The Issues And Effects Of Caste System In India

India is a multi-diverse, multi-linguistic country with numerous religions and caste simultaneously co-existing under one roof since millennia. What is this caste? It is nothing but a relative segregation of society into different classes based on purity and social status. The four hierarchically ranked castes are called varnas which are explained in the diagram below. It is believed to have been started by the Brahmins who wanted to establish their superiority over others and maintain it. When the Aryans invaded India, they continued with the prevalent practice of caste system as they too wanted to maintain their superior status quo over the Indians (referred to as insiders). Caste system exposes people to stereotyping, exploitation and other things. In the words of Che Guevara, “For some people, the principle of the caste system will remain in effect: The reward for the obedient is to be transported after death to some fabulous other world where, according to old beliefs, good people are rewarded.” Issue of caste system in India As per the 2011 census data nearly 20 crore people belonged to the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in the country vis-à-vis 16. 66 crore as per 2001 census. At the same time the population of Dalits in the country grew faster than that of India during the same period at 20. 8 % v/s 17. 7%. Isn’t this a startling fact? At one point where the government is trying everything to make sure that the population is under control but on the other there are few sects which are seeing a stupendous increase in their population.

According to a 2010 report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the Prevention of Atrocities against Scheduled Castes, a crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes. Even though we claim to be a democratic republic, the 4 basic tenets promised to us in the preamble to the constitution viz. justice, equality, liberty and fraternity are still a distant dream for many. The social reforms absent in the northern or the heartland states vis-à-vis southern states has led to brutal and gruesome caste wars in the northern as well as the western part of the country. The atrocities faced by them are not new and can be dated back to 1000 of years before Christ was born. Traces of caste discrimination in India can be dated back to stories of Ramayana where Lord Ram was suspected of having beheaded a shudra-Shambuka for transgressing his varnasrama-dharma by practicing tapas and restoring the life of a Brahmin child in the process. The authenticity of the above is never questioned as we have always heard our forefathers talk about how great Lord Ram was! But, if we look at various other texts, stories, books, etc. , we will be shocked to find out how deep-rooted problem this is. The problem of caste persists while choosing bride/groom and the outcome of these inter-caste marriages are honor killings. I have a personal example to cite for the caste discrimination experienced in my extended family. My sister married a Muslim guy. Isn’t this normal? 2 people who love each other got married in a private ceremony. Happy ending, right? Well the answer is a resounding No! And here are the details of the problems experienced by them. We are Jains, considered to be one of the most literate and upper-class societies in India and the groom was a Shia Muslim who though belonged to a good middle-class family was looked down upon because of his caste.

My uncle severed all ties with her and stopped talking with her and my brother in law. Even at social gatherings they were ignored and humiliated. It wasn’t until she was expecting a baby that my uncle got his senses and accepted them. I was always of the opinion that such things were abolished years ago and prevalent only in rural areas where people were not very educated but was surprised to find out that people were against inter-caste marriage in urban areas too. Couples have been mercilessly tortured for ages in the name of caste and their body have been mutilated if they dared to not adhere to societal norms. The one thing that these incidents have made crystal clear is that if one wants to live peacefully in this country then they should adhere to the so-called ‘societal norms’ and not raise their voices against them or they will be silenced forever. Caste politics is another issue because despite laws prevalent in the country to create equality, the caste system continues to have a strong impact on the society with political parties targeting public resources to castes in return for their votes or sometimes with schemes like “food for vote” and “cash for vote”. The recent attacks on Dalits in Gujarat who were brutally thrashed for carrying a carcass of cow clearly shows that India still has got long way to go before it can call itself developed or a safe place to stay.

Effects of caste system:

1. Denies change of occupation - It mostly opposes change of work. A SC/ST still finds it difficult to obtain funds for starting their own business or engage in agriculture activities. I spoke to one of the housekeeping staff in our hostel- Mr. Kamlesh, who has been doing cleaning job for the past 10 years. On enquiring with him, I came to know that there is not much scope for people like him who were forced to work since a very young age because of family circumstances. This is the 3rd generation of his family which is doing housekeeping or cleaning work. Being an OBC, he still faces rejection from many places when looking for job opportunities. There is not much which the government is doing to uplift them from the lower strata of society as most of their policies are just on paper and they never reach the targeted masses.
2. Untouchability - As per statistics, 1 in 4 Indians, practice Untouchability. It is the most sinful practice which is still prevalent in many parts of India. People belonging to this class are deprived of their fundamental right to food and shelter. They were not allowed to eat or drink with people belonging to higher caste and if people from such upper caste touched them or played with their kids, then they were alienated from these castes and met the same fate as of these poor souls.
3. No Unity - Casteism amplifies hate and anger but never creates a spirit of brotherhood. The Britishers knew this very well and used this and the divide and rule policy to their full advantage and perpetuated the exploitation of the economically weaker sections of the society and forced slavery.
4. Lack in social Progress - Casteism being an age-old system followed traditionally, people still find it difficult to accept change and scientific principles. Changes are resisted and not accentuated which makes it difficult to set on the path of progress.
5. Women Slavery - Casteism promotes child marriages and opposes remarriage. If the male members of the family took loans and were unable to repay the money, then their wives and daughters were forced into slavery and were treated as sex machines. They were used as sex slaves.

