Indian Political Discussion

So long as Jati exists, Jaativad too will persist. To be honest even if the upper caste are ready to move on, the lower caste have strong institutionalized memory of the unjust system and now with caste politics in play, they have lesser reason to move on. I once believed rapid urbanization, or perhaps migration of caste groups from the places of historical locations, will force caste to become irrelevant. However in this age of internet and free information its quite easy to inquire learn about the social status of any group. Moreover the reasons cited above also appear to instill a strong sense of group identification of social groups in the new social context,more so when they trans-locate to new social settings or if they face social pressure from exposure from intruding social groups.

My colleagues in Kerala often comment that the Nair identification is more pronounced among Nairs who live outside Kerala, like in Bangalore, than those who are in Kerala. Affluent Nairs have been in recent years responsible for the revival of many defunct Nair customs, festivities and ceremonies. In my own case, while our relatives in Kerala looked on with bemusement, some of the members, including yours truly, got together, gathered donations , consulted architects and few years back helped restore a Sarpa Kaavu( sacred grove) and build a new temple in the Kaavu and organize monthly Poojas at the temple. Our relatives often pronounce that the Bangalore based relatives are suffering from virulent form of Nostalgiatitis. But i think this is more than just nostalgia. This is strong resurgence of a social memory and this is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.

P:S - I was not aware of any upper caste community in Canara regions practicing Marumakkathayam. I think the Bunts may have practiced in the past. However they appear to be socially related to Nairs of Krala. Are there any other group that practiced this system ?

It's known as Aliya Santaan. Apart from Bunts, you've intermediate castes observing it too. Like the Mogaveeras / Bilawas. Surnames include Anchan, Kanchan, Amin, Pujari, etc.

The Hindu Code Bill changed all that .Except for marriages nobody looks at the lineage. Given the inter regional marriages gaining acceptance today, even that doesn't hold true.
 
Funny isn't it. As if Lord Ram was born in some jhuggi jhompdi that we can say that the small chabutra was his birth place. he was born in a Palace and the palace can't be just the size of chabutra.
Their argument has already changed a few times :

First was : there is nothing under the mosque.
Second : there are Islamic structures under the mosque.
Third : there was Buddhist/Jain structures under the mosque(anything but Hindu).
Fourth : there are a "few" Hindu structures under the mosque. But nothing of importance.
Now : there is the place of Lord Ram's birth under the mosque. But its small and was never historically worshiped.(Which is strange if you think about it. Hindus effectively worship everything under the Sun, including the Sun. Why would they not worship a place of such massive religious importance ?).

Give it some time and even this argument will fall apart like all the previous ones. But still its an important thing to note. The Muslim side has conceded one of the most important points made by the HIndus, something that they have always denied. The birthplace of Lord Ram. Well frankly anybody with a functioning brain can figure this one out, why is the Babri masjid called the "Masjid-i-Janmasthan" ? Anybody who understands what "Janmasthan" means knows what its all about. But its important that they have conceded it in front of the Supreme Court.
 
Their argument has already changed a few times :

First was : there is nothing under the mosque.
Second : there are Islamic structures under the mosque.
Third : there was Buddhist/Jain structures under the mosque(anything but Hindu).
Fourth : there are a "few" Hindu structures under the mosque. But nothing of importance.
Now : there is the place of Lord Ram's birth under the mosque. But its small and was never historically worshiped.(Which is strange if you think about it. Hindus effectively worship everything under the Sun, including the Sun. Why would they not worship a place of such massive religious importance ?).

Give it some time and even this argument will fall apart like all the previous ones. But still its an important thing to note. The Muslim side has conceded one of the most important points made by the HIndus, something that they have always denied. The birthplace of Lord Ram. Well frankly anybody with a functioning brain can figure this one out, why is the Babri masjid called the "Masjid-i-Janmasthan" ? Anybody who understands what "Janmasthan" means knows what its all about. But its important that they have conceded it in front of the Supreme Court.
Well the drame continues :

'Archaeology a Social Science': Muslim Parties Attack ASI Report in Ayodhya Case But SC Unimpressed

The findings in the ASI report about the pre-existence of a structure gave credence to the claims by the Hindu side that a temple was demolished to build a mosque at the site.

