Caste

The caste system in India, describes the social stratification and social restrictions present in the Indian subcontinent, where social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often called "jatis" or "caste". Within a "jati" there are hereditary groups called "gotras", lineage or clan of an individual.

Although the caste system has been generally associated with Hinduism , the caste system is also present in other religions of the subcontinent, such as Islam or Christianity. The Indian Constitution has outlawed discrimination on the basis of caste, in line with the principles of secularism, socialism or democracy in which the nation was founded. The barriers of caste are very weak in the big cities, though persist in rural areas of the country. Even so, the system continues to survive in a changing in modern India strengthened by a combination of social and political perceptions sectarian.

History. There is no universally accepted theory about the origin of Indian caste system. Indian classes are similar to "pistras" of ancient Iran, where the priests are Athravans, warriors are Rathaestha, merchants and craftsmen are Vastriya are Huiti.

A study prepared in 2002-2003 by T. Kivisild concluded that tribal and caste populations derive Indian "greatly" in the same genetic heritage of South Asian and West who lived in the Pleistocene, and that gene flow from other regions was very limited since the Holocene. Several studies claim that the different caste groups have a similar genetic heritage. However, a genetic study of 2001 conducted by Professor Michael Bamshad of the University of Utah, found that the affinity of Indians to Europeans is proportionate to the position of breed: the upper castes are more similar to the Europeans. Researchers believe that the Indo-Aryans entered India from the northwest and may have established a caste system in which they themselves were at preferred sites. Still, the Indian samples for this study were taken in one area, so we still have to investigate whether results are generalizable.

Varna and Jati. According to the oldest Hindu scriptures, there are four "varnas": the Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests), the "shatrias" (kings and warriors), vaishas (farmers and merchants) and Sudras ( service providers and craftsmen). This theoretical system postulated Varna categories as ideals of just explaining the reality of thousands of "jatis" endogamous, that was what really prevailed in the country. Foreign, tribal or nomadic peoples who did not subscribe to the norms of Indian society were described as "mlechhas" and treated as contagious and untouchables. They were, along with a group known as "Parjanya", the origin of the current "dalits", although at that time the varna system was not yet hereditary.

Some critics of Hinduism claim that the caste system is rooted in the varnas mentioned in ancient scriptures. However, many groups such as ISKCON, consider that the modern Indian caste system is an entity other than the varnas. Many European scholars of the colonial era watching the "Manusmriti" as the book of Hindu law, and concluded that the caste system was part of Hinduism, that view is opposed by some Indian experts, for whom the breed is more a anachronistic social practice than a religious issue.

Caste and social status. Traditionally, although the power was in the hands of "shatrias", historians have portrayed the Brahmins as the bearers of the most prestigious. Fa Hien, a Buddhist pilgrim from China, visited India around 400 AD "Just found degrading the position of the 'track suits'; outcasts because of their work, responsible for the disposal of the dead. But no other section of the population suffered a significant disadvantage, no distinction of caste attracted comments on this pilgrimage, and no earned his oppressive censorship system. " And the words of another Chinese pilgrim, Hsuan Tsang (600 AD) indicate that the king of the region of Sind was a Sudra.

The castes did not constitute a rigid description of the occupation or social status of a group. As British society was divided into classes, the British tried to equate the Indian caste system to their own social system. And they saw the caste as an indicator of occupation, social status and intellectual ability. Intentionally or not, the caste system became more rigid during the British Raj, when the invaders began to enumerate castes during the census and coded the system under his control.

The " Dalits "or people outside the varna system, had the lowest social status. Formerly called "untouchables", worked in the work seen as unhealthy, unpleasant or polluting. In the past, "Dalit" suffered social segregation and restrictions in addition to extreme poverty. They were not allowed to pray in the temples with the rest, or take water from the same sources. People of higher castes were not related to them. If somehow a member of a higher caste took physical or social contact with an untouchable, must be purged of impurity newly acquired. Social discrimination also developed among Dalits. The higher castes among them (dhobis, nais ...) not related to the low (Bhangi, for example), described as "outcasts even among outcastes".

Sociologists have also discussed the historical advantages offered by a rigid social structure as the caste system, but also the loss of utility in a modern world. Historically, the system offered several advantages to the population of the subcontinent, for resulting anachronistic today. Originally, it was an instrument of order in a society governed only consent required, and where ritual rights and financial obligations of the members were strictly regulated with respect to other castes. One born within a breed and retained that status for life. The credit was hereditary and equality existed only within the caste, but not for others.

