Nabre'l'Thaelin

Signs seem to show that Hiduism CAN reform its caste system....

Certainly, if an "untouchable" has a chance at presidentship...


http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/18/asia/india.php
"Kumari Mayawati, a daughter of so-called untouchables and India's most maverick politician, stunned the nation last year when she won majority control of India's largest state with an inventive political coalition that fused votes from up and down the ancient Hindu caste pyramid.

Now, with national elections only months away, Mayawati has emerged as the most important low-caste politician in India's history, and she is asserting herself as a rainbow coalition leader whom all Indians can trust to be their prime minister one day. How far she will rise remains to be seen. But there is no disputing her importance.

The advance of so-called low-caste, or Dalit, politicians like Mayawati has reshaped Indian politics for 20 years, although no one from her social rank has so shaken up the country's traditional political order. Dalits represent roughly 16 percent of the population and have traditionally been shunted to the lowest rungs of Indian society.

Mayawati leads the government of Uttar Pradesh, a sprawling northern state with a population of more than 160 million. Her admirers see the rise and reinvention of this unmarried outcaste woman of 52 as a triumph of India's democracy over its deeply conservative and stratified traditions."

premjan

Maybe the "Yes, she can" effect. Certainly it would be a new frontier for India - not only is she a Dalit woman, she isn't from any elite liberal echelon - her highest professional achievement was as a schoolteacher (she has a bachelor's degree in education). I'm not sure how good her chances are, but it is the second article I have seen indicating she has a good chance (and I was rather surprised to see political posters for her party meetings in the deep south of India whereas it is a North Indian party).

aupmanyav

She is the first, a woman and from the scheduled castes (I would not say she is a dalit, she is in no way dalit, actually she is enjoying her political power to the fullest, her fortune increasing from Rupees One Hundred Million to Rupees Fifty Four Hundred Million in a period of five years). But she is not the first scheduled caste persons to India's highest positions. Dr. K. R. Narayan has already the President of India for a full term of five years. Mayavati is the first from the scheduled castes to have a big chance at Prime Ministership of India, which is actually the real power center, Presidentship is more of a ceremonial position.

premjan

Apparently her parents were from the Chamar or tanner's caste which I suppose makes her from the "creamy layer" of the scheduled castes but she is advertised as "Dalit ki Beti" or daughter of the Dalits. Well I guess sort of like how Obama is not really black.

aupmanyav

I think she is from the 'sweeper' caste and not a 'chamar'. Ram Bilas Paswan is that. Mayavati is from the lowest segment of Indian society.

premjan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamar
Chamars are also Dalits. And Mayawati is from Jatav subcaste of Chamars who are a subcaste of Dalits. But Jatavs are a progressive caste nowadays though they historically had poor status because they worked with animal carcasses.
http://www.searchindia.com/search/in...-mayawati.html

Apparently KR Narayanan's family was of the Paravan caste (he was considerably more educated than Mayawati) who were masons and coconut pickers. I am unable to understand what is so unclean about picking coconuts - it is a rather difficult thing to do to climb coconuts trees. It is of course manual labor so one would expect them to be shudras rather than panchamas. But I am not knowledgeable about the caste system.

I was also not aware that KR Narayanan's wife was Burmese and changed her name from Ma Tint Tint to Usha.