Caste system is a social evil that is present in the Indian society since the ancient times. It has been criticized immensely by the people over the years however it still has a strong hold on the society.
Essay on Caste System in India
A number of social evils have been prevalent in the Indian society since centuries and caste system is one of them. The concept has undergone certain changes over the centuries and is not as stringent as it was in the earlier times however it still impacts the religious and social lives of the people in the country. Here are some simple yet informative essays on the caste system in India to help you perform better in your exam.
Caste System in India Essay 1 (100 words)
Caste system in India has been prevalent
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Varna is said to be the class of the person. Under this there are four categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Jati on the other hand is said to be a person’s caste and finds reference to a person’s birth. There are thousands of jatis and these are generally determined by a person’s occupation or more so by the occupation of his/ her four fathers.
Caste System in India Essay 3 (200 words)
The origin of caste system in India dates back to the ancient times. There are two different perspectives for its origin in the country. These are either based on socio-economic factors or ideological factors.
The first school of thought is based on the ideological factors and as per this caste system finds its base in four varnas. The perspective formed centuries ago was especially common among the scholars from the British colonial era. This school of thought categorises people based on their class. There are basically four classes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
The second school of thought is based on the socio-economic factors and as per this the system is rooted in the political, economic and material history of India. This perspective was common among the post-colonial era scholars. This school of thought categorises people based on their caste which is determined by their
The caste system has five parts to it, as you learned in the paragraph before. The highest class, the Brahmins, include rulers and priests. The second class is the Kshatriyas, and the people in that class are the warriors and nobles. The Vaisyas, the third class, are the bankers, merchants, and farmers. The fourth class are the Sudra and the people are artisans and laborers. Last,
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.
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).
When we talk about caste system, one must talk about the southern and border states of the United States during the 1877 to mid-1960. These states primarily operated and upheld what is called Jim Crow laws. Under Jim Crow laws it legalized anti-black racism; it was a way of life for black citizens to live under a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a system which was supported by beliefs that white citizens were superior to black citizens to include intelligence, morality and civilized behavior. Jim Crows laws suggested by mixing of the races would produce mongrel race that would destroy America, treating blacks equal would encourage interracial sexual relations and violence was the means to keep blacks at the bottom of the race hierarchy
Caste system: A social system where your occupation and position in society is based on your ancestry.
As in China, another dominant developing classical civilization, India, (300 B.C.-A.D. 500) focused greatly on philosophy and religious progress. Implanted within Indian divine belief systems, social status dictated all. The caste system, provided order and stability in India. Based out of Hinduism, the caste system clearly determined social status between five different divisions. The top of the caste were Brahmins (priests), followed by the Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaisyas (merchants), underneath merchants were Shudras (peasants and laborers), and the lowest rank were Pariahs (untouchables). Hinduism and Buddhism, the two dominating religions in India share many of the same concepts, as well as some distinct differences. These two religions
The caste system refers to Indian social order which is based on ancestry. The main social classes, “varna”, had priests at the top and peasants at the bottom. It developed due to increasing social complexity from intermingling with Dravidians.
Firstly, the caste system reflects the inequality of Indian society. Although religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, majority of Indian population follow Hinduism. Therefore, the dominance of Hinduism beliefs is common in India. There is a belief in caste system, as Brood said, “a system of hierarchical social organization”1. Hindu society is divided into four main classes; the priestly class, the warrior and administrator class, the producer class who is farmers and merchants and the servant class. The remaining group of people who is “outcastes” is called “untouchables” or dalit. Brodd recognizes “dalits continue to suffer terrible oppression, especially in rural communities in India”. I still could not imagine how terrible this bottom class suffers until reading Max Bearak article. All sufferings of Rohith Vemula, from the hardships of growing up poor, interactions with society in caste to scholarship revoke and suicide, happened tragically because he was born in a dalit family. This is the
Looking upon Indian society for comparison, it is seen that the primary factor of the caste system is built
The caste system itself is a system of social stratification, based on two concepts, varna and jati. Varna
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
The caste system also plays a critical role on Indian society as it dictates a person’s social position. I believe this to be true in more rural areas and smaller communities of Indian society. The dharma in each caste system is not always the same and the caste systems dharma can vary. This is to say that dharma is not necessarily universal
5. Briefly explain the caste system (if you need more information, double click on the word “caste” anywhere in the reading.):
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).