Indian Caste System example essay topic

The social function of the caste system in Indian culture was too ensure that the wealthy and powerful maintained their high social status and standard of living by making sure that the wealth was unevenly distributed. The members of the upper castes were lucky to inherit a perfect system that was started by the Nomadic Aryans who headed south into what is know as India today. They evolved the system with the use of Hinduism to maintain peace in a highly stratified society, which in another time and place would have erupted in massive revolts. It still survives to this day making it thousands of years old, and the longest evidence of oppression in the history of humankind. One of the major themes since the dawn of civilization has been the separation of society into classes.

Karl Marx, the famous sociologist, predicted that society normally separates in two main classes, those whom had the means of production, example land, factories and wealth known as the bourgeoisie, and those whom did not own wealth known as the proletariat. The bourgeoisie had the means to purchase the labor of proletariat, who neither had the means of production or to the ability to purchase the labor of others. He claimed that the uneven distribution of wealth and power would eventually cause conflict in any society, and could trigger an uprising by the proletariat for more even distribution of wealth. Evidence of this was seen long before Karl Marx time. In the ancient Roman Empire, where uneven sharing of wealth existed, it did not take long for the lower class to revolt and get some more rights. The nomadic Aryans who lived in north Eastern Europe started the caste system.

They eventually moved south into India between 1500 and 1000 BCE and took over the civilizations that were set up there. The caste was originally based on skin color. The Aryans were of a lighter complexion of the natives of India and hence set up a system whereby only light skinned people could own wealth. Over the centuries, this initial form of discrimination turned into what is commonly called the caste system. The caste system separates the Indian society in to five different classes each one having a different purpose and function in society. At the top of the social order were the Brahmins.

The Brahmins were descended from a class of seers who had advised the ruler on religious matters in Aryan tribal society. The next caste was the Kshatriya. These were descendant of the Aryan warrior class. They were thought to originally rank higher than the Brahmins, but as religion grew in importance so did the Brahmins and the Kshatriya became ranked second on the social scale. The third caste was the Vaisyas. This caste was viewed as the merchant caste.

Historians believe that they were descended from the rulers of tribal herds who settled in India and moved into commercial pursuits. The fourth caste was the Sudras. The Sudras represented the great bulk of the Indian population. Many were peasants and or artisans and did manual labor.

The rights of this group were very restricted. At the bottom of the social scale was the caste called the untouchables. The untouchables were not even considered a real part of the Indian society. Historians think that the untouchables were descendant from the slave class consisting of prisoners of war and criminals and tribal minorities. The untouchables were forced to do all the degrading tasks in the Indian society. How could the segregation of a society based only on a persons birth, that caused such uneven distribution of wealth survive for so long?

Karl Marx said that those who own power have the access to the means necessary to create and promote a reality that justifies their exploitive actions. He said that the bourgeoisie had such influence on the workers view of reality that the workers accepted that reality although it harms them. He called this false consciousness. This false consciousness in the form of religion is what caused the caste system to survive so long in India. The caste system relied heavily on religion, more specifically the main religion of India, Hinduism. The main laws of Hinduism have to do with one fulfilling ones destiny.

The role of religion is perhaps the most controlling factor for the untouchables. In some areas, the population of untouchables was around 25%. Yet, they continued to live in terrible conditions because of being born into a certain caste. Hinduism is based on the belief in reincarnation.

Reincarnation is the idea that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death and progresses through several on the wheel of life until it reaches it final destination in a union with the Great World Soul known as Brahman. Hinduism places all living creatures on a scale of existence, and whatever point a person might be on that scale is dependent only on how that person lived their previous life. The closest to being united with the Great World Soul are the Brahmins, and then come the other castes in descending order, and then the animal kingdom. This idea of moving up the social ladder through reincarnation is what gave life meaning for the lower castes. The false belief that in the next life they will be born into a higher caste, and then even higher in the life after that. As long as they perform the duties of their current caste to the best of their ability or fulfill their dharma they will be promoted to the next caste.

Dharma is a law in Hinduism that states that one has a duty to perform and whatever that duty is one must perform it to the best of ones ability. Therefore, if for example a person was born as an untouchable then the only way to get out of that caste was to be the best untouchable that that person can be. Another reason for the survival of the caste system is a lack of power and representation of the lower castes. As India was being influenced more and more by western culture, the resentment of being in a lower caste grew.

