Caste and Contemporary Hinduism

 According to the dictionary a caste is an endogamous and hereditary social group limited to persons of the same rank, occupation, economic position, and having mores distinguish it from other such groups.¹⁰ However, the Hinduism caste system is different in that it is any of the social divisions into which Hindu society is traditionally divided, each caste having its own privileges and limitations, transferred by inheritance from one generation to the next.¹⁰

Traditionally, Indian society has been divided into four main castes. At the top, there are the Brahmins, who are the priests and teachers; the second caste is the Kshatriyas, who are the warriors and rulers; the third caste is the Vaishyas, who are the merchants; and the last caste is the Shudras, who are the laborers. Below all of the castes is the Dalits, or untouchables, who are called Harijans or “Outcastes”.⁴ The caste system may seem like an archaic idea used to categorize people by their profession and place in society, but it continues to be woven throughout Indian tradition, making it one of the world's oldest forms of surviving social structure. 

Vedic texts from the Hindu religion, which have been compiled, legitimized, and interpreted by the Brahmans, provide the rationale for the hierarchical classification and the rituals governing social behavior.¹² There are many rules in the Indian caste system which caste members must adhere to in order to avoid being shunned from their caste members or, according to reincarnation, being born less fortunate in their next life. Every member of a caste is required to marry within their own caste. Any violation of this results in excommunication from one’s family and caste. When it comes to occupation, every caste is associated with a particular field to which its members are required to follow.⁷

Every caste also imposes restrictions on its members with regards to diet, and has its own laws which govern the food habit of its members. For example, there are two types of food: Pacca, which is food prepared with ghee, and Kachcha, which is food prepared with water. Only certain kinds of foods can be exchanged between certain castes. A Brahman can accept only Pacca food from a Shudra, but Kachcha food can only be accepted from a person of one’s own caste or of a higher caste.⁸

Another idea is the belief of purity and pollution. Cleanliness is considered to be a very important value in Hinduism, and the caste system enforces this idea. Because the outcastes held jobs that dealt with taking a life for a living (fisherman), killing or disposing of dead cattle, or pursuing activities that brought the participant in close contact with emissions of the human body, it was believed that the lower castes were less pure and more polluted. Thus, making them “Untouchable”.¹

There have been many movements and governmental actions that have taken place pre- and post-independence in order to overcome and attempt to eliminate the inequalities and injustices associated with the caste system. Around the 6th century, many individuals of the lower castes were getting fed up of suppression and turned to Buddhism which focuses not on society, but on the individual, thus separating religion from the interests of the ruling and dominance. In Buddhism, one is no longer born into a position due to past injustice. Buddhism utterly rejects any system of caste, and reached high levels of support during the rule of Ashoka, who adopted the Buddhist concept of non-violence, and its tendency toward greater equality⁹ He ridiculed the priests who claimed to be superior by saying “Birth does not make one a priest or an outcaste. Behavior makes one either a priest or an outcaste”,¹ and he welcomed people of all castes, including outcasts, into his community. 

During the 1920’s, Mahatma Gandhi began using the term “Harijans” meaning “God’s People” when referring to the untouchables in order to encourage a shift towards positive attitude towards the lower castes. Many lower caste members, however, found the term to be patronizing, and began calling themselves Dalits”. The Dalit movement, led by Jyotirao Phule, made an argument for education, women’s rights, and the abolishment of “untouchability,” which meant getting rid of restrictions for entry into temples, and finding a place for Dalits within Hinduism. After 1910, however, Dalit leaders started focusing on distancing themselves from Hinduism and began to advocate for a separate electorate for the Dalits. But Gandhi, who was one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress, tried to encourage the incorporation of Dalits as part of reformed Hinduism.³

Another prominent movement was the Dalit movement under B.R. Ambedkar, which began between the 1920s and 1930s. He campaigned for greater rights for Dalits in British India, and even after independence. While both Ambedkar and Gandhi were advocates for the abolishment of the caste system, they disagreed on how to accomplish it. Gandhi believed that “untouchability” was a moral issue that could be abolished through goodwill and change of heart among the upper-caste Hindus”. Ambedkar, however, believed that “the subordination of Dalits was primarily economic and political, and could only be overcome by changing the social structure through legal, political, and educational means”.³