A well-defined system of mutual interdependence through a division of labor created security within a community. In addition, the division of labor based on ethnicity allowed immigrants and foreigners to integrate rapidly in their own niches of caste. The system had an influential role in determining economic activity. It worked like medieval European guilds, ensuring the division of labor, providing training to apprentices and in some cases, encouraging industrial specialization: in some regions, producing each variety of cloth was the specialty of a subcaste. In addition, philosophers added that most people felt comfortable in stratified endogamous groups. The membership of a particular breed, with its narrative, history and genealogy related, gave members a sense of group and cultural pride, as with the "Marathas", the "Rajput" or "Iyers".

Caste mobility. Some scholars believe that the ranking of caste was fluid and could come to differ from place to place before the arrival of the British. Some sociologists argue that castibajos groups trying to raise the status of their caste trying to emulate the practices of higher castes.

Flexibility in caste laws permitted very low caste priests, as Valmiki to compose the Ramayana, which became a central work of the Hindu scriptures. According to some psychologists, however, mobility was broad caste lines rather "minimal", but the jatis could change their social status for generations to relocation or adoption of new rituals.

For MN Srinivas, the movement was always possible, especially in the middle regions of the hierarchy. It was always possible for groups born in lower castes "rise to a higher position by adopting vegetarianism, for example, and other customs of the upper castes. While theoretically prohibited, the process was common. The concept of sanskritización, or the adoption of the rules of the higher castes by low, demonstrates the real complexity and fluidity of caste relations.

Distinctions, particularly between the Brahmins and other castes, were highly visible in theory but in practice it appears that social restrictions were not so rigid. There are Brahmins who came to base their work on earth, many groups say shatrias not acquire their status until recently. The fact that many dynasties have obscure origins suggests a certain social mobility. And certain breeds, according to Brahman, born of marriages between different jatis. It is noteworthy that the caste hierarchy was never a uniform distribution in the subcontinent.

Reform movements. From the time of Buddha and Mahavira (the last founder of Jainism), other leaders challenged the caste system. Tantrism, Yoga Upanishads, the system Natha part of the plethora of movements opposed or critical of the varnas. Many devout saints rejected the caste discriminations. And during the British Raj, this sentiment gained momentum, and many reform movements like the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya abjured discrimination. Social reformers advocated the inclusion of the untouchables in society, including the "Mahatma" Gandhi, who called them Harijans ("children of God"), although the term was rejected by the main leaders untouchables, who considered it patronizing. Has settled better word "Dalit" (oppressed). Gandhi's contribution to the emancipation of the untouchables is still under discussion, especially after comments by his contemporary, BR Ambedkar, an untouchable important activities Gandhi believed to be harmful to the elevation of his people.

Discrimination of untouchability was formally abolished by the Constitution of India, in which Ambedkar was instrumental, in 1950, and has been a decline since then, but has not achieved eradication. Former President KR Narayanan and the Indian chief justice, KG Balakrishnan, come from castes considered untouchable.

British rule. The fluidity of the caste system was altered with the arrival of the British invaders subcontinent. Previously, caste classifications differed from one place to another. The castes did not constitute a rigid description of the occupation or social status of a group. But British society was divided into classes, and the British tried to develop a classification policy as an element of social organization. They saw caste as an indicator of occupation, social status and intellectual ability.

During the first years of domination by the British company of the East Indies, were fostered caste privileges and customs, although British law put an end to discrimination against lower castes. However, caste identity was reinforced by the policies of "divide and rule" and taxonomy of the population into rigid categories in the census, conducted every ten years. Until 1910, the subcontinent witnessed at least thirteen castibajos rebellions.

The modern status of the breed. The caste system is still very rigid in some rural areas and small towns. The breed also remains an important weight in Indian politics. The Government of India has been officially scheduled castes and subcastes, with the purpose of determining who is entitled to the famous "quotas" or reservations, ie affirmative action in education and public works. The government lists include Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Castes (OBC).

The Scheduled Castes (SC) are generally former untouchable caste ("Dalits"). Currently, the "Dalits" account for 16 percent of the total population of India (ie, about 160 million people. Only in the territory of Delhi there are 49 castes listed as SC.

The Scheduled Tribes (ST). The tribes are tribal groups. Currently comprises 7 percent of the total population of India, ie some 70 million people.

Other Backward Castes (OBC). The Mandal Commission covered more than 3,000 OBC castes under the label and found that 52 percent were of the population of India. However, the National Survey puts the percentage at 32 percent. There is an unresolved debate about the exact number of OBCs in India.

