What is the difference between surname and caste

Hence, they will be more reluctant to give up their surnames — which have so much caste capital infused in them — than anyone else. A Brahmin friend recently told me that at one point she was thinking of becoming a teacher. If she had gone ahead with that decision, she said, she would have been the fourth generation teacher in her family. As she was narrating this tale I thought about myself, a first generation learner, and sighed loudly.

Meena Kandasamy , Facebook, Feb 25, 2. Meena Kandasamy , Facebook, April 14, 3. For example, see Deshpande , Kulkarni , and Patwardhan. Featured Image Credit: A man decorating himself with a naamam — a caste Hindu symbol www.

Buy Now! Friday, November 12, Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Password recovery. Feminism In India. Caste and Much More. Feminist media needs feminist allies! Get premium content, exclusive benefits and help us remain independent, free and accessible. Much ado about nothing. Click here to join our channel indianexpress and stay updated with the latest headlines. Home India India News Changing surname does not change caste of person: HC Changing surname does not change caste of person: HC The petitioner contended that though he had a Caste Validity Certificate and belonged to Scheduled Tribe, his claim to post graduate admission was not being considered on the ground that he has changed his surname.

Bombay High Court The Bombay High Court has provided relief to a medical graduate who was denied admission in a post-graduate course in the Scheduled Tribe category despite possessing valid caste certificate on the ground that he had changed his surname. The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.

Tags: caste SC ST. Delhi news live: Capital records two Covid deaths, 62 new cases; positivity rate up at 0. Brahmins use their caste names as surnames with much pride. Indians across the country may differ from one another when it comes to language, culture and food habits. But if there is one aspect that connects someone living in Kashmir with somebody in Kanyakumari, it is their caste.

Whatever their cultural differences, caste brings together the Brahmins from various states. It is perhaps for this reason that the habit of using caste as a surname was created. The surname could be an oral caste certificate. The name alone would suffice to open all doors. They could have a cakewalk to the top. This is how Brahmins across the country occupy dominant positions in virtually all fields.

The use of caste names is the rule for all castes in India. One could be identified as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudhra or Panchama by name and accordingly, demarcation lines are drawn. Caste Hindus carry their caste surnames with pride while the oppressed communities do it with shame.

This has not attracted any attention even in this modern age. No one seems perturbed by the fact that they carry surnames that perpetuate the dominant-slave system. It is surprising that even progressives, rationalists, women rights activists and rights defenders who speak against caste discrimination seem not to be conscious about their surnames, which denote their castes.

Indian progressives believe caste operates outside, only among common people. But to every Indian, either progressive or conservative, caste operates deep within the human mind. Ambedkar says it operates in the unconscious mind. It is so much a part of their being that they do not realise they carry caste markers in their names.

How can caste be annihilated when someone who fights against it also carries their caste identity in their name? The problem of Indian progressives — the educated generations — is precisely this. They do not apply the same rule to themselves that they would apply to others when it comes to caste. So caste is protected as belief, as tradition and ritual in every household.

Had Indian liberals followed a minimum level of honesty on the question of caste, they would have made a lot of difference. The irony is that even women who vehemently oppose Hindutva do not feel guilty about carrying caste surnames.

The fact is that the caste Hindu system considers women lower creatures. The Manusmriti says those who have sinned in their previous births are born as women. Both Periyar and Ambedkar have written extensively on the status of women in Hinduism. Any self-respecting woman, after reading them, would refuse to carry caste surnames. A woman as a child should be supervised by her parents, and in her youth by her husband. She should be supervised by her children at her old age and cannot be left independently says Manusmriti.

The religious text says that since women have been created as prostitutes at their birth by the Gods, they should be carefully guarded. In keeping with the ethics that those working for the annihilation of caste should first be shorn of caste themselves, the first Tamil Provincial Self Respect Conference at Chengalpet in conducted by the Self Respect movement passed a resolution abolishing caste surnames.

One can only imagine how aggressive the Brahmin hegemony would have been then. Yet Periyar, along with many others, got rid of their castes. Ramasamy Nayakkar from now onwards would be called E. Periyar took part in many meetings of caste organisations but everywhere he exhorted the crowd to abolish their caste surnames.

Today, we do not have individuals carrying caste surnames in Tamil Nadu. The state achieved this without a government order or an act. The consciousness of society evolved to a point where it became an act of incivility — something that invited ridicule — to carry caste surnames.

Most Brahmins also did away with their caste surnames. Anyone using caste names to gain political mileage here has never been able to win. Cultural changes can only be brought about by the change of hearts and awareness among the public; never by laws.

How sad it is that only in Tamil Nadu has there been this cultural change, and nowhere else,.