...billion people in India, the second most populous country in the world. This means every sixth person in the world is an Indian. About 450 million Indians live below the poverty line. Suppression of religious minorities and its nuclear blasts have made India visible to the world. One of the messages that India sent to the world was that it needs to be reckoned with. The Hindu nationalist leadership on the whole sent this message. While each country needs dignity before others, many ask why such a poverty-ridden country should invest massive amounts in nuclear devices and why it persecutes a Christian religious minority that has made bold attempts to empower the poor of India. Religious Landscape in India Of the one billion people in India, 85 percent are Hindus, 10 percent Muslims, and 2.5 percent Christians. The rest belong to other religious minorities: Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees and other groups. Though the decennial census classifies 85 percent as Hindus, there is no positive definition of what Hinduism is. Negatively, whoever does not belong to any of the other religious minorities is taken to be a Hindu. British discourse shaped the terminology used in reference to Hinduism. The British in India began by asking the Indians: "Our religion is called Christianity, what is yours?" It was then decided to call India’s religion Hinduism. The British asked, "We have the Bible as our scripture, what is your scripture?" It was decided to consider the Vedas, the Upanishads, etc...
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... yet there is still widespread discrimination of these people because of cultural ideals, the impure history attached to them and the traditional occupations that they are associated with. While the abolishment of caste discrimination in India in 1950 and the Buraka Liberation League in Japan has improved the lives of many people within these communities, there is still a great level of discrimination against the Indian untouchables, the Dalits, and Japanese untouchable population, the Burakumin. A Dalit is a member of the lowest rank in the Hindu caste system and Indian society. The term, Dalit, translates to “oppressed” or “broken”, signifying that members of the Dalit caste are immediately labelled as inferior to the rest of Indian society. In India today, Dalits make up 16.2% of its population, that number being approximately 166 million, which conveys the large spread of Dalits across the Indian population. The traditional Dalit position in Hindu society is one of great inequality in terms of their economic, social, political, and cultural rights. The Hindu caste system is relatively based on purity, and henceforth those that are outside of this caste system are considered impure. The Dalits are untouchable for this very reason of being below the caste system, which means that a Dalit must perform...
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...Sociology CIA1 Making sense and construction of social change through the studies of Sanskritization,Westernization and Dominant caste Pooja Agarwal 1313240 IIPSENG INTRODUCTION There have been various changes in the social structure of India brought about by the British administration, its economic policies, educational system and introduction of modern means of communication had a far reaching effect on Indian society and economy. Though the Indian society which is based on the caste system is often regarded as a “closed society”, there is still a possibility for changes. Within the framework of the caste itself some kind of mobility is observed. Lower castes have often tried to claim higher status by imitating the life-styles of upper-castes like the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, while the upper castes including Brahmins, attempt to orient their life-styles on the model of the Westerners. This trend has become so widespread that today not only the upper class and middle class people are trying to orient their behaviour, attitudes, beliefs and life-styles towards those of developed societies; but also the entire mass of people are involved in this process. Daniel Lerner calls this process ‘modernisation’. It denotes a process of social change whereby “less developed societies acquire the characteristics common to more developed societies”. The study of social change in India has taken different shapes and directions depending on the nature, shape and direction. Sociologists...
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...Research the caste System. Prepare a written argument to a high ranking Hindu official explaining how the caste System is unfair, especially to people placed in the lower castes. Should this system be eliminated? The Caste System was one of the first attempts at division of labor when the society was primitive. There were a few major job roles that needed to be filled in. The different roles Were allotted based on the inherent nature one was born with. Brahmins possessed the intellectual capacity, Kshatriyas exhibited valor, Vaishya's had good business sense and the Sutras could serve well. Since these natures had to be passed on through generations inter-marriage between the different castes was not encouraged. Not only was this division of...