The Caste reservations have generated violent reactions from non-eligible breeds, ie, the traditionally privileged. Many Indian experts conceive the negative treatment of advanced castes as socially divisive and simply unfair.

Outside the caste system of Hinduism. In some parts of India, Christians are stratified by sect, and caste of his predecessors, especially with regard to the Catholic Church. At present, over 70 percent of Indian Christians are "Dalits", but Christians from chaste advanced control 90 percent of administrative ecclesiastical works. Of the 156 Catholic bishops, only 6 are from lower castes. Many Catholics have complained Dalit caste discrimination within the Catholic Church. In the region of Goa, the classified ads mentioning caste marriages are in the case of Christians.

Also in the fold of Islam in South Asia have developed units of social stratification, called "castes" by many. Apparently, the castes among Muslims developed as a result of close contact with Hindu culture and the converts from Hinduism. The Sachar Committee report, published in 2006, documents the continued stratification in Muslim society. Muslims have sections of washermen, tailors, blacksmiths and other backward castes. In modern India there have been brutal clashes between Muslims belonging to different castes.

Among Muslims, Ashraf have a superior status derived from their Arab ancestors, while Ajlaf have allegedly originated from converts from Hinduism and, therefore, a lower origin. Moreover, among Muslims is Arzal caste, considered by Ambedkar as the equivalent to the Hindu untouchables. Although many scholars believed that stratification among Muslims was not as sharp, Ambedkar argued that "social evils" of Muslim society were "worse than those present in Indian society."

The caste system is not alien to Buddhists. The Rodi of Sri Lanka have always been neglected and even considered untouchable by Sri Lankan Buddhists due to the absence of "ahimsa" (nonviolence), which relies heavily on Buddhism. When the traveler Ywan Chwang traveled to the south of India at the end of Chalukya, said that the caste system had existed between the Buddhists and the Jains. There is evidence of caste in Bihar Jainism: in the village of Bundela, several jaats (groups) among the Jains. A person of a group can not mix or eat in company with another.

Regarding the Sikhs, their Gurus criticized the hierarchy of the caste system. Where some castes were perceived as better or higher, preached that all social groups were valuable, and argued that the merit and hard work were essential aspects of life. The quota system also promoted by them has been criticized precisely because it despises the merit as the primary measure to win a seat.

Caste violence. Independent India has undergone a considerable amount of violence and hate crimes motivated by caste. The Ranvir Sena, a supremacist paramilitary group in Bihar (north) has committed acts of violence against Dalits and other caste groups registered. Another example is the case of Phoolan Devi, who belonged to the caste Mallah, was raped as a young man by a group of Thakurs ... then became a bandit and violent robberies committed against members of higher castes. In 1981, his band killed 22 Thakurs, most of them unrelated to the abduction or rape. Phoolan Devi went on and became deputy. Dalits continue anyway the main victims of violence in many parts of India.

Policy caste. The "Mahatma" Gandhi, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru had different conceptions of the breed, especially with regard to constitutional politics and the situation of the untouchables. Until the mid-70's, the politics of independent India was mostly dominated by economic issues and controversies of corruption. But in the 80 breeds emerged as a key issue in Indian politics. The Mandal Commission was established in 1979 to identify the "social and educational backward" and to study the contributions or reserves as a way to end caste discrimination. In 1980, the report supported the affirmative action under Indian law, which was given exclusive access to castibajos to a defined portion of government jobs and places for study at universities.

The government headed by VP Singh tried to develop the recommendations of the Commission in 1989, which led to mass protests. Many understand that politicians trying to develop reserves to secure the vote of the lower castes, ie a purely pragmatic purpose of elections. Many political parties openly resort to banks in voting based on caste. Formations like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal are said representatives of the backward castes, and seek to secure the support of the OBC, Dalits or Muslims to win elections.

Reviews. The caste system has been widely criticized both within and outside India. From the historical point of view, Buddha and Mahavira, founders respective Buddhism and Jainism, were against the caste structure. Many saints of the devotional period, as Nanak, Kabir, Caitanya, Dnyaneshwar, Eknath, Ramanuja or Tukaram rejected discrimination and accepted disciples from all castes. Many reformers like Swami Vivekananda and Sathya Sai Baba in Hinduism believed that there was no place for the caste system.

