They say there is nothing in the name. They are telling lies. The names tell us more than we needed to know. My thesis in social science dealt with collecting the data from people of SC category. There I’ve heard the names I’ve not heard before. It could probably be because of my privileged bringing. Otherwise, how could someone self-respected have name like Khunda (Blunt), Keechada (Muddy), Kala (Dark or Black), Phool (flower), Hazari (the leader of thousand people or soldiers), Rumali (like a handkerchief), Baru (??), Sarbati (like a liquor), Janglia (Wild one), Razo (??) etc? Some of these names were derogatory, others were meaningless and a few of them were surprisingly simpler. When I compared these names with other upper caste people such Prem (Love or affection), Vishnu (Lord Vishnu), Sriram (Bhagwan Ram or King Ram), Pulkit (Glad), Shiva (Lord Shiva), Kanhaiya (one of the names of Krishna), Lakhwant (Something related to money??), Karorimal (Something related to money??), Vidya (Knowledge), Sharmili (Shy one), Kavita (Poem), Shehnai (Clarinet) etc. I felt that somehow the SC people have been told to not call themselves or their newborns with the names reserved for upper castes or worse, the decades of oppression have made them timid enough to call their new-borns with meaningful names.
Can I rename them?
No.
Could I accord some respect to people suffering with their name, without knowing?
I don’t know but when I recorded their name in my notebook, I didn’t forget to put Mr. and Mrs. in front of their names.
