On Saturday 30 Aug 2008 8:11:08 pm Perry E. Metzger wrote:
> The following article about economic progress and the Dalits appeared
> on my doorstep this morning. As an ignorant foreigner, I'm curious
> about whether it is considered to reasonably reflect reality:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/world/asia/30caste.html
>
> Perry
The article per-se is fine. It does reflect 21st century reality for
the "fifth varna" - the so caled ("untouchables/harijans/dalits/Schecduled
caste or tribe")
If one must understand the caste system I call your attention to the second
paragraph of the arictle
Quote: "Mr. Prasad was born into the Pasi community, once considered
untouchable on the ancient Hindu caste order. ".
The "Pasi community" is Prasad's tribe or "jati" (rhymes with "party")
India is a collection of tribes - essentially endogamous ethnic "communities".
I am a member of a tribe too as are many of the Indian members of Silk. My
tribe is called "hoysala karnataka". My father and mother and my grandpatents
were all hoysala karnatakas. But my wife is from a different tribe (Madhwa).
These "tribes" are otherwise known as "jatis".
In the remote past it is said that the social order in India was divided up
according to occupation. This occupation based classification divided society
up into four "varnas" (plus a fifth category). A chap called "Manu" who lived
a long time ago is guilty of codifyting these Varnas in the most egregious
terms but basically the "varnas" correspond to "castes"
The 4+1 varnas are as follows:
1) Brahmin: priests, teachers - people who do not bother using their hands for
a living - the "highest caste". They use their heads (I'm told)
2) Kshatriya: soldiers, kings -These are high caste too, but there are
numerous historic examples of people from all castes becoming rulers,
3) Vysya: businessmen, capilalists - who controlled the grain and other
trades. These vary between high caste to middle caste. Many are still wealthy
communities.
4) Shudra: Industrialists - at least "industry" as known in ancient India -
pottery, ironmongers, carpenters etc.
The fifth category in the 4+1 were the "mlecchas" - essentially people who
dealt with "dirt" - blood, skin, feces and the like.
Technically I am a mleccha - because I am a surgeon. But India does not want
to consider me a mleccha, but calls me a Brahmin instead. This is the
fundamental corruption of the caste system that was recognised by visitors
to India. India's caste mess cannot be understood without knowing the
difference between jati and varna in an age when jati has been made
synonymous with varna.
Over many centuries a system of classification of people according to
occupation ("varna") gradually assumed a nepotistic character so that
children of people of a particular varna tended to follow the same occupation
as their fathers creating present day reality in which "jati=varna". that
means that one's tribe became synonymous with one's occupation. Hence
Prasad's "jati" - called Pasi labelled him as
a "untouchable/harijan/dalit/Schecduled caste or tribe", and my
tribe "hoysala kanatakas" - who were Brahmins - forces me to remain a Brahmin
despite doing "dirty/unclean" work.
In effect this meant that if a Brahmin had a son who was a good for nothing
debauch - he would sill remain a Brahmin. For the same erason - I remain
rahmin despite dealing with feces and blood. On the other hand is a
mleccha/untouchable/dalit had a brilliant Einstein of a son - that son would
still be forced to remain in his father's "traditional" ocuupation of
cleaning toilets or burying the dead or whatever.
India will never get rid of caste because governmental policies choose to
perpetuate the system. If Indians were to implement the caste system well -
as they should, they should really classify themselves by occupation and not
by birth. That makes me a mleccha/untouchable. I suspect that this would make
Udhay a Vysya (a businessman). I guess anybody who writes code for a living
would be a Brahmin.
One of the reasons why advanced surgery died out in India 2000 years ago was
that surgeons werer paid a pittance and considered to be dirty and it just
sis not pay to be a surgeon. I have a cite for this.
shiv
