On Casteism in Films

They say India was a great civilisation, they say India had great technology- Pushpak Viman, Atom bomb and there are so many stories out there. I am not sure how many of them are true, but certainly India has made several great advances to astronomy, mathematics, surgery and several other disciplines- properly documented through books and other publications. One of the oldest civilisations in the world, with so many water bodies, with such a strong intellectual past, is still a developing economy and I ask why?

Root cause Analysis

They tell me Britishers ruined India, but how did Britishers succeed in getting into India, didn't Indians have proper defense, if they had such advance technology? They say Mughals and Islamic invaders plundered Indian universities, but the same question again. They say Indians converted to Buddhism and took up nonviolence. Well, whatever the reason may be, one argument seems convincing- lots of Indian were not empowered, thanks to caste system. India as a civilisation cannot rise up unless more than half of the population gets empowered.

Indian Politics

We say Indian Politics is bad and that corrupt candidates win due to the caste factor. But why do poor people vote on the basis of caste? Socio-Psychological analysis reveals that the weak people form identity groups when they feel threatened, that they wouldn't get opportunities. A poor man doesn't have the luxury of propagating the caste system, especially if he is the oppressed one. The bad politics will probably continue until everybody gets equal opportunities, without having to depend on their caste based identity groups. The bad politics can be killed only by killing the caste system.

The Purity Argument

Ambedkar, in his essay, notes that any religion based caste system revolves around the "purity" argument- that a few races are purer than the others. This convinces a few races that they are actually inferior at birth and helps the so called "pure" race is asserting their supremacy over the society. There is an integrated marketing campaign to assert this "purity argument"- through stories, traditions, music, dance and various art forms- through popular culture. 

"Purity Argument" in Modern films

There is a Grandfather who is a pure dude, always prays God, is committed to religion and is highly respected in the society. Look at his dressing and the ornaments he wears. The movie creates an aspiration in audiences' minds, to live like him. The audience come out of the film admiring the presentation of Indian culture and values. However, the caste system wouldn't let everyone get an equal chance of living that role, and even worse discriminate those who are not like him- sadly for an accident of birth.

Impact on Women

These films try and describe who an ideal woman is- the pallu plays a very important role here. She is supposed to respect men, cook food very well, get into one or two art forms and take care of family members. I am not quite sure if the idea of women empowerment can be taken forward if such movies keep releasing. Doesn't this reinforce the stereotypes that women are not equal to men and should stay back at home?

Impact on Growing Children

These films don't let the children probe and pursue perspectives around the society. They are shown examplars and not allowed to question. Anyone questioning the grandpa(in the film) is an illmannered kid. Curiosity is bad and one musn't question culture or god, one must try to protect it. This kills the child's curiosity and often also affects the professional development of the child.

Softcore Reforms

Although these films try and promote the purity argument, they have to be camoflaged into reformist films. So they should a stance against dowry system or Sati system which are even worse. This is a commendable job, but then the idea of purity itself has to be dismissed, to work towards the idea of parity and equality. Nomatter how many reforms are discussed in the film, the purity argument is good enough to ensure that our caste system stays intact. For, purity argument is the basis of any religious caste system. 

Subtle Brainwashing

Hate speech is extreme enough for people to notice. But then subtle brainwashing is even more dangerous as the core message is camoflaged around seemingly positive and progressive message. These films show a lot of social work- the protagonist helps people, pursues arts- which is all great stuff, but then the subtle message- "the purity argument" is deadly.

Why I am writing this

I have grown up watching these shitty films, I hail from a so called "upper caste" family with these "sanskaari" values, which deprived me of a chance to explore human values, which I got only after pursuing a science course and learning to question underlying assumptions. I understood what is privilege only after deep introspection.

Whether you like the film or hate the film, I'd like to request you to think about caste system- it is possibly the biggest force stopping India from growing into a superpower. I may have hurt you with these argument, but the intent is only to speak out against the purity argument and to try and present the parity argument- that we are all equal, with a potential, with dreams and we can all build a great country.