Equality, Education and the Caste System
By Tomazinho Cardozo
India is a country of many religions. Every citizen follows a particular
religion with its own culture. In India, one's religion plays an important
role in shaping the future of the individual and, in turn, of the whole
society in which he lives. The dominant religion of this country is
Hinduism. This religion is based on caste system. Therefore caste system
became the prominent feature of the Indian Society. The British, Portuguese
and French reigned over different parts of this country at different times.
Many Hindus converted to Christianity. Although they became Christians -
Christianity does not profess caste system at all - they still maintained
their castes. Therefore it is only here, if I am not mistaken, that
Christians believe in caste. Although India has completed 60 years of its
independence and although we live in the 21st century, the influence of
caste still completely dominates the lives of the people of rural India. The
so-called elite families in urban India too are the victims of caste even
today.
Just analyse the people in the different strata of our society. All leaders,
be they politicians, social workers, industrialists and even religious
leaders, do not hesitate to preach equality and brotherhood among the
people. But when it comes to the marriage of their son or daughter, it must
take place with a boy or girl from the same caste. That does not mean that
there are no inter-caste marriages taking place in the society. Yes
definitely such marriages take place but unfortunately, the family members
and the society do not accept these marriages too.
One of the most important factors that does not allow our society to
progress towards equality and brotherhood is the caste system. The caste
system has created barriers within the Indian society. In this century we
are clearly observing the winds of change but this change is limited to a
very minute section of the Indian society - the urban community. India lives
in the villages - stated Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the nation. Hence,
these winds of change must blow through the villages to achieve a casteless
society.
Industrialisation has definitely helped to lessen the evil effect of the
caste system on the society. But it is restricted to very few areas in the
country. Industries and factories need to be set up in the rural areas. In
factories members of all castes work together. By their work they come
closer to each other and knowingly or unknowingly become friends. This helps
in breaking down the distinctions of high and low caste. Industrialisation
leads to urbanisation in which new townships come into existence. In towns,
members of different castes come together and the sense of separation or
isolation is not maintained in the new environment. Thus urbanisation leads
to a relaxation in the caste system. The traditional feudal order prevailing
in the villages may also be broken. Means of transport too can play a major
role. Education is yet another factor that can disseminate knowledge,
understanding and values of modern life such as equality, fraternity and
liberty. Many went to Europe for higher studies and they came back fully
westernised and critical of caste distinctions. The influence of the Western
culture helped to relax the bondage of the caste system. Under the impact of
the Western culture, the dress and food habits of members of different
castes showed rapid signs of change.
These daily happenings in the schools, buses, and at the work-places helped
in creating friendship. Under these circumstances, an individual looks at
the behaviour of the person only and not at the caste. In fact this is an
excellent example of a casteless society. All is fine as long as the
son/daughter is studying in the schools, colleges or universities. The
students also make maximum benefit of their time to promote friendship and
brotherhood among all. But after the journey of education is over and when
the issue of marriage of the son/daughter in the family comes to the fore,
all the freedom to promote unity and brotherhood among the people of the
society is lost. Marrying in the same caste is considered as saving the
prestige and the honour of the family. Educational qualifications are
considered of no significance before caste system and mind you that such
things happen in the families of the so called 'high' societies.
Today we live in a highly developed society. This is an era of
specialisation. People who have specialised in different trades undertake
different jobs. Accordingly, the bread that we eat is the product of the
work of many people whose caste is not even known to us. Workers belonging
to different castes purify the potable water supplied by the PWD, before
sending it to us. So also, at every step of our lives, we need the
co-operation of others whose caste backgrounds we do not know. We do
