Caste Matters - Suraj Yengde - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Suraj Yengde

GENRE: Memoir, History

PUBLICATION DATE: July 22, 2019

RATING: 4 stars.

If you try searching for the genre of this book on Google or Goodreads, the answer that is thrown up is "Autobiography". But when I picked up this book, I found that it isn't as much of an autobiography as it is a call for action, a manifesto if you will.

I had seen an interview of Dr. Yengde where he says, "I challenge every Indian to take their own shit in their hands and hold it for a few seconds. You won't be able to do it. And you expect others to get into your shit and clean it for you." That was one heck of a statement and he blew me away with his candour. This book came on my radar soon after.

Dr. Yengde knows his content well, no doubt about that at all. Caste Matters gives a great deal of information into the historical caste system, and how it is practised even today. This book is a treasure trove of insights: known, forgotten and suppressed. The passion towards the cause is evident. His tidbits about Ambedkar, Jyotirao Phule, Shridhar Pant Tilak, Jhalkaribai and many such others are a revelation. Dr. Yengde doesn't mince words when he slams traditional Brahmin supremacists for their baseless superiority complex.

There are so many instances in this book that will shock you out of your comfort level. For someone like me, an urban citizen from a non-Hindu background who doesn't even understand the various Hindu castes, this book was an eye-opener into how deeply rooted the caste issue actually is and how people allow it to dominate their behaviour even in the 21st century. I now understand what "privilege" truly means.

But...

What I was expecting from this book was another Isabel Wilkerson. What I got was a Yuval Noah Harari. Now before you jump up in excitement and rush to order the book, let me admit that I'm not a Yuval Noah Harari fan. Just like Harari, Yengde sees facts from a one-sided perspective and indulges in too much generalisation. The author takes only those facts that support his hypothesis and ignores all others. I wouldn't exactly blame him for doing so, but to take a few instances of injustice and extrapolating it as being representative of the entire "upper caste" community is not right. (Or am I being too idealistic here? 😕)

Dr. Yengde also comes off as extremely leftist/socialist in his approach. (Yeah, I don't agree with socialist thinking. So you could chalk this down as my mental barrier instead of as a flaw with the book.) His statements are self-contradictory too at times. For instance, he advocates an increase in reservations and at the same time, claims that the only beneficiaries of reservations are the "Dalit Bourgeoisie" and not the untouchables. To raise a clarion call for "Dalit Liberation" and demand additional reservations does not seem to be the optimum solution. I was more into the inclusivity idea but Dr. Yengde claims that inclusivity doesn't work well for those in the lower strata.😞

To sum up, the book is a must-read in terms of the facts it provides and the issues it raises but not to be followed blindly in terms of the solutions it proffers. All our citizens need to work in unison if we have to take the country to a better future. Putting any one caste above the other will not result in long-term harmony. In fact, it is better we stop thinking and segregating in terms of caste and instead thinking in terms of "underprivileged" citizens being given the same rights and opportunities as the privileged ones, no matter what their caste or religion.