Neither Anthony Burgess, the novelist who wrote A Clockwork Orange nor Stanley Kubrick who adapted it for the film with the same title, would have been able to script what happened at Khairlanji. The bizarre rape and cold-blooded murder and the mutilation of bodies that followed in that remote village in Vidarbha’s Bhandara district has underlined the deep caste prejudice that dominates Maharashtra politics. Ironically, the state has often been described as ‘progressive’, thanks to social reform movements which shaped the Marathi psyche for over a century.

However, what is not recognised is the fact that it is the political class which wants to perpetuate the prejudice even as the people — Dalits and Marathas, Brahmins and OBCs — have begun to transcend caste. Since ideology has become passe and governance has lost direction, the only identity that leaders and activists possess now is caste. For instance, it has not been reported by the media that in the riots and arson that enveloped Mumbai and Maharashtra a fortnight ago, there was no spontaneous support from these communities to the hyper-energetic local youths and goons, who only want to establish their hold in the area and if possible secure a ticket from a political party. Most dalits or Marathas or OBCs have joined urban civil society and want to move away from their caste identity, except when seeking a job or admission in a college.

The spread of education and rapid urbanisation in the state have contributed to the process of erasing caste in social life. Indeed, Brahmins were never a vote bank, as they constitute just about four per cent. Though there does exist a chauvinistic Brahmin class, it is on the fringe. A very large number of social reform movements, trade unions and peasant movements were led by Brahmins.

... contd.