Asian India 's Caste System

The Caste system has aroused much controversy than any other feature of India’s society. Every day, Dalits are butchered, assaulted, abused, raped, lynched, shot or openly mutilated without considering any consequences of the offenders. The deaths of pregnant women who are not able to pay the bribes at government hospitals, some boys with eyes raised completely out for falling in love with a girl of a superior caste, and horrid stories of employees boiled to death because of spewing out arguments with the boss are continuously reported in mainstream newspapers. After years of democracy, the social structure stands to practice the caste system disregarding abolishment laws. Every international or national effort to abolish caste differentiation and segregation has been proven ineffective. The caste system of India is a deeply inculcated social problem requiring immense commitment domestically and internationally in understanding what has stopped the measures to get rid of this ancient system and what measures are needed to complete elimination of the system.

Despite this, India had a very rigid structure. The caste system was everything in India. It was above even the state or the ruler, with the Brahmins or priestly class above all, even the warrior caste.

The caste system has been extremely stable in India for over two thousand years. It is only since the more modern, independent state of India was formed that the system has come under any scrutiny at all. It is presently outlawed, but many of the practices, attitudes and traditions remain ingrained in Hindu society (University of Wyoming, 1997).

Looking upon Indian society for comparison, it is seen that the primary factor of the caste system is built

At this point in history, the social and economic diversity was a big part of India. The diversity was not only caused by a linguistic difference or a racial aspect, but also by the caste system. The caste system was a major factor in the ever-popular religion of Hinduism. With the country constantly growing and the surge in population, subcategories in the caste system came into existence; based on a person’s abode, occupation, and family. The caste system made sure everyone had a place in the social hierarchy; the system put you in a spot and expected you to stay there (Gilbert). When Buddhism and Jainism came around, their teachings challenged this idea. About this time, the political and economic situation of India was picking up speed and growing. When the religions began confronting the idea of the caste system, the Mauryan merchants joined in.

India’s caste system originated when the Aryans arrived. The Aryans had a social system where the warriors and priests where the ones with power. When these people encountered the farming society of India, the Aryans assumed power over the darker skinned Indians. The Indian people were then oppressed and forced to do the lower, less desirable jobs. This created the basis of the caste system. The idea of different jobs based on economic functions created an upper and lower caste. Throughout history, the caste system has stayed in place and impacted citizens of India today despite the eradication of law that enabled the caste system. Hinduism has played a large factor in the strengthening of the caste and is one of the reasons of the

It's impossible to prove exactly where or how the caste system came about, but it is hypothesized that the system originated in South Asia, when the Aryans from the north invaded the territory and introduced this way of order as a means of controlling the local community. The Aryans assigned certain groups of people a certain name and role depending upon their stature. Since then, the caste system has been around for several millennia, and up until the early 20th century, very little had changed.

The Caste System has four different types of groups where the groups have different meanings and people don’t get to choose which type of group they want, because they are born into it. This system had a lot of people suffering, because they didn’t have any freedom to do what they want or be what they wanted. Brahmins belong to the highest caste. They are priests and scholars. Kshatryas are soldiers and warriors. Vaisyas are merchants and professionals. Sudras are the lowest cast. They are labors and

The Caste System Although the exact origins of the Indian caste system remain unknown, it has been a fundamental aspect of the nation’s societal structure for most of its history. The caste system is a set of four distinct social classes called Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras, and Untouchables. Each caste is a separate division within society, Brahmins being ranked the highest and Untouchables the lowest. Every person’s caste is decided before birth through a combination of familial standing and karma, which would be determined through an individuals completion of his or her dharma, or duty, in a past life.

Certain critics claim that it originated with “the second millennium B.C. a host of Aryans possessing a different language, culture, and physiognomy … migrated to India.” The caste system is critical because it has a significant effect on the daily lives of Hindus. The caste system is somewhat rigid, and Hindus have followed that practice since its beginning although some would argue that it did not become rigid until the influence of Islam and subsequent invasion of the British. Nevertheless, they are an integral part of the system, and there are four distinct groups: “seers, administrators, producers, and followers.” One does not usually break away from a caste system, and the caste system dictates your social status within a given region with corresponding level of education and economy. The Elite caste, the Brahmins, has the most benefit holding the position of power. Although some people in India are trying to fight the caste system, many people adhere to the caste system where it is still uncommon to marry outside your caste or even ascend to a higher caste

Whether it is 400 b.c or just yesterday, there has always been a society in everyone's day to day life. Even though it is not as cruel or discriminant today, everyone tries to fit in or be accepted in their social class. However, the ancient Indian Caste System still relates to life as an American today.

One reason that the caste system may exist, is how Hindu religion has influenced Indian culture and life. Religion may influence how the Indian society functions with the caste system being based off the Hindu religion. In modern Indian cities, caste is generally not as important as it is to those in rural villages. Possibly, caste may be much more important to villages than cities due to the purpose caste serves villages.

As the caste system evolved, some castes started to be around each other more often; although upper classes started to see their similarities, that does not mean that these classes still did not judge the lower class people. Most Hindu people live in India so when they are born into a caste they can not change the one that they were born into even as they grow older. The Hindu people make up a majority of the caste system so they could easily be in a higher or lower class which would mean some good and some bad benefits. Even though people in the lower classes were still not treated equally, the two higher classes started to get along and became friends. “There was more sharing between members of the middle and upper castes, but those in the

The caste system in India was started when the Aryans, a lighter skinned people, came down into India and established a hierarchy that not so coincidentally had lighter people at the top, and darker people as the system went down. The people were divided into four groups that made up the caste system: the brahmins/seers, the kshatriyas/born administrators, vaishyas/producers, shudras/unskilled laborers. There was a fifth group known as the untouchables, who did the jobs everyone else refused to do.

The caste system is a social structure that is determined by birth. A caste system stratifies the whole society. The caste system is very much embedded with economic particularly in India. The poor gets poorer and the richer gets richer. In Nepal, the caste system appeared in the ancient era. Sanskrit scripture describes that the caste system has been in practice through ‘Second millennium BC’ (Gellner, D. N. 2007) that divides the social groups based on Hinduism and feudalism.