Lessons of the Caste System By: Maria Cuervo

Caste Discrimination in India•In modern India the terms Jat and Varna mean

“caste”. •The caste system has been in place for many

years, it has been used to keep order and peace.•The term caste was used by the British who ruled

India until 1947 but its origin is in Hinduism.•The British who wanted to rule India efficiently

made lists of Indian communities. They used two terms to describe Indian communities: Castes and Tribes.

Five Categories each with its own castes.•Braham (priest)•Kshatriya (ruler, warrior, land owner)•Vaishya (merchants)•Shudra (artisans, agriculturalists)•Harijans (outside the caste system,

also known as untouchables, dirty, who do the dirty jobs)

Factors used to determine castes:Discrimination•Religious (Hinduism was the origin of the

castes)•Wealth•Social factors•Profession•Type of jobThese distinctions have nothing to do with race,

but primarily with social discrimination.Are not all jobs necessary and confer dignity to

those who perform them?

High and low castes•The castes, which were the elite of the

Indian society, were classified as high castes.

•The other communities were classified as lower castes or lower classes. The lower classes were listed in three categories.

1. Scheduled Castes2. Scheduled Tribes3. Backward Classes

Dalit: Oppressed, broken, crushed•The untouchables or oppressed under the caste

system are also known as the Scheduled Caste.•166.6 million people form the Scheduled Caste,

1/6th of the Indian population.•This is the lowest caste level.•The Dalit were prevented from joining social

and religious life.•The Indian Constitution defines the term

“Scheduled Castes” to exclude members of the Hindu religion.

Intolerance against the Dalit•In India every day two Dalits are

murdered and three Dalit women raped.•27,000 crimes annually against

untouchables are recorded.•Dalit women are assaulted and abused in

broad daylight with no consequence to the offenders.

•The elites do not use the word “untouchables”

Scheduled Castes: Poverty • Most important asset in India: LAND.• Dalits, meaning depressed, are landless, they

live in disadvantaged parts of the villages.• Dalits are segregated by lack of electricity,

sanitation facilities, water pumps and medical facilities

• Dalit school children usually sit separately in the back of classroom.

• Dalits are banned entrance to temples and barbershops .

• Dalit women are forced to prostitution and often assaulted and abuses.

• In the late 1980s they were called Harijan, meaning children of God, title given to them by Mahatma Gandhi who wanted the society to accept untouchables within them. Ghandi was murdered by a brahmin.

Other examples of Intolerance •Violent clashes in cities and villages spring

from caste tensions. •Caste violence is on the rise causing

thousands of deaths.•Sometimes the higher castes strike the lower

castes who dare to uplift their status. •Sometimes the lower caste get back on the

higher castes. •After the Gujarat earthquake relief measures

were based on caste and religion. Dalits and Muslims were neglected and disadvantaged.

No protection, no rule of law•Dalit victims of violence are advised even

by the police not to file any complaints to avoid further dire consequences.

•For Dalits access to the legal system is often unaffordable.

What can be done?• Discrimination and intolerance are generated by

ignorance.• Education. Only by reading A Fine Balance did I

fully become aware of the caste system in India. • We are not touched by what we do not know.

Only by broadening people’s understanding of others may changes be introduced.

• Some mention that the problem lies with Hinduism. Analyzing Hinduism, understanding its beliefs and determining its effects on a community may be essential.

What can be done?•Introduce courses on the history of India

and its caste system.•Create forums for dialogue to analyze

discrimination and how to deal with it.•Create opportunities for those in the low

castes.•Preserve work and education

opportunities for the less fortunate for long periods of time.

•Establish that negative discrimination is a criminal conduct.

Not all Indians are intolerant

•Indians have become more flexible in their caste system customs.

•In general the urban people are less strict about the caste system than the rural.

• In the cities different caste people can be seen mingling, while in rural areas there is still discrimination based on castes and on untouchability.

How may tolerance be created?•International initiatives. Perhaps the

Brahmins may not see the untouchables inside their country but may be affected by an international awareness of this problem.

•Raising the issue as a violation of human rights before the United Nations.

•Journalism as a tool to inform people about the sad reality of Dalits.

How may tolerance be created•Have international powers provide aid to

Dalits.•Empower Dalits to become agents of

change.•Educate Indians on teachings of Ghandi

(inclusion, equality, peace).•Provide fair courts and mechanisms for

the protection of Dalits.•Promote a peaceful revolution to abolish

the caste system.

What has been tried by the Indian Government•Provide for Constitutional non

discrimination.•Establish “positive discrimination”:

provide 15% of jobs and education opportunities to low castes.

Overall impact of positive discrimination? • But with all this positive discrimination policy, most

of the communities who were low in the caste hierarchy remain low in the social order even today.

• And communities who were high in the social hierarchy remain even today high in the social hierarchy.

• Most of the degrading jobs are even today done by the Dalits, while the Brahmans remain at the top of the hierarchy by being the doctors, engineers and lawyers of India.

The real question for us•DO WE HAVE CASTES and what to do about it?

Works Cited • Callaham, Terence, and Roxanna Pavich. “Indian Caste

System.” Adaniel’s Info Site. MuTuKo Mall, Jan. 2008. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://www.csuchico.edu/ india.htm>.

• “Caste System in India.” Chart. New Brave World. Huamei Class, Mar. 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://eng4uhuamei.wikispaces.com/ Caste+System>.

• Kumar, Shankar. Videoblog post. Is India’s Caste System a Crime against Humanity. NDTV, 25 Mar. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=_GbP829YaWU&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL470D5AA426A43902>.

• Scuto, Dr. Giuseppe. Caste Violence in Contemporary India. Delhi, Haridwar, Munich: Creative commons, 2008. PDF file.