The Caste System

1
The Caste System
2
Defining Caste System
3
Caste system defined

• The word caste is derived from the
  Portuguese casta meaning lineage, breed, or race.

4
How Caste Shapes Society

• Definition
• A type of social organization/hierarchy in
  which a persons occupation and position in life
  is determined by the circumstances of his birth.

5
What Is The Caste System?

• Indian society developed into a complex system
  based on class and caste
• Caste is based on the idea that there are
  separate kinds of humans
• Higher-caste people consider themselves purer
  (closer to moksha) than lower-caste people.
• There are five different levels in the Indian
  Caste system.
• Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shrujra, and,
  Harijans.

6
What is a caste?

• "Caste" is the term used to describe the complex
  system of social divisions that pervades life in
  India.
• Caste is an ancient hereditary system that
  developed alongside and became intertwined with
  Hinduism.

Social and economic divides still exist across
India
7
What is a caste?

• Caste determines whom a person can marry,
  specifies what kind of work he can do, and even
  controls what he can eat or touch.
• Since the great majority of Indians are Hindu,
  the caste system has played an enormous role in
  the history of India, and it continues to exert
  tremendous influence on modern Indian culture and
  politics.

8
Impact of Caste System on Society
9
How Caste Shapes Society

• Rigid, hereditary membership into birth caste
• Marriage only among member of same caste
• Occupation choices restricted
• Personal contact with other castes restricted
• Acceptance of fixed place in society

10
Caste Systems Benefits

• Members of a caste rely on each other for support

11
Justification for the Caste System

• Age when antiseptics and antibiotics didnt exist
• Practical to have one group do the dangerous work
  of carting away carcasses and making leather from
  animal hides
• Theory that the untouchable caste developed
  immunities over generations
• Other castes had to avoid them purely for health
  reasons
• Caste evolved to serve the same purposes that
  workers guilds served in medieval times, and
  unions are supposed to serve today
• Protected workers from unfair competition
• Preserved the knowledge of each community
• Still, many Hindus today feel that it is morally
  and ethically without any justification

12
Benefit of the Caste System A System of
Reciprocity and Redistribution

• Each caste has an occupation(s) and contributes
  to the good of the whole
• Jajmangives gift (landlord)
• Kamingives service to the landholder (lower
  castes)

13
Traditional Village System
Todaymore of a market system
14
Caste System is a Kinship System

• A caste (varna) is an intermarrying group
• Kinship hereditary membership
• A caste eats together
• A high-caste Brahmin does not eat with someone of
  a lower caste different diets for different
  castes
• Divided by occupation priest, warrior, merchant,
  peasant
• Legal status, rights based on caste membership
• Gandhi was refused permission to study in England
• Visible identifiers of caste

15
Key characteristics

• The concept of purity-pollution.
• An inherited occupational role.
• Inability or restricted ability to alter
  inherited status.
• Socially enforced restrictions on
  inter-marriage. 
• Segregation in location of living areas, and in
  access to and use of public places 
• Subjection to debt bondage.
• Generalized lack of respect for their human
  dignity and equality.

16
History/Origins of the Caste System in India
17
Historical Development

• No commonly approved origin/history that explains
  the formation of Indian caste system.
• Common belief the caste system was formed during
  the period of migration of Indo-Aryans to the
  Indian subcontinent.

18
Indian caste system

• Indian caste system is routed in Hinduism and its
  order of four castes and four stages in life.
• Originates from the Aryan invaders four to five
  thousand years ago.

19
Where does this system come from?
The most widely accepted theory is that the four
basic divisions of the Hindu caste systemthe
varnadeveloped in the period 1500-1000 B.C. as a
result of the Aryan conquest of India.
20
Why was a caste system created?

• Caste systems were probably created because of
  skin color.
• Aryans had lighter skin than the native Indians
  (darker skin).
• Caste systems were probably created to keep the
  Aryans in power(1500-500 BC).
• Because the Aryans had more people, they made the
  caste to stay in charge of all the smaller
  groups.
• Could also control everyones behavior and make
  rules this way.
• Think Hunger Games (Districts)!

