Nature and life are essentially diverse . The quest for uniformity is only an attempt to denigrate , decompose and dilute the very principles upon which Nature is created, of which Man is only a part.
In sociological terms, diversity is an attempt at diversifying the sources of material and social power to ensure justice to diverse groups or communities in a society proportionate to their numbers in a country.
Traditionally , India has been dominated by the so called upper castes and a section of what we call the OBC . The exponents and advocates of diversity are trying their best to ensure justice to the large section of the society, especially the Dalits , by determining their rightful place in the process of wealth creation.
However, it’s a laudable but lopsided effort. The idea of Diversity, I believe, is derived from the thesis of Prudhon’s Philosophy of the Poor, which was countered by Karl Marx through his essay The Poverty of Philosophy, even before Communist Manifesto came into existence.
As a social philosophy, Diversity is limited in the sense that it advocates for reformist measures instead of challenging the capitalist system which is at the root of all evil.
When the exponents of Diversity quote the example of countries like South Africa, where the Black population got their rightful dues after independence, they conveniently forget that the entire South African independence movement was basically against apartheid, a colonial tool to deprive the black majority from prosperity by superimposing the superiority of the white. The White Man’s Burden was taken off the shoulders of the rulers eventually.
The South African struggle had a palpable, visible enemy, recognisable from the colour of their skin. Yet, South Africa could not get rid of the capitalist system even though they ensured land and mines to the Black, Native population. De Beers is an example.
India presents a far more complex situation. Here, the concept of Apartheid is not skin deep. There’s no palpable, visible enemy to declare war upon. Casteism is a way of life, just as communalism. The centuries of discrimination on the basis of caste and creed is only supportive of a system of merciless, inhuman exploitation of the relatively poor by the relatively rich , both inside and outside a caste.
This is the reason why the ideas like job reservation and SC ST parliamentary constituencies didn’t cut much ice . Under the present regime, government jobs are shrinking every day and reservation for the deserving is becoming fast redundant. There are 63 parliamentarians from the reserved category among the 303 BJP members. While it’s mathematically possible to bring down this government on grounds of social and economic injustice to the scheduled castes and tribes, it’s not practically possible, because of the class character of these parliamentarians. I wonder if anyone from among the Ambedkar vadis or diversity platform has ever raised a demand for the resignation of these parliamentarians. They have not, and they never will.
That’s the reason why I called this movement only a reformist movement within the capitalist system under the present democratic system. It’s like moving into the boxing ring with one hand tied behind. Your defeat is foretold.
There’s another aspect to this movement. Suppose it succeeds. Suppose , on the basis of the caste population in India, all its wealth creating resources are redistributed. What next ? How will a tribal from remote Bastar manage an iron ore mine without any financial resources or technical knowledge? How will a landless labour handle a fifty acre tillable stretch without financial assistance or technical support? Who will ensure such support? Where is the system to ensure this ? None and nowhere; that’s the crude reality.
In Jharkhand, the SC and ST have been ensured Government contracts up to Rs 50 crore. The Diversity men are all ga ga over it . The ground reality is that more than 90% of the tribals and the Schedule Caste population don’t have resources to even dare to think about such contracts, let alone technical and other expertise. The result is, the relatively rich and resourceful section of the society use them as Shikhandis to bag the contracts. Populism doesn’t always boil down to pragmatic solutions.
I strongly believe that the present capitalist system doesn’t offer any thing to the really poor and deprived in the society. Only a leftist revolution is capable of ensuring maximum good to the maximum people. I know, there have been Communist experiments and failures in the world history, but, that doesn’t erode the basic fact that Communism is the only means to achieve the end of an egalitarian society. While we conveniently forget the failure of the ideals of the French Revolution and all the Capitalist experiments to eradicate poverty, exploitation and such social evils, we focus upon the failure of the Soviet system.
A system may fail, an experiment may fail, but a scientific principle doesn’t. Marxism is the only scientific principle to ensure justice to the weakest among the weak and poorest among the poor.
[ प्रतिभा एक डायरी स्वतंत्र ब्लाॅग है. इसे नियमित पढ़ने के लिए सब्सक्राईब करें. प्रकाशित ब्लाॅग पर आपकी प्रतिक्रिया अपेक्षित है. प्रतिभा एक डायरी से जुड़े अन्य अपडेट लगातार हासिल करने के लिए हमें फेसबुक और गूगल प्लस पर ज्वॉइन करें, ट्विटर हैण्डल पर फॉलो करे… एवं ‘मोबाईल एप ‘डाऊनलोड करें ]
