Abolition of Family Titles to End the Discrimination Between Upper Caste and Lower Caste
What is my family title actually? "Sinha"? My father's full name is Abul Basher Shinha, and my grandfather's name is Abul Kashem Shinha. The surname Sinha is used by both Muslims and Hindus. This Sinha surname is primarily prevalent in India's Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and some regions of Uttar Pradesh. In Bangladesh, this surname is also found in the Gendaria area of Dhaka and in the Munshiganj district.
Followers of the Hindu religion are divided into four varnas: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Brahmins hold the highest status. According to ancient traditions, the responsibilities of individuals from each varna are generally different.
Brahmin: Knowledge, education, priestly duties.
Kshatriya: Governance, administration, war.
Vaishya: Agriculture, animal husbandry, commerce.
The Kshatriya, who occupy the second position in this list, are divided into multiple sub-castes or Jat. One of these is the Kayastha. This Kshatriya-originated Kayastha community is further divided into numerous family clans, for example: Sinha, Basu, Ghosh.
Therefore, the hierarchy for Sinha is: Kshatriya Varna ⤠Kayastha Sub-caste ⤠Sinha Family.
The Dalit or "untouchable," exist outside these four varnas who do not belong to any varna. They were traditionally engaged in occupations considered essential for society yet "impure," such as removing dead animals, processing leather, cleaning excrement and waste, working at cremation grounds, etc. Dalit and untouchable refer to the same group; however, "Dalit" is a term of pride and political acceptance, whereas "untouchable" is an offensive and derogatory slur.
When the Sufi saints began spreading Islam in the Indian subcontinent, many Hindu families converted to Islam. Dalits and Shudras were at the forefront of this movement, seeking liberation from the oppression of the Brahmin varnas. Subsequently, at a certain point, a segment of the Sinhas converted to Islam. However, these converted Sinha families retained their ancestral surname as a legacy of their forefathers. This is why the Sinha surname exists among both Muslim and Hindu communities.
To my knowledge, all of my ancestors on my father's side were Muslim for several centuries. However, my grandfather's younger sister, "Bokul," during the Second World War, ran away with her Hindu boyfriend to what is now Assam, India, and married him. Before the marriage, she renounced the Islamic faith she was born into and converted to Hinduism.
There are many well-known "Sinhas" among Hindus that you may be familiar with:
⨠Sonakshi Sinha - A popular Bollywood actress from India.
⨠Manoj Sinha - The current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, India; a politician and former minister.
⨠Yashwant Sinha - India's former Finance Minister and External Affairs Minister.
⨠Nitin Nabin Sinha - Minister of Road Construction, Government of Bihar, India.
⨠Surendra Kumar Sinha - Former Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
And among Muslims, here are some "Sinhas" you may know:
⨠Anisur Rahman Sinha - Founder of the Opex and Sinha Textile Group in Bangladesh.
⨠Mizanur Rahman Sinha - Former Minister and Member of Parliament in Bangladesh.
Gender discrimination also exists in the context of name titles. Why shouldn't a child carry their mother's family title? My mother's name is Salma Akhter Sheuly. My maternal grandfather's name is M. A. Baset. There is no family title in my grandfather's name. Although, my mother's brothers have the word "Bari" in their names - Shafiqul Bari Abu, Sajedul Bari Dudu, Saidul Bari Bablu, Shorful Bari Labu, etc. Many women, after marriage, officially add their husband's name "title" to their own names through an affidavit. For example, the Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor changed name to "Kareena Kapoor Khan" after her marriage. This is also a form of gender discrimination. However, her husband, Saif Ali Khan, did not become "Saif Ali Khan Kapoor."
Those who have no qualifications of their own, or are interested in maintaining family influence by using someone else's title, use family titles. My name previously included the word "Sinha." My full name was "Muhammad Tawhidur Rahman Sinha Dear." Later, during class nine registration, I removed both "Sinha" and "Muhammad." Since then, my name on all educational certificates, National ID Card, and government documents has been Tawhidur Rahman Dear. It would have been even better if it were shortened to just "Dear."
The problem of casteism is acute among a section of Hindus in India. Among the four Hindu varnas, Brahmins hold the highest "respect," while almost everyone else is considered a lower caste. Shudras and Dalits are facing the worst situation. I am a man from Dhaka. Although Bangladesh does not have the problem of casteism. But at the national and regional levels in Bangladesh, there is the issue of political families - the Sheikh family, the Zia family, the Mollah family. Even developed countries have them, like the Bush family. Many excellent films have been made about India's deplorable caste system. Notable ones include Sujata (1959), Fandry (2013), Article 15 (2015), Masaan (2015), Sairat (2016), Dhadak (2018), Dhadak 2 (2025), etc. Are only Hindus being targeted? In many parts of India, attacks on Muslims and Christians are common occurrences. If Hindus freely perform their Puja, why should it be a problem for Muslims? And if Muslims freely perform their Namaz and Roza, why should it be a problem for Hindus?
What is the solution to this problem? Directly by enacting a law to stop the use of family titles. Names will always consist of a single word. Everyone will be known only by their core name. For example:
â
Sonakshi Sinha's new name would be Sonakshi
â
Amitabh Bachchan's new name would be Amitabh
â
Hrithik Roshan's new name would be Hrithik
â
Mamata Banerjee's new name would be Mamata
â
Narendra Modi's new name would be Narendra
â
Khaleda Zia's new name would be Khaleda
â
Sheikh Hasina's new name would be Hasina
Therefore, according to the law, everyone would be allowed to use only a single-word name. Furthermore, you cannot use a name that your paternal and maternal grandparents, parents, or elder siblings are using or had used. The concept of a single-word name isn't particularly difficult. Mayawati, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, used only a single-word name. The majority of people in the Indian state of Mizoram have single-word names. Bollywood stars like Govinda, Kajol, Rekha, Tabu, Patralekha are known by single-word names. Many prophets, messengers, and their family members are known by single-word names: Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham, Muhammad etc. The political theorists Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle also had single-word names.