Some movements have accepted Hindu lower castes within it, starting with the devotional movements of the medieval period. The first Dalit policies led by the hand Hindu reform movements that came to be a response to Christian missionaries in their attempts to convert the untouchables to Christianity. Untouchables attracted by the prospect of escaping the caste system.

In the nineteenth century, the Brahmo Samaj of Ram Mohan Roy conducted an active campaign to end casteism. The Arya Samaj founded by Swami Dayanand also renounced discrimination against untouchables. An opinion shared by Swami Vivekananda, who founded the Ramakrishna Mission and also contributed to the emancipation of the castibajos.

The first temple restricted to upper castes, which opened its doors to Dalits was the Laxminarayan, in the city of Wardha in 1928. In 1936, the Sultan of Travancore, Kerala region today, decreed that the "untouchables should not be banned from the comfort and solace of the Hindu faith." Even today, the temple Sri Padmanabhaswamy, who first opened its doors to the untouchables in Kerala, is still revered. But there are still temples in India where untouchability has been banned.

Another view of criticism of the caste system is the intellectual line argues that the untouchables and castibajos were the indigenous population of India, and were subjugated by the "invaders Brahmins." But undoubtedly the most important thinker for the lower castes was BR Ambedkar, a pioneer of conversions to Buddhism. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also disseminated information on the need to eradicate the system.

Contemporary Reviews. Among the Dalits, there remain political leaders and intellectuals like Kancha Ilaiah Udit Raj or that are considered anti-Hindu by critics and maintain a basically rhetoric directed against the Brahmins. On the other hand, there are Hindus who try to separate from their religion the caste system, and offer as evidence the presence of caste in Christianity or Islam in the subcontinent.

There are activists for whom the caste system is a form of racial discrimination. In March 2001, participants in the UN Conference against Racism in Durban (South Africa) condemned caste discrimination and attempted to pass a resolution declaring that caste as a basis for the segregation and oppression of people by occupation and affiliation was a form of apartheid. Finally, there was no formal resolution, however.

The treatment you receive Dalits in India is described by some authors as the "apartheid" hidden from India. Critics of these charges affect the substantial improvements experienced by the Dalits and the legal cover provided by the Constitution of India (primarily written by Ambedkar Dalit). Other tests include the arrival of a Dalit president (KR Narayanan in 1997) and the loss of influence of caste in urban environments.

That benevolent view is contradicted by other scholars, who maintain that the caste system still well rooted in Indian culture and is still present in all of South Asia, especially in rural India. In what is known as "hidden apartheid" entire villages in many Indian regions continue to be completely segregated caste. With about 160 million people, Dalits face almost complete social isolation, humiliation and discrimination based solely on his birth (Haviland). Playing in the shadow of a Dalit can contaminate a member of the upper castes. Dalits can not cross the line dividing their part of town, drink from public wells, or visit the same temples upper castes. Dalit children must sit on the desks of the last class.

Allegations of apartheid are denied by academic sociologists as a political epithet, since apartheid implies state sponsored discrimination, something that does not exist in India. The Indian Constitution places special emphasis on outlawing caste discrimination, and especially calls for an end to the condition of the untouchables. In addition, the Indian penal code punishes severely those who commit discrimination based on caste. Prejudice against Dalits and discrimination is a social malaise that exists primarily in rural areas, where small companies can trace the lineages of individuals and discriminate. So the casteism is not exactly an "apartheid". In fact, the untouchables, the Indian tribal and lower castes benefit from affirmative action programs and have a growing political power.

The claim that caste amounts to race and was rejected by BR Ambedkar: "The Brahmin of Punjab is racially of the same nursery that the Chamar (Dalit) of Punjab. The caste system does not make a racial divide. The caste system is a social division of people with the same race. " Sociologist Andre Beteille also rejects treating caste as a "racist", "politically malicious" and "scientifically nonsensical" because there are no racial differences between them. "We can not see, he writes, every social group as a race simply because we want to protect it against prejudice and discrimination."

The Indian government goes further and rejects any equivalence between caste discrimination and racial discrimination, arguing that the issues are essentially intra-racial caste and intracultural. And, sociologists have described how the vision of the caste system as a static, stratified has given way to another view with a more procedural stratification. And there are observers to whom the caste system covers a system of exploitation by the wealthy of the depressed. In many parts of India, the land is owned by landlords of the dominant castes, who exploit the landless laborers and poor artisans, while the degraded ritual emphasis to demonstrate their inferior status. Caste determines the position of an individual in society, work can play, who can marry whom you can talk. Hindus believe that karma from previous lives determine the caste in which an individual (re) born.

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