Woke up to a spate of messages from privileged castes accusing me of targeting them at a time when they are ‘most targeted’- whatever that means. Usual rant about reservation and how the their poor are worst off etc. First, reservation isn’t a poverty alleviation programme (1/n)
Reservation is to give a voice to those who have been on the margins of society for centuries cause education & all other resources were hogged by privileged castes. When was the last time a Shukla, Mishra or Singh stepped into a gutter to clean it despite all the poverty? (2/n)
From homes to markets and offices, caste follows you. It doesn’t leave you even in Silicon Valley. It doesn’t leave you even if you are a senior IPS officer & u visit a temple. It doesn’t leave you in death where your body is taken off the pyre since you don’t belong there. (3/n)
Ask a non Brahmin/non Thakur journalist how she/he is made to feel in a newsroom. That’s if you manage to find a Dalit journalist in Delhi newsrooms. I was born a privileged caste and if I wasn’t a Singh, chances are I wouldn’t be where I am today. This is the bitter truth. (4/n)
A poor Brahmin or Thakur will still have dignity- in life and in death. A Dalit still doesn’t. He can’t even sit on a horse for his wedding. So please spare me this targeting of upper caste nonsense. When you are so accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression! (5/n)
