Caste Discrimination Essay

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).

Much of human life is “given” to us but we are still placed into systems whether we like it or not. We have it here in America as well in other countries. Traditional Hinduism organized social life according to a caste system. Purity determined hierarchy of castes. The circumstances of birth determined the caste a person was in. The occupations were associated with the level of purity of each class. Brahmin is the highest class, and are the priests. The lowest in the hierarchy are the “untouchables”, who had occupations that excluded from the social life, such as tanning, and scavenging. After 1950, untouchability was outlawed and the name was changed to the “scheduled” class. However, they prefer to prefer themselves as Dalit, the “downtrodden”.

Historically, India was under British rule until 1950. Many people in India felt that during British rule they were powerless (Beteille, 2010). All of the problems in the country were blamed on this helplessness (Beteille, 2010). When India became independent and developed its own constitution, a large amount of emphasis was placed on the role of government in solving social problems (Beteille, 2010). During British rule, many customs and practices in India were based on the Hindu religion (Beteille, 2010). The British left those in place, neither making them unlawful nor supporting them (Beteille, 2010). When the new government was established, the caste system that had so sharply defined India was declared unlawful (Beteille, 2010). While this was a step in the

Thesis: In “A Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, the caste system they have is very, very similar to the social classes we have today. Just like how people in the United States are treated differently based on their social class, in “A Brave New World”, people are treated very different based on what social caste they are in. All over the world, and in the novel, being prejudice is not uncommon either when it comes to the different social classes. The similarities between the different social classes and castes are quite impeccable, actually.

Caste system is a really old, feudal way Indian monarchs ruled their people. They told their people that caste in nature-born, you have to accept it, follow it and your life will be changed in the next samsara. However, the only purpose of the system like this, is to control commoner’s mind and force them to work. There is a similar system in the late eighteenth centuries France called the three estates. These two systems both benefit the riches and oppress the poors. They both distinguish what riches and poor should do/not do and limit the power of the poor to let them work. This is quite unfair to the talented people but born in poor families.

After discussing some of the problems that citizens faced in the polis, for example interests and causes, author Deborah Stone (2012) discuss some of the solutions to those problems in the book, Political Paradox: the Art of Political Decision Making. One of the solutions that she talks about is right. Rights in the American society and culture are very important. They answer and conclude many problems that people may have in the polis. People, however, interpret or understand their rights in different ways.

However, some Hindus/Buddhists still preserve the old traditions such as the strict division of the caste system, limiting women to traditional roles, and the rules of untouchability. In some country sides in India, the untouchables are still being treated with inequality. The untouchables are those whom are considered as poor, and lower classed. Them, along with other native Indians are discriminated upon by society. The upper class-men often neglect the poor, due to their strong belief in the caste system.

Untouchability as claimed by the Indian government is said to be abandoned 60 years ago, however still 40% of Dalits are illiterate (Around 70 million). This tells us that the caste system unfortunately still exists. The caste system is a system of class and hierarchy, it divides people in terms of classes called castes which usually determines their status in the community and therefor their livelihoods. The caste system still exists and if not constitutionally definitely socially. The caste system presence keeps different communities separated, lowers national GDP (Economic activity/development), discriminates against those of the lower caste, slows the development procedure and creates unlimited social consequences.

     Marijuana is one of the most controversial drugs today. Everyone is talking about it, and the question everyone is asking is why is it not legal? Many studies have been done on this drug for medical uses. Also to find what harm it can do mentally and physically. Marijuana has many different parts that can be used for everything from a medication to a bedsheet. Many countries use marijuana everyday, they use it for medicine, textiles, religious aid, and recreational use. Scientists are finding use of marijuana in our history. They found evidence that the founding fathers grew marijuana, mostly for hemp (the fiber from the cannabis plant used for textiles, which contains a very low

Caste-system oppression has been a staple in human culture for centuries. It hasn’t always been centered around race, but was initially centralized around a 3-teired caste system. The ideals surrounding oppression, slavery, segregation, and social injustice were created by the wealthy class centuries ago and have served a lasting influence on our culture still today. Many problems faced today aren’t a result of a war of the races, but instead a war of the classes. This idea of a fair America and the whole essence behind “the American dream” is long gone, and many blame it on our country’s adherence to capitalism and greed. Others might believe that these cards are stacked an ever-struggling third class American citizen and there is reason to

Although every caste in the World State is meticulously conditioned to accept the hand they are given, there are still many citizens who are dissatisfied with the quality of life available to them in society. Knowingly or unknowingly, these outliers reject their conditioning and strive for something more, whether it be adversity, danger, or passion.

What is it like to be discriminated against? What would it be like to have almost all equal rights and liberties taken away just because one is born among a certain race, or there is a different way of living within a specific group of people? This feeling of discrimination is one that no individual wants to feel. For the Hindu people, formerly known as “The Untouchables,” this was what they had to live with. The Untouchables, now called the Dalits, are the most oppressed community in India and have been denied civic and human rights throughout the decades.

In India, Dalits are what used to be called the "untouchables." The term Dalit means the "broken people." Symbolic-interaction theory would focus on the way language shapes the identity of all Indians, to give rise to an underclass like the Dalit. Systems of oppression stem from the embedding of symbols into the individual and collective psyche. Therefore, symbolic-interaction theory explains why the oppression of the Dalit continues even though the caste system has been officially and legally abolished. A symbolic-interactionist would also point out that the organization of the Dalit into a formal organization with a name has a powerful impact due to the interaction between symbols (language) and social institutions. Symbolic-interactionism would also explain why the leaders of the Dalit civil rights movement understand the importance of raising awareness via education. It is important to shift the discourse when discussing matters of political oppression. The discourse will impact reality. Moreover, religion also provides the core symbols that shape worldview. If Hinduism has a highly structured, hierarchical cosmology, a Hindu culture will organize its manifest institutions around this symbolic reality.

Many regions in India are very poor, including Uttar Pradesh which is where the Leader Sampat was from. It is a rural area of India where most of the population is made up. “Rural India (where 70% of the population lives) is still quite “caste conscious” compared

All those people of distinct castes and sub-castes among the depressed classes who were traditionally subjected to invidious discriminations on grounds of untouchability, and categorized as the downtrodden, untouchables, depressed classes, exterior classes or Scheduled Castes were called Dalits.