Cast(e) Away!

MA Sneha Parthibaraja, an advocate from Tirupattur, scripted history when she became the first Indian to receive a no caste, no religion certificate. She tells Kayalvizhi Arivalan how she won the nine-year battle

- Kayalvizhi Arivalan

M A Sneha Parthibaraja, 35, is a practising advocate in Tirupattur (Vellore). While she has identified herself as a woman without caste and religion all her life, it was only recently that she was able to procure a certificate which made it official. The compulsion to state caste and religion while applying for legal examinations, made her take up the issue on a serious note, and fight a battle against the system. She officially filed for a no caste, no religion certificate in 2017, and was granted one by the tahsildar in February this year. Over to the trailblazer.

Why is it so important to you to not belong to any caste or religion?

When one is born in this country, he/she is assigned a religion and caste. I wanted to break this trend. When human beings are said to be the most evolved species, why do we need caste and religion? These were made by man for his convenience. I’m not violating anybody’s rights using this certificate, or asking for extra benefits from the government. In fact, I am letting go of those very benefits. I fought this battle simply because I wanted to bring this certificate as a replacement to the existing caste certificate. It should work at par with any other document.

Once, an official asked me if he could issue the certificate as ‘someone who dislikes caste and religion’. How should one be expected to respond to that? I don’t dislike caste and religion, but don’t have a caste and religion. There is a difference.

Tell us about your formative years. What paved the way for the idea of a no caste lifestyle?