Caste system of India

Introduction:

The caste system in India is prevalent since ancient times. People in Indian society are divided primarily based on their caste or the job they do is called the Caste system of India, which is unique indeed. And it is a myth that the Indian Caste system is intrinsic to Hinduism only. Since ancient times, the Indian Caste system is divided into four Varnas, these different Varnas are further divided into different jatis, and jatis is a cluster of more Sub-jatis. There are many testimonies about how the caste system originated in the societies of India, some are historical while others are religious and biological. The caste system had a lot of negative impacts. It deprived the citizens of their rights. It hindered their choice of job and education. There were cases of forced conversion of caste and even killings. It divided and distributed the harmony and unity of society. It leads to an inferiority complex among the people of the lower caste, and their acceptance in society is difficult. There can be different classes in one caste and different castes belong to different social classes. After Independence, there is some relaxation in the caste system of India.

Caste system in the 21st Century:

The leaders of independent India decided that India will be a democratic, socialist, and secular country. The argument that while caste as a system is more or less dead, individual castes are flourishing is widely accepted. Practicing untouchability or discriminating against a person based on his caste is legally forbidden. There are laws under the Indian constitution that forbid and protect the outer castes from discrimination. The Indians have also 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 involving with each other, while in some rural areas there is still discrimination based on castes and sometimes also on untouchability. Sometimes in villages or in the cities, there are violent clashes that, are connected to caste tensions. Sometimes the high castes strike the lower castes who dare to uplift their status, or the lower caste gets back on the higher 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. The first category is called Scheduled Castes. This category includes its communities that were untouchables. In modern India, untouchability exists to a very low extent. The untouchables call themselves Dalit, meaning depressed. Until the late 1980s, they were called Harijans, meaning children of God. This title was given to them by Mahatma Gandhi who wanted the society to accept untouchables within them. The second category is Scheduled Tribes. This category includes in it those communities who did not accept the caste system and preferred to reside deep in the jungles, forests, and mountains of India, away from the main population. The Scheduled Tribes are also called Adivasi, meaning aboriginals. The third category is called sometimes Other Backward Classes or Backward Classes. This category includes in it castes who belong to Sudra Varna and also former untouchables who converted from Hinduism to other religions. This category also includes in it nomads and tribes who made a living from criminal acts. Along with the central government, the state governments of India also follow a positive discrimination policy. Different states have different figures of communities entitled to positive discrimination based on the population of each state. Different state governments have different lists of communities entitled to positive discrimination. Sometimes a specific community is entitled to rights in a particular state but not in another state of India. 

In modern India, new tensions were created because of these positive discrimination policies. The high caste communities feel discriminated against by the government policy to reserve positions for the Backward Classes. In many cases, a large number of high caste members compete for a few places reserved for them. While the Backward Classes members do not have to compete at all because of the large number of reserved places for them compared to the candidates. Sometimes in order to fill the quota, candidates from the lower classes are accepted even though they are not suitable. Sometimes some reserved positions remain unmanned because there were few candidates from the lower classes causing more tension between the castes. Between the lower castes, there are also tensions over the reservation. The Scheduled Tribes who are seen as the aborigines of India got ownership and certain rights over Indian land. Many communities in India claim also to be aborigines of India and they are claiming the same rights as the Scheduled Tribes. 

The caste identity has become a subject of political, social, and legal interpretation. Communities who get listed as entitled to positive discrimination do not get out of this list even if their social and political conditions get better. In many cases, the legal system is involved to decide if a certain person is entitled to positive discrimination. But with all this positive discrimination policy, most of the communities that were low in the caste hierarchy remain low in the social order even today. And communities that were high in the social hierarchy remain even today high in the social hierarchy. 

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