Thread by @saaf_oxforduni

Panel 2 will start in half an hour at 6:30 PM IST. You can join via zoom link or the live stream here 👉 facebook.com/southasianalte…
Follow this thread for the live updates from the second session of 'Counting Caste'.

The topic of Panel 2 is: 'Caste and Hinduism: Constructions of the Colonial census'. And the speakers are Gopal Guru (@GopalGuru10 ), Anupama Rao and Rekha Raj. The session will be moderated by Nidhin Donald.

Panel 2 starts with mod Nidhin Donald setting the theme of how the census is framed as a colonial problem. Religion as an identifier has never been without controversy. Adivasis and untouchables have punched a hole in the construction of Hinduism. #CasteCensus

Can we think of Hinduism without its juxtaposition with Islam and Christianity?- Nidhin Donald. #CasteCensus

"What kind of construction of religion is at the core of our discussion. What kind of Hinduism are they constructing? Hinduism is like a no man's land." - @GopalGuru10

"One can say Hinduism survives because caste survives and caste survives because Hinduism survives. This is the link between the two."- @GopalGuru10

"Christianity or Islam - their strength is not based on caste. They borrowed it from Hinduism. " -
@GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"You can enumerate castes for distributing resources and achieve some sort of justice. When you say 'lower castes', it is based on perceptions of purity and pollution and militates against equality." -
@GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"Everyone wants to be enumerated on caste lines and not universal lines. Does it undermine the essence of Hinduism, that is the question to answer. It does undermine the very basis of purity pollution." - @GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"We have to give a modern secular understanding of caste. The state uses 'caste' instead of 'class' or other terms like proletariat because that is too radical for those in power." - @GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"The question is to what extent can we use Census to undermine this idea of hierarchical religious thought" -
@GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"They actually start to unify Hinduism in modern colonial times. The unifying character is defined w.r.t other religions. They would not use caste as a point of internal critique." - @GopalGuru10 #CasteCensus

"What the census actually does is produce a politics of minority." - Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"What makes Indian affirmative actions one of the most comprehensive programs for legislating equality in the world?" - Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"The question whether the Depressed Classes are in fact a part of Hinduism was met by Dominant Castes as an attempt to divide-and-rule." - Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"By reducing the problem of caste to untouchability, everyone could agree to its eradication. So this definitional reduction was a social victory of sorts." - Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"Indian affirmative action is an exceptional practice and experiment. The US affirmative action has not been as robust or as comprehensive."- Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"The project of reparations for historical injustice is no longer the viable model for thinking about caste and Hinduism if the OBC becomes the limit case instead of SC."- Anupama Rao #CasteCensus

"Dalit Christian debates in Kerala give us some insights about the relationship with conversion and social mobility. And how lower caste people negotiated with missionaries to get rid of caste-based violence." - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"As per Dalit historians, Lower Caste people were not part of any religion. Before accepting Christianity, they were outcast slaves. They embraced conversions hoping for social mobility and protection from caste-based violence of Hinduism." - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"Conversion was the only tool for the slave community to get freedom from inhuman practices of Hinduism. Rather than spiritual concerns, they embraced other religions to challenge the caste system." - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"Even after conversion, they were experiencing caste discrimination. Missionaries would take a strategic position on this. Earlier they would protest but later they became silent." - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"In general, conversion to christianity did help attain some mobility but not spiritual freedom as expected. For LC people in Kerala, conversion was an unfinished process because they continued to protest discrimination within Christianity" - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"Eezhava leaders were planning to convert to Sikhism/Islam to protest against Hinduism but rationalists were against all religious practices. A Dalit spiritual leader started a religion in which the God could be seen & touched by devotees." - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"Based on memories of slavery, he formulated a new religion which was inclusive of all irrespective of sub-caste feeling. In Kerala, Dalit community's relation to religion is complex but a shared fraternity across religions. " - Rekha Raj #CasteCensus

"From an administrative point of view, you have to put your religion before your caste position. This is a barrier to entry for social justice schemes like a reservation. You cannot separate Christian Dalits from their social life and reality."- Rekha Raj #CasteCensus