Lord Loomba participated in a debate on poverty and caste discrimination in India, which was initiated by Lord Harries of Pentregarth, at the House of Lords on Thursday, 26th November, 2015. He emphasised that both poverty and class system exist not only in India but everywhere in the world. The unfortunate fact is that human beings have always remained unequal; some are born with a silver spoon, others have to make do with misfortunes all their life. Poverty defines their destiny and their caste.
However, he explained that there is a major difference in the poor in the West, where they get some relief through welfare schemes. But in India this is not possible because one, the number is huge and secondly there is financial constraints. This is why both poverty and caste have been major curses and blighted the Indian State and the Indian society. The caste system’s rigidity has caused major tragedies and poverty led too large number living a very miserable life.
He further said that poverty is a great enemy of human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty and it makes some virtues impracticable, and other extremely difficult. Bonded labour, cheap labour, child labour, misappropriation, corruption, bribe, thieving, seduction or taking to the street are some of the manifestations one has witnessed. In remote, inaccessible villages where there is extreme poverty, it is difficult to locate anyone who smiles.
Coming to the other social pest, the caste system, Lord Loomba said - it is a type of social structure, which divides people on the basis of inherited social status. And this divide over decades has led to oppression, torture and abuse and derogatory treatment of a lower caste by the upper one.
"We need a strong campaign at the highest level to counter the entrenched nature of caste prejudices. Indian’s blind faith in the social grading system and its non- negotiable boundaries has hardly benefited any one in any way. In fact, it is one of the main causes for the deaths of many innocent people, the recent being the case of Bhawna Yadav, a 21-year-old Delhi University student. Yadav was strangled to death by her parents because she married her boyfriend Abhishek Seth, who did not belong to her caste.
"The caste system in India has also been largely responsible for rural poverty. The subordination of the low caste people by the high caste people caused the poverty of the former. Due to rigid caste system, the low caste people could not participate in the schemes and programmes of economic progress. Birth decided their occupation and their economic fate," he added.
He further went on to say that successive governments have tried to alleviate poverty.More and more young and educated men and women are spending long hours together in offices and they least bother about caste differences. This is happening in larger numbers in urban areas especially the Metros where they are breaking caste boundaries.
In the rural India where over 68 percent of Indians still live in villages the caste considerations continue to be rigid. But, fortuitously even in villages couples marrying out of caste are seeking police protection or from women’s organizations.
"The awareness about possible protection and financial freedom has encouraged couples to break the boundaries around castes. It would take time but with increasing number of Dalits and Backwards getting education and then special facilities for employment and business, they have begun to occupy high posts and many have done very well as entrepreneurs and become millionaires," he added.
Explaining further on a new India, Lord Loomba said, "Many Temples where Dalits were denied entry have opened their doors for them. In most upper caste Hindu households, caste was a factor when employing a cook. He had to be preferably a Brahmin. But now no one asks the caste, hiring is on the basis of aspirant’s culinary expertise. The rigidity is cracking up and sooner than later caste as an evil would be losing its hold on the psyche of the people.
Likewise there has been a sharp decline in poverty over the last five years with the percentage of population below Poverty Line declining to 26.1% in 1999-2000 from 35.97% in 1993-94. According to the latest estimates of the Planning Commission, while the percentage of population of rural Below Poverty Line has dropped to 27.09% from 37.27%, in urban India, it fell to 23.62% from 32.36% during the five year period. In absolute term too, the below the poverty line population has dropped by over 19% to 26.03 crore in 1999-2000, from 32.04 crore in 1993-94. The rural poor stands at 19.32 crore while the urban poor stands at 6.71 crore.
The Modi government’s policy has also given hope that poverty will be eradicated faster. He on has started many new initiatives. These will create new jobs and break the shackles of poverty in India. As people become self-reliant, get educated. They will enjoy better health and happiness. There can be no better ambience for fighting poverty and overcoming the boundaries of caste system.
He concluded, "Unfortunately, the caste system has existed in India over 2000 years. Therefore, it is going to take some time to rectify this situation but we are definitely going in the right direction. However, I am convinced that Modi’s Government is making huge efforts to address both the poverty and caste system in India."
