Culture and Traditions 03

India's caste system

The caste system is like a sacred communal ranking structure. “Caste” " comes from the Portuguese word "casto", which means “pure”. There are four main castes -- Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vashaya and Shudra—and they are known as the "Varnas”. It is the Indian word for "colour".

The split of the Varnas is dependent on the profession of the people. There is no communal mobility in the caste system as marriage is prohibited between different caste groups. Hinduism believes in reincarnation which ends in the "Nirvana”. The "Dharma" (Karma) is a person’s report of good and bad deeds done in this life. It will take a longer time to reach Nirvana if one accumulated a lot of bad deeds in this life. A person’s Dharma decides which caste that person will be born into in the next life, hence justifying the caste system.

The Brahmin

The Brahmin is the highest caste and comprises of priests. They have distinctive symbols such as a white rope and a unique haircut. As priests, they have the ability to communicate with gods, and msut not be touched by other caste groups.

Source: www.asienforever.de

The Kshatriya

The Kshatriya are second in the caste system. They are of noble births. A distinctive feature about them is that they are allowed to take meat and alcohol.

The Vaishaya

The Vaishaya are third in the caste system, and most of them comprises of merchants and landowners.

The Shudra

The Shudra are fourth in the caste system. They comprise of workers jobbing for the others. In this contemporary age, Shudra consists of 30% of the government jobs.

The Dalit

The Dalit is at the bottom of the caste system, also known as “Untouchables”. They are not allowed to have any social contact with the other caste groups. They are the main workforce in the ‘dirty jobs’ category, hence they live in poverty; living quarters: slums and squatter settlements.

(A Dalit standing in front of his home)

Bonus
How India's caste system comes about:
The inauguration of the caste system goes back to the arrival of the light-skinned "Aryan" people from central Asia(3 500 years ago). Their appearance put the dark-skinned local people at a disadvantaged position.