The Vaishyavisation of India

With a practical eye, Ramachandran Vaidyanathan's book discusses the applications (and implications) of caste rather than its theory

Caste as Social Capital: The Complex Place of Caste in Indian Society

Author: Ramachandran Vaidyanathan

Publisher: Publisher Penguin

Pages: 162

Price: Rs 299

The question of caste may appear “antediluvian”, as Ramachandran Vaidyanathan describes it in his book Caste as Social Capital. But the fact is that caste has a complex and silent place in Indian society. It exists as an unsaid norm, often confused with community-imposed restrictions and crippling obligations. Although this silence is occasionally breached by scholars, academics and socio-cultural experts, in Caste as Social Capital, Dr Vaidyanathan extends the definition of caste beyond socio-cultural parameters and observes it in economic and political spheres. He does not claim to delve into the history of caste, but he does address the shifting meaning, perception and practise of the word in present times as opposed to when it originated, how and why. With a practical eye, his book discusses the applications (and implications) of caste rather than its theory.

Originally published in 2019 by Westland Books and recently republished by Penguin India, the book evaluates the role that caste plays in education, politics and service; and explores its high entrepreneurial potential. It traces the journey of caste from “social segregation to aggregation” — from uncountable sub-castes present in the Indian society to colonial and post-independence consolidation and regrouping of caste categories.

Arguing against the misdirected focus on backward “castes” as compared to backward “classes” that truly deserve policymakers’ attention, Dr Vaidyanathan breaks down the colonial and precolonial mindsets in understanding caste. He briefly explains the varna and jati systems prevalent in ancient India  — which originally qualified skill and vocation as valid grounds for social categorisation  —as opposed to the evolution of a caste system where birth became the marker of social identification. These, however, are speculative issues in the book and readers will only find them mentioned in passing. He then examines the vision of post-independent India and its hope of industrialisation and modernisation as pillars of an egalitarian society. Caste is, and has been, used as a tool for political mobilisation for decades now — a problem that is only growing, with identity politics on the rise at both regional and national levels. This method of “othering” creates more cracks in our social fabric, dividing Indian society further.

Caste is an age-old concept — even if its interpretations have changed over time. It has covered a long journey from discrimination and dismissal to rights and representation. Officially, the last census to enumerate castes in India was undertaken in 1931, which is as inadequate today as it was in the 1930s. The 1980s and 1990s became the decades of caste-based legal discussions and recognition —  with the Mandal Commission and Supreme Court judgments identifying and capping the need for reservations (of backward castes and classes) in government service and educational institutions. In this prolonged absence of formal data or any effort to update data, however, one wonders at the relevance of the 1931 data. “Unfortunately, the caste categories are frozen in reservations and rarely relooked at”, writes Dr Vaidyanathan. These “theories based on nineteenth-century experiences,” the author says, are what raise the question of who really benefits from caste-based reservations.

Alternatively, the retired professor of finance, and a respected government and corporate consultant offers an economic solution to the caste problem — by narrowing the vastness of caste reality to commerce and ownership  —what he calls the Vaishyavisation of India. Dr Vaidyanathan chooses to overlook the burdens of caste and explains it as an asset and a social lubricant at the level of state and Centre — a skewed idea of observing (and delivering) social justice. One can say that he reaches unexplored territory — a new, contemporary and economic understanding of caste — only to touch the surface and come back, without digging deeper for insight. While loaded with statistics, the book lacks statistical analysis, which makes the arguments unconvincing. Balancing financial security across castes and classes may be important, but it cannot exist in isolation without achieving social security of castes and classes. Unfortunately, Dr Vaidyanathan neglects this aspect of social history.

As you come to the end of the book, the words of Baba Saheb Ambedkar echo: “On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics, we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril.” Dr Vaidyanathan’s book lies somewhere in the middle of Ambedkar’s vision. 

The reviewer is a freelance features writer and reviews books on Instagram  read.dream.repeat