21
Was it really religion that formed the castes or
racism?

• Remember the Aryans were white and the people
  they conquered had darker skin.
• Varna translates to color in Sanskrit.
• Each caste has its own corresponding color.

22
Corresponding Colors

These sound suspiciously like skin colors and,
indeed, there is an expectation in India that
higher caste people will have lighter skin --
although there are plenty of exceptions
(especially in the South of India).
23
The Aryans who conquered and took control over
parts of north India subdued the locals and made
them their servants.
24
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.
25
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.
26
The dominant Aryans gave themselves and their
allies special rights and privileges that other
ethnic groups were denied.
27
The most powerful caste was the Brahmans- the
priests and political leaders.
28
The Aryan conquerors belonged to this caste.
29
Beneath these were the Kshatriya, or warriors,
also Aryans who made their careers in the
military.
30
Beneath them were the Vaisyas, or traders and
landowners, who were also members of Aryan
society.
31
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.
32
The Caste System

• So, the Caste System began in India after the
  Aryans invaded and established their own rules
  for governing the society. 
• The Aryans did not permit marriages between their
  own people and people of the cultures they
  conquered.
• This was very different from the Romans, who
  encouraged the people they conquered and the
  soldiers to marry.

33
Origin of Caste system

• Varna color
• Note colors assigned to each caste
• Variety of theories
• Apparently, the Aryan invaders were even then
  thinking of a social system that separated people
  by occupation and sanctioned that separation
  through religion. (276)
• System of separation of Aryans (light-skinned,
  twice-born) and others (darker skinned,
  once-born) (Dravidians)

34
Hindu Books Caste Based On
35
The Caste System

• Social classification structure based on four
  groups called varnas
• smaller divisions called jati
• hereditary
• places restrictions on a person based on their
  caste
• things like occupation, economic status, what
  laws are enforced
• caste unchanging in single lifetime
• caste changes between lifetimes based on a
  persons karma and dharma
• huge impact on India and is still in practice
  today
• technically illegal
• urban vs. rural
• criticized for creating and promoting mass
  discrimination

36
The Laws of Manu

• smrti text made up of 2685 verses
• discusses religion, law, custom and politics
• approximately 1st century CE
• authorship is credited to Manu who is said to be
  the forefather of all humans,
• author familiar with Vedic traditions and in The
  Laws of Manu seeks to formalize different parts
  of life related to social customs and conventions
• a controversial text
• includes
• the four stages of life (arshans)
• the caste system
• the four aims of life (purusharthas)
• the status of women

37
The Caste System

• Laws of Manu Chapter 2
• In all castes those (children) only which are
  begotten in the direct order on wedded wives,
  equal (in caste and married as) virgins, are to
  be considered as belonging to the same caste (as
  their fathers).
• For by (adultery) is caused a mixture of the
  castes among men thence (follows) sin, which
  cuts up even the roots and causes the destruction
  of everything.

38
Varnas
39
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.
40
How it developed

• Influenced by economic and social factors, the
  caste system became a traditional, hereditary
  system of social stratification
• the varnas (or Castes which define the group's
  social standing in marital and occupational
  matters) are Brahmans (scholar caste), Kshatriya
  (warrior caste), Vaisya (trader and agriculturist
  caste), and Sudra (worker and cultivator caste).

41
The Four Varna
These four castesbrahman, kshatriya, vaishya,
and sudraare the classical four divisions of
Hindu society. In practice, however, there have
always been many subdivisions (J'atis) of these
castes.
42
Religious origin of caste hierarchy

• Dismemberment of Purusha
• Head (mouth) Brahmin (priest, teacher) (white)
• Arms Kshratriya (rulers, warriors (red)
• Legs Vaishya (landlords, businessmen) (brown)
• Feet Sudra (peasants) (black)

43
Where does this system come from?
The earliest known mention of caste is found in
the Aryans Vedic hymns, perhaps dating from
about 1000 B.C.E. In a famous passage, the
metaphor of the human body was used to describe
Indian society. The brahman, or priestly, caste
represents society's head the kshatriya, or
warrior, caste are its arms the vaishya
castetraders and landownersare the legs and
the sudra castethe servants of the other
threeare the feet. This metaphor stresses the
idea of hierarchy as well as that of
interdependence.
44
Varna
WHO IS
Brahmins

• The mouth?
• The arms?
• The legs?
• The feet?

Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
45
(No Transcript)
46
Bhagavad Gita Basis for Castes

• The Bhagavad Gita says this about the varnas
• 41 The works of Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaishyas,
  and Shudras are different, in harmony with the
  three powers of their born nature.
• 42 The works of a Brahmin are peace
  self-harmony, austerity, and purity
  loving-forgiveness and righteousness vision and
  wisdom and faith.
• 43 These are the works of a Ksatriya  a
  heroic mind, inner fire, constancy,
  resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity
  and noble leadership.
• 44 Trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle
  is the work of a Vaishya
• And the work of the Shudra is service.
• chapter 18, Juan Mascaró translation, Penguin
  Books, 1962

47
Benefits of Caste System
48
Caste Systems Benefits
Each caste is born out of Brahma (the creator)
49
Twice Born
50
Meaning of Twice Born

• The first three varnas are called the twice born,
  (dvija).
• This has nothing to do with reincarnation.
• Being "twice born" means that you come of age
  religiously, making you a member of the Vedic
  religion, eligible to learn Sanskrit, study the
  Vedas, and perform Vedic rituals.
• The "second birth" is thus like Confirmation or a
  Bar Mitzvah. According to the Laws of Manu (whose
  requirements may not always be observed in modern
  life), boys are "born again" at specific ages  8
  for Brahmins 11 for Ksatriyas and 12 for
  Vaishyas.

51
Meaning of Twice Born

• A thread is bestowed at the coming of age to be
  worn around the waist as the symbol of being
  twice born.
• The equivalent of coming of age for girls is
  marriage. The bestowal of the thread is part of
  the wedding ceremony. That part of the wedding
  ritual is even preserved in Jainism..
• According to the Laws of Manu, when the twice
  born come of age, they enter into the four
  âshramas, , or "stages of life." I notice that
  dictionaries I have, both of Sanskirt and Hindi,
  say that these apply to Brahmins. But there is no
  doubt, from the Laws of Manu and from the
  history, that all they apply to all the twice
  born.

52
Implications of Twice Born

• The twice born may account for as much as 48 of
  Hindus, though I have now seen the number put at
  more like 18 -- quite a difference but more
  believable.
• The Shudras (58 of Hindus) may represent the
  institutional provision that the Arya made for
  the people they already found in India.
• The Shudras thus remain once born, and
  traditionally were not allowed to learn Sanskrit
  or study the Vedas -- on pain of death.
• Their dharma is to work for the twice born.
• But even below the Shudras are the Untouchables
  (24 of Hindus), who are literally "outcastes,"
  (jâtibhrasta), without a varna, and were regarded
  as "untouchable" because they are ritually
  polluting for caste Hindus.
• Some Untouchable subcastes are regarded as so
  polluted that members are supposed to keep out of
  sight and do their work at night  They are
  called "Unseeables."

53
How Is Ones Caste Determined
54
How Ones Caste is Determined

• Reincarnation A person is born, lives, dies, and
  is reborn again many times. Souls are reborn
  many times until they are pure enough to be with
  the creator, Brahma

• Karma
• A persons social position in the next life is
  determined by his conduct in the present life.

55

• Karma
• A belief that man obtains or reaps in his next
  rebirth what he has planted or sown in his
  previous existence.
• Along with the belief of reincarnation, Hindus
  believe that if they fullfill the roles of their
  present castes, they will be reincarnated into a
  higher caste.

56
How Ones Caste is Determined

• Dharma
• Code of behavior or set of moral and ethical
  rules that govern the conduct of each social
  class. Each group has a different set of rules
  to live by.

