Through a casteist glass, darkly

Kancha Ilaiah has expressed his pain, anguish, humiliation and oppression by writing a 'critique' of the exploitative Brahminical-Vedic-Sanskritic socio-cultural system that prevails in India even in the 21st century.

The metaphor of 'Buffalo Nationalism' that the author uses is intended to distinguish it from 'cow' nationalism because "the concept of the sacredness of the cow and the linking of that sacredness to the political agenda of nationalism is a diabolical scheme that Indian Brahmin intellectuals worked out".

Gandhi, according to the author, is also guilty of "constructing his own theory of cow nationalism" because "he had in mind the vast Brahmin presence in the Indian National Congress".

'Buffalo Nationalism' represents the whole Dravidian, now Dalit-Bahujan, culture. Ilaiah elaborates: "The situation of the Dalit ""Bahujan mass is similar to that of a black and beautiful buffalo that gives more milk "" white milk at that "" than the cows of India, but has no sacred status in civil society and no legal protection in the Constitution." This, he says, forces us to ask: whose India is it anyway?

Having defined the term thus, he proceeds to talk of Brahminical Hinduism as 'spiritual fascism' and Christianity, Islam Buddhism as 'spiritually democratic'. He writes, ... "Hinduism is not a spiritually democratic religion like Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is in essence communalism operating through the invisible hand of caste. Those who have been suffering at its hands know that casteism is the worst form of communalism."

Ilaiah demolishes the claims of secularists, and believers of Indian democracy and maintains that Hindus cannot have a progressive political and social system. The author takes a long view of history by evaluating every culture, society and polity to substantiate his argument that every society is better and superior to Brahminical Hinduism.

Consider, for instance, his statement on Christianity and Africa: "In the beginning, the Europeans went with the Bible and they gave it to the African tribals and took away their land. Though the land went out of their hands for some time, a socio-spiritually liberating God came to them instead. They saw Jesus in their own colour and established an intimate relationship with the Jesus who had fought for the liberation of the Samaritans and gentiles."

The author also writes appreciatively of the liberating role of Islam and Buddhism. British colonial rule also receives a testimonial because Ambedkar and many other Dalits benefited from the colonial educational system and new opportunities. Indian democracy, the author writes, has no value for him because it is "permeated by caste theory" and he asserts "that it is not the Constitution but the Gita that needs to be reviewed".

The author's visits to various foreign countries drew his attention to the virtues of their civilisations. "The high degree of individualism and the competitive nature of American capital have made the people hard-working." His words of wisdom continue: "The pastor in an American Church is not like a Hindu priest who simply sits, recites and eats... The US pastor works like an employee of the Church...".

Ilaiah, however, makes many contradictory statements on reservations for the Dalits. The author tells us that "Ambedkar's constitution significantly changed the course of Indian life. But now, Hindutva forces cannot achieve their goal without dismantling constitutional governance in India."

He adds that, "It was this reservation in education, employment and in law-making bodies that generated an organic consciousness and socio-economic mobility within the Dalit-Bahujan society. This does not mean that the Brahminical forces allowed the provisions of reservations to operate fairly or freely."

The trouble with the book is that Ilaiah sees everything through caste glasses. Readers might justifiably have expected Ilaiah to examine the impact of the extremely flawed democracy on the status of Dalits in 2004 and whether any change has taken place in their status in the last 55 years of independence.

Further, Ilaiah wants to contest Brahminical Hinduism by juxtaposing it with "spiritually democratic religions". For him "Dalits have three great prophetic images "" Buddha, Jesus and Ambedkar "" to confront the Hindu divine images". Why should Dalits seek liberation in alternative religio-spiritual doctrines and not by renouncing and rejecting all major religions?

The message of this book is simple and clear: the goal of Dalit liberation cannot be achieved under the 'spiritual fascism' of the Brahminical social order, in spite of democracy or the Constitution. The only option available is the 'spiritual democracy' of alternative prophets.

It is sad that the author has not been able to present a credible critique of Brahminical Hinduism because he has a completely flawed understanding of the history of human societies. Otherwise he would not have made those astounding statements about African society and America. This apart, Ilaiah does not have a scientific-social theory to deal with the complex and contradictory dialectics of Indian society. Brahminical Hinduism is only one component of Indian society "" so much so that even the votaries of Hindutva are unable to come to terms with the many oppositional movements that are at work because of the democratic spaces available in India. Social change cannot be smooth and straight and many Dalit groups are posing a great challenge to the established Hindu social order. Ilaiah is unable to see their potential because he has no theory of social change.

A simple survey of electoral participation would have enlightened Ilaiah that the Dalit-Bahujan Samaj and women are enthusiastically participating in the elections in spite of the threats posed by mafias and criminals. Anger against an oppressive social order is not a substitute for a serious intellectual critique of the historical roots of such exploitation. Ilaiah has completely missed the bus because his 'critique' is based on emotion rather than on logic and historical fact.

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BUFFALO NATIONALISM
A Critique of Spiritual Fascism

Kancha Ilaiah
Kolkata: Samiya, 2004
Pages: 206
Price: Rs 200