What I feel here is giving them a more respectable job like that of office clerks, drivers which are still blue-collar jobs would give them a sense of pride and dignity of labour. Creating self-help groups as that of women would not only help them to earn livelihood but also provide an opportunity to move up the social class pyramid. One classic example of self-help group created by women of this section of the society for the benefit of their community is “Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. ” With annual turnover more than Rs 650 crores in 2010 and exports of Rs 29 crores, it has empowered women to become independent. Future implications Convergence between upper and lower castes in education and jobsWhat we see presently is that companies and education institutions have begun to realize that for an inclusive growth it is necessary that all the sections of the society are treated equally. And the government has also taken sufficient and necessary steps to make sure that people from these lower sect or castes like SC/ST get seats in premier management, engineering or undergraduate schools in the country. For e. g. IIM’s and IIT’s require certain seats to be reserved for OBC, SC/ST to make sure they give enough opportunity to people belonging to these communities to get out and make a living for themselves. Same is the case with government jobs. There is also upliftment of few classes, for e. g. the dabbawalas of Mumbai are famous all over the world for their speedy and timely delivery and next to negligible error for which they were awarded the six-sigma certification- which is the highest reward for eliminating defects in any process. They were invited to give a talk at TED-X and various other world forums and the government is taking all the necessary steps to give special recognition and training to people from such caste. Income Equality For long we have seen people belonging to these lower castes being paid meagre or low wages which are not commensurate with the size of the work done by them. They were exploited and made to do shady work. It wasn’t until the government stepped in lately that they have been given a chance to lead a better life. Dr B. R. Ambedkar was right when he said, “Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as a governing principle. ” It was the like of Ramdas Athawale who founded the Republic Party of India and went on to represent the Dalits in the parliament. Women like Saroj, Geeta Parmar, Aparna Kadam, Sana Ansari, etc. are living examples of Dalit women making it big in corporate life despite resistances and oppression from the society. They challenged the status quo and emerged victoriously.

Religious

Freedom It still will take few decades for Indians to come to terms with the concept of religious freedom. People from lower sects or other backward classes are still not allowed to enter the inner sanctums of temple which are still reserved for people belonging to the so called upper castes or brahmins. Women on the other hand are not even allowed to enter the temple. It wasn’t until the honorable Supreme Court took the matter in its own hands, that the Haji Ali Dargah in Worli in Mumbai conceded to allow women to enter sanctum sanctorum at par with men. Down South, temples like Lord Ayyappa, Sabarimala still deny entry to women and people from lower caste to visit them. With changing times and stricter rulings these temples are now abolishing the age hold practice and bringing parity to women so that they can enjoy the benefits hitherto reserved for men. Economic growth is significantly affected because of exclusion from markets which has adverse consequences on income distribution in the country. This economic discrimination leads to poverty and inter-group conflict. We have always seen the son/daughter following the business of their father once they become responsible enough or circumstances force them to do it. If he/she opts out to pursue a different dream or chooses another profession, then the social stratification raises multiple eyeballs. We have various examples of big corporate houses following trends but, there are people who challenged the accepted norms, chose their own path and became successful. For e. g. Saurav Ganguly. It will take a few more years for business families to get to terms with the fact of children pursuing their own passion. On my part, I would like to say that though we are deeply engraved with casteism in our country, there is a ray of hope of bringing about a respectable change in the society. What is needed is patience and collective wisdom to bring about a radical transformation.

Personally, I’ll make sure that educating people about the harms of following the age-old practices and talking about the issue untouchability which is still considered a taboo in our society will help sensitize their thought process. On a professional front it would be my duty to ensure that each employee of the organization practices equality and ample opportunities are made available for the weaker sections of the society to rise and fend for themselves. It will not only help in providing employment and making them self-reliant but also help in the larger goal of making India a great country. I would like to end by saying that India surely has the hope and the will to become safer and better for its citizens and rise above the shackles of casteism.

References

1. https://www. speakingtree. in/blog/impact-of-caste-system-in-india
2. https://roundtableindia. co. in/index. php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9093:caste-shambuka-and-marginalized-reinterpretations-of-the-ramayana&catid=119&Itemid=132
3. http://www. histecon. magd. cam. ac. uk/km/Munshi_JEL2. pdf
4. https://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/india/Half-of-Indias-dalit-population-lives-in-4-states/articleshow/19827757. cms
5. https://www. indiatoday. in/magazine/the-big-story/story/20160215-dalits-untouchable-rohith-vemula-caste-discrimination-828418-2016-02-03
6. http://www. livemint. com/Opinion/FLn6TiQPArdQZUN9LE2ZsM/The-impact-of-caste-on-economic-mobility-in-India. html
7. http://www. epw. in/journal/2007/41/caste-and-economic-discrimination-special-issues-specials/caste-and-economic