Caste and Equality

[Concept of Equality: The Nineteenth Century Indian Debate by Ganguli, B. N.

Six lectures tracing the growth and influence of the concept of equality in Indian society. Chapter one introduces the impact of Western ideas. Chapter two looks at inequality as a structural problem. Chapter three looks at social reform efforts towards equality. Economic progress and equality are considered in chapter four. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's essay on equality (Samya) is studied in the fifth chapter while the concluding chapter looks at religion and equality.

Published in 1975 by Indian Institute of Advanced Study]

Obviously, Sri Aurobindo is not included in the analysis as his work belongs to the next century. But being a Bengali and aware of him, Ganguli could have mentioned Sri Aurobindo’s opinions on the matter so as to present a more rounded debate.

Bankim Chandra’s philosophical essays on equality published in 1879 were dropped by him in 1892 as he found it “all wrong”. Perhaps his admiration for Mazzinni’s insistence on the primacy of Fraternity was too politically volatile to express at the time.

But Sri Aurobindo has dared to defy his contemporary political correctness by maintaining a bias for truth. His notion of equality is the equality of the soul and not abolition of hierarchy at the practical level. This must be firmly kept in mind, as the whole nation, currently, is debating caste-based reservations and creamy-layers.