To Kon'nalo... an essay by the late Prof Lucio Rodrigues

[fredericknoronha2]

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[Jeanne Hromnik]

How is it possible that a whole discourse like this makes no mention of caste -- or this subtly diguised as 'social tier'?

I suppose knowing the family means you automatically know the caste. Is caste still important in Goa? Could a socially well placed person belong to a low caste?

Is it inexcusable to ask about a person's caste? Is there a subtle phrase to suit the purpose?

If you are rich enough, is caste forgotten?

xxj

On Sun, 04 Sep 2022, 12:12 fredericknoronha2, <frederic...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Mervyn Maciel]

Ref.To Kon'nalo

I find the whole  system of caste totally  repugnant and still

can't understand how we, as Christians/Catholics have,

and in some cases still continue to support this evil system while at

the same time condemning apartheid and discrimination

where it exists. Hypocrisy at its worst!

   It is very heartening to note that those considered of a  'lower caste',

and in some respects not given a fair deal in the past, have today

outshone those of us who consider ourselves of a "higher caste"

and somehow superior!!

Mervyn Maciel

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[fredericknoronha2]

Many questions. So numbering below and here:

[1] That's the beauty of it. I think that in the post-Independence flush (still lingering in the late 1960s, when this was probably written... don't forget LR was a freedom-fighter) caste was not discussed publicly. Even religious identities were not highlighted then. You didn't mention it in public. It was present but more at the subterranean level. Then came the Kanshi Rams and Mayawatis, the VP Singhs, the Mulayams, the BJPs ... for obvious reasons, the Congress played its Brahmin-SC/ST-Minority politics more cautiously.

[2] Knowing the *village* could allow you to identify caste, that's LR's point.  With a small margin of error.

[3] Caste is still important -- at some times. At marriages (often but not always), in elections and politics, while claiming government jobs, while trying to snub one another (both "lower" and "higher" can be "suitably insulted"), or when a politician falls in trouble (the blue-eyed, fair skinned ... apologies for the use of racist terms ...  Narvekar remembered his kharvi, or traditional fisherman, roots when faced by a "molestation scandal", that was circa 1989). At prayers and shrines too. Sometimes even in professional settings. And I could have missed out on some spaces.

[4] Increasingly so, especially in the post-1961 era. This doesn't get discussed much, but one-(wo)man-one-vote has also made numbers important. "Lower" caste groups tend to be numerically larger. But numbers can be also made use of by scheming "elites". The "Bahujan Samaj" politics has also placed some (but not all) of the "upper" castes on the defensive. Goa's first two chief ministers came from the Gomant Maratha Samaj (former Devdasis). Local players in industry are still largely dominated by "upper" castes, but bold and major industrialists of the 1990s and thereabout, who also influenced State politics, like the Chowgules, are from "lower" caste backgrounds who made it rich in trade and mining.

[5] It would be rude to ask a person's caste. (Which is the point of this essay... using other means to find out.) It's like asking: "What's the colour of your underwear?" Bizzarre question, right? How is that relevant anyway? What right do I have to ask?

[6] If you're rich enough, anything can be forgotten. But it could still be resurrected when someone wants to "deal a snub" for whatever reason. Including insecurity. FN

On Monday, 5 September 2022 at 06:27:07 UTC+5:30 Jeanne wrote:

[1] How is it possible that a whole discourse like this makes no mention of caste -- or this subtly diguised as 'social tier'?

[2] I suppose knowing the family means you automatically know the caste. [3] Is caste still important in Goa? [4] Could a socially well placed person belong to a low caste?

[5] Is it inexcusable to ask about a person's caste? Is there a subtle phrase to suit the purpose?

[6] If you are rich enough, is caste forgotten?

xxj