[2]: On confusion of Kshatriya Identity due to the perversion of right order of identities 

Picture: Ruins of Vaishali (BIhar), city founded by Licchavi kshatriya Raja VIshal, a site of ancient Vajjika confederacy of Kshatriyas

In the previous post we discussed about one of the important limbs of Kshatriya dharma. That clan being the basic structure of cooperation among Rajputs belonging to that clan. 

Today, I will outline another important limb of kshatriya dharma. I have named it “Non-fragmentation of Rajput identity”. The world in which we are living is just too fast, too chaotic, changing too fast, and always throwing up new ideas and forging new identities. It is just easy to lose one’s own fundamental identity in this terrible flux of ideas and information. 

Let’s cut to the chase. What’s the Rajput identity? What are its essential and accidental characteristics? The answer to the first question is rather too simple. It is simply this : A Rajput is a Rajput by the virtue of being a member of one of the many accepted Rajput clans. The question of Rajput identity begins and ends there. There is nothing more to it. To test the truth of our claim one can apply the test of contradiction. The question that must be posed is simply this : Can a person be a Rajput if he is not a member of any of the known and accepted Rajput clans ? The answer is essentially no. Therefore, the original proposition, logically, becomes truth – functionally true. 

Today under the influence of a lot of fallacious ideas- which obviously draw upon the credulous nature of Rajputs, begotten by their vast and seemingly never ending ignorance for their life and sustenance -our people have become totally confused about their own identities. And this confusion is at the very root of why we keep moving from one self goal to another. Among other things, the most common fallacy popular among Rajputs is to somehow conflate their religious identity with their ethnic tribal identity. Most Hindu Rajputs believe falsely that their Kshatriya status somehow depends upon their being a part of the Hindu society. In their words, their Kshatra identity somehow owes allegiance to the Hindu Chaturvarnya system. This idea is totally baseless and not founded in facts. An elaborate rebuttal can be given. But, this is no place for it. In the passing, let me ask did Sudas, the Bharata king of the Dasrajnya fame, derive his identity from the idea of Chaturvarnya of Dharamasastras or did he derive it from simply his Puru-Bharata tribal identity? It’s a no brainer. The answer is obvious. The idea of Chaturvarnya didn’t exist back then. That’s why RV calls him a Rajanya and not a Kshatriya. The point is simple.. religion whatever it may be needs to be acquired. There is a process of enculturation involved here. While your tribal identity runs in your blood and is temporally, logically, and ethnically prior to religion. In other word, your acquired religious identity could be called only one of the many accidental characteristic of your Rajput identity, if you will…but it has nothing to do with the essential nature of it. Once again one can apply the test of contradiction. The question posed must be this : In the absense of my Hindu identity will I remain a Rajput? The answer is yes. The cancellation of your Hindu identity doesn’t automatically cancels your Rajput identity. The vice versa however is not true. Therefore, the original unstated proposition that my RAJPUT identity depends on my being a Hindu or anything else is false.

Another fallacy popular among RAJPUTS in my humble view is conflating occupational identity with their basic Rajput identity. There are classes among Rajputs ranging from aristocrats to humble farmers and everything in between. These classes represent hierarchies which have come into existence through a process which involves both cooperation and competition among members of the community and other external circumstances. It is totally circumstantial. To take your class identity so seriously as to totally override your Rajput identity is another fallacy our people are making today. Again the test of contradiction can be applied to underscore the absurdity of these tendencies. This is a rather contentious subject so I will stop here. 

This limb of Kshatra dharma must also involve the idea of ‘othering’. It is not enough to know yourself positively but also negatively in relation to others. Thats when you truly know yourself. I will write another post on it.