Currently, my own name doesn't have any family title attached to it. Nevertheless, under this new law, â
my new name would be "Dear".
India's caste system is a terrible mental disease. Certainly, this is not the case across the entire country, and not all Hindus in India are responsible for it. In Bangladesh, for instance, attacks on Hindu temples and arson attacks on Hindu houses and shops often occur. Bomb attacks also happened at various times. But that does not mean all Muslims in Bangladesh are responsible for it. Now the question is, what happens in the name of this caste system in some parts of India?
đ High-caste Hindus refrain from eating with lower-caste people. Food cooked by Dalits cannot be eaten. Even in the same hotel, food is cooked in separate pots and served on separate plates.
đ Social interaction between the two castes is prohibited.
đ Dalits are forbidden from entering temples, drawing water from public wells, or shopping at high-caste-owned stores.
đ In many villages, there are separate residential areas for Dalits.
đ Dalit children often face aggressive behavior from high-caste teachers or classmates, forcing them to drop out of school. Sometimes, Dalit students are forced to sit separately or are prevented from participating in classroom activities.
đ Often, when Dalits try to legally fight against persecution, they receive no support from the police or administrative levels.
đ In cases of love or marriage between a Dalit and a high-caste, "honor killings" occur.
However, similar incidents also occur in Bangladesh. In some parts of Bangladesh, Bangalis will not eat with the Saotals, a local minority ethnic community, in the same hotel.
This revolutionary step is necessary to abolish such systems everywhere in the world, especially the high caste-low caste system in India. The benefits of this system will not be achieved overnight. But if we start today, perhaps 50 years from now, everyone's primary identity will be "human." Is that something impossible? Not at all. I myself removed both "Sinha" and "Muhammad" from my name while I was in school. You can do it too.
Family names were often derived from the occupations people were engaged in two to four hundred years ago. Let's look at a short list. Note that I took the list below from Wikipedia, so there may be mistakes. Here is the list of 27 so-called family titles.
đŗ Mukhopadhyay or Mukherjee: Brahmin (Rathi). Profession: Priest, Head Teacher, Vedic Scholar.
đŗ Chattopadhyay or Chatterjee: Brahmin (Rathi). Profession: Priest, Teacher, Philosopher.
đŗ Bandyopadhyay or Banerjee: Brahmin (Rathi). Profession: Priest, Teacher.
đŗ Ganguly: Brahmin. Profession: Priest, Teacher, Religious Leader.
đŗ Pramanik: Brahmin/Kayastha. Profession: Record-verifying Officer, Document Witness.
đŗ Sharma: Brahmin. A universal title, Profession: Priest and Scholar.
đŗ Dev: (Brahmin lineage) Profession: Servant of God, Landlord, or Honorary Title.
đŗ Chopra: Kshatriya. Profession: Landlord, Farmer, Military personnel.
đŗ Sisodia: Kshatriya. Profession: Ruler and Warrior.
đŗ Sinha: Kshatriya/Kayastha. Profession: Warrior, Ruler, Administrator.
đŗ Ray: Kshatriya/Kayastha. Profession: Landlord, Ruler, Revenue Officer.
đŗ Dutt: Kshatriya/Kayastha. Profession: Landlord, Administrator, Philanthropist.
đŗ Ghosh: Kshatriya/Kayastha. Profession: Dairy Farmer, Cattle Herder, Businessman.
đŗ Basu or Bose: Kshatriya/Kayastha. Profession: Landlord, Administrator.
đŗ Kapoor: Vaishya. Profession: Businessman, Administrator, Clerk.
đŗ Agarwal: Vaishya. Profession: Businessman, Merchant.
đŗ Kumar: Shudra. Profession: Potter.
đŗ Yadav: Shudra. Traditional Profession: Cattle Herder, Farmer.
đŗ Mandal: Shudra. Profession: Village Chief, Farmer Leader.
đŗ Meghwal: Shudra. Traditional Profession: Animal Herder, Blacksmith.
đŗ Chamar: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Leatherworker, Shoemaker.
đŗ Dhobi: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Washerman.
đŗ Dom: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Cremation Ground Worker, Bamboo Worker.
đŗ Bhangi/Valmiki: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Street and Sewage Cleaner.
đŗ Mala: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Burying the Dead, Maintaining Cemeteries.
đŗ Madiga: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Leather Processing, Drum Making.
đŗ Khatik: Dalit. Traditional Profession: Butcher, Animal Slaughterer.
Does that mean that for generations, everyone must remain in the same profession? Is changing professions not allowed?
Removing "Sinha" and "Muhammad" from my name during my school life is one of the best decisions that I have ever made. It was a step towards achieving humanity. Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, atheist, Sunni, Shia, Brahmin, Dalit, Catholic, Protestant, Bangali, French, Japanese, Mongolian, Somali, Chakma, Marma, white, black, female, male - the first identity of all of us is, we are human.
Thank you
Tawhidur Rahman Dear
www.tawhidurrahmandear.com
21 October 2025