Suvendu Barik
1. Caste violence on barbers
A default understanding of the social position of barbers in the Shudra hierarchy is of holding them accountable for denying haircuts to Schedule Caste communities. While barbers are considered low-caste, they hold onto various casteist norms and simultaneously are minutely regulated by oppressor castes (and feudal, landed communities) in the villages. This unfortunately has not resulted in much attention to a holistic context.
Traditionally, barbers have been relegated beyond the task of shaving and hair cutting. A main reason lies in their forced servitude in dominant caste households. Cleaning leftovers after a meal occasion of brahmin-savarnas, obligatory feet cleaning of the oppressor-caste members, beaten and shamed by the whole village, are some of the glimpses of their condition in the village (Banerjee, 2001). These aspects of their active humiliation not just influences, but regulates them to maintain a social norm of exclusion.
While brahmin-savarnas justify their vulnerable position by calling their task of shaving as ‘valued’, in reality they disguise their contempt by treating the same as a disposable ‘ritual’ affair. Barbers are compelled to participate in various brahminic rites through the fear of prescribed humiliations and dacoity in the villages. It also informs one of their primary reasons for maintaining social distance from the SC communities. Often, such nuances are not taken into consideration.
In order to establish the severity of the matter, I draw attention to the Barikas of Coastal Odisha. While they are enumerated in the OBC central list, their systematic grievances have been ignored by the state machinery despite extensive documentation from many human rights organisations. A CEC-India working report on bonded labour in Odisha, authored by Dr. Abhay Xaxa (Xaxa, 2007), reports the minute regulation involved within the ‘social access’ that they get in the village hierarchy.
Extensive documentation of their social and economic excommunication, sexual violence, physical assaults and humiliations, all constituting to caste violence for transgressing casteist norms set by dominant castes, especially Khandayats, is published as a 92-page booklet (Pattanaik, 2007). Barikas are not allowed to cultivate on ‘heta’ (rented lands which are owned by oppressor-dominant castes) unless they perform hair cutting. Twenty case studies are presented, beginning from 1986 onwards. Series of news reports pertaining to the matter has also been available (Sahu, 2013) (Ghosh, 2018) (Mohanty, 2021) (Barik, 2024).
To distinguish from other barber communities in India, the Barika community has engaged in organising against the bonded labour in 2003-05 (Das, 2005) (The Hindu, 2005) and the victims actively refused to accept the caste-norms set by Brahmin-Karans and Khandayats. This is not uncommon either, as barber castes have a history in resisting against brahminical norms. A well-known example is how Nhavis were organised in a strike by Savitribai Phule against the ritual of shaving widow women in the 1860s (Mani & Sardar, 2008, 24). —
2. OBC category as merely pro-reservation
With all the aforementioned visibility, the conditions of the Barika community are not a pan-Indian problem for the so-claimed OBC leaders. Even the Caravan article “Widening the Frame” by Dr. Ravikant Kisana (Kisana, 2021) does not mention them, as the article calls out the feudal shudra castes for the violence committed against many disenfranchised OBC-listed castes. There is no so-called OBC/Shudra intellectual who has sincerely considered these grievances in their academic front. Both the supposed think-tanks and the ground leadership have remained mute on this matter.
The administrative category of OBCs has been rendered dysfunctional in addressing many such material and social grievances of a vast (note: thousands) of caste groups who are enlisted. No other groups, excluding politically visible dominant caste groups like Yadavs, have any political stake, while their administrative representation at any level is meagre. The premise of social and educational backwardness has been circumvented by certain oppressor castes to get enlisted in the category, showing its limitations at present.
The socio-cultural conditions of caste groups in the OBC lists varies dramatically, in a sense that the hierarchy is not merely a grayscale, but almost jagged and stark. To provide a conservative example, which has received political witness, the grudges on Karpoori Thakur by feudal-minded OBCs like Yadavs because he was from Nai/barber community of Bihar is sufficient (Kumar, 2024). It has parallels with the social grudges held by Khandayat caste members against Barika families with relative economic mobility.
The material realities of Yadav/Khandayat have incomparable differences with that of Nai/Barika simply due to the feudal relationship that the former had over the latter. It has influenced the social and cultural aspects within the village structure, and led to consequences that resulted in caste violence against barbers. The OBC category, as a whole, contributes to invisibilising this distinction by placing them superficially on the same plank.
There is no de-facto basis that has been set for identifying caste groups which belong as Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in the first place. This has led into various SEBC state lists, which are heavily influenced on regional politics. In particular, the Odisha SEBC category continues to remain obscure, both through its inclusion of oppressor castes and its non-existent implementation (Sagar, 2019) (Suna, 2024). By treating these regional categories as merely vote-banks, the administrative purpose for SEBCs has been derailed.
It then should not be surprising that the grievances of barber communities in general have never gotten the support from the OBC politics itself, simply due to the OBC leaders not catering to their condition. It is rather the case that Yadav leaders simply appropriate Karpoori Thakur to sanitise themselves within the political manoeuvring. In regard to south Indian OBC politics, it is unlikely that their leadership will raise the question of caste-oppressed communities in Odisha, to which I have kept my reservation. —
3. Need for alternative leadership
Being in large numbers and having certain political vantage, Yadavs have considered only in raising their political interest by remaining performative in their efforts. It is a pity they have not even raised their own grievances in any concrete manner. Social media circulating Yadav leaders’ participation into brahmanical rituals for appeasing their vote base also informs their political limitations. Despite Lalu Prasad Yadav being appraised by many shudra castes (mainly Yadavs), muslims and certain ‘anti-caste’ circles for being a strong leader, the implied suggestion to ‘wait’ for their next strategy cannot be a way forward.
