Minority Rights Advocacy
Culture of inborn degradation
The history of world is the history of heroic struggle to cow down the devilish religious persecution, brutal sectarian barbarism and to extricate the human mind from the shackles of vicious fundamentalism. The flag bearers of the dominant religions galvanised by zealotry have resorted to heinous persecution to decimate the adherents of other religions. Overcoming this demonic fanaticism, Hinduism has recognised the variety of opinions, diversity of views and idiosyncrasies of creeds. The Supreme Court has rightly observed, “The Hindu religious system is encyclopedic in its character. It is not one form of faith but a commonwealth of faiths … beginning from the idolatry and ending with the highest form of philosophical monism”[ Paresh Chandra v. Shashan Kalimata Idol 61 DLR 679]. Traumatically in spite of such soothing magnanimity, Hinduism is frittering away due to its caste system which negates human liberty, demolishes human spirit and pulverises the unifying sense of its adherents.
Hinduism has divided its adherents into four water-tight compartments called caste namely Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaisyasand Sudras. Justice D.A.Desai has discovered four essential features of the caste system namely 1.Hierarchy 2. Commensality 3. Endogamy 4. Hereditary Occupation. Nehru in his book 'Discovery of India'observed, “Caste is the symbol and embodiment of the exclusiveness among the Hindus”. The Indian SC has defined it, “A caste is an association of families which practice the custom of endogamy. The caste of a person is governed by birth and certain ideas of ceremonial purity is peculiar to each caste”[Indra Sawhney Etc. v. Union of India AIR 1993].
The genesis of casteism can be traced back to the absorption of myriad tribes by the victorious Aryans in the frame of Barnasram and relegation of them to the lower rung of the hierarchy. There is longstanding dispute about the culmination of caste system in Bengal. Richard Eaton observes that the caste system far from being the ancient and unchanging essence of Indian civilization emerged into its present form only in the period of 1200-1500AD. But Khithimohan Sen claims in his book 'Hindu Dharma' that even before the arrival of Aryans in India, there was prevalence of caste system in India. The prevalent caste system runs counter to the altruistic dogmas of Hinduism. The sacred Gita says that the Barnasram shall be based upon merit and occupation. In Mahabharata Yudhistir says a person cannot be Brahmin or Sudra merely because he is born out of Brahmin or Sudra. Vabishya Purana ordains all persons are issues of one God and therefore there is only one caste.
The caste system therefore having no connection with spiritual elevation is highly manipulative and wholly opposed to the democratic ideal. The polluting character of this system is such that a child even before coming out of the womb of his mother is branded, stigmatised according to the caste of its parents from which there is no deliverance except by death. Though the concept of inequality is unknown in the kingdom of God, the created of the creator has created this artificial inequality in the name of casteism with selfish motive.
A logical question comes how this apparently invincible caste system survived myriad social and national ups and downs revolutionising the Hindu society? Imminent writer Ranjit Sen in his book 'Caste Class and Raj' has observed, “Whenever there was a revolt against caste, men were drawn into new brotherhood on the basis of individual merits instead of birth. Such groups slowly became converted first into a sect and eventually into a caste…” Therefore instead of weakening the prejudices of caste, such revolt only succeeded into adding one more to the castes already existing. Inconvertibly this caste system is a sacrament carefully nurtured by Hindu society and adroitly crept into the minds of Hindus from which none can escape.
The Hindu society is yet to be unshackled from the clutches of this monstrous caste system though emaciated with the passage of time. Till now caste plays as a catalyst in the arrangement of Hindu marriages. The orthodox Hindu law approves the Anoluma marriage (marriage between the higher caste men and lower caste women) but prohibits the Protiluma marriage (marriage between the higher caste women and lower caste men). In 1946 the government passed the HinduMarriage Disabilities Removal Act which validates the marriage between the diverse sub-divisions of the same caste. But it does not deal with the validity of inter-caste marriage. In 1949 the central legislature of India enacted the Hindu Marriage Validity Act which validates with retrospective effect the inter-castes marriages. But in Pakistan now Bangladesh no such law being passed, the validity of such inter-caste marriage mainly Protiluma marriage is called in question.
The constitution envisions exploitation-free society and promises equal protection by non-arbitrary laws. Agonisingly the interpreters of the constitution have mandated the non-application of equality provision to the personal laws and thereby contributed to perpetuate the vicious manipulation of frail section of the citizens. The prevalent personal laws underscoring the patriarchal hegemony can hardly conform to the luminous ethos of equality. Though constitution of Bangladesh does not oblige the state to formulate a Uniform Civil Code, state should formulate Uniform Civil Code to consolidate the national integration. In this cause the Court should be the flag bearer demolishing the dilapidated edifice of drooping personal laws. The Indian SC observes, “The role of reformer has to be assumed by Court” [Md. Ahmed khan v. Shah BanoAIR 1985]. Quite interestingly the HCD of Bangladesh recommended the formulation of uniform civil code in a verdict on 30th October 2000. However this noble recommendation of the HCD was expunged by Appellate Division terming it irrelevant to the cause. [Islamic Law Research Centre v. Eva Sunanda 54 DLR (AD) 168].
The writer is student of Law, University of Dhaka.
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