Caste Tags: What is in the name?

I cannot just stop thinking about how people easily say that there should be no caste tags
as people belonging to higher castes take pride in their class hegemony by using caste
tags to their names. Is it that easy? Does removing a Caste tag means they have totally
shunned their urge to perpetuate their domination. If any thing is as easy as removing a
band aid in one fast quick motion so there is no pain then the world would have been a
great place to live in. It is foolish to think that a traditionally perpetuated, genetically
ingrained caste consciousness could easily be taken away and there would never be caste
related groupism and divisions. Why is it not possible? None of the Hindu scriptures
endorses caste-based discrimination, and the Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-
based discrimination, in keeping with the secular, democratic principles that founded the
nation. Nevertheless, the caste system, in various forms, continues to survive in modern
India. The following are the reasons:

Ancient India

According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, there are four "varnas". The Brahmins
(teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas
(agriculturists and traders), and Shudras (service providers, laborers). All those who did
not subscribe to the norms of the Hindu society, including foreigners, tribals and nomads,
were considered contagious and untouchables. So the society by large accepted these
norms for them to survive or to be part of the system and take its benefits. So caste
system as a social practice was prevalent since time immemorial.

Before Independence

Misinterpretation by Colonial Rule:

Manusmruti was widely regarded as a work which was to be referenced by Brahmins

especially in North India. It was totally unknown in the south. But administrators from
the colonial era incorrectly regarded the Manusmriti as the "law book" or a religious tenet
of the Hindus like the Bible or the Koran, and thus concluded that the caste system is a
part of Hinduism and a religious belief. Prior to colonial rule, the relative ranking of
castes differed from one place to another. The castes did not constitute a rigid description
of the occupation or the social status of a group. The British attempted to equate the
Indian caste system to their own class system, viewing caste as an indicator of
occupation, social standing, and intellectual ability written in Manusmruti. British
policies of divide and rule as well as enumeration of the population into rigid categories
contributed towards the hardening of caste identities.

Prevalence after Independence:

Caste is one among the major factors in politics of India. Independent India has seen
intense debates over reverse discrimination, caste-based quotas and reservations
The Government of India has officially documented castes and sub-castes, primarily to
determine those deserving reservation (positive discrimination in education and jobs)
through the census. The Indian reservation system, though limited in scope, relies entirely
on quotas. The Government lists consist of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
Other Backward Classes.

Mandal Commission

The Mandal Commission was established in 1979 by the Janata Party government under
Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally
backward". The Commission was set up to consider the question of seat reservations and
quotas for people to redress caste discrimination, and used eleven social, economic, and
educational indicators to determine "backwardness." In 1980, the commission's report
affirmed the affirmative action practice under Indian law whereby members of lower
castes (known as Other Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes and Tribes) were given
exclusive access to a certain portion of government jobs and slots in public universities,
and recommended changes to these quotas, increasing them by 27% to 49.5%. A decade
after the commission gave its report, V. P. Singh, the Prime Minister at the time, tried to
implement its recommendations in 1989.

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