“From now onwards, in Saundala village, no one will follow caste or indulge in any form of caste practices. Instead, humanity is the only religion that the villagers will follow,” states the resolution passed by the village gram panchayat in early February. With this resolution, the village of not more than 25,000 residents, tucked away in the Newasa taluka of Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar) in Maharashtra, has, in all likelihood, written a new chapter in history. The resolution declaring the village as caste-free, aiming to eliminate discrimination and promote socio-cultural equality, is not merely a statement of intent but is backed by monitoring measures and penalties. The resolution has been prefaced with the relevant lines from the Constitution of India, making it incumbent on all villagers to follow it.
Collective responsibility for social change
The caste-free resolution is significant in that it has placed responsibility and accountability on the villagers themselves to rise above sectarian and communal divisions. In doing so, it goes beyond the standard practice of enforcing or engineering social changes by an authority. For instance, villagers are now expected to write their caste as ‘human’ in documents; all public places and facilities, such as water sources, temples, cremation grounds and schools, will remain open to all residents without discrimination; and access to government services and social functions will no longer be determined by caste or social status. Besides this, the resolution makes it incumbent on every villager not to post or promote any content that upholds or glorifies untouchability and social boycott.
By making every villager responsible in the quest for social justice, Saundala has charted new territory, although how many scrupulously follow this in the mixed population of upper- and lower-caste Hindus, Muslims and Bahujans remains to be seen. There may be impediments or plain resistance in its implementation. It may not be possible for one resolution of the gram panchayat to immediately eradicate caste in all its devastating manifestations. However, what the resolution has unleashed is the intent of the gram panchayat—the most influential people’s body in a village—to take a firm stand against caste, religious and related discrimination. This, in itself, is laudable and worthy of emulation across India.
A quiet resistance in a troubled region
Another significant aspect of the Saundala resolution is that it is itself a quiet resistance. Ahilyanagar district in western Maharashtra has been the hotbed of caste-based atrocities and communal disharmony in recent years, a throwback to the long history of discriminatory practices. Saundala itself has a history of caste violence and cases registered under the Prevention of Atrocity Act, 1989. With this resolution, Saundala has taken a departure from the bloody history to open a new chapter. Social reform looks like this too.
