Why is caste system still alive in India?

[P.K.]

Im not very familiar with Indian history, so it's a puzzle for me
And it's 21th century now, is everyone born inequal a difficult things?

Indian subcontinent had a Vedic era that goes back to year 10000 BC when most of ancient Vedas and Puranas (books of knowledge and sacred verses) are given to humanity by the learned sages.

These books classify humans into four 'Vernas' (according to the nature of work they perform in life ) which are:
1 Brahmin :- people having great intellect, very pious, highly learned one. They were most respected and were supposed to guide the society by using their knowledge and by following Vedic scriptures.
2. Kshatriya :- warrior class, which included everyone who is proficient in the art of war. Their duty was to defend the society and to attack other regimes if so ordered by the King.
3. Vaishya :- Entrepreneurs and traders, people who will earn for the society
4. Shudras;- People who will work under others for wages. This class consisted of all workers dependent on others for their wages.

Later Brahmin used their position in society and started suppressing Shudras.
Kshatriya and Vaishya like Brahmins also started claiming their superiority over Shudras
Thereby giving birth to a System which started differentiating between human according to their Birth in a particular family instead of the kind of work they perform in society. Gradually Shudras became the very oppressed ones in the society.

Therefore an ancient system which is in fact followed even in the modern world has been misused by powerful people of society to create different levels in the society.

BTW, Vernas in Sanskrit language means 'Color' ( to differentiate one from another) and has nothing to do with modern caste system of being born in a particular family. It was a German interpreter who while translating ancient Sanskrit Scriptures used the word 'caste' for 'Vernas' and we all now use the wrongly translated word of English.

@punit @ranjeet @Misay @indianBong @Echo_419 @BuddhaPalm @naveen mishra @itachiii @bongbong

 

[SrNair]

From where does the caste system emanate? What is its source? Ask urself that.

Hinduism.

And I know the high class Muslim and Christian families that still follow casteism.

Because 90% Indians are low caste. Funny its used every day to slang each other who is the least low caste among them all, to feel better in their miserable life

Sorry India is not Bangladesh

 

[indianBong]

Indian subcontinent had a Vedic era that goes back to year 10000 BC when most of ancient Vedas and Puranas (books of knowledge and sacred verses) are given to humanity by the learned sages.

These books classify humans into four 'Vernas' (according to the nature of work they perform in life ) which are:
1 Brahmin :- people having great intellect, very pious, highly learned one. They were most respected and were supposed to guide the society by using their knowledge and by following Vedic scriptures.
2. Kshatriya :- warrior class, which included everyone who is proficient in the art of war. Their duty was to defend the society and to attack other regimes if so ordered by the King.
3. Vaishya :- Entrepreneurs and traders, people who will earn for the society
4. Shudras;- People who will work under others for wages. This class consisted of all workers dependent on others for their wages.

Later Brahmin used their position in society and started suppressing Shudras.
Kshatriya and Vaishya like Brahmins also started claiming their superiority over Shudras
Thereby giving birth to a System which started differentiating between human according to their Birth in a particular family instead of the kind of work they perform in society. Gradually Shudras became the very oppressed ones in the society.

Therefore an ancient system which is in fact followed even in the modern world has been misused by powerful people of society to create different levels in the society.

BTW, Vernas in Sanskrit language means 'Color' ( to differentiate one from another) and has nothing to do with modern caste system of being born in a particular family. It was a German interpreter who while translating ancient Sanskrit Scriptures used the word 'caste' for 'Vernas' and we all now use the wrongly translated word of English.

@punit @ranjeet @Misay @indianBong @Echo_419 @BuddhaPalm @naveen mishra @itachiii @bongbong

what i believe is that this system was started in society jus like any social system in the world..... learned got the highest position and respect in society which is prevalant in all societies at present... what happend later is that the brahmins got corrupted and gave that respected position on the basis of birth.... jus like todays political class brings their children as their succesor inspite of being morons...(e.g Rahul Gandhi)!!!

 

[Gibbs]

Would'nt it be difficult to get rid of this oppressive system since the very constitution of India recognizes caste as somebody mentioned and it's legality is therefore confirmed ?

Caste system imo is way more discriminatory than racism.. Where generations of humans are forced to be treated inhuman

 

[tuo padre]

Caste system imo is way more discriminatory than racism.. Where generations of humans are forced to be treated inhuman

Now it's reverse discrimination, even a schedule tribe who never got discriminated against gets postgraduation seats in govt colleges while not even eligible for high school exam.

 

[naveen mishra]

Would'nt it be difficult to get rid of this oppressive system since the very constitution of India recognizes caste as somebody mentioned and it's legality is therefore confirmed ?

Caste system imo is way more discriminatory than racism.. Where generations of humans are forced to be treated inhuman

what is your mechanism of social justice .......must be very scientific tool i guess?
your government ever try to generate data ? based on that you can say there is no difference in mental ability among people ..................

 

[Gibbs]

what is your mechanism of social justice .......must be very scientific tool i guess?
your government ever try to generate data ? based on that you can say there is no difference in mental ability among people ..................

What ??!!??

Now it's reverse discrimination, even a schedule tribe who never got discriminated against gets postgraduation seats in govt colleges while not even eligible for high school exam.

Well given that even with affirmative action, Dalits are quite openly discriminated upon , Just imagine how bad they would have been without it ?

 

[nForce]

Would'nt it be difficult to get rid of this oppressive system since the very constitution of India recognizes caste as somebody mentioned and it's legality is therefore confirmed ?

Caste system imo is way more discriminatory than racism.. Where generations of humans are forced to be treated inhuman

The constitution recognizes that people follow different religion and there are various sects/classes among them. India os not North Korea, where religion is not recognized by the state at all.
It would be foolish to talk about Christianity and then consider there is no Catholic and Protestant, or there is no Shia and Sunni among Muslims.
Government of India, however, is secular in outlook.

