Skip to main content

Munmun Dutta's utterance part of savarnas' 'rampant' feudal, casteist mindset

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* 

A TV actress, more known for her flirting ways than acting, recently exposed her caste mindset when she said: “Lip tint ko halka sa blush ki tarah laga liya hai because main YouTube pe aane wali hoon aur main achha dikhna chahti hoon. Bhangi ki tarah nahi dikhna chahti hoon..." Simple translation: I am planning to speak to you through my YouTube channel and hence I want to look beautiful and not like the 'Bhangis'.
Bhangi is known to be a derogatory term used for the community of those engaged in sanitation and manual scavenging work. The term is officially prohibited, but the Brahmanical mindset continues to use it to humiliate the community.
The actress, Munmun Dutta, later issued a statement by saying that she never 'meant' to 'hurt' anyon and it was a goof-up because she is not a 'native' Hindi speaker, though it is another matter that she is an important player in the TV serial “Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma”, which started in August 2008.
If you have watched the show, it might look 'light entertainment' with 'comedy on day-to-day issues’, but, frankly, it is also a way to inject the savarna (dominant caste) cultural values where 'traditions' and 'past' become supreme – as 'prescribed' by the RSS.
Munmun Dutta's so-called 'apology' is nothing but a clever attempt to escape from the 'criminal offence' after the hashtag to arrest started gaining momentum on Twitter. The fact is, what Munmun Dutta said is commonly uttered among caste Hindus. They are part and parcel of the feudal casteist society, particularly in the northern Indian belt, often referred to as 'cow-belt'.
Abuses and slurs on the basis of one’s jaati i.e., caste, gender, disability, is part of our 'culture'. A common abuse in our day today life is 'behanxxxxd', and it comes in our mouth as like a 'mantra'. Terming 'langada', 'loola', 'andha', 'behara' for physically challenged persons with polio, blind and deaf, is also common. For women who can’t conceive the term is used as 'banjh'. Similarly, widows, single women too are called through various derogatory names.
Several ‘idioms’ and 'sayings' in Hindi are actually Brahmanical abuse against the people on the margins. In fact, it is the Brahmanical abuse of the grammar. The abuse, against the Dalits and women, is part of the language and gets maximum claps.
Political leaders and 'orators' have always used 'caste' narratives to 'build' their 'case'. One should not forget that, in the aftermath of Mandal Commission report, many savarna boys organised 'unique' protests where they were 'sweeping' the streets and some of them 'shining the shoes' of the people while the girls 'cried' with a 'slogan' -- “if all the boys were 'doing' this 'work', where would we get our 'husbands'?”
The contempt for the work that Dalits have been engaged in and the thought that it is the work they deserve, while dominant caste people’s job is to dominate and rule, makes the savarnas think that they are 'meritorious' and ‘deserve’ important positions by virtue of their caste supremacy. Accepting that non-Brahmins and Dalits in particular can have merit and perhaps better than them is a rare thought and difficult to fathom.
India needs serious introspection, as such nasty thoughts – that some people are born unequal while others are born with merit – emerged 2,000 back. Yet, in modern times, when we have a Constitution and are a rule based polity, such thoughts must not merely be taken seriously but condemned and punished so that there is no chance of their repetition.
Several ‘idioms’ and 'sayings' in Hindi are actually Brahmanical abuse against the people on the margins
Indeed, India needs a hate crime law which can take up such issues seriously and punish the guilty. Our schools, colleges and dictionaries need a re-look and students must be informed from their childhood as to how caste system is killing humans inside us, and how this system should be thrown into garbage.
In the meanwhile, it is time that Munmun Dutta's utterings should be taken seriously and she must be face the law. The aim is not to punish her but to send across the message that as to what ails our society and why it is essential that such thoughts do not appear in our mind. Caste discrimination must have the same kind of intolerance from us, as world is dealing with racial prejudices.
Our children must know from their homes that they are living in a society where Constitution is supreme and it deals everyone as equal. Caste discrimination and caste system must not be merely condemned but thrown in the dustbin, and for that we must put 'annihilation of castes' on our agenda.
But will that be possible if our students are not taught about the dirty relic of our past, which the caste system is, and how Baba Saheb Ambedkar fought against it? Let this 'Bambai cinema', which often makes jokes on the colour of one’s skin and glorifies the 'past', start taking a lesson from Dr Ambedkar's life and mission.
One hopes, more and more Indian families would read Dr Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and others who preached humanism and human values. Once we become humanist in a true sense, the dirty edifice of the caste system will automatically collapse.
The task is tough, as those enjoying power and patronage for centuries would not leave their privileges. Anti-caste groups in India and abroad and Bahujan masses should join hands to do the needful and get an alternative, as shown by Dr Ambedkar.
---
*Human rights defender

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.

Regional political dynamics 'leading to' institutional violence in SAARC University

By Sandeep Pandey*  South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU has lost significance too. Because of the hiatus in peace process between India and Pakistan, the Board of Governors of this University is dysfunctional.

'Vulgar display of wealth': Govt of India using G20 presidency for political, electoral gains

Counterview Desk  Seeking endorsement for a public statement on India's G20 Presidency, several people’s movements, trade unions and other civil society groups have come together to say that not only will G20 and its priorities “will worsen economic, social and climate crisis”, already, India’s presidency is being used “for vulgar display of pomp & for electoral gains.”