A study done by Berryman showed that members of the untouchable caste resented being in that position in society but they had few opportunities to express resentment due to economic power held by the high castes. There were many instances where the members of the upper castes used their position in society to increase their wealth. Srinivas explained that there was a tendency for the upper castes to get involved in other functions in society, for example politics. The caste system also discriminated when it came to education. The members of the lower castes were often left out of the education system, not because of any specific laws, but because of the pressure put on the children of the untouchable caste from those of higher castes. This meant that there was very little opportunity for members of the untouchable caste to develop other skills than those that were the traditional ones for that caste.

Perhaps one of the closest things to the caste system is the slave trade. The slave trade has existed for thousands of years, but still has not had the kind of success that the caste system has had. The earliest of slaves were normally prisoners of war, so they were paying the price for their efforts in fighting the conquering army. However, according to Srinivas even in those ancient times there were many slave revolts; Then after the middle of the century, there began a succession of revolts that resulted in long-drawn-out wars. The modern slave trade more closely resembles the caste system because these slaves were made slaves simply because of their ethnicity. The first slaves to arrive in America from Africa were in 1619.

The first major revolt was in 1831 when a slave named Nat Turner led his fellow slave to revolt and killed their master and his family. Thereafter there were many slave uprisings and eventually in the 1900's slavery was abolished Hinduism was the single most important reason for the survival of the caste system. It created a false consciousness which is vital for any stratified society to exist in peace. The caste system in India remained unchanged for thousands of years.

The upper castes and their heirs lived very comfortably, while the lower castes were treated as slaves. The caste system was born of dharma which dictated a rigid class structure. In spite of the divisions among different class members, the system worked well. Buddhism came along and challenged the notion. Buddha taught that birth and the happenstance of whom or what your parents were was not a basis for ranking in society. Instead it was your deeds that dictated your worth.

Buddha made his point in Savatthi in a debate with a young Brahman. In spite of his objections to it, the system didn't go away nor was there an attempt made to fight it. It just became an accepted evil in society. In the ancient Hindu society the practice of a class system was widely accepted.

In the caste system there were four main classes and many lower classes known as the excluded classes (the fifth class the untouchables). In each caste there was no agreement upon leader of that particular group. Furthermore, each caste had its own set of rules, regulations and customs that set it apart from the other castes. The only hierarchy agreed upon by all castes was that of the Brahmans, or priestly class. They were recognized as having a level of spiritual purity that set them above all classes. This honor was bestowed upon them because of their role in ritual sacrifices and the practices of such.

Otherwise, they had no other superior status over the others, not even in roles of economics or politics. In accordance with smriti, the concept of dharma was greatly emphasized in the Hindu society. One of the two main aspects of dharma was the designing of social organization through defined bodies of classes. The classes themselves originated from the mouth and limbs of Purusha. In spite of its seemingly rigid class structure, the caste system did not create a splintered or fragmented society divided over class ranking and the ceaseless sniveling of the haves versus the have nots. Instead, it provided the guideline for a just and orderly society.

Buddhism has a slightly different take. Buddha has many scriptures which denounces the idea of social ranking based on birthright; the means by which one gained their social status in Hindu society. In many of the Buddhist text the five classes are said to be fundamentally equal and, "which men are said to be worthy of respect not through birth, but only through spiritual or moral merit". The theoretical idea of the Buddha, in regard to society, was that of equality. While the order of a class system was good for orderliness amongst the people, it was not a divine sanction. In Sutta Nipa ta verse 136, the Buddhist view is made clear: No Brahman is such by birth.

No outcaste is such by birth. An outcaste is such by his deeds. A Brahman is such by his deeds. From the Majjhima Nikaya comes the story of one day in the city of Savatthi, the Buddha was staying there when the Brahmans of the city sent young Assalayana, thoroughly versed in the Vedas, to debate him on the issue of equal classes. Assalayana asserted that Brahmans are more pure and are born of the mouth of Brahma. The Buddha retorted with the assertion that all people are born of women and all women give birth and nurture their children the same.

Buddha then questioned him on a score of issues ranging from the fate of Brahmans who are murderers, adulterers and the like, to the development of a pure and loving mind, and to whether or not a Brahman could build a better fire than a person from the four lower classes. Assalayana could not prove that the Brahmans were any better in these things or suffer a different fate in religious matters. Finally, Buddha wielded the great instrument of debate known as the whammy against his young opponent. He asked which one of two Brahmans should be celebrated at a feast, an educated one or an uneducated one. Assalayana answered with the educated one, of course. Then Buddha bore in further by adding that what if the scholarly Brahman is a vile and mean man, while the other is not.

