//What's your Caste !

 It's been long I have written about topics I actually started writing on -- Curses that prevail in our society.

Stigmas that have crippled the world around us.

//Whats Your Caste?

Quite offended looking at my first line above? Triggered? Or shall I say, a wierd sense of hesitant tickle aroused up your spine? Good.

But what do we about it next? That feeling, that reminder, those angry questions just rise enough to hit our mind one time and then vanish the moment we school down the feed because thats nothing we can do about, right?

If you think so. Its not.

Years ago, when I was 12 perhaps, I remember going to my village along with my entire family. As we reach our relatives' place, I entered the kitchen to see something very strange. That was not same in my home at the city and hence, I was curious. And I asked my aunt, a housewife who had two girls who never went to school after class 10th and one boy, who was studying abroad.

(Yes, I am putting this info to let you see the 'beliefs' at a closer look)

"They are not of our caste. They are mere workers who harvest crops for us or the milkman who is not equal to our standards girl. Forget about tea, I doubt they would even be getting tel meals a day at home always! We are serving them, being the upper caste, is itself an honour for them. They feel obliged for the same. They respect us. And thats why we keep these utensils away from ours. You are a kid now, you wont understand. "

"Why are these set of cups and glasses kept aloof in this messy corner and why are they half broken, aunt?"

"No beta. Don't touch that. They are for the workers in our field, and the milkman sometimes ask for some water. Those are not for our use. "She said pushing me away as if I was about to take a bath if I accidentally held any of those.

"But why so? Why can't they drink tea from cups that we use?" The 12 year old me had no idea honestly, about the stigma that eats up our society. And Then, she said something I wish I had the guts to answer her back.

I let it go then. But today, I feel I have an answer. I want to say, that, I never asked the caste of my friends before they helped me in my darkest hours. I want to say that the millions out there who donate blood never ask which patient it is going to be injected in and what would be their caste first of all. I see how pathetic the mindset was years ago and still prevails in thousands of villages, where 'respect' and 'honour' lies behind this mere one syllable word called 'caste'.

I wish I could say that, the farmers/ daily wage workers we feel are serving us, are actually the reason we don't end up empty stomach. The man who we look down upon when he visits a temple and restrict his access, is somebody who wasn't born with that tag. And nor did HE choose to hang around a nameplate while creating us.

It's funny how we ourselves have created this casteist mindset since generations. It's funny how every time an incident turns up we call for sympathy but we fail to preach the change we are actually demanding from the world around us. Would you think twice before lending a hand to someone you love even if they do not belong to your caste? Would you think for a while before letting your child share the same plate with the friends that

don't belong to 'the privileged ones' ?

If yes, not them, you need a reality check and you need a moral makeover inside out. Let's act as humans to other humans, because that's what we are.

     

                                              --Neha