Caste System in India

                                                   Caste System


The caste system in India is a system of social stratification and ascribed status in which people are hierarchically organized by means of social and economic status. Although it is most commonly associated with the Caste System country of India and the religion of Hinduism, places such as Japan, China, Bali, Hawaii, and Europe also demonstrate caste-like systems.

Abiding by the Caste System ultimately allows the people in the highest caste to control the rest of society and keep social barriers from being crossed. In India, the caste consists of five different levels. Ranging from highest caste to lowest they are named:

• Vedas(The Enlightened)

• Brahmins[11]

• Kshatriyas[12]

• Vaishyas[13]

• Shudras[14]

Brahmans (priests and teachers), Kshatriyas (rulers and soldiers), Vaisyas (merchants and traders), and Sudras (laborers). Below these castes are the "Untouchables" or the Achuta (Dalit). Within these five levels are thousands of different castes (and sub-castes) known as jatis. When a person is born, they are placed into the caste that they will remain in throughout their life, during marriage, old age, and eventually death.

The "Untouchables" are taught early on that they are born into their caste to pay for bad behavior in their previous lives. They are limited to jobs considered too gruesome for anyone else such as taking care of human waste. Completely segregated from the rest of society, the "Untouchables" are treated worse than animals in extreme - but not rare - circumstances. Historically, there were advantages to being one of the dalits, such as the division of labor and cultural pride, but today the designation of "untouchable" is looked upon as tool to keep the oppressed and poor in their place.

Although this tradition and as well as it's social expectations that have deep roots in Indian society, slowly reform is happening. America frowns upon the caste system, due to the beliefs that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of success that drives this nation. But the real question is: Does the US's capitalist society inhibit the creation of a caste system? A division of economic class inevitably leads a caste system, as does having an upper-middle class or a lower-middle class or even people below the poverty line creates a caste? For example, in a Bombay neighborhood some city workers must remove sewage waste. People with these occupations that are characterized as polluting are ranked at the bottom of the Hindu caste society. The social stratification results in the lower income workers having the "dirty work" and polluting occupations. Having these kinds of occupations continues the poverty because of how little they are paid for the less desirable jobs.