Assalayana changed his answer to the uneducated one sighting that no great benefit would result from celebrating an evil man. Now the Buddha said, "First, Assalayana, you based your claim on birth, then you gave it up for learning, and finally you have come round to my way of thinking, that all five classes are equally pure!" . To this Assalayana could give no reply. In spite of these views the followers of Buddha in India continued to maintain the caste system. The structure was viewed as an inevitable aspect of society.

Perhaps the reason for it to remain in place is because there was never a real attack made on it by Buddha or his followers. It would seem passivity was the only offensive measure employed against it. And, we all know how effective that is. It was accepted among Buddhist in India as, perhaps, a necessary evil.

In one regard the caste system was redrawn by Indian Buddhist. The biggest difference between the Buddhist plan and the Hindus is the placing of the warrior class (Kshatriya) above the Brahman class. Other than that aspect, it can't be shown that Buddhism had any real significant impact on the system of caste. In other lands outside of Hindu India, there was no structure like caste to be found. Perhaps it was just a result of geographic phenomenon. In regard to free will, perhaps the best answer is given in Di gha Nikaya 3.80, where the Buddha asserts that, "For whoever among the classes becomes a monk and later a perfected being... has laid down his burden, gained salvation, destroyed the bonds of becoming; he is free in his perfect wisdom.

Buddha says "whoever among the classes" meaning that anyone who wants to enter monkhood can and is free to do so at any time, regardless of class. It would be his own desire to do so, and not his place in society. Indian culture is fascinating to study because it is extremely diverse and complex. Regarding this, Pandian notes the existence of an underlying Indus or Hindu cultural unity (melting pot) which enables us to understand the nature of Hinduism and the caste system. Despite this apparent unity, however, Pandian also points out that India is indeed a salad bowl with groups who do not blend or mix, and this fact of non-blending renders the label Indian meaningless to signify the cultural, linguistic, or religious unity of India. Therefore, the situation of India poses an interesting challenge for anthropological study.

Yet another reason why it is important to study Indian culture is because, although many of the nations traditions remain strong today, the nation is also undergoing rapid change and development. This paper will examine the diversity that exists in Indias religious beliefs, language, and social and gender roles. It will then conclude with some views on what people should be aware of when they travel to India to do business. In terms of religion, the majority of people in India (80 percent) are followers of the Hindu faith. The concepts of karma and reincarnation are among the predominant beliefs of Hinduism. Karma is the belief that a persons actions, good or bad, will result in either good or bad things happening in that persons life.

This belief has an effect on behavior because it influences people to treat others, as they themselves would like to be treated. Reincarnation is the belief that a persons soul will return to an earthly body again and again until it is liberated from the cycle of life and death. The way to become liberated is by becoming increasingly detached from worldly things, a process that is understood to take innumerable lifetimes. Belief in reincarnation has an effect on behavior by giving Indians a more casual attitude toward the demands of time than is found among Westerners.

Hindus also believe that the goal of reincarnation is to eventually become united with Brahman, the ultimate ground of being, which has no attributes that can be seen or felt. Aside from these basic beliefs, Hindus have a great deal of choice in adapting their own personality to their style of worship. There are different spiritual paths that can be chosen, depending upon whether the worshipper is more disposed to work, devotion or knowledge. In addition, there are hundreds of different deities, both gods and goddesses, which a worshipper can choose from in picking a personal god.

The personal god is meant to provide a focus for worship and devotion and to thus help the believer become more aligned with the impersonal god known as Brahman. Even after choosing a personal deity, Hindus still have flexibility in their style of worship. According to Pandian, a Hindu may change the focus of worship, emphasizing the worship of different deities in relation to changes in his or her own intellectual / emotional growth, or may remain devoted to the worship of a particular deity. Although there is a great deal of flexibility in Hinduism, it restricts behavior in certain ways because there are many rituals and obligations that must be consistently followed.

In addition to the village temples where people gather to worship, each Hindu home has its own shrine for the purpose of worshipping the family deity. Religion is such a pervasive influence in India that Pandian says: The daily life of a Hindu villager involves frequent reminders of traditional norms. The Hindu system has also affected behavior because the belief in karma and reincarnation has supported the Indian caste system, in which it is understood that different classes of people have distinctly different roles in life. There is even more diversity in Indian language than there is in the country's religion. Hindi is the official language of the nation; however, it is understood by only forty per cent or, at most, fifty per cent of the population. In addition to Hindi, there are fourteen officially recognized regional languages, two hundred and fifty major dialects, and thousands of minor languages and dialects, and many of these are completely unrelated to one another.

