Even after 70 years of independence which saw massive cultural reforms, the Indian society still suffers from the worst of casteism. There is little understanding of the issues and propagation of bigoted ideas down the generations.
However, there is a page on Facebook which wants to change that.
Savarna Rehab, a page on Facebook, aims to detox and reform upper caste people of their perceived privilege. It seeks to answer questions and solve queries related to caste so that there is a deeper understanding of these issues in society.
The word Savarna is used to refer to communities which belong to one of the four varnas or classes- Bramhin, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras.
In the modern-day context, they include all the forward castes. The backward castes i.e. the Dalits and Scheduled Tribes do not belong to any Varna are called Avarnas.
This classification has been used to ostracize and oppress the backward castes for the longest time.
The Brahmins who are traditionally the priests and teachers occupy a more respectable position in society and use it to exploit the other castes. By virtue of their position as teachers, they control an uneducated populace.
However, the post-independence push towards social equality led to reservations for backward communities, and that in turn caused the backlash that led to the creation of Savarna Rehab.
The reservation backlash and other backlash against the backward castes arises out of the priviledge and entitlement that the upper castes have been conditioned to. They feel their position in society threatened by the people from the backward castes coming up the social ladder.
Related:Bihar School Has Separate Classrooms For Upper Caste, OBC, Dalit, Muslim Students: WTF Is Happening?
The Indian youth has been so conditioned to this that they are blind to their entitlement and priviledge and this is what Savarna Rehab aims to address
Its Facebook page says “The Indian upbringing soaks it’s children in a casteist mindset. Those, like us, who grow up in the privileged castes get addicted to the privilege and are blind to our own narcissist behavior” and characterises its mission as
“The intention of this page is not to reform the perverted, but to guide those who feel suffocated or frustrated at these things”
The page regularly posts educational content about caste and its reality in India.
By asking questions in polls such as “Does your residential apartment or office building employ humans to go down sewage or deal with human waste without any protection?” it aims to familiarise Indians about the deep casteism that still exists in the job market.
They talk about Savarna fragility and its terrible effect of isolating the Savarnas further, preventing the caste system from being reformed.
In fact, they even designed a Savarna fragility test for people to take and see how fragile their Savarna egos are.
This page could not have come across my feed at a better time. With widespread inter-caste tensions and the continued mockery and ridicule of the lower castes in urban areas and the continued oppression in the rural, the situation is not exactly rosy as of now.
I hope this page reaches more and more people to educate them about caste realities and privilege and that they come out of this rehab more ’woke’ as compared to when they went in.
Reach the blogger at: @tanmaymay_
Image Source: Google Images
You would also like to read:
