When one sees the networks (friends, family, colleagues, lecturers etc.) that one has, builds, and accesses, and then tries to understand the kind of caste relationships created in these networks, one can start understanding how caste works in our lives. We take for granted the fact of having built friends and networks in colleges and in the places we work at, in the parties we go to, or the apps we use to date. But have we ever wondered why most of these networks are filled with dominant castes?
Many times, we assume someone’s merit just because they look like us, speak like us, and have read things that we have read. We use our networks to enable many things for our family, friends and acquaintances. We gain jobs and get accepted in interviews because of our ways of thinking and being. But underlying all this, caste continues to operate. Our caste and the castes of the ones around us define the ways in which we are continuing to benefit ourselves and each other through these networks.
These networks are formed and sustained which in itself become accessible to only those who are privileged and have had the opportunity to get educated in the specific kind of schools, read specific books, practiced a specific culture of following a particular kind of media and arts, speak in a specific manner, worked in specific work environments, and understood ways of navigating these spaces. Caste and the networks we form and sustain are inseparable and need to be looked at together.
Also read: On Realising My Inherent Casteism at an Art Collective
Sanika is an artist, translator and educator. Sudhamshu is a project manager and a cat parent. With inputs from Sumeet Samos.
This article first appeared on Feminism in India. You can read the original here.