Throughout Indias history, there have been efforts among intellectuals and scholars to develop a common pan-Indian religious or political language. Over the course of time, the official national language has changed from Sanskrit to Persian to English to Hindi. Although it seems like a positive thing to try to develop an official language for the nation as a whole, this effort has also resulted in enforcing the social divisions of the Indian people. Pandian notes that the people of India are required to know how to speak Hindi fluently if they are to obtain successful jobs. As Pandian further notes, this has created an unfair advantage for the 40 percent or so of the total population that consists of native Hindi speakers. The social roles of the Indian culture are strongly impacted by the traditional caste system.

In the words of Madan, castes and families are the building blocks of Hindu society, and an overwhelming majority of the Hindus of South Asia, particularly those living in the rural areas, identify themselves in terms of their jat i or caste. As a general rule, people never leave the caste they are born into. They tend to marry within the same caste, and sons tend to adopt the occupations of their fathers. Despite the prevalence of the caste system in Indian culture, however, Pandian points out that the system is more complex than it appears on the surface. Thus, anthropological studies of Indian village communities have shown the existence of multiple labels of caste identity and multiple levels of caste ranking. There are also controversial views regarding gender roles in India.

According to Azad, working women in India are subject to oppression, poverty and poor health, and they basically live in an environment of powerlessness. Indeed, Indian women must contend with such things as arranged marriages, female infanticide and wife abuse, among many other things. On the other hand, Seymour argues that respect is also given to women in India, especially when they undertake the role of motherhood. This sense of honor is enhanced by the religious beliefs of Hinduism, in which female deities are seen as being the source of power for the male deities. Because of the high status of motherhood and the belief in powerful goddesses, Seymour says female power and authority is real in both secular and sacred contexts. Seymour further claims that there have been signs of change in recent years in terms of gender relationships in India.

She reports, for example, that recent studies have shown an increasing number of Indian women taking post marital residence in nuclear households where they can be independent of in-laws and have a more intimate relationship with their husbands. Seymour also emphasizes that the restrictions of Indian culture do not only affect women, but the nations men as well. Because of caste and religious obligations, men also have a series of roles and life stages through which they must move, and they are also expected to control their personal desires for the sake of the collective whole. After attaining independence from colonization, India, within a span of 50 years emerged as one of the fastest developing economies in the world.

Ranking as the seventh largest country in area and second in population. She is also the largest democracy in the world. She is the world's second largest producer of rice, worlds largest exporter of tea, jute and computer programmes. She is the third largest manufacturer of motor scooters, the second largest exporter of booster rockets for the space industry, and the second largest center in Asia for low-tech subcontracting and the development of offshore software.

On the Economic front, it adopted a Mixed Economic policy on the five-year plan basis. India chalked out a plan for her economic growth in a protective manner. She made major steps forward in improving agricultural output and her industries have expanded to the stage, where she is one among the world's top 10 industrial powers. However, after 1990, India opened her door for liberalization and now the economic growth is approximately 6% per annum. When people travel to India to do business, it is important for them to be aware of the unique characteristics of the nations culture. Because India has long had ties to the West, there are many ways in which business relations between Indians and Westerners can be expected to go smoothly.

However, Indians also have certain differences in their business style that are related to their cultural and religious beliefs. Belief in the importance of the souls liberation, for example, causes many Indians to have a less materialistic orientation than their Western counterparts. Belief in karma has the effect of causing many Indians to have a heightened awareness of right and wrong. Regarding the way belief in reincarnation affects the Hindu perspective on time, Lewis warns the Western business traveler that Indians often show little respect for punctuality. The relatively low social status of Indian women has an impact on how women are viewed in the world of Indian business. According to Lewis, business travelers should also understand that the Western value of individualism contrasts with Indian collectivism.

Despite the differences in business style between Westerners and Indians, however, Lewis points out that Indians can be shrewd negotiators when they want to be. In business dealings, Indians do not hold Westerners in awe, and they are quite capable of using acting skills in order to negotiate on behalf of themselves or their families. As mentioned above, caste distinctions first became prominent in Northern India following Aryan migration into the subcontinent. During the postclassical era, the caste system became securely established in Southern India as well. The postclassical era brought a series of political, economic, and social challenges to Indias caste system. The caste system plays a crucial role in India in determining the class and status of not only its people but also migrants.

