won't doing away with caste restore honour to millions who have been ill-treated and insulted all their lives? Won't it gradually fix the fundamental problems in society that have caused widespread discontent, feeding violent reactionary movements like the Maoist insurgency that is slowly bleeding the life out of a large swathe of central and eastern India?

The main problem is that there is a lot riding on caste politically. Our leaders have spent decades nurturing hopes and expectations in various caste groups. Job and educational reservations for SCs (scheduled castes, or listed lower castes) and OBCs (other backward castes) are among the most popular carrots politicians dangle before voters ahead of every election. Politicians like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati have got where they are today because of caste politics. She is the newest mascot of Dalit empowerment. Dalits are members of the lowest bloc in the Indian caste heirarchy who received the most inhuman treatment of all, shunned as "untouchables" and left the worst jobs.

On the other hand, high caste chauvinists want to cling on to the system because they feel it gives them honour and privilege, somehow making them better than the rest. And these group wield a lot of political influence in many parts of the country.

The tragedy of it all is that the caste system began centuries ago as a simple way of distinguishing people in various vocations. Priests were Brahmins, warriors were Kshatriyas, traders were Vaishyas and people doing menial work were Shudras. Trouble began when someone decided to make it hereditary. So a Brahmin family would always be covered in honour while the children of the Shudra had no hope of improving their lot or elevating their social status because they were condemned to a life of menial labour. That's when this most inhuman of social systems began to evolve. Gradually scores of sub-castes emerged, creating an extremely complicated social web.

Even today inter-caste marriages are fairly uncommon in the Indian heartland. Though my husband and I live in a bustling 21st century city, people are surprised to learn that our parents aren't from the same state and that we had a "love marriage". And when they find out that we have no idea what my husband's caste is, they're truly horrified!

So deeply ingrained is caste in the Indian psyche that it even crosses religious boundaries. Though millions turned to other other faiths such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam because of caste discrimination among Hindus, caste identity has remained intact for most of them. Marriages are generally arranged between families with similar caste backgrounds.

To me, the United Nations move to brand caste bias a glaring human rights violation is a golden opportunity to give this barbaric system a long-due burial. Anyone who maintains that anything good has come of the caste system is lying. There have been no advantages to us as a people. All it does is divide us, create hatred and suspicion. Mahatma Gandhi recognised this. He told us we wouldn't get far as a nation if we didn't end discrimination against the socially disadvantaged, whom he called Harijans (people of God). We should have paid heed.

There's still time. Let's cast caste out now.