The countrywide protests over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmaavat(i) and violence over the anniversary celebrations of Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra have a common thread. Both incidents are rooted in interpretations of historical contexts, caste pride and have varying degrees of violence attached to them.

Despite the similarities the two incidents have evoked contrasting reactions. While reactions to the Padmaavat(i) controversy were shrouded in the language of myopia and the constricted prism through which such historical incidents are viewed - freedom of expression, women's pride, and communal shades among others, the Bhima Koregaon incident was dismissed merely as casteist, antinational, anti-development and a show of lawlessness.

What is pertinent to note here is that while the government wasted no time in booking the so-called Dalits blamed for the Bhima Koregaon violence putting them in jail even as eyewitnesses claimed that they were not guilty, in the case of Padmaavat(i), no action was taken by the police or the government against those indulging in violence and issuing open threats to people. The government took to action even as threats were issued openly and on television screens by various caste leaders of Rajput groups and the Karni Sena.

The protests against Padmaavat(i), even after the Supreme Court cleared the film for release, were essentially an assertion of Rajput pride that was couched in the garb of misinterpretation of history, women's honour and ultimately an assault on Hindu pride in depicting a relationship between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji. The CBFC took note of protests that included attack on a school bus carrying children home from school against the song "Ghoomar". The song was re-released with "computer generated clothes" covering the hitherto bare midriff of Deepika Padukone, playing Padmavati. Even while the movie was being shot, members of Rajput groups vandalised the sets and threatened to stop the shooting. In contrast, the government was quick to clampdown on Dalit activists, they were denied permission for their rally and in fact no opportunity was lost to label their actions as disruptive and causing harm to people and property. The hypocrisy could not have been more evident.

The contrasting reactions to these two incidents throw light on the double standards of the mainstream narrative. One, caste is the big fat elephant in the living room that no one wishes to talk about - especially if you live in the echelons of urban, middle class India. But the hard reality is that no matter how much this section of the population may wish away caste and pretend that it does not exist, caste raises its ugly head every now and then.

On the other end of the spectrum, the members of subaltern sections of society view everything in life through the prism of their caste identity. While one can find fault with this singular obsession with one's caste identity but the realities of our deeply casteist society explain why such obsession exists. A recent survey conducted by the Social Attitude Research India (SARI) indicates that the practice of untouchability remains high - almost two-thirds of the population admit to practising it in some north Indian states and almost half of them are also opposed to inter-caste marriages involving Dalits and non-Dalits.

The internalisation of this dominant narrative almost therefore denies the existence of the other India where caste is integral to everyday life and living, and survival is an everyday fight against the prevailing systems. Is it any wonder then, as demonstrated by the latest National Crime Records Bureau data that crimes such as rape, murder, and violence related to land matters against Dalits have been increasing every year?

Any person from these not so privileged classes who rises up the ranks and disturbs the prevailing status quo scares the upper caste/class mainstream to such an extent that they are projected as threats, as leaders trying to break up the country on the grounds of caste.

Even in Parliament, upper caste membership is at a two decade high of 44 per cent, while the number of backward caste leaders has fallen to 22 per cent and the top decision-making bodies have always been dominated by the upper castes. In fact, even in cases of corruption, there seems to be sufficient evidence to state that when convicted, upper caste politicians are exonerated or face lighter sentences in comparison to the likes of their lower caste colleagues.

This is not surprising as RTI data shows that even today approximately 84 per cent of Class I employees in the government sector belong to the upper castes, while in corporate India, nearly 93 per cent of board members (of the 1,000 top Indian companies) have been found to be upper caste members. And not to mention the terrible under-representation of Dalits and backwards in media and judiciary. The above data leaves no doubt therefore that even today, the marginalised sections of our society face an uphill struggle in the effort to make their voices heard and to change the narrative that dominates discourse.

It is no surprise that open threats issued by Rajput groups against the life and liberty of the director and protagonists of Padmaavat(i) or threatening violence against its release is almost legitimised in the name of honour and caste pride. In contrast, a subaltern assertion such as the recent Bhima Koregaon violence is branded as divisive, regressive, casteist and antinational forgetting the centuries old history of Dalit oppression.

The argument about meritocracy is made by the privileged caste members only when they question caste-based reservations. While asking for gender-based reservations, it is quietly accepted that our minds have at least vestiges of patriarchal biases but we are in constant denial of any casteism in our mindsets.

The idea of reservation is within the spirit of the Constitution and to call it casteist and divisive is akin to questioning the Constitution itself. Wishing away the assertions and resistance of the marginalised communities through counter-violence, negation and piecemeal mollification will not work anymore in the new millennium, where young, educated, grassroots leaders from backward and Dalit communities are changing the face and narrative of societal equality.

At the same time, there are identity assertions from upper castes too. For instance, the Brahmins celebrating Parshuram Jayanti. Removing the (I) from Padmaavat(i) may be symbolic, but is it just a coincidence that the removal of one letter succeeds in mutilating the caste (i)dentity of queen Padmaavat(i)? Doesn't the removal of this single letter cause actual damage and distortion of history as opposed to the allegedly creative distortion by Bhansali?

The only true solution therefore will be to strive towards a total abolition of the caste system, instead of just caste-based reservations from India's socio-cultural-political reality - that will be the real game changer in the social order.

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