Haven’t you noticed caste fetishism not only survives but thrives albeit as sub caste; a variant of the caste [Got/Gotra] in Punjab? Caste system isn’t any longer a purely Hindu or Indian phenomenon. It is subcontinental in its scope that cuts across faiths and countries in an open or surreptitious manner. We pride ourselves on being Muslims as well as an Islamic state and society. Islam as we all know recognises tribal identity but has no notion of caste. Strangely we Muslim Punjabis this side of the border share with Sikhs adherence to caste rules despite the fact that both Islam and Sikh religion debunk the so-called sacred myth of caste and stand at least theoretically for human equality. Caste worship is equally prevalent in the East and West Punjab. The Sikhs call this practice “Jativaad”[casteism] and here we know it as “Zaat Biradari’[Caste based Brotherhood which is in fact a euphemism for caste loyalty]. Jati though connected with profession/division of work goes beyond it in terms of social worth or worthlessness associated with it. A non-scholar Brahman would inevitably be deemed superior to a Vaishya scholar in a strict hierarchical social order.

We like the rest of South Asian countries are a diverse society where a host of races, cultures and linguistic groups exist side by side in a state of tense ease having distinct socio-cultural structures. Balochistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa have quite visible tribal identity. Sindh is semi feudal and semi tribal. Punjab has, to a very large extent, outgrown its tribal and feudal identity. It’s perceptibly driven by imperatives of sub caste known as Biradari [Brotherhood].

Casteism rests on unconditional loyalty to one’s caste. And unconditional loyalty by its very nature requires you to shower the members of your sub caste with favours and discriminate against all others with no regard for merit. Someone’s capacity to favour or discriminate is conditioned by the status of their sub caste in the permanently fixed caste hierarchy. Hence low sub caste implies little power and higher sub caste encapsulates multi-dimensionality of power.

Bureaucracy, civil and military, is a real storehouse of power in this country. If we glance at civil bureaucracy we notice that it expresses its power in myriad ways one of which undeniably is sub caste. One notices increased presence of sub castes all around. Prefixes and suffixes such as Gujjar, Rana, Raja, Jat, Gondal, Arain, and Awan are found along with the names among the bureaucrats and police officers. It’s an unending list of sub castes [Gotra/ Got]. It’s intriguing to note that racial groups claiming Arab descent such as Qureshi and Hashmi have been practically reduced into sub castes of sorts.

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Why the names of officers carry the tag of sub castes? Isn’t the official designation weighty enough to throw one’s weight around? Perhaps not in our negatively changed socio-cultural conditions! Military dictator Ziaul Haq dusted off the old caste card and used it to muster political support on the basis of Biradari with a clear objective of suppressing pro-people political parties and clipping the wings of forward-looking social and democratic forces.

Party-less elections of 1985 proved to be a turning point in the sense that they encouraged voting along the Biradari lines and thus precipitated the process of depoliticisation in society. “Biradari for Biradari candidate” was the slogan whispered around. Thus casteism got translated into an act of power which has a marked expression even these days in the politics of urban centres in general and that of the countryside in particular.

So flaunting one’s sub caste if it has even a modicum of respectability is a trite but obtrusive expression aimed at enjoying the fruit of unearned socio-cultural capital.

Another important factor responsible for such a situation is a significant economic transformation resulting in the realignment of class forces in the power structure of the state. Urban business and industrial classes have been on the rise for some decades due to factors such as the multi-national corporations’ intrusion, unrestricted flow of capital and process of globalisation. Young men and women from these segments of the population are no longer lured by the promise of bureaucratic authority which they know is more of an empty shell now. They, being well-placed in the power structure, are fully aware how the top brass and political class have steadily chipped away at the power base of civil bureaucracy which is now a pale shadow of its colonial past.

Their economic clout can buy them the cooperation and backing of bureaucrats for all the things they do, legal and not so legal. There is no need for the young members of these classes to join civil service and be posted in a far-flung areas and God forsaken places where either one is pestered by servile but bitter commoners or pampered by obsequious but hypocritical landholders.

Bureaucratic patina of power and respectability has lost its charm for affluent urban segments but it still holds sway for all the rural classes top to bottom. Civil servants and police officers in Punjab’s rural areas with their wanton use of authority rooted in colonial ethos epitomise the ultimate of power and glory for the rural folks. In the absence of competition from young men and women from rich urban families on the field, it has become lot easier for the aspiring young people from the countryside to join the ‘dream world’ of civil service and police force. Such officers who are now in a large number have their names tagged with sub castes which are a carryover from their old rural community where caste matters in social, political and cultural life. It’s complex network that works to the advantage of its members. Epaulette of caste coupled with official position enhances one’s class and social status. But the argument can be furthered with a caveat. The caste display ends the moment one comes down to the lower rungs of upper castes. You can find a sizeable number of officers from the so-called low castes but none dares to flaunt his/her caste. One shuns it as it may prove a cultural Albatross around their necks; it can even rate their official position and undermine their social standing.