A socio-religious group is not a biomarker of any blood superiority. A deeply ingrained sense of discrimination in us, which emerges from some form of classification, demeans our belonging to the biologically single human species with a single genetic code.
Unity has a different meaning. All the time, it does not mean good. Why is there discrimination if all humans are of the same species? Why are there so many groups? I am always surprised. Even though everyone has the same blood, everyone can’t get along with each other. Though animals are genetically similar to humans, why are we so selfish? Why do we fight for superiority? Why is it more important than life? Why do we create different social groups? There is no answer to all such questions. We learn discrimination from childhood by default. We know that it is necessary to live here for social life. Gossip seems to have an inevitable place in human society as a matter of pleasure. Often, gossip shapes our interactions and the formation of different groups.
There is always a line between us and others. That makes us prejudiced against each other. Do we draw these lines ourselves, or are they deeply ingrained in us? All of us have illogical reasons for these separations and hate. Instead of adopting a shared humanity, we focus on our differences. Since we emerged from the forests, we loved to be social. Unfortunately, we have different definitions of “being social”.
The term ‘social’ seems to mean being a part of a particular group. Some of my requirements make me part of this group. As requirements keep changing, I join new groups. It is an endless process. >From a small band to a big world alliance under many umbrellas, we carry this baggage as we become civilised. We didn’t know who we were in a group of caste and religion. But we greeted each other and had no danger of mingling with others. If our neighbours had another tag, we looked at them differently. But we socialise with many groups, including through many WhatsApp groups.
Humans have formed countless groups and divisions throughout history. We all wear multiple labels, such as caste, religion, family, village, taluk, district, state, country, and even skin colour. Maybe there will be more groups than the population. One can write books about their intricacies. The proliferation of human groups seems endless.
The world promotes the significance of unions and gatherings. In India, caste plays a prominent role, and discrimination stems from it. Even in individual conflicts, we identify their caste before deciding how to interact with them. There’s a similar pattern across religions, where caste and purity matter. We tend to give more importance to these divisions, perpetuating self-conflicts. Cultural practices develop within specific groups based on caste and religion. Those who believe in a different group or religion often refer to “they,” and create an “us versus them” mentality. Stories of such conflicts emerge daily, with caste and religion being the driving factors. Love becomes unacceptable if it crosses the boundaries of religion or caste. Some are even willing to harm their daughters over these divisions. In such situations, caste or religion becomes a determiner of the blood group.
Across generations, all humans share a common ancestor. When exploring our family trees, we find that the person sitting beside us may be our distant relative. We all have a genesis from a single source billions of years ago. We need to internalize this genetic truth and refrain from exploring the history of classes. After delving into history we unearth only half the facts about human divisions and conflicts. None has ever discovered anything more.
History witnessed one of the bloodiest and most devastating wars in the name of supremacy. The purity of the Aryan blood made Hitler perpetrate genocide on others. Hitler met his end in the pursuit of seeking supremacy. Fascism also had its roots in the same dogma.
Humans’ preoccupation with fighting for supremacy enshrines the history which we teach our children. Wherever there are no adversaries, we create divisions and conflicts in the name of identity. This legacy of division and conflict seems never-ending.
Until our colony exists on Earth, we won’t see anyone else without class discrimination. Even if casteism ceases in government records, there will be a de facto social grouping and a cry for social justice. The colour of blood is the same for everyone; all share an identical genetic code from the same grandmother.