Indian Culture Restrains The Women

In Ancient India there was a social system named the caste system. The caste system includes of five different parts. These five castes are the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras, and the Untouchables which are not in the caste system, but below it. This system is based on skin tone. Castes are sometimes called Janti, which involves the color of their skin.

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.

Amazingly, the Caste System in India has been around for thousands of years. The caste system places you in a social class with specific duties you must perform. Secondly, the system places you in the social class of

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).

The caste system is a “complex system of social divisions that pervades life in India” (The Mauryan and Gupta Empires of India). The Hindu people are spread out among four different varnas and there is also a fifth group of Hindu’s called the untouchables. The four different varnas are called the Brahmins, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya and the Sudra. These four castes all have different labels to describe them. The Brahmins are the traditional priest class, the Kshatriya group is the warrior class, the Vaishya’s are the workers and the Sudras serve the three higher classes. The lowest of the low is the untouchables. It is said that they are dirty and poor from birth and they are assigned jobs to benefit the higher varnas. Each varna is divided into jati which are kinship groups with similar roles within the community and Hindu’s traditionally marry within their own

This joint family, like any social organization, must face problems such as acceptable division of work, relationships and specific family roles. These familial relationships are managed on the basis of a secular hierarchical principle. In fact, all Indians owe respect and obedience to the head of the family, who usually is the father or the oldest man of the family community. In The Gift of a Bride: A Tale of Anthropology, Matrimony and Murder by Nanda and Gregg, it is explained that, “females [are] placed under the perpetual guardianship of first their fathers and elder brothers, then their husbands.” (Nanda & Gregg 22) Thus, all the spending decisions, studies and profession, or marriage, are exclusively the responsibility of the father after the possible discussions with the other men of the family. Age and sex are the basic principles of this hierarchical system. The eldest sons enjoy greater unchallenged authority than their cadets. Of course men have more authority than women, but older married women have an important role within the family. In fact, the authority of a woman depends on the rank of her husband inside the group. Traditionally, the wife of the patriarch rules over domestic affairs and has considerable power over the other women in the community, especially her daughters- in-law.

and Mrs. Das that is completely different from the life of Indian husband and wife. In India, we see that husband and wife don’t express their emotions for each other but in it doesn’t mean they don’t have the emotions or feelings. Though they don’t express themselves apparently, but they keep a strong intimacy, attachment for each other which is beyond the limitation. But in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Das, we see that they are quite frank, behave with their children like an elder brother and sister, not like parents. On the apparent level they have great intimacy but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that they lack the emotional attachment especially from the side of Mrs. Das as she is suffering from a guilt consciousness with which Mr. Das is completely unaware of. She even finds Mr. Kapasi as a suitable person to talk about her past instead of her husband. Interestingly enough, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Das was not an arrange marriage, rather Mrs. Das had fallen in love with Mr. Das at a young age and later they got married with the permission of their respective families but it can’t be called a typical arranged marriage. Even Mrs. Das frankly talks to Mr. Kapasi about her sexual relation with Mr. Das. This was quite unusual for a person like Mr. Kapasi, who has never seen his wife naked. Even he does not approve the infidelity which Mrs. Das has committed though his own marriage was not a happy

Caste systems are a fundamental part of Hinduism. The main caste system in place is known as the varna system, which is composed of five different castes. Our textbook says that, “The word varna refers to a system of hierarchical social organization,” which helps to explain the fundamental function of castes. The original four parts of the varna system are outlined in the poem Purusha Sukta, which describes the, “primordial sacrifice of the cosmic man.” The highest class, composed of priests, came from his mouth; the next class were the warriors and kings, which came from his arms; next came the commoner, which came from his thighs; finally, the final and lowest class, the servants, came from his feet. These castes serve as very rigid social groups in which people are generally bound to for the rest of their life (although people hope to be reincarnated into a higher caste in their next life) in which each one has specific duties. The highest caste is charged with conducting the most sacred of matters, including religious rituals and learning about the sacred text of Hinduism. The second highest caste is made up of the kings and warriors who were given the task of ruling and protecting the masses. The second-lowest caste is composed of common, everyday people that includes a plethora of roles, such as students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. The lowest class is made up of all the people who have been charged with forever performing the filthiest, disgusting, and menial

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.

The first part of this paper discusses what the caste system is and will discuss the disadvantages of the caste system and how the caste system segregates its people instead of bringing them stability. The caste system really dates back to somewhere in the 2000 BC and formed its origins from the Aryans in ancient India. This system was a way to basically separated people into social classes where they would best fit them (Funk and Wagnall). The caste is divided into four Varna: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. Brahmins sit at the top of the ladder and is made up of spiritual and intellectual individuals such as priest and philosophers. A step down the ladder you will find Kshatriyas which is made up of soldiers and nobles. Under Kshatriyas you will a mix match of craftsman, farmers, and different skilled artisans which make up the Vaisyas class. At the very bottom of the caste ladder you will

The role of women has been greatly overseen in the last few decades based on traditional taboos. A woman should be the spiritual leaders of the family and Catharine Beecher stood by it all. Beecher was one of the most prominent advocator of women’s education in the 1800’s. She took many steps and chances to improve the amount of education a women should have inside and outside of the household. Beecher believed that a woman should not just settle for cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children. She encouraged women to expand their horizon and be a teacher inside and outside of the home.

What are the four major castes? What implications does the caste system have for everyday life? How does the caste system relate to Hindu ideas of spiritual life? “The four major castes of Hindu society are; seers ( brahmins ), administrators ( kshatriyas ), artisans or farmers ( vaishyas ), and followers or servants ( shudras)”( Smith 56). Smith writes, religious leaders, teachers, artists, and philosophers are members of the first caste, brahmins, khatriyas, the second caste, first known as warriors are now managers. The tillers of the land, the makers of bricks, and the builders are part of the third caste, vaishyas. The fourth caste is made up of servants, those who will take care of the other castes’ needs (56)”. While I was working in India, summer of 2001 and there at the invitation of the richest family in India and staying at one of their compounds, some of my co-workers and I were playing snooker. A young boy walked into the room where we were playing. He stopped and talked to us for a few minutes before continuing to bed. Accompanied by a man of about twenty years old, the boy’s shudra, who had been the boy’s personal servant for ten or more years. The shudra’s purpose was to protect and serve his charge’s every need. Although there is inequality between castes, Smith denotes.“ within each caste, there is equality, opportunity, and social insurance ( 57)”. Although the text

This caste system also allows patriarchal rule, which greatly limits the roles of women in, the Indian society.

According to Indianchild.com the India caste system is a hierarchical society. In the Indian caste system, no matter where you live or what religion you are

A few disadvantages of India’s social system are that Religion, caste, and language are major determinants of social organizations. According to the US Department of State-Background Notes website, even though the government has declared the caste system as illegal, it still has a presence in occupational and societal hierarchies (The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, 2010).