Origins of Caste System As We Know Today Are Less Than A Century Old: Madras High Court

“The restrictive meaning attributed to the phrase Sanatana Dharma is clearly erroneous as Sanatana Dharma connotes that eternal, perpetual and universal code of conduct that is uplifting, noble and virtuous,” the court said.

Justice Anita Sumanth further noted that though it was true that there were inequities in the caste system present in society today which had to be eschewed, the Varna System could not be entirely blamed for the torturous circumstances as the origins of the caste system were less than a century old.

"This Court agrees unequivocally that there are inequities based on caste present in society today and that they are to be eschewed. However, the origins of the caste system as we know it today are less than a century old...Can one lay the blame for these torturous circumstances entirely on the ancient Varna system? The answer is emphatically in the negative," the court observed.

[The comments about the origin of caste system as we know today being less than a century old has now been removed from the copy of the judgement and instead it has been observed that the categorization of castes as we know them today, is a far more recent and modern phenomenon.]

The Court was responding to the argument of the respondents that they were criticising the caste system through their comments about 'Sanatana Dharma'.

The court added that division based on caste was prevalent in the State, and those in power had to take efforts to eliminate such evils instead of fanning casteist passions which was against the interest of the State. The court observed that if the leaders wanted to lead an egalitarian land with equal sharing of resources, they had to set an example by exhibiting fairness in approach, moderation in speech and a sincere desire to understand the differences between the people.

“The effort of any reasonable, fair and well intentioned leader must be aimed towards identifying the commonalities of different sections of the people so as to unite, rather than divide them. Though criticism is essential for growth, it must be constructive to ensure that progress, rather than destruction, is the destination,” the court noted.

The court noted that the varna system was not intended to create division based on birth but based on avocation which was then necessary for the smooth functioning of the society. However, in the court's opinion, the relevance of such a classification in today's society was mute. The court also highlighted that repair and damage control was necessary to correct the unfairness of the past and a sincere introspection was necessary to evolve methods to correct injustices and foster equality.

"The varna system does not contemplate division on the basis of birth, but based on avocation. The system was designed to work towards the smooth functioning of society centuries ago where the chief avocations were identified based on the then needs of society. The relevance of such a system today, is itself moot."

The court added that the purpose of faith was to unify and not divide and the leaders in all faiths could identify the broad points of unity among the branches of their faiths rather than focusing on the narrow differences between them. The court added that this effort taken by the leaders to unite rather than divide decides the bonafide of the leadership.

The remarks were made while disposing of petitions seeking the removal of TN Minister Udayanidhi Stalin, Minister Sekar Babu and MP A Raja for their comments against 'Sanatana Dharma'. The Court declined to issue a writ of quo warrant for the removal of them on the ground that at the moment, there is no action taken in law to disqualify them.

No benefit to be gained in re-visiting past events

Justice Sumanth further observed :

"It is a matter of record that there have been severe ravages by fellowmen, at differing points in time, to different sections of society, all in the name of supremacy and domination of caste as well as a response to perceived domination by certain castes. I refrain from chronicling the details, as not being directly relevant to the subject matter of this order and also for the reason that there is no benefit to be gained in re-visiting past events and episodes that have been the source of pain, trauma and deep sadness to sections of people at different points in time.

 Suffice it to say that such events must be deprecated and this Court does so unequivocally. There must be repair and damage control on an ongoing basis to correct the unfairness of the past. There must, consequently, also be sincere introspection on the methods that can be evolved to correct injustices and foster equality, today and going forward."