Daily Mirror Part 3 |The Mixture of Honey and Poison

Daily Mirror — Part 3 |Poisonous Poison: Casteism at Town Level 

The Mixture of Honey and Poison

(Series on Casteism: A Boon or Curse – My Reflections)

When you move from a village to a small town or block level, casteism changes its costume.

It no longer roars openly.

It smiles.

It negotiates.

It adjusts.

It hides inside “daily systems.”

But make no mistake—

It still breathes.

Town life reveals a strange truth:

Casteism here is neither raw poison nor pure honey.

It is a mixture—confusing, situational, and deeply ingrained.

1. Marketplaces: The Invisible Lines

In towns, people share tea at roadside stalls, discuss politics, cricket, and government jobs.

To an outsider, it looks like harmony.

It looks progressive.

But the moment you enter someone’s home, the invisible lines rise quietly.

“Shop par chai le lo, ghar par mat aana.”

(Take tea at the shop, but don’t come home.)

Incident

A man once cycled 10 km to a town to collect his regular medicine. At the clinic, he was treated warmly — like a valued client — because the medication was expensive and purchased in a three-month course.

But one day, finding the clinic closed, he went to the physician’s home.

Instead of warmth, he received a sharp instruction:

“Mareez ka rishta dukan tak hi theek hai.”

(Our relationship is limited to the clinic.)

It's similar in some friendships,

“Dost ho lekin maryada apni jagah hoti hai.”

(You may be a friend, but boundaries must be maintained.)

Outside, they are equals.

Inside, tradition dictates behaviour.

This duality isn’t hatred.

It is conditioning — and conditioning is far harder to unlearn than rules.

2. Business Decisions Above Sentiments

At the town level, survival often softens caste boundaries.

A shopkeeper sells to everyone.

A trader needs customers.

A transporter needs labour.

A contractor needs workers.

Money doesn’t ask caste.

Necessity doesn’t check surnames.

But the sweetness ends there.

A customer may buy from anyone,

but a marriage proposal is still examined through the same old filters:

“Kaun jaati?”

“Kaun gotra?”

“Kaun gaon?”

Business becomes honey,

but relationships still carry poison.

It reminds me of the film Bodyguard, where dedication, honesty, and loyalty were misinterpreted as servitude — not even duty.

3. Children: The Silent Revolutionaries

One of the most hopeful scenes in towns is children playing together — crossing village boundaries, caste boundaries, social boundaries.

Incident

In a local inter-college, I noticed that students behaved more freely than in villages.

Very few hesitated; the atmosphere was decent and less harsh.

But caste still whispered through small comments.

Once, a student joked with another:

“Arey teri fees bas itne paise? Maze hai tere. Achchha, tu ye biradari ka hai!”

(Your fees are so low? Lucky you… Oh, you belong to that community.)

My friend Radha Charan swallowed the comment silently.

Children forget caste…

until adults remind them.

They learn teamwork before hierarchy.

They learn fairness before prejudice.

If only this innocence were allowed to grow,

India would have transformed two generations ago.

4. Social Gatherings: Unity in Appearance, Division in Practice

Town festivals look united.

Holi feels colourful.

Deepawali feels bright.

Weddings appear mixed.

But look a little closer:

Where people stand,

where they sit,

whom they call bhaiya,

whom they call ji —

Everything is quietly scripted.

This is not violence.

This is not cruelty.

But it is division in disguise.

5. The Emotional Truth: Hope Wrapped in Hesitation

Town-level casteism fills the heart with two opposite feelings:

Hope — because progress is visible.

Helplessness — because progress pauses at the doorstep of tradition.

Here, humanity tries to rise,

but lineage pulls it back.

Still, towns are the places where people first begin to question:

“Ye sab zaroori hai kya?”

“How long will we divide ourselves?”

“Is work more important, or caste?”

These questions are the first cracks in an ancient wall.

6. My Reflection

Town life showed me a world in transition —

not fully free,

not fully bound.

A world where caste stiffens inside homes,

but softens in markets.

A world where children forget it,

but adults revive it.

A world where change is visible,

but incomplete.

Towns are the mirrors where India’s inner truth becomes clear:

We are improving —

but we are not healed.

Disclaimer:

This article is based on personal reflections, lived experiences, and real incidents observed over time.

The intent is not to target any individual, community, caste, or institution, but to highlight social patterns for awareness, dialogue, and positive change.

Names, locations, and certain details may be modified to protect privacy.

To Be Continued…

Part 4: Business Above Caste —

Casteism in Cities & Districts

Coming soon…

— Rakesh Kushwaha

Educator | Writer | Storyteller

Mathivation HUB

“Writing to heal, writing to awaken.”