• Laws of Manu
• Hindu book of sacred law
• Rules and restrictions for daily life

57
Caste System
dharma
A code of conduct for each castes members,
spelling out their rights and duties which they
were required to perform to contribute to society
Ten Essential Rules for the Observance of
Dharma patience, forgiveness, piety or self
control, honesty, sanctity, control of
senses, reason, truthfulness knowledge or
learning, absence of anger Manu further
writes, "Non-violence, truth, non-coveting,
purity of body and mind, control of senses are
the essence of dharma".
58
Rules Of Caste SystemHow It Affects Daily Life
59
Caste Rules

• People were not allowed to marry people from
  different castes
• Couldnt eat with people from different castes
• If you broke the rules then you were banned from
  your home and caste making you an untouchable
• The effect of the caste rules was that people
  only spent time with others from their caste

60
The Rules

• The rules are meant to help people remain
  spiritually pure.
• Rules are especially strict for the members of
  higher castes, who are considered especially
  pure.
• They would risk pollution if they interacted with
  a lower caste member.
• Ex. Some castes were thought to be so impure that
  their shadow would pollute others so they had to
  strike a wooden clapper to warn others of their
  approach.

61
Rules, Rules, Rules, and more Rules

• You are born into your caste and your caste will
  determine your job (parents knew what jobs their
  children would have before they were born.)
• Traditionally people only marry members of the
  same caste although marriage outside of ones
  caste was not unheard of.
• In fact, having a woman marry a man of a higher
  varna is a way for a family to achieve social
  mobility.

62
What are the behaviors towards others?

• Brahmans separate from others
• Kshatriyas in charge of others
• Vaishyas Respect others
• Shudras Serve others

63
Class Orders

• Men sitting on CharpoyIn India the different
  castes are always respected, as is shown in this
  picture. 
• The man sitting at the foot (far right) of the
  charpoy (bed) is a Rajput, and the two other men
  are Brahman. 
• It is customary to allow members of a higher
  caste to sit at the head of the charpoy and the
  lower at the foot, as it is in most any seating
  arrangements not only on the charpoy.

64
Class Orders

• Formal EatingHere again, the castes are
  separated at a large formal eating. 
• On the far left, seated, are two priests and to
  the right of them are many members of a lower
  caste.
•   Even in such a setting the people understand
  and respect their places in society.

65
What are the diets of the castes?

• All are vegetarians
• Brahmans vegans, no alcohol
• Kshatriyas eggs, fish, alcohol
• Vaishyas eggs, grains
• Shudras grains, produce

66
Caste and Dharma
In Hindu religious texts, the dharmathe law, or
dutyof each varna is described. It was thought
that this dharma was an inherited, or inborn,
quality. Consequently, people thought that if
intermarriages took place, there would be much
confusion as to the dharma of the next generation
of children. As a result of such concerns,
marriage between different castes was strictly
prohibited. The practice of marrying only a
person of "one's own kind" is called endogamy and
is still a central rule in many Hindu
communities.
67
Effects of the Caste System
68

• EFFECTS of Caste System
• Social
• example)Banning of intercaste marriages
• Political
• example)Domination of higher castes in Indian
  government
• Economic
• example)Limitation of jobs/occupations

69
Challenges Against the Caste System
70

• CHALLENGES against
• Caste System
• Formations of pro-equality religions such as
  Buddhism.
• International movements led by organizations such
  as United Nations.
• Laws issued by the Constitution of India.

71
Caste system in India

• After the emergence of Buddhism there have been
  attempts to abolish caste system.
• In 1833 the British declared that no person on
  account of his religion, place of birth,
  descent, color would be disabled from holding
  any office or employment.
• Great movement against caste system was started
  by Mahatma Ghandi.

72

• International Community
• United Nations (UN) is set to declare the caste
  system as a human rights abuse.
• Efforts of Indian Government
• The Outlawing of the use of untouchablity/Dalits.
  
• Usage of affirmative action, or positive
  discrimination.

73
Caste system in India

• The barriers between the sub-caste weakened in
  the twentieth century.
• The Indian Constitution of 1950 proclaimed the
  principle of equality to all citizens
  irrespective of caste differences, and abolished
  the practice of untouchability.

