CASTA*
November 22, 2018
I have always despised the caste system but haven’t given a lot of
thought about what it is and what it represents. I guess that’s common in
today’s world where hatred without reasoning is becoming the way of life. When
I started learning about the caste system, I began admiring the evolution of
human (Indian) society from anarchy to the present democracy which we live in.
To admire is not to accept or follow but to dissect through the nerves and
vessels to find the pounding heart.
The classification of mankind with respect to vocational aptitudes
has been present in every society ever existed. The Indian case proves to be
interesting because of its longevity. The caste system, as we now call it, is
natural in every society with nepotistic beings (all humans). A son following
his father’s footsteps is deemed to be natural even in todays “exposed” world. So to stay inside a
certain circle of people, in an “unexposed”
world, who share the same vocation is not something that hasn’t happened
anywhere else. So, with developments in society these social barriers are
supposed to be demolished by economic encouragements, unless it derives some
amount of power through statutory backing, in this case, the religious texts.
The ancient texts, secular and religious (mostly intertwined)
were considered sacred. When something is hallowed, I think, it loses its
original genius for something which it may
or may not encompass. When these
texts sanction the classification based on apparent purity, discrimination becomes popular and with stagnation of
education, especially after the Gupta period, these discriminations became traditions which is beyond discussions,
thus making them deep rooted into the spirit of the society.
The caste system had been more or less a liberal system which
has been inclusive. We have ancient accounts of people belonging to the Shudras becoming priests which are
reserved for Brahmanas, although in
small number. So probably the Varna
system had scope for vertical migration which later froze under the “tradition” cloud. Further classification
and sub classification of jatis made
it more complex to include the uncountable numbers of jatis into the vertical table. So the problem of who comes above
whom created a lot of confusion making the system look like a food web.
Although Manu had explained in
striking detail about the different castes and their professions and also what
happens if there is an intercaste marriage and about the caste of the child
born thereof, most castes we see in today’s India are relatively new ones,
probably included during the expansion of the brahminical religion after the
Vedic period.
The expansion of the brahminical religion to south India and
Bengal increased the number of subscribers making the caste system further
complex. There are accounts where the local kings request and bring the priestly
Brahmanas to their region to perform sacred rituals to cement their status as a
Kshatriya in order to be respected
throughout the subcontinent in return for gifts. It is also said that the local
kings or new kings, with the help of their priestly advisors, create history connecting them to early Indian
heroes to legitimize their status of being a Kshatriya and it is also said that
this is one of the reasons for the Himalayan amount of names in the great Bharata war. When the coronation of the king as a Kshatriya with the sacred right to rule
has been completed, the other civilians of his region also subscribe to the
vertical fold. So there has been inclusion at both ends of the spectrum, thus
making it further more complex.
The early medieval period in history has been a time of
decline in all aspects of Indian culture, historians say. There was stagnation
without any new inventions and discoveries thereby making everything old
further rigid. The expansion of other religions brought in fear to the stagnant
fold which started to create new rules to make its own fold last. The out
casting of people who cross the lands into the sea might be one such absurdity
which was born in this period, although there have been accounts of trade with
Southeast Asia which only means that people wouldn’t have taken this seriously.
Al-biruni, the famous Iranian scholar has complained about the learned of India
as arrogant and not willing to cooperate. I think, this only reflects the
insecurity brewing within the society.
The caste system is an institution
and an ideology which has always
changed the form of the former while preserving the holy latter. It is this
holy ideology that prohibited a few groups of people to enroll themselves into
the institution, the antyojas
(untouchables). The caste system has totally betrayed their existence and
discriminated them the most.
Starting with the profession and then solidifying based on
birth, the caste system has been an interesting evolution of human society. It
has survived history through different avatars
with various factors acting as a fillip to sustain its suzerainty over the
Indian culture. In today’s India, there are definite caste groups which function
more like political pressure groups. Democracy, in a way has legitimized these
social caste groups thus shifting the power from purity to quantity. But as
Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Democracy
is good. I say this because other systems are worse”.
There has been movements towards horizontal solidarity among
the caste groups thereby redesigning the caste system to yet another avatar. This development can only lead
to equality among caste groups rather than the ideal casteless individuals.
Everything said, I think the caste system can be compared to
the Supreme Being, the Parabrahman.
As stupid as it may seem, the caste system is deep rooted, complex, shows its
different avatars and to an extent, I think, is eternal, like the Supreme Being. This comparison is done only to signify
the humongous magnitude of influence the system has had in Indian culture. Rather
than feeble slogans and ignorance towards the existence of caste, structural
changes and meaningful and rational discussions can only help us move towards
an egalitarian society.
So, let’s
have reasonable arguments which may help us demolish the system or to encounter
its yet another new avatar, either
way, we will move forward in the ever running marathon of human civilization.
* The word caste, which we use now, is derived from a Portuguese root word casta meaning race.
By Benolin
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