Large parts of India are highly endogamous, with deep awareness of jati. I agree that jati/varna awareness is problematic. But I'm not sure we can erase all mention of community unless we erase our entire culture.
What we eat, how we celebrate, how we pray, what sort of jobs we do, and many other elements of daily life are associated with the communities we come from. Our literature itself is full of specialised community references. These form a very rich tapestry of Indian culture. When we remove all references to such community identities, we will lose a certain continuity which is a source of strength and richness.
For example, I work with Warli, Thakar and Katkari tribal communities and its a crying shame to lose those living traditions. Similarly I want the Chippa community to not lose their specialisation in their block printing, traditional wood carvers to continue making their glorious chariot carvings etc. These craft occupations are hereditary. They are often not inclusionary, but that's what leads to excellence. Many of these crafts are tied up with religion since it was the temple which gave patronage.
Erasing community / clan notions with their specialised ways of life, is a very complex issue. It means we will become like a bland tasteless porridge. It's a price we must choose deliberately to pay.
Mao attempted to remove all culture and replace with a new set of values, putting the nation first. Americans did it successfully by adopting consumerism as the new religion and evolving a new caste system based on money and external badges of money display.
What should India's path forward be? How do we evolve, without throwing the baby along with the bathwater? A big question to ponder upon.
P. S. the simplest way to kill jati/varna orientation is the "love marriage". Bollywood is our strongest ally and Ek Duje Ke Liye was its first major Brahmastra.
#deepasvoice
Photo: Bishnoi elder, courtesy Ranjeet Bhardwaj
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