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...by the author named Ananthamurty in 1965. It was then translated into English by a world known poet named A.K.Ramanujan in 1976. It is a novel based on a true society that lives in the north of India called Brahmins. Brahmins are part of the Hindu religion predominately living in the hills of India. This story tells a tail about the spiritual leader of the agrahara having to decide the rites of a fellow villager. Women play a huge role in this book but that is not customary in reality. Hinduism make up about 82% of the India population which is about 800 million people. It is one of the oldest religions in the world and the authors of the sacred text is still unknown. They follow the words of followers that have filtered the texts down the past 4000 years. One of the most famous followers of modern times would be Mahatma Gandhi. There is a documentary that has been written about Gandhi that is highly criticized by some in India saying that he was not as great of a man that most people make him out to be. One of the caste that is an area of study for this book is about the Brahmin caste. The best way to describe the caste system is that it is very much like the class system here in the United States. The Brahmins are the high class caste in India. In the Hinduism, there are different stages that need to be addressed in life. The first stage would be to become a student, the next stage is to start a family with a wife and children and then once your life’s work is done then detach...
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...Business and religion Business and Religion, just by looking at these two words, it looks like they are just completely different words and nothing is related to each other. But that is wrong. Business and Religion, these two are deeply related and difference in religion can influence the way of operating business and also the way of communication. Religion is one of the important key factors that we all need to know when we try to step into global business and dealing with people from other country or the other culture. There are countless religions around the globe but there are eleven major religions around the world. Those are Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Jainism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. 2.1 billion people around the world believe in Christianity, which ranked most number of adherents and Islam is the 2nd most and has 1.5 billion adherents. In some country, religion and the way of people living, including business and communication are tightly related. And most of the countries have the major religion, which most population believes. In this research, you will see example of 4 countries and their religion and showing how their religion is influencing their way of people living and the way of business and communication. First example is United States of America and Christianity. 224,457,000 people are the adherent of Christianity in USA. This is about 85% of USA’s population. There are cases that often company incorporates...
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...MERITS AND DEMERITS OF CASTE SYSTEM Merits of caste system: In spite of various demerits, caste system in India has been proved to be a stabilizing and interacting force. It cannot be denied that since its origin it has served the development and preservation of Hindu community. According to K.M. Panikkar, “The Hindu people constitute one of the oldest integrated societies of the world. For over two thousand five hundred years the Hindu have been a people. They had, broadly speaking, an organized social system the main characteristic of which were the same from Himalayas to Cape Comorin, No doubt the Dharma Shastras and the Griha Sutras which embody these principles applied only to certain dominant classes and beneath them were many communities professing a wide variety of customs and practices. And yet it is one of the miracles of history that loosely knit though it was, Hindu society has survived over two and half millions and remains today an active and vigorous society ready to make its place, in the world. Some of the principal merits of Indian caste system are mentioned as below: Harmonious Division of Society: Classification of society is indispensable in every country. In ancient India such classification existed in a perfect form. The whole society was divided into four classes namely. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishayas and Sudras. These classes were not rigid and closed. No one was Brahmin by blood nor was any one Sudra by birth. Everyone was free to attain the...
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...INDIAN CASTE AND VARNA SYSTEM India is a diverse nation and one of the most prominent historical features of this country is its caste system. Under this caste system, people are divided and differentiated on the basis of region, class, place of birth, language, religion, tribe and gender. This caste system is seen as a tool to intricately stratified social hierarchy which plays a key role in distinguishing the culture of our nation from any other in this entire world. It has a history which is multi-dimensional and multifarious and is considered as the sole basis of a methodical ranking system on the basis of your occupation and inequality among the people, which is the root cause of the problem of inequality of the society. According to this caste system, the social standing of a person should be decided on the basis of the caste in which he is born in. To study the history of caste system in India, we must first study the history of Hinduism. The definition of ‘caste’ should be considered before studying about the Caste system of India. Caste can be defined as “a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common name; claiming a common descent from a mythical ancestor, human or divine; professing to follow the same hereditary calling; and regard by those who are capable to give an opinion as forming a single homogeneous community”. It can also be defined as an hierarchal division of different parts of the society on the basis of their occupation and place of...
