Twitter, a favoured medium for journalists and those with snappy comebacks, is not known for nuanced discussions and genuine debate. But on November 18, it became a virtual battleground between Brahmins, the self-appointed doyens of all things holy and all knowledge valuable in Hindu society, and those considered unworthy of a place in the caste system. Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO, was pictured holding a placard that had ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’ emblazoned on it (full marks to Equality Labs for that slogan and design) and promptly, all hell broke loose.
The exact details are a bit hazy since apologies were handed out for this inexcusable act of acknowledging an inherently evil practice, which, naturally, merited another version of how events really transpired. Unless the grand master of Twitter, Mr Dorsey, himself explains his take on this incident, we have to settle for the riveting set of tweets and counter-tweets on whether this was an “insult” to a particular group of people, hate speech, or a devious plan to divide Hindus (the irony of such sentiments at a time when Dalits are routinely lynched is hard to miss).
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was pictured holding a placard that had ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’ emblazoned on it and promptly, all hell broke loose
The Retaliation against Anti-casteism
One needn’t get into the details of the sheer amount of easily-verifiable fake data (Brahmins are the poorest in the country), claims of reverse casteism and victimhood (Brahmins are suddenly the oppressed lot since they are only 5 per cent of the country’s population and yet, mysteriously control much of Indian capital along with Baniyas), conspiracy theories that Dalit activists are funded by the Church (an old favourite), comparisons with anti-semitism (historians were perturbed to discover their ignorance of that time when Brahmins were exterminated in the millions), and unbridled revisions of history (Dalits were not “bound”, free to move but apparently not free to seek a different kind of life, job or status).
A neologism, ‘Hinduphobia’, has also been coined for savarna warriors to use as a strategic weapon in their online wars, giving credence to the fact that they see Hindus primarily as caste Hindus because until this time, the vitriol and virulent abuses faced by Dalits and Adivasis were never considered as an attack against Hinduism. The similarities of these arguments with the ones peddled by men’s rights activists are quite eerie.
That Brahminical patriarchy is a real, structural issue in Indian society that is responsible for upholding the twin evils of casteism and sexism should be evident to anyone who has bothered to examine its basic aspects and workings, without the distortions that privilege accords. In light of this online outrage, many have compared this controversy to the backlash against the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and while race is not equal to caste (though they are both systems of oppression), the equivalence is not without merit.
Any group that holds social, economic, and cultural power in a hierarchical system is unlikely to resist opposition without resorting to the very methods that made them reach that pole position in the first place. In the US, the rise of the white supremacists and Donald Trump is attributable to the backlash against an increasingly assertive Black population and people of colour.
Brahminical patriarchy is a real, structural issue in Indian society that is responsible for upholding the twin evils of casteism and sexism
In India, while caste-based violence and skirmishes have been a regular feature throughout the sordid history of this nation, a resurgent pan-India anti-caste, Ambedkarite movement, proud reclamations of Dalit history such as the Bhima Koregaon march that are being covered in media, and unapologetic Dalit activists on the field and on social media who work tirelessly to counter caste apartheid are some of the factors that have been brewing for a while, adding to the increasing discomfort of privileged Hindus. Then there’s the tacit encouragement of a savarna-majority central government that openly condones murders of Muslims, Dalits, and oppressed groups, and dreams of an Akhand Bharat where Hinduism – the atavistic Manusmriti version – reigns supreme. It was simply a matter of time for an online episode of the Brahmin strikes back to take centre stage. All it needed was a slight trigger to outrage and out-tweet.
Progressives in Name only?
The savarna meltdown is expected from hidebound caste Hindus who proudly flaunt their surnames and affiliations to the “right” kind of lineage. But what about those who claim to be anti-caste? It was Ambedkar who taught us to recognise the central role that endogamy and hence, patriarchy plays in perpetuation of the caste system. By subjugating and controlling women, the structures of caste “purity” and exclusivity can be maintained. Inevitably, endogamy becomes a critical factor in this kind of segregation. And to date, it is still practised by most Indians, irrespective of where they fall in the ideological spectrum.