Wednesday, October 25, 2006

The Caste System

(This one is not my article but posted with my comments)

Most Americans believe in social mobility. Typical American children think that they can grow up to become anyone they want — a fire fighter, a brain surgeon, the president of the United States. Even kids from poor families have a chance of getting rich.


In Indian subcontinent, people were born into strict social positions called castes, and their children belonged to the same social class. In fact, under the caste system, parents knew the jobs their kids would hold even before the kids were born.

Caste system is biggest and most brilliantly administered scam.

Caste system is the cause of India's economic decline in the last 2000 years. When only a handful of people are allowed to realize their potential and the majority is even denied the basic opportunity of education how can a society sustain growth?

The Four "Varnas"

The Brahmin varna comprises the priests and teachers in society. A person in this varna, often considered the highest, deserves respect from everyone else.

Warriors and rulers belong to the Kshatriya varna. Historically, this varna has contained most of the political leaders and kings, and it closely resembles the noble class of medieval Europe.

The third varna, called the Vaisyas, somewhat resembles the modern American middle class. Merchants, farmers, and artisans make up the vaishya varna.

The Sudra varna is the lowest of the four. The people who do hard work and labor are part of this varna, which very closely resembles the medieval European peasant class.

Under the Sudra: The fifth

The Untouchables
There is a fifth major class in Hinduism, but it is considered so low that it doesn't even qualify as a varna. Most people call it the "UNTOUCHABLE" class because its members are forbidden to touch anyone who belongs to one of the four varnas. If a Brahmin priest touches an untouchable, he or she must go through a ritual in which the pollution is washed away.

To a Westerner, this system seems complicated enough, but Hindus actually divide each varna into many little subsections. These subsections, called JATIS, work a lot like the varnas. A person is born in to the same jati as his or her parents and remains there for life.

****Officially there are 6843 castes in India.

Arrange Marriage
Ideally, a person will marry someone in the same jati. This can sometimes be a problem when most of the people in the jati are related in some way. A father in India must take responsibility for finding a good match for his children, and will work hard to find someone in the same jati who is not a close blood relative.

****Caste system is officially illegal in India**** Dr Ambedkar made this sure in Constitution but practiced everywhere.

Affirmative action programs have been adopted to create new opportunities for lower-caste Indians. Even the untouchable caste has had some success getting better jobs, including government positions. Dr Ambedkar, Gandhi and British Govt, Agreed upon reservation than separate electoral in 1935 Poona pact.

Classess existed in other part of world like europe which finished after 5-10 generations, but the caste system existed almost unchanged for at least 2,000 years, and its effects can still be felt today in every field of life.

Will add more as i get time...

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