In 1950, casteism, especially any practice of untouchability, was outlawed with the Indian Constitution and independence from Britain. Independent India's constitution banned discrimination on the basis of caste, and, in an attempt to correct historical injustices and provide a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged, the authorities announced quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for scheduled castes and tribes. Unfortunately, only a small portion of the lower castes have benefited from these policies.⁶

Relationships between Urban castes have become more relaxed today. One of the biggest changes that took place in India was occupational pursuits among men. Earlier, most men did not veer away from their caste-linked occupations, such as blacksmithing and pottery making. Many have now taken up newer occupations that do not relate to their caste, such as government jobs, teaching, retail and services, and machine repair. While a women’s status is still significantly tied to the status of the male, education, careers and awareness of equalization for women has widely spread throughout India. Endogamy is still enforced among families but it is not as strict as before, wealth and power in the village is now less associated with caste, and landownership has become more diversified. There is more food sharing between castes and a lot more eating done in urban restaurants where caste distinctions are less likely to be made. Also, in public, the idea that purity and pollution is caused by the lower castes has diminished. However, behind closed doors and on ceremonial occasions, purification rituals related to caste status are still observed.

While India should be applauded for its constant effort to eradicate this system of stratification from its urban culture, it is, however, important to look at the importance of how caste status has affected the quality of life and social mobility in rural India today. In a survey conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, thirty percent of Hindu’s still admitted to practicing untouchability. On February 3, 2016 Rohith Vemula, a Ph.D student in the Hyderabad Central University hanged himself, blaming his birth as a “fatal accident”. According to India Today, out of 25 students who committed suicide only in North India and Hyderabad since 2007, 23 were Dalits.⁵

In a 2010 report by the National Human Rights Commission, a crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes. Every day on average, three Dalit women are raped, two Dalit’s murdered, and two Dalit’s burned. The same study also found that 37% of Dalit’s live below the poverty level, 54% are undernourished, and 8 percent of children born into a Dalit household die before their first Birthday, 12 percent before their fifth Birthday, and 54 percent remain illiterate.

Dalit children have also been forced to sit separately while eating in 39 percent of public schools.² While Quotas have improved the caste system in India, there still needs to be continued improvements in educational opportunities from an early age for children from lower castes. Quotas can offer a realistic pathway into government jobs for people from lower castes, but education is what has the power to make the next generation highly competitive in lines of work outside of the government. As long as this kind of prejudice remains, progress will continue to stall. If the Indian government remains committed to tackling extreme poverty then they must find longer term solutions to caste inequality than are currently in place.  

Works Cited

1.      "Buddhist Studies: Caste System." Buddhist Studies: Caste System. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd53.htm.

2.      Chishti, Seema. "Biggest Caste Survey: One in Four Indians Admit to Practising Untouchability." The Indian Express. 2014. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/one-in-four-indians-admit-to-practising-untouchability-biggest-caste-survey/.

3.      "Contributions of Jyotiba Phule, Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi to the Dalit Movement." YourArticleLibrary.com: The Next Generation Library. 2014. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/contributions-of-jyotiba-phule-dr-b-r-ambedkar-and-mahatma-gandhi-to-the-dalit-movement/32960/.

4.      "Hinduism: Caste System, Reincarnation, and Karma." Hinduism: Caste System, Reincarnation, and Karma. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://philosophy.lander.edu/oriental/caste.html.

5.      Jones, Sam. "India Is Still Fighting over Its Caste System. Here's Why This Is a Problem for All of Us." Global Citizen. Accessed December 11, 2016. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/india-is-still-fighting-over-its-caste-system-here/.

6.      News, BBC. "What Is India's Caste System?" BBC News. 2016. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616.

7.      Robson, Roy R. Think World Religions. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. (Pg. 45-47)

8.      Roncaglia, Sara, and Angela Arnone. Feeding the City: Work and Food Culture of the Mumbai Dabbawalas. Open Book Publishers, 2014. (Pg. 73)

9.      Sraman, Nagasen. "Buddha's Attitude towards the Caste System and the Supremacy of the Brahmins." Academia.edu - Share Research. Accessed December 11, 2016. 

10.  "The Definition of Caste." Dictionary.com. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/caste.

11.  "Untouchable." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. February 24, 2010. Accessed December 11, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/topic/untouchable.

12.  Violatti, Christian. "The Vedas." Ancient History Encyclopedia. January 18, 2013. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.ancient.eu/The_Vedas/.