Karl Mannheim, the Hungarian sociologist who founded the sub-discipline of sociology of knowledge, used the word ideology in a peculiar way. For him, “ideology” refers to false beliefs or mental fictions that serve to veil the true nature of a society. His usage of the word, or his quest to reduce ideas to their social base, did not become popular outside a tiny professional circle. But if you are looking for one example that would fit Mannheim’s description, our current debate on caste census would be a good candidate.
Every encounter with otherwise liberal and even progressive educated Indians on this issue leaves me shocked. I hate to trace people’s beliefs to their accident of birth, but the staggering display of ignorance, prejudice and arrogance on this issue forces me to remember that the opinion-making class in our country is still largely upper caste. This kind of “ideological” opposition to the caste census takes the form of many self-serving half-truths. Each contains a grain of truth, but they are presented in a way that masks the real truth.
Here are the 10 most common half-truths on the caste census:
by Yogendra Yadav
03/09/2024