Words: 1509
Intolerance within Indian’s caste system The Indian caste system is harsh and oppressive, yet it has not always been that way, and policies have been implemented to end this intolerance. The caste system within India is a set of classes that is used to place people into occupational groups. It is a system followed by Hindus. The story of how it began states that the original five Varian were made from a primordial being, and each Verna contains many castes and sub-castes, each of which has a specific Job. The cast system of India had three stages; the early caste system, changes in the caste system, and today’s caste system.
The solution to this intolerance will not be simple, but will hopefully help to one day allow India to escape the binding ways of the caste system. The original caste system had a very different objective than that of today. It was meant to place people into occupational groups biased in personality and profession, not birth, “Rooted in religion and based on a division of labor, the caste system, among other things, dictates the type of occupations a person can pursue and the social interactions that he may have” (Mania).
This shows that the cast system was to meant to be oppressive or intolerant, and one day may be able to exist without intolerance again. The caste system has been a part of Hindu religion for almost 1,500 years, and have change much through history to present day. “From the mouth came the Brahmins–the priests and teachers. From the arms come the Ashtrays– the rulers and soldiers. From the thighs came the Visa– merchants and traders. From the feet came the Sutras–laborers” (“Untouchable”).
The ranks of Hindu caste system come from a legend where the main Varian were made from a primordial Ewing, and each Verna in turn contains hundreds of castes and substances that can vary in size from a handful to many thousands (“What Is the Caste System? “). These castes were not made with the intention of having any hierarchy, but instead to allow specialization and made it so each member knew their role in society much like a medieval guild system. Untouchables came later, and are not considered a part of the caste system, but instead below it because they were not included in the story of how the Varian were initially made.
Over time, Indian’s cast system has skewed from its original purpose. The caste system changed from something like a medieval guild system to something more like social levels where a person’s power and status came from their caste. “The ‘dance of democracy in India is preformed to the high notes if an orchestra by caste identities and loyalties… Members of a caste Oat) and their branches- sub-castes (upstate) tend to vote to strengthen their primordial identities and loyalties” (Meijer).
In Northern India, people vote not to better the lives of the people of India, but to try and strengthen their own position, and so weaken others. Over the years this has changed the caste system into a stiff and oppressive set of rules which encourages members to show intolerance to those below them on the caste. Untouchables, not technically included in the cast system but instead are considered below it, and the existence of this group is a change in textiles. In the original forming of the castes, the untouchables, or acute, were not included .
The group was formed later by cosec Itself as a position to place tense won Ana Sods Tanat were consonance unclean, such as leather work or sewage cleaning. Why else would he, like his ancestors, be born an Untouchable, if not to pay for his past lives? Look, he is a leatherwork, and Hindu law says that working with animal skin makes him unclean, someone to avoid and revile” (“Untouchable”). It is common belief that those who were born into this caste are there as a punishment for sins they had made in past live.
As a result, they were treated badly and shunned, thus others should refuse to tolerate their presence. The greatest changes within the caste system happened with the coming and going of British rule over India. ” … He first effect that the British had on the caste system to strengthen rather than undermine it, for the British gave the Brahmins back certain special privileges which under Muslim rule had been withdrawn from them” (“The Caste System”).
The British gave back privileges to the Brahmins that gave them power above the other castes. The British in a way also presented the start of a solution to the inequality of the caste system; Under British rule, the untouchables and low caste Indians experienced an improvement of their social standings… The strict restrictions of social classes came to enforce as members o different castes mingling newly educated and affluence middle class in the cities people based on their financial position and not caste. Increased. The mixed socially with Under the British, it was wealth and education which determines a persons social status not caste” (“The Caste System”). The British took the first steps to end the intolerance of the untouchables by making their punishment for crimes equal to that of all the castes, and giving them and other low caste members the opportunity to move up in society if they gained wealth or education. To end the intolerance of today’s caste system, many steps will need to be taken throughout India.
One especially difficult obstacle to ending the cast systems intolerance is that the north and south have taken different approaches to using the caste system, and so will need to be dealt with differently. In the south, efforts have been put into place to help lower castes move forward and to shrink the gaps in education and wealth between the castes. “While in the South lower caste members concentrated on economic development and education as a rout to prosperity, in the North the chief aim of caste-based groups has been political power and its spoils” (Polygene AH).
Because of this, benefits have not been spread evenly, and Southern India has propelled much farther forward in the process of ending caste- based intolerance within India. Even so, throughout India many efforts have been made to solve the intolerance issue, and much progress has been made. Legislation has passed to prevent any form of discrimination towards untouchables be it in business, clubs, or passage. Also, Indian’s constitution abolished discrimination n the basis of caste, and instituted a system of quotas to help those at the bottom rise up.
Because of these steps, Check K. Gamesman states that “Caste has no impact on life today’ (Polygene AH). Mr.. Gamesman used to be a member of the Nadir caste which was held Just above the untouchables, and whose members were once not allowed even to enter Hindu temples. He is now a member of one of Sienna’s exclusive social clubs, and runs his own six million dollar a year computer chip making company. Smaller groups have also made efforts to make a difference in the lives of nose won are Electroplates against Owe to ten nears Intolerant polices AT ten caste system.
In Iambi, government officials decided to try and end the caste system in the state by encouraging inter-caste marriage, which is still very rare, by offering money to those who married from different castes. Also, In both Pant and New Delhi people are stressing the need to give more benefits to and broaden the schooling for dalais, or untouchables. “Dalai writers from different parts of the country stressed on the need of broadening the canvas of Dalai literature for ending the prevalent caste yester and ensuring equitable growth of the India society… Organized Jointly by the Satiety Academy, New Delhi, and Hindu department of Pants University… ” (Meijer). This shows that people are rising to oppose the intolerant and oppressive ways of the caste system, and finding solutions on how to end Indian’s caste system. In conclusion, Indian’s caste system is oppressive and encourages intolerance of those lower than you within the caste. It has gone through many changes, both with the coming and going of the British, and Just with the toils of time itself. And it will change again, for the better.
I am confident that with the steps taken towards ending this intolerance will pay off. With time, the caste system can be removed from society, and the people being suppressed by it freed. Intolerance due to Indian’s caste system is being peacefully disintegrated from the everyday lives of many people in India, and is becoming a smaller factor in the lives of most. There is still much work to be done before the cast system ends throughout India, but with continued support, end it will.