Transcript Document

INDIA’S
CASTES
Castes were the central
feature of people's
identities in
ancient India.
But the caste system is
not completely dead in
India today.
There are different
theories about the
establishment of the
caste system.
There are religious
theories and there are
historical theories.
According to a story in the Rig Veda,
a Hindu religious text, the original
human, Purush, destroyed himself to
create all of the rest of human society.
The different Varnas (castes) were
created from different parts
of his body.
The Brahmans were created from his
head; the Kshatrias from his hands;
the Vaishias from his thighs and the
Sudras from his feet.
The caste system’s hierarchy is
determined by the descending order
of the different organs
from which humans were created.
The social historical
theory explains the caste
system beginning with the
arrival of the Aryans in
India. The fair skinned
Aryans arrived in India
from south Europe
and north Asia.
Before the Aryans arrived,
other ethnic communities
lived in India. Among
them were Negro,
Mongoloid, Austroloid,
and Dravidian
(Mediterrean.)
The Aryans who conquered and took
control over parts of north India
subdued the locals and made them
their servants.
The Aryans disregarded
the local cultures,
and at the same time
pushed the local people
southwards or towards the
jungles and mountains
in north India.
In order to secure their status
the Aryans established sets of
social and religious rules
which allowed only them to be
the priests, warriors and the
businessmen of the society.
The dominant Aryans gave
themselves and their allies
special rights and privileges
that other ethnic groups
were denied.
People assigned to
different castes could not
eat together, be educated
together, marry, or even
travel together on public
transportation.
The most powerful caste was the
Brahmans- the priests
and political leaders.
The Aryan
conquerors
belonged
to this caste.
Beneath these were the Kshatriya, or
warriors, also Aryans who made their
careers in the military.
Beneath them
were the
Vaishyas,
or traders and
landowners,
who were als
members of
Aryan society.
The lowest of the castes was
the shudras - the servants
and farmhands from the
native tribes and
conquered societies.
They did not own their own
their own land, but were
forced to work
for others.
Beneath all castes was the
group known as the
“Untouchables” delegated the worst jobs,
like cleaning up the gutters,
collecting garbage,
cleaning up human waste,
and burying the dead.
The untouchables call themselves
Dalit, meaning “depressed.”
Until the late 1980s
they were called
Harijan, meaning
“children of God.”
This title was given to
them by Mahatma
Gandhi who fought for
Indian society
to accept untouchables
as equals.
Legally the government has banned the
caste system, but in reality it allows
discrimination of the lower classes.
The
untouchablity
feature of Indian
society is seen
by many as one
of the strongest
racist
phenomenon
in the world.
The untouchables
have few rights
in society.
In various parts of
India they are
treated in different
ways, but in most
regions the attitude
towards the
untouchables is still
harsh and strict.
Some Indians have become more flexible in
their caste system customs. In general the
urban people in India are less strict about
the caste system than the rural.
In cities one can see different caste people
mingling with each other, while in some
rural areas there is still discrimination
based on castes.
In modern India new tensions are
created because of
“positive discrimination” policies.
The high caste communities feel
discriminated by government
policies which reserve positions and
jobs for the lower classes.
According to government policy,
15% of the government jobs and
15% of the students admitted to
universities must be from lower castes.
Sometimes in
order to fill the
quota, candidates
from the lower
classes are
accepted even
though they are
not qualified.
Still, the lower classes are about 50% of
India's population, but only 27% of
government jobs are reserved for them.
Most of the communities who were low in
the caste hierarchy remain low in the
social order even today.
The degrading jobs are still
done by the Dalits,
And communities who were high in
the social hierarchy remain so…
INDIA’S
CASTES