Thanks

i’ve some objections to certain conclusions this post draws- the major grouse is the equating of dalit groups on social networks with caste-based groups.

dalit communities on orkut, fb – they’re all open groups. only one group i know on orkut has a screening process- only to ensure that no potential member is a known dalit-hater etc.,

anyone can join the groups- i’m on the admin team of a couple (and i don’t belong, technically, to any of the ‘dalit’ or scheduled castes) and i know i had invited many friends, non-dalits, to join them. and some have. and you’l find many brahmin, rajput, obc, muslim, christian members in these groups.

to call these groups caste- based is objectionable not only because of the reasons i’d talked about earlier, but also because i) the evolution of the term ‘dalit’ itself is rooted in resistance, protest against caste. dalit, simply put, means anti-caste.ii) there’s no single dalit caste.

the term dalit is sometimes used to include, apart from the castes designated as scheduled castes, adivasis and obcs, many muslim, christian, sikh, buddhist communities/castes/sub-castes. if we consider only the scheduled castes- i know, there are 59 of them in the state i belong to, andhra pradesh. and over hundred in a few states. and nearly 500-1000 across the country.

when so many people from different castes, sub-castes, laguages, regions, religions seek to give themselves a single identity, dalit, they’re rejecting their castes. so, how can they be caste-based, when, in fact, they’re opposing caste, to put it mildly?

when brahmins or rajputs etc., form communities around their historically assigned identities, they’re embracing caste, re-affirming their faith in it.dalit groups, by no stretch of imagination, can be equated with these groups.

many dalit castes, like the chamars, for instance, have a pan-india presence. just like the brahmins. if you wanted to check which are the largest communities in south india- you’ll find that the madigas (ascribed occupation:leather workers) or arundhatiyars, found across andhra, tamil nadu, karnataka, maharashtra, orissa etc., would be among the top five. they’re not coming together to form madiga communities on the internet. one needs to think about that.

i”ve been advised by some mutual friends that i should raise my objections here- that you’d respond reasonably. i am hoping you’d do so.

You’re talking about caste community groups not being a bad thing… have you looked at matrimonial sites?
We are still pretty medieval: last I checked.
If you think we’re all living happily together as Indians – my good sir you’re dreaming! Please wake up and smell the sewage that is the caste/religion/language/gender based divide.

Even the use of surnames like Iyer, Sharma, Dube, etc is mark of caste; you can also contribute by dropping “Mishra” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishra)

Language & culture is not barrier to any social development(marriage,job etc)as compared to caste that is most affecting. so caste is the main issue.