Journalist and author Manoj Mitta's new book titled 'Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India' was released at an event held at India International Centre in New Delhi on May 4, 2023. The book was unveiled by feminist political theorist Nivedita Menon, Magsaysay Awardee Bezwada Wilson, and publisher Karthika VK along with the author in a full-house session.
Caste discrimination is a pervasive social issue in India that has been ingrained in the country's history and culture for centuries. Despite constitutional provisions and legal measures to eradicate this practice, it continues to exist in various forms, perpetuating systemic inequality and injustice. Caste is always depicted as a social issue. However, very little work has been done in the area of the legal aspect of caste.
It remains a sensitive topic even today which often leads to discrimination among people. In 'Caste Pride', Mitta has shed light on the history of caste-based mass violence in India in the context of pre-and post-independence socio-legal reforms. Across five sections and 18 chapters, Mitta highlights the legislative and judicial aspects of battles for equality.
'Caste Pride' is considered the third book in the trilogy on mass violence in India written by Mitta. Previously, he wrote about the Sikh massacre of 1984 in the book 'When a Tree Shook Delhi', and about the 2002 Godhra incident in 'Modi and Godhra: The Fiction of Fact-Finding'.
Praising the book, Magsaysay awardee Bezwada Wilson, said in his opening remarks, “This book is not an opinion or thought about caste in India. Instead, it talks about what actually happened in this country (in terms of cate-related crimes) and how our judiciary system responded to them.” Wilson is the Founder of Safai Karmachari Andolan, an Indian human rights organization that works for the eradication of manual scavenging, and he was conferred the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016 for his works.
Talking about caste violence, he said, “Using the word atrocity is unfair given the way our citizens have killed our own citizens.”
He also talked about the importance of acknowledging one’s privilege and openly discussing caste rather than closing our eyes to the fact that it exists.
Meanwhile, publisher Karthika VK informed the audience that the author has committed to write a second volume of 'Caste Pride', which will be coming soon. "Together these two books will be a landmark work,” she added.
The book launch was followed by an interesting discussion between Mitta and Menon, about the book and caste issues in India.
Talking about the book, Menon remarked, “This book discusses the secret history of caste in the labyrinths of the law in India."
In the discussion, Mitta talked about Tamil Nadu’s Kilvenmani village massacre where 42 people, mostly women and children, were burnt alive, as well as the Belchhi murders in 1977 in which 11 people were killed by a mob.
Talking about the Caste Disabilities Removal Act of 1850, he said, “This law became a bone of contention for Hindu nationalists and they made attempts to get rid of it”. It was finally repealed in 2018.
Mitta also talked about the contributions of reformers who, according to him, were “mostly unsung heroes” including Vithalbhai Patel, Maneckji Dadabhoy, BV Narasimha Ayyar, among others. The book also chronicles the instances of killings and violence against lower castes. Mitta also explored various dimensions of caste discrimination in India through the lens of law.
The cover of the book was officially unveiled at the Times Litfest 2023 in Delhi on February 11, 2023.
(Byline: Devanshi Batra)