 

[scorpionx]

Im not very familiar with Indian history, so it's a puzzle for me
And it's 21th century now, is everyone born inequal a difficult things?

Because, a thousand years of crime can not be rectified in mere seventy years. Social reforms when India was a colony did not succeed as people were oppressively denied their economic and democratic rights. After India became a free country in 1947, things have improved to some extent when the country went through regular Industrial and agricultural reforms.

But the stigma is still there mainly for Indian's inherent repulsive character for anti-traditionalism which only can be expected to be diluted with time.

 

[Gibbs]

The constitution recognizes that people follow different religion and there are various sects/classes among them. India os not North Korea, where religion is not recognized by the state at all.
It would be foolish to talk about Christianity and then consider there is no Catholic and Protestant, or there is no Shia and Sunni among Muslims.
Government of India, however, is secular in outlook.

Wont argue against India being a secular democracy, But by recognizing caste as vital aspect in the constitution it also gives the legitamacy to discrimination, Adherent direct or reverse

 

[nForce]

Wont argue against India being a secular democracy, But by recognizing caste as vital aspect in the constitution it also gives the legality to discrimination, Adherent direct or reverse

Hmm.. I can see where you are coming from. It would have been 'ideal' not to acknowledge the caste system. But, I believe, it would have been turning away from the reality, considering the vast social diversity in India.

Caste system was still widely prevalent in India at that time and many castes were lagging behind in the society. Hence, provisions were made to bring the socially backward castes and some tribes up to the speed. Now only we can see that the system is being exploited for Vote Bank politics. Still, we are doing much better in that aspect than before, but not as good as we would want it to be. What can I say ? When you create a nation like India, you cannot have everything right, there are bound to be loose ends..will be corrected with the passage of time.

 

[nair]

Wont argue against India being a secular democracy, But by recognizing caste as vital aspect in the constitution it also gives the legitamacy to discrimination, Adherent direct or reverse

It is not easy to scrap the system..... (though i would love to have it scrapped) Because most of poor are from lower caste, and the welfare schemes are based on caste.....I know there are other means to identify the poor, but that is how India goes....... There are political parties who are caste based, and lot of them are powerful, Scrapping the caste system will be disastrous for them.......

I am from a state of which "Vivekandana" once called "Brandalayam" (A house of mad people).....and in my state lower castes were not allowed to enter the temple.....But slowly and steadily the system has made every equal (to an extent)....... Now the caste based associations work as corporate..... Be it NSS, or SNDP.......

In kerala you are not supposed to ask a caste of a person, and if you call some one (lower caste obviously) by his caste, then you are in trouble......Even after that, we still have our caste system in kerala....

 

[Gibbs]

It is not easy to scrap the system..... (though i would love to have it scrapped) Because most of poor are from lower caste, and the welfare schemes are based on caste.....I know there are other means to identify the poor, but that is how India goes....... There are political parties who are caste based, and lot of them are powerful, Scrapping the caste system will be disastrous for them.......

I am from a state of which "Vivekandana" once called "Brandalayam" (A house of mad people).....and in my state lower castes were not allowed to enter the temple.....But slowly and steadily the system has made every equal (to an extent)....... Now the caste based associations work as corporate..... Be it NSS, or SNDP.......

In kerala you are not supposed to ask a caste of a person, and if you call some one (lower caste obviously) by his caste, then you are in trouble......Even after that, we still have our caste system in kerala....

Hmm.. I can see where you are coming from. It would have been 'ideal' not to acknowledge the caste system. But, I believe, it would have been turning away from the reality, considering the vast social diversity in India.

Caste system was still widely prevalent in India at that time and many castes were lagging behind in the society. Hence, provisions were made to bring the socially backward castes and some tribes up to the speed. Now only we can see that the system is being exploited for Vote Bank politics. Still, we are doing much better in that aspect than before, but not as good as we would want it to be. What can I say ? When you create a nation like India, you cannot have everything right, there are bound to be loose ends..will be corrected with the passage of time.

These are realities of democracy, When sometimes the will of the majority is'nt always the correct thing for a society.. But i guess with time and attitudes and viewpoints changing, Amendments should come along

My opinion is affirmative action is a good thing, But done in societal aspect not legislative, Witch leads to discrimination being legal

 

[nForce]

These are realities of democracy, When sometimes the will of the majority is'nt always the correct thing for a society.. But i guess with time and attitudes and viewpoints changing, Amendments should come along

My opinion is affirmative action is a good thing, But done in societal aspect not legislative, Witch leads to discrimination being legal

Yeah..democracy is not always the best thing, but better than the rest so far.

 

[naveen mishra]

What ??!!??



Well given that even with affirmative action, Dalits are quite openly discriminated upon , Just imagine how bad they would have been without it ?

Wont argue against India being a secular democracy, But by recognizing caste as vital aspect in the constitution it also gives the legitamacy to discrimination, Adherent direct or reverse

please understand ,today our constitution is not recognize cast for discrimination......it is being use as a tool to identify weak section , if you will assume every one is equal in society will not solve your problem .......in every society weak section exist .......broadly you can categorize society in three group
1> based on economical condition(entire world believe on that )
2>based on gender equality ( only bugis in Sulawesi island strongly believe in gender based society or gender equality ,they believe 5 gender exist and for prosperity of society all has to treat equality or give them equal space )
3>last one is India which is based in cast or genetic ........in India poor Brahmani is poor only, not consider as weak because we believe he is strong by brain ,so without any financial support or help from government,not only he will survive but he will come out from lower circle to middle or upper .....and that is reality too