Politically visible dominant OBC castes are complicit in minutely regulating the material positions of ati-pichdas in toto, let that be in the villages or in state politics (Singh, 2015, pp. 56-57). Various slangs towards stigmatising and criminalising barbers have been used by their leaders too. While many defend them for the supposed ‘social justice’, not even a single plight of vulnerable barber communities (The Wire, 2020) (Tamilarasu, 2020) (Sabrang India, 2023) ever shake the conscience. How can one expect the OBC category at its present state to enable justice?
3a) Close study of the rebuttal
To assess the matter appropriately, we must resort to the recommendations that, L. R. Naik, the only member of the Mandal Commission from a Schedule Caste community, had first made (Naik, 1980, pp. 229-274). He had made the following points which are presented for brevity:
- That each castes/classes mentioned in the common list are not at the same degree of social and educational backwardness. That he distinguished these two categories within the list –
- Intermediate Backward Classes (IBCs): who have made their presence felt in the caste hierarchical society either on a) Numerical Strength b) Age old co-existence alongside with advanced communities in villages and towns.
- Depressed Backward Classes (DBCs): who are incapable of making the above dent in near future, extremely backward socially and educationally, whose economic backwardness is a result of the former two.
- That there is a need to sift them carefully from the main common list, and create a separate entity of near-equals to bring about a healthy competition.
- IBCs have some scope to embibe better association with upper castes.
- DBCs are denied, prohibited and even segregated on account of stigma of traditional occupations, stigma of criminality, stigma of nomadism, resulting in their abysmally low social status.
- That the very names of those considered in DBCs already connote their social and educational backwardness and should have been postulated similarly to the case of SC/ST for the purpose of specification.
- That all the political leaders belonging to IBCs seem to emulate some disgruntled UC in usurping economic and political power in the name of Backward Classes.
- Given the percentage population of DBCs and IBCs as per report, it is safe to assume that these two categories are equal to each other from their population point of view.
- That the DBCs are comparable in matters of backwardness to those of SC/STs, and had recommended 15 percent out of 27% both in public services and educational institutions, while he kept his reserve for demanding political reservations for them.
- He urged the DBCs to unite and organise, that they should recognise that an essential part of their battle against their social backwardness is to be fought in their own minds for their own salvation.
Point 1 and point 2 does not vindicate the reductive ‘lower’/‘upper’ OBC analogy. It clearly recognises how the Intermediate Backward Classes (IBCs) have certain material privileges over the Depressed Backward Classes (DBCs). Such distinction is a necessary step for even beginning to ask the appropriate questions on their socio-material positions. This parcelling of near-equals today should form more than two categories (Rao, 2017). Point 3 clearly expects the identification of DBCs within the same tenacity as it is done for SC/STs. Point 4 further vindicates the previous observations about the Yadav leaders.
What is uncommon to hear is about points 5 – 6. Given the 50% cap on the reservations, the rebuttal rather suggested a sort of compromise, that is to entitle the DBCs 15% from the already given 27% to the OBCs. The question of removing the reservation cap, or even lifting it to any reasonable percentage often mislooks the provided suggestion. Rightfully, a nationwide caste census is advocated, but it declines to investigate the immediate needs of these DBCs, who are also indicated in the annexures of the rebuttal.
3b) Literary movements among ati-pichdas
We are only left with the point 7, that is to bring the DBCs in unity so that they organise together. Many state based sub-categorisations of the OBC bracket in states like Bihar, AP and TN have MBC/EBCs. Often it is thought of as ati-pichdas that Karpoori Thakur had coined. It will be useful to think of ati-pichdas in a similar way that L. R. Naik identified DBCs, and not be relegated into just a state subcategory.
Merely reforming the OBC lists will not bring the urgent structural interventions that are needed to address the ignored and invisible status of the ati-pichdas. The major problem remains in ensuring that, starting from barber castes, every oppressed caste group who are currently within the OBC category should have a direct stake with the Indian statehood. These are not just mere amends that many well-intended ends up resorting to. This requires alternative leadership, which endorses appropriate social measures and sets a direction for their cultural emancipation.
A serious consideration should lie in building literary movements among them. Lack of literature produced by these groups have led many in deriving irresponsible conclusions about their social location. Movements leading to introspection of their social condition automatically leads, as well as sustains, their autonomous organising. Strong socio-cultural movements lead to fertile grounds for solid anti-caste politics, and hence is a primary step.
The current OBC politics revolve into chauvinisms and lacks introspection. Burdening ati-pichdas into any political manoeuvring merely distracts them from recognising solid alternatives which prioritises their autonomy over political conveniences. It is up to these communities to focus on producing accurate knowledge on their present condition such that they can challenge their oppressors and demand proportionate stake. Only then the invisibility be lifted off entirely. —
Acknowledgements
A lot of impromptu writings in social media have led to this article. I thank @sunnyrome on Discord for his introspections and the suggestion to write to RTI. I thank Snehashish Das for his comments that led to a substantial improvement of this work. I also thank my other online friends for giving their comments before the submission.
References
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Suvendu Barik is a doctoral candidate in the Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Apart from their academic work, they like to listen to a lot of music while writing about their experiences on casteism, and occasionally make art.
