Anurag Kashyap is Right. Indians Need to Confront the Uncomfortable Truth About Caste

Acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Kashyap recently ignited a storm after his blunt remarks against Brahminism and the caste system, following threats and censorship demands from Brahmin groups over the upcoming film Phule. While his language drew criticism, Kashyap’s underlying argument – that caste oppression is alive and well, and that confronting it is essential for India’s democracy –deserves a closer look.

Caste is not merely a relic of India’s past; it is a living, breathing reality that continues to shape opportunity, violence, and social mobility.

The roots of Brahminical dominance stretch back centuries, with Brahmins historically positioned as the intellectual and ritual elite. The structure remained unchallenged for centuries and the British colonial rule, far from dismantling this hierarchy, ossified it. By independence, caste was not only a social fact but a legal and administrative one. The Indian constitution outlawed untouchability and enshrined affirmative action. But as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar presciently warned, without radical social change, caste elites would continue to dominate the nation’s institutions.

Fast forward to today

Upper castes, including Brahmins, termed the so-called ‘general category’ comprise just 15-20% of India’s population but hold 70-80% of top bureaucratic positions. Dalits, meanwhile, remain trapped at the bottom. Less than 5% Dalits own agricultural land, and a crime against a Dalit is reported every 18 minutes. Over 50,000 atrocities against Dalits are recorded annually, from lynchings to rape to social boycotts.

The film Phule, which tells the story of 19th-century anti-caste reformers Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule, has faced repeated delays due to demands for censorship from Brahmin groups. Their objection? The film’s dialogue about the brutality of caste. As Kashyap pointedly asked, “If casteism didn’t exist, why would the Phules have needed to fight it?”

Also read: It is Time to Rediscover Mahatma Phule

Kashyap’s angry social media retort, “I will urinate on Brahmins” was provocative, but the vicious response to his comment was more revealing. The backlash, including rape and death threats against his family and police complaints filed by Brahmin groups, mirrors historical patterns of silencing dissent. Union minister Satish Dubey’s characterisation of Kashyap as a "vile scumbag" underscores how upper-caste state actors often legitimise caste-based intimidation. This is not just about hurt sentiments; it is about the enduring power of caste privilege to silence those who challenge it.

The Union minister had taken an oath on the constitution. Article 19(1)(a) protects free speech, and Articles 15 and 17 forbid caste discrimination and untouchability. Yet, as this episode shows, the reality is that those who speak out against caste often pay a personal price. The state under an executive driven by Hindutva ideology, instead of protecting dissent, aligns with those seeking to maintain the status quo. 

Instead of demanding samta, the RSS harps on samrasta. Samta stands for the constitutional goal of equality, while samrasta is about coexistence that seeks to maintain caste identities, without challenging the underlying structure of caste. Rather than calling for the abolition of caste, it asks for mutual respect and harmony among castes. The Hindutva ideologues have taken it to foreign lands to challenge the quest for social justice against caste discrimination, classifying the movement as anti-Hindu. 

Meanwhile, Kashyap’s apology, which reiterated his stance while condemning threats, reflects the precarious balance between free speech and personal safety in caste discourse.

Why Kashyap is right

Kashyap’s stance is not merely justified; it is necessary in today’s India. 

First, the normalisation of caste violence is an open secret in India. The threats against his family are an implicit extension of the everyday violence Dalits and other marginalised groups face.

Second, attempts to censor films like Phule are part of a long tradition of suppressing anti-caste voices, from Ambedkar to Periyar to contemporary activists like Bezwada Wilson.

Third, the outrage over Kashyap’s language is deceptively selective. Brahminical “sanskari” rhetoric often glosses over the historical violence and exclusion codified in texts like the Manusmriti, which institutionalised caste and gender oppression.

As Ambedkar famously said, caste is “not just a division of labour, but a division of labourers.” Unless Indians reckon honestly with this divide, through progressive education, equitable representation, and unflinching dialogue, voices like Kashyap’s will remain both necessary and vulnerable. His critique, rooted in constitutional ideals, challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths.

Vicious attacks on Samajwadi Party MP, veteran Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman for remarks made in parliament on historical figure Rana Sanga inviting the founder of the Mughal dynasty Babur to India have been the latest reminder of caste lines being living faultlines, now receiving encouragement from the administration. The Karni Sena, openly an association to protect rights of a dominant caste group, was able to attack and damage Suman’s house and then assemble in large numbers in Agra earlier this month with swords and threatening slogans. This was only the latest manifestation of how assertion by dominant caste groups is anything but yesterday’s story.

Kashyap’s critique is not an attack on individuals but on a historical system – sanctified by religion and structurally imposed by society – that continues to deny dignity, justice, equality and fraternity to millions. His sharpness is a reminder that sanitising history only perpetuates injustice. Unless this discourse is defeated, figures like Kashyap will remain both gadflies and lightening rods in this enduring struggle for social justice. If India is to fulfil its constitutional promise, Indians will have to confront the uncomfortable truths about caste, not muzzle those who dare to speak them.

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