Caste System
This is an excerpt from the paper...
In a country with as many people as India, it is only natural that throughout history its leaders have tried to form a social system which helped control and unite its citizens. Every country has a social system intended to do likewise. However, the caste system, India’s segregation of all people into four social classes, is unique in that it is found nowhere else in the world, is an extremely segregating social system, and it is not a secular social system in that it is greatly interwoven with Hindu religion. Dating from 1200 BC, the caste (lineage or breed) system defines 3,000 castes and 25,000 subcastes which are categorized into four main social groups:Brahmins – Priests or Gurus (Teachers) Kshatryas – Warriors and Ruling families The caste system is used to define the parameters of an individual’s occupation, diet, interaction with other castes, and marriage. The Brahmins are the highest class of caste and enjoy a much greater wealth and are afforded many more opportunities than the lower castes. The caste system does promote unity and cohesion among members of the same caste, but it is highly segregationist among the different castes. The classification of these four different castes comes from the Hindu religious text which is considered to be the reigning authority for social institutions and family law, the Laws of Manu. According to this religious wor
. . .
a lot of social injustice based on the segregationist nature of caste. Despite the efforts of Gandhi and Mother Theresa to raise the status of the untouchables in India, the caste system still operates in India today. While the caste system was officially cancelled by the Indian government, it continues to damage the social structure of modern India. This is particularly true, of course, among those considered inherently impure to many Indians, the untouchables. While occupational roles assigned based on caste have begun to fade from India’s social structure, the basic concept of solidarity of jati remains alive and well. The untouchables have been abused by those in power because it was quite convenient to have a social class responsible for all the filthy, nasty work ascribed to the untouchables. Untouchables continue to suffer a deplorable existence in modern India. Not only are they confined to the most undesirable occupations, but they are often tortured and abused based on their inferior social status:
The filthiest and most unhygienic jobs-caring for the dead, cleaning the latrines and carrying away human waste-are relegated to the untouchables. There are about 250,000 untouchables in India. Daily injustices inclu
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
India Indian, Mark Tulley, Manu According, Shudras Sudras, Mother Theresa, India Daily, SYSTEM Untouchables…, Laborers Servants, God Gandhi, caste system, social system, Hinduism Issue, modern india, indias social, caste system provides, march 13, begin consider, untouchables india, india caste, caste system abolished, social brahmins, outside caste system, social injustice, indias caste system, india caste system,
Approximate Word count = 1794
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
More Essays on Caste System
|