Utkarsh Anand | CNN-News18
Updated:September 26, 2019, 1:20 PM IST

New Delhi: Muslim parties in the Ayodhya title dispute have a tough row to hoe in discrediting the archaeological report, which had talked about the pre-existence of a structure where the Babri Masjid later stood.

The findings in the ASI report about the pre-existence of a structure gave credence to the claims by the Hindu side that a temple was demolished to build a mosque at the site.

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora stood up on Wednesday to dispute the findings of the 2003 report of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the 31st day of hearing of the contentious matter.

She began by questioning archaeology as a science itself. “Archaeology is at best a social science. It is not a natural science like physics or chemistry since its findings cannot be verified and may differ from opinion of one person to another," Arora submitted before the Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

Interestingly, the senior lawyer did accept that archaeology will have a bit of anthropology, geography etc but maintained it is like "DNA testing" and not a perfect science.

Her arguments were first countered by Justice Ashok Bhushan. The judge cited the Constitution Bench judgment of 1994 in Ismail Faruqui case, wherein the top court was approached with a Presidential Reference to give an opinion whether a Hindu temple or Hindu religious structure pre-existed on the disputed site.

Justice Bhushan read out the relevant part too: "It is not our suggestion that a Court of law is not competent to decide such a question. It can be done if expert evidence of archaeologists and historians is led, and is tested in cross-examination."

The judge questioned Arora: "This is what the Constitution Bench has held. And now you are telling us archaeological evidence is no evidence." To this, Arora replied that she was saying that archaeological evidence at best is “very weak evidence” and cannot be relied upon much.

Subsequently, she also tried to discredit the report by questioning the manner in which it was commissioned by the Allahabad High Court and the way it was submitted.

Arora maintained that the report, which has 10 chapters attributed to an author, had a summary that was not attributed to anybody and no meeting was held among the members of the team to finalise the summary.

But the Bench, also comprising Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud and S Nazeer, did not find favour with her submissions. The court questioned the senior lawyer on how the submissions could be entertained at the stage of appeal when the Muslim parties chose not to raise these objections before the Allahabad High Court at first instance.

"Whatever may have been your objections, however strong it may have been, it cannot be entertained by us...not at this stage," retorted the Bench.

The CJI also told Arora that the ASI report was a Court Commissioner’s report. "Under the CPC, it has become part of the court record. The report could have been only questioned under Order XXVI Rule 10 of the Civil Procedure Code, that too only if the court found it not satisfactory or if any of the parties wanted to examine the ASI members," Justice Gogoi told Arora.

Arora said they had objected to the report in the High Court but were told this will be dealt with later. She added that the objections were, however, never addressed properly.

The Bench, at this, asked Arora to show how and at what stage the Muslim parties raised objections to the ASI's report before the High Court. Arora will argue on Thursday to answer the court's queries.

'Archaeology a Social Science': Muslim Parties Attack ASI Report in Ayodhya Case But SC Unimpressed
 
I told you once that I had witnessed a similar case when I was traveling via shared Cab and girl was talking over phone. Fake rape cases are epidemic and so is inaction on real ones. These cases medical happens at CMO Office, once an employee their was telling how everyone knows from judge to police that case is fake but nobody does anything and case proceeds.
 
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I told you once that I had witnessed a similar case when I was traveling via shared Cab and girl was talking over phone. Fake rape cases are epidemic and so is inaction on real ones. These cases medical happens at CMO Office, once an employee their was telling how everyone knows from judge to police that case is fake but nobody does anything and case proceeds.
This sort of thing just reduces people's sensitivity to real cases of rape. Some real fu*ked up idea of empowerment we have.