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...BY Y.S.SIR Changing dynamics of Caste In Indian Politics The word ‘CASTE’ is derived from Spanish word ‘CASTA’ which means , ‘breed or lineage or race’. It was first applied by the Portugues to the particular Indian Institutions known by the name of ‘Jati’. CASTE is a ‘state of mind’, ( Ambedkar, 1936 : 33) In 1955, M N Srinivas presented a paper, ‘Castes: Can They Exist in the India of Tomorrow?’, at a national seminar on “Casteism and Removal of Untouchabilty” in Delhi, attended, among others, by such distinguished persons as S. Radhakrishnan, Jagjivan Ram, Govind Ballabh Pant V .Rao, Kaka Kalelkar and Irawati Karve. The paper was published in the seminar report as well as in the Economic weeky , under the title, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’. Srinivas expanded this title into a sentence, “While caste as a system is dead, individual castes are flourishing” (Srinivas ,1962 : 51) M.N.Srinivas defines ‘caste’ as a hereditary usually localised group, having a traditional association with an occupational group and a particular position in the local hierarchy. (ibid : 52) Colonial Understanding Of Caste The Colonial rulers understood caste as a feature of Hindu Religion. It is through the Colonial census that ethnographic details and theories of caste evolved. According to this understanding , Caste derives it’s legitimacy from the ‘ four-fold verna hierarchy’ found in Manusmriti. (Jones,1796:103) The Verna System divides society into 4 groups: ...
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...Darkness of the Caste System Namra Wasif 212871570 Essay # 2 Essay Topic 3 India: Life, Culture and the Arts, HUMA2440 Fridays, Khyati Nagar 24/03/2014 The caste system which evolved from Hinduism in India has caused the lower ranked people known as the untouchables to face continuous hardships throughout their lives for many centuries. India achieved its independence as a country in 1947; however, its marginalized groups have yet to obtain such freedom because of continuous discrimination. Although, many social reforms had been initiated by various leaders, yet they had very low levels of impact in the Indian society. This can be seen by examining the strong beliefs of the Hindu religion by its people and by the engraved thinking of complete dominance from upper castes over the lower castes. The social reforms taken by the leaders Jotirao Govindrao Phule and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar did not have excessive influence in the society due to the people’s powerful beliefs in the Hindu Religion. Firstly, the concept of untouchability created an injudicious barrier between the lower and upper castes. Untouchability has evolved from the caste system which is a social hierarchal structure said to be formed from the sacrifice of the first man created named Purusa. It is believed that by the sacrifice of the Purusa`s head, arms, thighs and feet created the four varanas; Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaishya’s and Sudra’s respectively. The Brahmins represent pureness...
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...____________________ In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course Dalit Theology, MACS 6 ____________________ By Lijoy Lovely Babu AP01/MA30/12 Submitted on 16 – 04 – 2013 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITION The Dalits (also known as Untouchables, Harijans, orScheduled Castes) have historically been poor, deprived of basic human rights, and treated as social inferiors in India. Dalits are a group of people, who constitute the lowest caste of the Indian Society. According to James Massey (author of the book Dalits in India) , “The term Dalit is one of the most ancient terms which has not only survived till date but also shared by a few of world’s oldest languages like Sanskrit and Hebrew”. The term "Dalit" draws its root from the Sanskrit word “Dall” which means to crack, open or split. According to Elza Tamez, a liberation theologian, this term is used in two contexts – 1 – Phisically weak or lowly, 2 – Insignificant position in the Society. In modern times it’s a Marathi word which means "suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces". It was first used by Jyotirao Phule in the nineteenth century, in the context of the oppression faced by these "untouchable" castes of the twice-born Hindus. Dalits are the group of people in the society, who are economically extremely poor, secluded and rejected by people, exploited, denied justice, lacking proper means of livelihood, often forced to sell themselves into different forms of Slavery. They are often...
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...The Caste System of India December 1, 2012 The caste system in India is one of the longest lasting hierarchical systems in the world. It was first mentioned in Manusmriti or Laws of Manu, the ancient book of the Hindu code that was written around 1500 BC. Even though this book was written over three thousand years ago, it still testifies to the existence of four classes: Brahmins, Kshatriya, Vaisyas, and Shudras. Brahmins are listed as priests, Kshatriya as the warriors, Vaisyas as the merchants, and Shudras as the artisans. First three classes are called Dvija or “twice born,” and they are considered sacred. Shudras are simply servants, as the verse 1.91 in Manusmriti describes: “One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudra, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes” (p. 9). The classes are ranked very distinctly: “But for the sake of the prosperity of the worlds he (the Lord) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arms, his thighs, and his feet.” (v. 1.31, p. 4). Therefore, it is very clear that the Brahmins were the highest regarded caste, while the Shudras were equivalent to ‘feet’. However, there is one more group that the Indian caste system does not recognize as a caste – Dalits. Dalits are called many different names: Panchamas ("fifth varna"), and Asprushya ("untouchables"). The distinction between them and the four castes is very well defined:...
