Caste out: blatant rather than latent, caste is still alive—and kicking—in the West. Nikki van der Gaag reports

New Internationalist, July, 2005 by Nikki van der Gaag

Many from the former 'Untouchable' castes disagree. Their concern is that as identity (both religious and ethnic) becomes increasingly important, caste becomes more entrenched. Davinder Prasad says: 'Children today are asked at school: "What is your caste?" If they don't want to say, then they are asked: "Why not? Is there something wrong with your caste?"' Vimla tells of an incident in school where one little boy was biting his shoe and she overheard another teacher say: 'Stop it, you chamar [Dalit sub-caste]!' She added: 'I was shocked that this still continues.'

Increasingly popular among the young, Punjabi bhangra music often celebrates the pride of jat or caste. (Jats are also a particular land-owning feudal caste). Bobby Friction from BBC Radio 1's Asian underground music programme notes: 'There are many songs about jat pride, about the life of a jat ... jat nationalism is running rampant in bhangra music now to the point where every bhangra album that comes out in Britain has at least one track that alludes to the power of the jats.' (3)

Religious fundamentalism

In the US, there are now many caste-based groups, such as the Brahmin Society of America, the Rajput Association of America, Patidar Samaj. Substantial amounts of funding are provided by them to caste, political and religious groups in South Asia. Many fear that their support for right-wing Hindu groups such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is leading to an increase in religious fundamentalism and reinforcing caste in India. Angana Chatterji, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, notes that such groups 'are utilizing religion to foment communal violence toward organizing ultra right, non-secular and undemocratic nationalism in India.' In addition, 'justification of caste inequities, subordination of Dalits, women, adivasis (indigenous peoples) and other minorities, and the consolidation of a cohesive middle-class base are critical to its momentum.' (4)

But, as in Britain, there are movements to combat caste in both the US and Canada. The Chetna Association of Canada documents incidents of caste discrimination. In the US, the International Bahujan Organization (IBO) in New York has over 5,000 members. (5) There is a Dalit International Newsletter published in Connecticut, US, and one in Britain published by the Dalit Solidarity Network. The first World Dalit Convention was held in Kuala Lumpur in October 1998. It was chaired by Senator MG Pandithan of Malaysia, and brought together Indian Dalit leaders as well as many from the Diaspora. Following on from the 2001 World Conference on Racism in South Africa, where Dalits ensured that caste was given high priority, the European Union and the United Nations have put caste issues--or 'discrimination based on work and descent' on their agendas. Dalits in the Diaspora have also lobbied to ensure that international aid agencies employ Dalit staff in the countries where they work.