What is the caste system in India

Dear everyone!

Before I would share my personal stories, I would like to write about the caste-system in India, which still has a huge impact on people’s everyday lives. To understand their stories, their experiences, first we must take a look on this ancient tradition, which is the base of the social order in many Hindu people’s minds, just as in the reality.

The Hindu belief says that the people are classified into 4 castes, and these castes define what jobs they can do, what duties and what privileges they have. These four castes are the Brahmins (priests, teachers), Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors), Vaishyas (landowners, merchants) and Sudras (servants), and the 5th group is the group of the untouchables, called Dalits. One of the Hinduism’s holy books, the Srimad Bhagavatam has a part (7.11.35), which clearly says these castes must based on skills, qualities and activities. However in real life tradition, castes separate people according to their birth.

In the picture there is Brahma on the left, the Hindu god of creation, whose body parts are connected to a part of the colorful triangle in the middle of the picture: Head- Brahmins (priests); upper body-Kshatryas (warriors); lower body-Vaishyas (merchants); feet-Shudras (peasants). Under the triangle there are two other categories explained: Adivasis- Indigenous people of South Asia. For self-determination and political/cultural autonomy, they fights against the stripping of their ancestral land and its natural resources. Dalits-Caste communities that were forced by Caste apartheid into slave and bonded agricultural labour, and undignified sanitation work like manual scavenging. Branded untouchable for jobs considered spiritually polluting, they struggle against extreme violence and discrimination. On the right side, and arrow from up (high) to down (low)indicates the level of access/ownership to resources and opportunities.

Since the Hindu traditions and the Indian culture is so intertwined, this kind of social order is not only a religious belief about the creation and classification of humankind, but a more thousands years old model of a real, functioning society.

The first big change in this social structure connected to the birth of India’s newest era. The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January, 1950, almost 3 years after that the country got its independence from the British colonizers. This definitely was the time of big changes and challenges. Many people, like the deeply respected Dr. B. R. Ambedkar were helping to ground this secular, democratic republic, and tried to put all the written words into action.

One part of the constitution addressed to help to improve inequalities derived from the caste (aka jati) system. For instance improve the situation of dalit (outcaste) people, who were untouchables, widely discriminated, overlooked and humiliated that time in the Hindu practice.

“The Indian Constitution has outlawed the practice of untouchability and the Indian Government has established special quotas in schools and parliament to aid the lowest jatis. Caste discrimination is not permitted in gaining employment and access to educational and other opportunities. But this does not mean that caste is illegal or has faded away.” (Jati: The Caste System in India | Asia Society)

In spite of the 73 years passed since, today India is still facing caste-based problems, discrimination and in rural areas, small villages untouchability is still in practice. In the previous weeks I read lots of articles with the following titles:

• A dalit man was killed for eating in front of upper-caste men
• Killed for sitting crossed-leg
• Threatened for riding a horse
• Three dalit boys were stripped and beaten for swimming

These are so shocking stories, that even the media picked it up. But I had to see, this is the tip of the iceberg. Many people meet daily discrimination, students are facing with constant bullying, later on they don’t get job, just because of their family roots. People live in fear, get threatened and humiliated because of their origin. This kind of discrimination is causing hard time in livelihood, providing the daily bread, or having a decent life without financial problems, which is the soil for even more cruel acts. The most vulnerable people sometimes try to survive with forcing their kids into illegal child-marriages, or selling their daughters as sex-slaves (devadasi). But dalits have to cope with mental pressure too. Not rare, that those youngsters, who are hardworking and lucky enough to make it to the university (dalits in higher education are only 14.4% out of total) are committing suicide because of the constant bullying and harassment by other students or even by professors.

I recommend you to watch this video about the experiences of Dalit people in India, produced by Vice.

Sources:1) Mishra, A. (2019) Hinduism : Ritual, Reason and Beyond – A Journey Through the Evolution of 5000 Year Old Traditions. StoryMirror Infotech, Mumbai

2) “What is India’s caste system?” BBC News, June 19, 2019, //www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616

Maybe you learned what the caste system is in world history class in school. Maybe you thought it was a historical system that was left in the past a long time ago. But, unlike other societal divisions we’ve seen throughout history – this one still dictates much of life in India today. Including where you can live, what job you can hold, and even what water you can drink. But let me rewind. The caste system is deeply rooted in the Hinduism belief in karma and reincarnation.

Dating back more than 3,000 years, the caste system divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras based on who they were in their past life, their karma, and what family line they come from. Many believe that the system originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation, believing that the Brahmins represent the eyes and mind of Brahma and are therefore often teachers and priests, the Kshatriyas represent his arms and are often warriors, the Vaishyas represent his legs and are often farmers or merchants, and the Shudras represent his feet and are often laborers.

Here is the Breakdown of the Four Main Castes:

1. Brahmins: The highest and most esteemed caste. These people often hold the job of priest or teacher.
2. Kshatriyas: The second caste. These people are often known traditionally as ‘warriors.’ They often hold the job of farmer, trader, or merchant.
3. Waishyas: The third caste. These people often hold the job of farmer, trader, or merchant.
4. Shudras: The fourth caste. These people are often those that do manual labor.

Although there are 4 main castes, the system is divided into thousands of sub-castes, further dividing the people of India. Additionally, there is a whole separate caste, who society believes to be so vile that they aren’t considered part of the system at all – the Untouchables or Dalits. They are completely shunned from society. forbidden to live amongst those of high castes.

Here are Some Facts About India’s Caste System:

• Brahma, the four-headed, four-handed deity who Hindu’s worship as the creator of the universe. The caste system is based on Brahma’s diving manifestation of the four main castes explained above.
• Mahatma Gandhi spent much of his life working to bring equality to the Dalits (Untouchables). He was the refer to Untouchables as “Harijans,” meaning children of God.
• Your caste is assigned at birth based on the caste of your family.
• The caste system was first outlined in the Hindu text, the Laws of Manu – written around 250 B.C.
• Dalits are considered so impure, the are forbidden to share the same water, use the same street, etc. as higher castes.

Although many bigger cities across India have moved away from such a heavy influence on castes – the system is still very prevalent in villages across the country – determining who can live where, what job they can have, who they can speak to, and even what human rights they may have.

It’s a system so deeply embedded in the culture of the country, it’s guidelines and effects will live on for many years to come.

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