The caste system adapted to the arrival of migrants and helped to integrate them into Indian society. For instance, as Turkish peoples or Muslim merchants pursued opportunities in India, they gained recognition as distinct groups under the umbrella of the caste system. They established codes of conduct both for the regulation of behavior within their own groups and for guidance in dealing with members of other castes. The caste system also accommodated the social changes brought about by trade and economic development. As merchants and manufacturers became increasingly important in the larger economy, they organized powerful guilds to represent their interests. Merchant guilds in particular wielded political and economic influence, since their members enjoyed access to considerable wealth and contributed to the economic health of their states.

Guild members were then able to forge new group identities by working within the caste system. Merchants specializing in particular types of commerce, such as the silk, cotton or spice trade established themselves as distinct sub castes. Economic development aided this process by encouraging commercial relationships between southern merchants and their caste-conscious counterparts in the north. The emergence of merchant and craft guilds in southern regions strengthened the caste system since guild members usually organized as a sub-caste. Powerful temples also fostered caste distinctions.

Brahmins who supervised the temples provided the only formal education available in most regions and also served as centers of local social life. By about the 11th century C.E., the caste system had become the principle basis of social organization in Southern India. Men dominated Aryan society. All warriors, priest and tribal chiefs were men, and the Aryans recognized descent through the male line.

Women influenced affairs within their own families but had no public authority. As the Aryans settled in agricultural communities throughout India, they maintained a thoroughly patriarchal society. Only males could inherit property, unless a family had no male heirs, and only men could preside over family rituals that honored departed ancestors. Also, since they had no priestly responsibilities, women rarely learned the Vedas and formal education in Sanskrit remained almost exclusively a male preserve. The patriarchal spokesmen of Vedic society sought to place women explicitly under the authority of men. Through the Law Book of Manu women and men reinforced the cultural norms of India as it dealt with proper moral behavior and social relationships including sex and gender relationships.

This book advised men to treat women with honor and respect, but it also insisted that women remain subject to the guidance of the principle men in their lives, first their fathers, then their husbands and finally any surviving male relative such as a son. Finally, the law book also specified that the most important duties of women were to bear children and maintain wholesome houses for their families. The caste system not only endowed social groups with a powerful sense of identity but also helped to maintain public order. To conclude, caste system traditionally divided the entire Indian population into a strict system of hereditary groups of people.

Consisting of mainly four main castes and a fifth group outside of the caste, the system governed the lives of Indians with an iron hand and strict law and for the majority of the Indian population made life very difficult. The appreciation and acceptance of the caste system relied on the ideas of karma and dharma. Indians believed that people were what they were due to something they achieved in a previous life, karma, and the believer, accepting his situation in life performs the duties expected f him which is dharma. Each of the 3000 individual castes that existed had its own rules, rituals, customs and spirits.

An Indian's place in the caste system was entirely determined by birth, so unlike the traditional Roman system, one could not advance up a caste or two with achievements or recommendations. One could not change his position in the caste system during one lifetime. The caste system imposed uncountable restrictions upon the members of each group, concerning diet, marriage, occupations, behavior and every aspect of life, even down to various ways of washing and brushing teeth. Caste groups have hereditary occupation, there were castes of gardeners, potters, weavers, barbers etc., the list is endless. One could also only marry and dine within his / her caste group. The story of Purusha is a myth that can explain the origins of the four caste groups.

Purusha was the first man, made by the Creator-God, Brahma. Purusha was sacrificed and from various parts of his body came the four different castes. The highest caste, the Brahmins or priests, was taken from Purusha's mouth. The warriors and rulers, the Kshatriya, came from the arms. The third highest caste, the Vaisya, the skilled workers and traders, came from the thighs, and the Sudras, the serfs, servants and unskilled laborers came from the feet.

Quite obviously, the caste system is an extremely disadvantageous system of running a country, and was clearly designed and bought into existence only by people who would benefit from the system being in place. A key issue is that the highest caste contained such a small percentage of the Indian population that the system really was not a logical one, and for the thousands of people who were not lucky enough to be born into a high caste, life would have been totally un worth living. The main point in the running of the caste system was the method behind membership. Because membership was achieved only into the initial caste one was born into, this placed huge constrictions and disadvantages to people born in lower caste groups. The strict rules in place in regard to such things as diet, marriage and occupation were totally illogical, and really were a waste of time, in place only to make people in higher castes feel powerful and important, which is a very bad reason to have the entire Indian society in a system where only a few benefit and have some sort of standard of living. Although there are controversial opinions concerning the efficiency of the caste system in India, it is evident that the system worked well only for those who were members of the superior castes.

For all others, and there was a considerable majority of those others, the system was a burden that they could not get rid of.