Hindu Morality is Caste Morality

The effect of caste on the ethics of the Hindus is simply deplorable. Caste has killed public spirit. Caste has destroyed the sense of public charity. Caste has made public opinion impossible. A Hindu’s public is his caste. His responsibility is only to his caste. His loyalty is restricted only to his caste. Virtue has become caste-ridden and morality has become, caste-bound. There is no sympathy to the deserving. There is no appreciation of the meritorious. There is no charity to the needy. Suffering as such calls for no response. There is charity but it begins with the caste and ends with the caste. There is sympathy but not for men of other caste. Would a Hindu acknowledge and follow the leadership of a great and good man? The case of a Mahatma apart, the answer must be that he will follow a leader if he is a man of his caste. A Brahmin will follow a leader only if he is a Brahmin, a Kayastha if he is a Kayastha and so on. The capacity to appreciate merits in a man apart from his caste does not exist in a Hindu. There is appreciation of virtue but only when the man is a fellow caste-man. The whole morality is as bad as tribal morality. My caste-man, right or wrong; my caste-man, good or bad. It is not a case of standing by virtue and not standing by vice. It is a case of standing or not standing by the caste. Have not Hindus committed treason against their country in the interests of their caste?

SECTION IX Annihilation of Caste. Vol-I, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writing and Speeches

A village where dalits can't wear footwear or ride bikes

MADURAI: Villur, set in a typical agrarian backdrop with about 1,200 households was once a peaceful village that was until the dalits challenged the diktats of the upper caste' Thevars. 

For dalits of Villur, about 50km from Madurai and the scene of violence on Saturday night, buying a motorcycle was a sign of extreme luxury just few years back. But only after they managed to buy one they realized that the bigger challenge was riding it down the neatly laid Kaliamman street in the village that leads to their colony. 

When G Thangapandian (27), a dalit youth, decided to challenge the caste diktat that dalits should not ride motorcycles on Kaliamman street, it ended in a brutal attack on his house by a mob of over 500 persons, including women armed with broomsticks. 

"If I am alive now it is because of this grill gate," pointed out G Murugan, Thangapandian's brother. The gate was damaged in several places. "The mob tried to break open the gate with boulders, but left later on Saturday night," said Murugan, fear still evident on his face. 

The dalits, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and economic status of the more influentialThevars, obeyed the diktats they did not wear footwear and they did not ride bicycles or motorcycles on Kaliamman street. "We are served tea in different tumblers and we are not entertained in the barber shops in the village," said Murugan's father Guru. 

The village has been a witness to the worst forms of caste discrimination, as even schools have become a platform for such practices. "My non-dalit classmates would demand that I address them as Ayya.' If I call them by their names they would abuse me with filthy words and threaten me," said M Palani, who just completed his Plus-Two in the higher secondary school in the village. 

It all started about ten years back when the family of Thangapandian, who owns a seven-acre land beside a poclain vehicle, questioned the restrictions imposed on dalits. "His family was immediately ostracized," said Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front secretary K Samuel Raj. 

In fact, the ferocity of the attack by the non-dalits, when they surrounded the Villur police station when the Madurai rural superintendent of police Asra Garg was inside on Saturday night, shocked even police personnel. "I have not seen such violent mob behaviour. We managed to escape their attack only because we had fire arms," said a police official. Despite Garg opening fire in the air to disperse the mob, 12 of the total 14 people injured during the violence were police personnel. The SP's vehicle was also damaged. "We have arrested 50 persons so far and are in the lookout for 150 more," said Asra Garg. Police officials say that the caste discrimination has social, economical and political facets and needs to be dealt sensitively. "To start with we will begin with strict law enforcement," said a senior police official. 

"Police see caste discrimination as a law and order problem. But it goes beyond that. A detailed study should be done on caste discrimination and untouchability in Tamil Nadu. The government should launch a campaign to spread the message that untouchability is not only an offence, but also a sin,'' said A Kathir, executive director of Evidence, a NGO.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/A-village-where-dalits-cant-wear-footwear-or-ride-bikes/articleshow/8147427.cms