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...BY Y.S.SIR Changing dynamics of Caste In Indian Politics The word ‘CASTE’ is derived from Spanish word ‘CASTA’ which means , ‘breed or lineage or race’. It was first applied by the Portugues to the particular Indian Institutions known by the name of ‘Jati’. CASTE is a ‘state of mind’, ( Ambedkar, 1936 : 33) In 1955, M N Srinivas presented a paper, ‘Castes: Can They Exist in the India of Tomorrow?’, at a national seminar on “Casteism and Removal of Untouchabilty” in Delhi, attended, among others, by such distinguished persons as S. Radhakrishnan, Jagjivan Ram, Govind Ballabh Pant V .Rao, Kaka Kalelkar and Irawati Karve. The paper was published in the seminar report as well as in the Economic weeky , under the title, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’. Srinivas expanded this title into a sentence, “While caste as a system is dead, individual castes are flourishing” (Srinivas ,1962 : 51) M.N.Srinivas defines ‘caste’ as a hereditary usually localised group, having a traditional association with an occupational group and a particular position in the local hierarchy. (ibid : 52) Colonial Understanding Of Caste The Colonial rulers understood caste as a feature of Hindu Religion. It is through the Colonial census that ethnographic details and theories of caste evolved. According to this understanding , Caste derives it’s legitimacy from the ‘ four-fold verna hierarchy’ found in Manusmriti. (Jones,1796:103) The Verna System divides society into 4 groups: ...
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...2016 Caste System: Effects of the British Regime In the realm of Hinduism, the caste system originated as a cycle indicating that one’s current actions would be the deciding point of which caste they would be born into in their next life. This karmic distribution was intended to reiterate the importance of a predestined dharma, or duty, that one would be obligated to fulfill according to the caste they were birthed into. The four castes, Brahmin as the priests, Kshatriya as the warriors, Vaisyas as the merchants and Shudras as the laborers became established to regulate each separate yet equally important role. However, scholars have argued that although the castes were not originated to instigate hierarchy but to perpetuate the sense of duties- it inevitably evolved into more of a class system, reconfiguring the meaning of the idea of caste itself. Scholars have also proposed that the context in which the caste system was established seemed to take a tangent from religious volition and became a means of categorization instead. In the face of this apparent hypocrisy begs the question: Did the colonization of India by Britain in the 19th century deter the caste system because of their personal interpretation of it towards a hierarchy rather than a means of accomplishing one’s spiritual duty? One of the plausible answers to this question is that the reign of the British empire during the 19th century resulted in the alignment of the caste system to the class system to consolidate...
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...Organizations of Nayar of India The Nayar, are a group of Indian castes, described as not a unitary group but a named category of castes. The Nayar caste of Kerala in southwestern India has for over 100 years served as a source of paradigm and paradox (Moore, 1985). They are a power caste society that lives in extended matrilineal family groups. Hinduism is the main religion of these people and that combined with their social and economic structure make for an interesting combination of kinship, gender relations, beliefs, and values. The Nayar of India is an ethnographic and folk-culture society. The people are a complex, interesting, large and power cast society that live in extended matrilineal family groups. Hinduism is the main religion of these people and that combined with their social and economic structure make for an interesting combination of kinship, gender relations, beliefs, and values. This paper will discuss the fascinating aspects of this culture focusing on their kinship, gender relations, and their beliefs and values. The Nayars ought to be 'typical' of South Asia as any other group. As a populous caste of cultivators, warriors and sometimes rulers, they are far from being peripheral to the larger Hindu community of which they are a part, and can even be accorded the status of a dominant caste (Moore, 1985). History of Nayars Nayar also known as Nair is a name of one of the Hindu castes from the Indian state of Kerala, located on the coast of South-West...
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