Our tangled society, forever?
Reviewed by Khushwant S. Gill

Indian Social Justice: A Case for Review
by L. M. Khanna. Partridge.
Pages 221. Rs 1065

Is India a 'just' nation? Are we, or have we been a nation of equality and social justice. L.M. Khanna begins his book by stating, "Social justice depends on two factors, how accurately a social structure is perceived and how relevant are social laws. There was nothing wrong with the social laws enacted by the constitution makers. The problem is with the interpretation of social structure inherited from the colonial times and the interpretation of laws to justify it."

Social justice is defined as equal treatment of all citizens, without any discrimination based on caste, colour, race, religion or sex. Problems started when the British categorised certain sections of the Indian society as Scheduled Castes, and that opened a Pandora's Box of other backward classes. The British transformed caste from a loose discriminatory hierarchy into an officially state-sanctioned and structured hierarchy. The Raj's lack of knowledge had ramifications that affect India even today. Free India did no better and further perpetuated the system laid down by the British.

Fallout of the same has been the reservation system, which is still in practice. As Justice Tommen said in 1992, reservation is not the end in itself. It is a means to achieve equality...it must not outlast its constitutional objective. Khanna's book makes some lucid points and examines the whole confusion in the caste system in detail. He starts with the emergence of the backward classes and politics, talks about Ambedkar, social stratification, caste, race and class, Hindu law and caste, the controversial Mandal commission, socio-economic inequality and equality of opportunity.

The author puts across very clearly that caste had a very different meaning in pre-British India. The rigidity with which we view it now did not exist back then. He even goes on to say that the Aryan and non Aryan controversy is a non-starter and that about 40,000 years ago, people settled in northern India mixed with those from South India. The Aryan-Dravidian controversy is laid to rest there. Khanna quotes Ayn Rand and says that the smallest minority on Earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot be defenders of minorities. He rejects the belief of continuous rebirth in the same caste. As far as we know, a Brahmin can be born into a different caste. And that means presuming that re-birth is a scientific phenomenon (which it is not).

The author talks about the year 1990 and terms it a year of intense turmoil for India in the social sphere. The Mandal Commission and the acceptance of reservations for socially and educationally backward classes resulted in protests and many students lost their lives. In 1992, the Supreme Court castigated the Hindu social structure severely. But the author has written in this book that the varnas were not watertight compartments and the "theory of the caste nexus did not have a universal appeal." The author strongly feels that the law was misinterpreted post Independence.

One of the strongest arguments that the author makes against our present notions of caste is divided into three parts. First, "No one clarifies the meaning of caste. If caste is a social class, it has to be homogenous". Second, "No caste or jati is socially and educationally backward as a whole. There are are various segments in each caste along the lines of families and individuals." Thirdly, "The courts do not explain how a caste can be labelled backward when it has millions of members, while the census is taken from just two villages."

L. M. Khanna has tackled a contentious and complicated subject with logic and fairness. This is a must-read book for all. It is an eye-opener as it makes you understand the dynamics of caste, class, backward castes and jatis in India and the politics that goes along with these.

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