74
Independence and Untouchables
After India became an independent nation in 1947,
its new constitution outlawed the practice of
"untouchability." The constitution also
established affirmative action programs to ensure
that the scheduled castes would have access to
higher education and better jobs. Because of
these programs, there has been a marked
improvement in the status of the scheduled
castes.
75
Why the Caste System Persists?
76
Modern Caste System

• The Indian caste system is gradually relaxing,
  especially in metropolitan and other major urban
  areas, due to higher penetration of high
  education, co-existence of all communities and
  lesser knowledge about caste system due to
  alienation with rural roots of people.
• But in the countryside and small towns, this
  system is still very rigid.
• However, the total elimination of caste system
  seems distant, if ever possible, due to caste
  politics.

77
Harijans or Scheduled Castes
However, other leaders doubted that upper-caste
Hindus would ever treat the harijans as equals.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, a distinguished scholar who
had been born an "untouchable," was a leading
spokesman for this view. He used the term
scheduled castes when referring to this group,
for he believed that the term harijans was
demeaning. The scheduled castes, he said, should
withdraw from Hinduism altogether and join
another religion, such as Buddhism, which does
not recognize caste distinctions.
78
Impact on Present and Future

• Rigidity and strictness in urban areas are
  weakened due to better implementation of laws.
• Discrimination of lower castes is still common in
  rural areas.
• The Caste System which has a long history of
  discrimination, is difficult to be taken out of
  ones life.

79
Why does the system persist?
Today, the caste system continues to be the main
form of government in villages throughout India.
In large part, its continuity depends on two
central Hindu concepts caste dharma and karma.
In Hindu society, caste dharma is considered to
be a divine law. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi,
caste dharma is "the duty one has to perform" and
"the law of one's being." Many Hindus believe
that this obligation tends to enhance the
spiritual development of the individual. Because
of it, each person learns from an early age to
overcome selfish desires and instead focus on
group goals and ideals.
80
Why does the system persist?
The concept of karma helps to explain differences
in status that might otherwise be considered
unfair. Because one's caste membership is
thought to be a result of actions in a previous
life, a person tends to accept this status rather
than complain about it. By the same token, a
successful performance of caste duty will improve
one's karma and perhaps lead to improved status
in the next life.
81
Why does the system persist?
The caste system also returns certain practical
benefits to the individual .Being a member of a
jati gives each person a sense of identity and of
belonging to a well-defined group within society.
The members of a jati have much in common. They
share a job specialty and abide by the same rules
concerning diet and religion. Because of the
rules of endogamy, each jati is also an extended
family, for most members are related by blood.
82
Reservation System
83
The Reservation System
In 1950, the writers of independent India's
Constitution adopted a policy of reserving jobs
in the government and seats in state-funded
educational institutes for the "scheduled castes
and tribes," as the people marginalized by the
caste system were then known. India sets aside
22.5 of its government jobs for the lowest
castes, and an additional 27 for what are called
the other "backward" castes, the next step up in
the caste system.
84
The Reservation System
Sparks flew in spring 2006 when the Indian
government pushed to extend the same quotas to
university admissions. Students took to the
streets of New Delhi to protest the
plan. (Currently, out of the 36,000
undergraduate seats at Delhi University, nearly
8,000 are reserved for lower-caste students.
Today an estimated 36 percent of the population
falls under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
category, the group receiving the new
reservations.)
Medical students at a top university protesting
the new proposal
85
Is it Fair?

• Indias constitution guarantees equal rights.
• Article 14 says that the state gives to every
  person equality before the law and equal
  protection of the laws.
• Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any
  citizen on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex,
  place of birth, etc.
• Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in
  matters of public employment, etc.

86
Is it Fair?
At the same time, the constitution provides for a
reservation system. Article 46 says The state
shall promote with special care the education and
economic interests of the weaker sections of the
people, and, in particular of the scheduled
castes and the scheduled tribes, and shall
protect them from social injustice and all forms
of exploitation. Respond Does Indias
reservation system contradict (go against) her
constitutions promise of equal rights?