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An Honest Diary
Ramesh Bairy T S
Prasad is acerbic in bringing home certain simple but greatly unacknowledged truths about ourselves and our society.
Deccan Herald, November 7, 2004
Perhaps the most worthwhile aspect of bringing together a collection of newspaper columns written over a period of time is that it gives the reader a sense of perspective, a common thread that flows through the apparently unconnected matters - not only in regard to the issues that the columnist is riveted on but her/his unique ways of coming to terms with the same. Prasad’s Dalit Diary - a weekly column featuring in the daily The Pioneer - is a rich illustration of the profitability of such an exercise.
Prasad is acerbic in bringing home certain simple but greatly unacknowledged truths about ourselves and our society. The need to move away from the eternally rehearsed tales of Dalit-as-the-victim and the passionate for-or-against positions on the policy of reservation, the refusal to confront and interrogate caste in its insidious and thus successful resurgence in our apparently post-caste, ‘secular’, ‘modern’ times are some themes that he presents with great conviction and candour. The best instance of this is when he writes about the hypocrisy ingrained in the argument of merit that the ‘harbingers of technology and science’ propagate. He advocates the idea of diversity, drawing largely from its American version.
This doctrine of diversity - which advocates sharing of resources, assets et al across the diverse communities that make up a nation, even by instituting protocols of affirmative action if it takes that - has had unprecedented success in the privatised economy of the US without having to compromise on merit, quality, efficiency and its supposed super-power status. Championing the cause of diversity in India has enabled him to take a leading role in framing the Bhopal Document-2002, which many see as marking a historic moment in contemporary Dalit politics.
He is also among the very few who continue to hold a brief for the state, unfazed even in our times of almost hysterical state-bashing.
Such moments - marked by his concern, clear thinking and argumentation - are many in this collection, making the reading a pleasure.
Yet, there are aspects here that would make one uncomfortable. Only one of these can be mentioned here. Even as there exist some indications that suggest that Prasad understands caste to be a historically changing phenomenon (see for instance his rather unconventional proposition of a Brahmin-Dalit alliance against the shudra castes), there are repeated instances wherein he seems to point otherwise. Caste, here, appears to be an innate and immanent quality that people in India possess and that one could immediately and correctly evaluate a person soon after getting to know his/her caste location. That is why for him, for instance, a Vajpayee is (almost inherently) different from a L K Advani or a Vinay Katiyar.
However, any worthwhile attempt to think through the contemporary avatar of caste can only come about when he digs deeper rather than spreads himself thin. One really hopes that Prasad will now get to write a book that explores the nature of caste today.
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