An insightful archetype, Sai Krishna! As I look at the matrix, I wonder where do we fit those cases where the individuals or groups are not even aware of their coercion? Once I was in a conversation with a migrant labourer on a trian. Her family seasonally migrated to work in brick kilns. They take their young daughter, who should ideally be in school, to look after their even younger son. Not all the benefits of the govt schemes reach them, which is why they eke out such a precarious life. But they were not really angry or sad at it. I saw it as a coercion enabled by poor governance. But they neither perceived the consent nor the coercion in the whole thing. I find the issue of manual scavenging in the same category, too. Inspite of the relentless crusade by Mr. Bezwada Wilson, it still remains a sad reality. Isn't the unrecognised coercion a bigger tragedy than forced consent?
This is one challenge I faced when categorising caste discrimination. Re-draw this matrix from the lens of the all those castes except the Manual scavenging castes in a village.
Ideally - Manual Scavengers have no self-interest in doing what they do.
But there is definite group interest -- of all the groups above the manual-scavenging group. [Positive GI | Negative SI] So these superior groups come together and coerce to get the manual scavenging done.
Now why there is no revolution? The last point of my article tries to address that -- Totalitarianism and Manufactured Consent.
If you watch the documentary "India Untouched" by Stalin, you'll observe that many manual scavengers have accepted their fate for religious and social reasons. Their claim to social mobility is restricted by every caste above them that they are forced concede to the coercion for survival. Hope the crusades by Bezawada Wilson and others gives enough momentum for a revolution against this social evil.
Perhaps, like you said in one your articles, self-consciousness is the key. When an individual is truly aware of his/herself, they can consciously make a decision on the nature of their consent and fight the coercion, if need be. Though not sufficient, decent education, healthcare and dignity of living are necessary in enabling this consciousness. As young people, we can identify and raise voice against various forms of coercion, too. Thank you for coming up with this write-up. I'm sure it will make the reader pause and ponder. :)
An insightful archetype, Sai Krishna! As I look at the matrix, I wonder where do we fit those cases where the individuals or groups are not even aware of their coercion? Once I was in a conversation with a migrant labourer on a trian. Her family seasonally migrated to work in brick kilns. They take their young daughter, who should ideally be in school, to look after their even younger son. Not all the benefits of the govt schemes reach them, which is why they eke out such a precarious life. But they were not really angry or sad at it. I saw it as a coercion enabled by poor governance. But they neither perceived the consent nor the coercion in the whole thing. I find the issue of manual scavenging in the same category, too. Inspite of the relentless crusade by Mr. Bezwada Wilson, it still remains a sad reality. Isn't the unrecognised coercion a bigger tragedy than forced consent?
This is one challenge I faced when categorising caste discrimination. Re-draw this matrix from the lens of the all those castes except the Manual scavenging castes in a village.
Ideally - Manual Scavengers have no self-interest in doing what they do.
But there is definite group interest -- of all the groups above the manual-scavenging group. [Positive GI | Negative SI] So these superior groups come together and coerce to get the manual scavenging done.
Now why there is no revolution? The last point of my article tries to address that -- Totalitarianism and Manufactured Consent.
If you watch the documentary "India Untouched" by Stalin, you'll observe that many manual scavengers have accepted their fate for religious and social reasons. Their claim to social mobility is restricted by every caste above them that they are forced concede to the coercion for survival. Hope the crusades by Bezawada Wilson and others gives enough momentum for a revolution against this social evil.
Perhaps, like you said in one your articles, self-consciousness is the key. When an individual is truly aware of his/herself, they can consciously make a decision on the nature of their consent and fight the coercion, if need be. Though not sufficient, decent education, healthcare and dignity of living are necessary in enabling this consciousness. As young people, we can identify and raise voice against various forms of coercion, too. Thank you for coming up with this write-up. I'm sure it will make the reader pause and ponder. :)