Story behind my Name!!

Story behind my Name!

Many have wondered, what really my name means? Which caste I belong to? As kid I used to answer 'Humanity is my caste'.. Many thought I belonged to some Maharastrian, Bengali or SC/ST family.
I never bothered whatever they assumed..

Now I feel there is a need to unveil the motive behind my Name.

“Shuchita” means “Pavitrata”(Chastity); “Vatsal” means “Prem karnewala” as we use “Bhaktvatsal” for Bhagwanji.

i.e. “Shuchita Vatsal” means “Pavitrata se prem karnewali”

Vatsal is not my surname. Actually, my parents had a ideology, similar to that of Shri. Jaiprakash  Narain. They wanted that when I grow up, I must make, my own place in this World, not because of my surname, but as a HUMAN BEING, as an INDIVIDUAL!  They wanted me to be a good Indian & not merely a caste representative.

Story started long before my birth, when my grand parents took an oath similar to Arya Samaj. They where not AryaSamajis but were real ideologist. True Sanatani & devoted Swayam Sevaks. They adopted the best from Arya samaj too i.e. Education for all & the marriage ideals. My grandparents were influenced by revolutionary nation building ideology of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh. 
'Namste Sada Vatsale Matribhoomi..'
In an effort to contribute to Bharat mata's vaibhavshali garimamayi sanatan Sanskriti.
They believed social integration & irradiation of discrepancies in the society was of utmost importance. 

They tried to break the barriers of caste system from the path of HUMANITY. 
They believed person must be judged on the basis of their capabilities, qualities and the amount of goodness.

So, my family witnessed many INTER CASTE ARRANGED MARRIAGES! 
In selection of life partner criteria was never the GOTRA but GOODNESS.

Our family can be called an example of little INDIA- people from different castes, cultures, linguistic & geographic regions i.e. Brahmins(Tiwari,Bhardwaj,Misra,Jha),Bengali Brahmin(Chatterjee), Agrawals (Singhal,Govil,Garg,Mittal,Bansal,Goel, Gangal),Punjabis(Rai & Sharma),Bhumihar Brahmin(Thakur/Misr), Rajasthani Chaudhary, Jains, Sikhs,South Indian, Oriya, Maharastrain & many more..constitute our unique family.
First inter-caste arranged marriage of our family occurred in year 1954. Agrawal bride & U.P. Brahmin Tiwari Groom. This was one of the revolutionary steps of that era. It faced social sanctions & boycotts. 
But soon, those who stood against this marriage, joined the same path by getting their son married to a Sikh girl..

My parent too followed the foot prints of elders. 
30 years back two totally different communities came on same platform to constitute a Happy Family Picture!

My Mom belongs to a Agrawal/Bania family of U.P. & Papa from a Choudhary/Jat family of Rajasthan.

My maternal family was a family which even avoided onion in kitchen, Bahus were preferably clad in traditional saaris or may be jeans now, language had the Brij bhasha type touch now U.P. shudhh hindi touch.-Khayiyega, Kahiyega!

My Papa belonged to the feudal caste of Rajasthan-The Jats. Who’s mere name draws a picture of rigid, adamant and backward warrior caste. Full form of which is often called as Jat- ‘Just Avoid Them’.

But my paternal family is quite different from Jat traits. It’s a family of polite, literate professionals. Mostly doctors. Off course,the roots lie in a conservative village with a touch of the Zamindari system, with ancestral lands,eating garlic in most recipes, ladies wearing Ghagra-loogari, following "Purdah system"-even today mom does Ghoonghat there. She has learnt Marwadi too.

The love in heart helps you adapt to any situation, it makes you learn anything that is part of beloved's life.

Both families avoided the rigidity of their caste traits .i.e. Maternal Agrawal family is no more a classic example of miser, business class, dowry seeker, fearful people as Bania are thought to be.Rather they are in Defence as warriors. Intellects in planning commission as economic advisor,So on.

My paternal family too,is no more conservative, rigid, feudal & agritarian as of classic Jats. It’s a family of polite, well mannered professional individuals.

The Inter-caste marriage didn’t make the communities loose their identity but made their generation more efficient. Intermingling of cultures gave them better exposure.

Both families contributed to my personality. I’m a Hybrid. I’m now able to adjust from a very conservative village atmosphere where I may need to put Ghooghat to a very cosmopolitan atmosphere of high class rich literate people!From Marwadi to U.P. anywhere in India.

Off-course I MISS SOME TRAITS OF JATS even MY PAPA & family does. We are Pure vegetarian, flexible and polite. No one even from our extended family has any criminal or 'dadagiri' record.

Scientifically also, Inter-caste marriage avoids the Cognitive/birth defects due to mutations in DNA structure. It promotes the mental/cognitive learning of hybrid. Whereas, in a closed community, when people of same caste get married, there are higher chances of such defects & mental retardation of  the off-springs.

Hybrids are more efficient, So Am I.
 I have been perpetuating two cultures.

Why there is still a BIG TABOO ON INTERCASTE MARRIAGE?

Are we afraid of loosing caste identity?

Don't fear GOOD cultural TRAITS will never disappear!
 Avoid Surnames..Judge people individually!! 
We may contribute in reducing casteism...

We may help in national integration.
The termite which was once again tilled out of ground in 90’s by Mandel Commission must be killed now.. Otherwise Nation will be rowed down into pieces.