Phule’s Criticism of the Caste System

 

Phule considered the institution of caste responsible for the decadence of Indian religion and society. According to him, the caste system was the antithesis of the principle that all human beings are equal. The hierarchy of castes was the assertion of the inequality of man. Since caste was the part and parcel of Hindu religion, Phule denounced caste as well as the religion which justified and sanctioned inequality in society. The Brahmans who were creaters of the scared literature in India received the maximum benefits from the irrational divisions in the social orders. The entire Brahmanical literature provided legitimacy to the caste system which helped the Brahmans in keeping the people in servility. Caste system meant a perpetual slavery for the Shudras and Ati-Shudras.

The historical situation in which the caste system was devised and forced upon the people, was characterized by the struggle between the Aryans and the non-Aryans. Phule held that the caste system reinforced the domination of the Aryans in socio-cultural, political and economic spheres. Phule substantiated his theory with support drawn from Sanskrit, as well as Prakrit literature. His arguments as a logical support to his theory was that the severity of the caste laws and the hatred with which the Shudras are treated also indicate, the possibility of furious feuds between the two i.e. Aryans and non-Aryans in the initial stages of Aryan settlement. The Aryans descended upon the plains of Hindustan from the regions beyond the Indus, the Hindukush and the adjoining tracks. They were progenitors of the present Brahmans. They were an offshoot of the great indo European race from whom the Persians, Medas and other Iranian nations in Asia and the principle nations in Europe likewise are descended. The close affinity between the Sanskrit, Zend and Persian languages also pointed at the common source of these languages.

The original inhabitants of this land were non-Aryans. They inhabited almost the whole of northern India from Indus in the northwest to the fertile coast land of Ganga and Brahmaputra in the East and to the Deccan or Maharashtra or even further in the south. They were civilized people, cultivated the land and lived in built up houses in villages and towns. They lived peacefully and their social system had no hierarchical structure like caste system. The trouble started with the advent of the Aryans in successive batches. They were attracted by the extreme fertility of the soil, its rich produce, proverbial wealth of its people and the other innumerable gifts which this land enjoyed. They came here not with peaceful intentions of colonization but with one of conquering, capturing, and dominating the whole country in terms of socio, cultural, economical and political. These Aryans intruders belonged to a different race and were imbued with high notions of self and were extremely cunning arrogant and bigoted. The aborigines were a brave and hardy people. 

This inference, Phule draws from the determined front which they offered to these interopers. The firm resistance on the part of the native inhabitants created a strong hatred in the minds of the Brahmans against the aborgines which is reflected in such opprobrious terms as ‘Shudra’ insignificant ‘Mahari’- the great of foe ‘Antyaia’, ‘Chandala’ etc. Under the leadership of Brahma. Parshurama and others, the Brahmans waged wars against the original inhabitants. They eventually succeeded in establishing their supremacy and control and some were extermined.

The Aryans first settled on the bank of the Ganga and gradually spread over the whole India. Then in order of control people they devised that wired system of mythology, the ordination of caste and code of cruel and inhuman laws to which he find no parallel among other nations. The objectives in creating the caste system were to keep the natives divided among themselves. It was sustained with the help of priestcraft. They framed caste laws in such a fashion that all rights and privileges were enjoyed by the Brahmans whereas the Shudras and Ati-Shudras got duties and obligations. They were regarded with hatred and the commonest rights of humanity were denied to them. The cruel laws perpetuated this bondage and slavery of the Shudras. Further, they were cheated by the Brahman writers such as Manu, Kautilya and other who maintained that those laws were either divinely inspired or written by the God himself; The Non-Brahman masses treated these writings as gospel truth and to doubt their authenticity of divine character was considered as the most unpardonable sin.

Later on all Aryan conquerors called themselves as Brahmans and all the aborigines as Shudras. ‘Shudra’ is a perverted form of ‘Kshudra’ meaning mean or insignificant. Those of the Shudras, who fought bravely and persistently against them, were made into a distinct class and were avenged by calling them Ati-Shudras and treating them as untouchables, and persuaded the Shudras like Kooli, Mali, Kunbi etc., not to touch them. Because of such inhuman restrictions on these brave people, their communication with the of the society was totally broken and their trade and other businesses vanished. No proper means of subsistence were left for them. They lad to feed themselves on the common or the flesh of the dead animals. These Shudras were flattered by getting slightly higher rank in the hierarchy of caste and forgot their original fraternity with the Ati-Shudras and followed the Brahmans in degrading and exploiting them who had fought bravely to save the whole race from becoming a slave people/ In this way these Brahmans grouped the aborigines into various classes and castes depending upon the serves those people gave them. The most cowardly of the natives who deserted their brothers and turned loyal to the conqueror Aryans were given a place higher than all others and nearer to themselves and were called as Brahmans. Thus even after seemingly taking them in their fold they maintained a distance with and distinction from these Brahmans. There had been no inter-marrying or inter-dining between the Brahmans and the Deshasthas.

Manu in his book viz. Manu Dharma says that Shudra is not supposed to touch or see nor hear or read the Vedas i.e. Shudras were band from the education, right from the later vedic period Shudras were band from the education still the establishment of company rule in India. Even education policy of the company also could not reach the rural poor. The benefits of the education policy of the company and British rule was enjoyed only upper castes of the Indian society. The first educated cream of the Indian society i.e. Upper Castes or so called reformers or elites do, not want for a revolutionary social transformation but for modernization in other words a revitalization of the old society. So, in view of the above Peasants tribals, workers, low castes, Untouchables were all adversely affected by the colonial regime as well as Indian elites. At the same time due to lack of access to education, lacking control over media of communication, their renaissance and their rebellion, their ideology and organization remained in a more incipient, crude, localized and in completed form. All these led the majority of the people or productive culture castes became mentally slavery by accepting irrational myths, legends and superstitions etc. Which reflected in caste system as well as in socio-economic, politico-cultural domination by Brahmans.