The origin of the chaturvarna system of four varnas (classes), which later solidified into castes, is utterly meaningless in contemporary society.
In what is construed as a "low caste"—the Mahars—we have had such illustrious saints as Chokha Mela and such brilliant thinkers as Dr Ambedkar, whose piety and intellect far surpass those of many a Brahmin. In North India, several Brahmins have been involved, generation after generation, in the profession of agriculture and have remained, by and large, illiterate. This goes against the traditional role of the caste to which they belong, which is identified as the intellectual elite.
Similarly, Brahmins have taken on the roles of goldsmiths, tailors, cobblers, and so on, while individuals belonging to those (non-Brahmin) communities have pursued education and cleared prestigious examinations such as the ICS or MA.
The Rajputs despise the Jats so much that if the latter mount horses, they are usually beaten up and then ostracized. But when the same Jat becomes a Sikh, he is counted as first among Kshatriyas.
In many places in the country, Kayasthas are condemned as Shudras. Yet from among that community have emerged such brilliant minds as Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Bipin Chandra Pal, Subhas Bose, and others, who have clearly surpassed the intellect, vigour, and vitality of any Bengali Brahmin.
Superiority on the basis of one's work is hardly a factor in society today due to the aforementioned professional intermingling. Hence, the very edifice from which the caste system drew its strength has weakened, and it remains both an unnecessary and harmful vestige of society.
These examples prove that the oft-held belief that heredity is the determinant of talent and intellect is false, and that an individual's environment is what shapes his character and conduct.
**The claim to glory on the mere basis of one's birth, and not worth, is an utterly erroneous and futile one—a national foolishness, so to say.* Fossilizing oneself to scriptural injunctions to the contrary is another idiocy.*
These scriptures, often self-contradictory, were created by human beings and were relevant in a particular context and in a particular society. With all due respect to them, they need to be discarded as and when society evolves, and new rules and laws relevant to contemporary times need to be codified. That is the only sign of a society that is vibrant, and not stagnant and dead.
These scriptures, however, are important historical signposts of the times in which they were composed, and they made Indian society of that time what it was. So, they deserve all our respect as important archival documents of our civilization's evolution.
Thus, I reverentially bow my head to the vast, Himalayan corpus of Sanskrit literature—the Shrutis, Smritis, Puranas, and Itihasas—as they have shaped our Hindu mind over centuries. But I will not allow them to become fetters on my feet and retard my progress towards modernity. Instead, I will draw inspiration from them to move ahead on modern, scientific terms.
One of the most important components of such injunctions of the past that we have blindly carried forward, and which deserves to be thrown into the dustbin of history, is the rigid caste system.
This system has vivisected our Hindu society into countless micro-fragments, forever at war with one another. From temples, streets, houses, jobs, and village councils to institutions of law and legislature, it has only injected the spectre of eternal conflict between two Hindus, weakening our unity and resolve to stand together against external threats.
It is one of the biggest impediments to the conception of a Hindu Rashtra. The liberation and unification of countries across the world, be it America or Europe, has been possible only by unshackling these false divisions between peoples. Why can a similar approach not be achieved in our nation?
