Caste System BOON or a Bane?

I am an immigrant and every time I tell someone I am from India there is the inevitable question of caste system that pops up in the conversation.

Have always been intrigued and wondered the origins of this system that has such deep rooted presence in the Indian sub-continent and its population’s psyche. I want to back track and put forth my hypothesis on the origins and to a large extent try to dig the good intentions with which the system might have been put in place.

A magnificent culture that has more than 5000 years of history could not have survived the test of time if not for the very strong fundamental scriptures it follows /applies in daily life. If we look at the whole world and try to associate groups of people who still carry forward the old traditions and rituals/beliefs that were passed from one generation to other. The Hindu tradition would stand out as time tested and relevant even today since its inception 5000 years ago.

It’s aptly said - Hinduism is a way of life and unlike any other religion it doesn’t believe in conversion nor does it proclaim to be the only means to enlighten. Your deeds describe your destiny and your actions set your path.

None of the ancient scriptures discriminate based on caste. My article is aimed at understanding the caste system it’s relevance and importance in social order and how it might have been a better system to follow than the hedonistic discrimination that the west imposed based on color of the skin.

Lets go back 5000 years try to understand the social order, way of living and may be to an extent the daily life style of the people then. Unfortunately for us the closest we can get to any existing proof of a societal living would be Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (around 2600 BCE abandoned around 1600 BCE)[ by no means am I proclaiming these societies followed Hindu tradition, I am merely using them as examples to enlighten the advancement in society during this age] are the only proof of ancient civilization, Before Christian Era, in the Indian subcontinent that have stood the test of time(with whatever little is left of them). These sites in their current state of ruin helps us understand the society that flourished and technical advancement these people achieved during their time. One fine day the civilization on the Sindh basin ceased to exist and we are yet to figure out what was the cause. May be the flooding of the basin but this is not a concrete proof yet.

This civilization was so advanced that they had means and knowledge to build stairs, they had channels for drinking water and separate channel for sewage / drainage, brick laying skills etc. Due to limitation in scope of the article I don’t want to go further into this. Also, around this time in west people were still scavengers they did not have any social skills of living together in a society.

There was limited knowledge of ore / minerals / building or housing technology / town planning / religious rituals etc. Means of transportation is using domesticated animals and carts dragged by the domesticated beasts. In such conditions don’t you think it is wise that one how knew how to extract ore thought his son how to carry forward the trade, one who had skills in archery tough his kids what he knew best so on and so forth? When this practice is followed in a large scale in a society – the system that evolved was division of society based on the functions each provided ultimately leading to the four major castes/divisions.

The people who conducted the religious rights and understood pattern of moon and stars along with the cycle of seasons automatically took the highest position in the society, as they could decipher the unknown and to a large extend could read and write, were called Brahmins. May be to an extent man was always looking out for the higher order to follow or it might be purely based on the realization that these concepts where beyond an average human being of that period the society put the priests and teachers in the highest pedestal possible. Next important reverence was the warrior class called the Kshatriyas, the people who fought invaders and protected their people, this set of people even today have undulating respect in every nation and are seen as the revered asset of a nation. Followed by the business class, Vayshyas, that conduct the everyday functions of the society the business men who run the society by providing the very essential goods and supplies that keep the society functioning. The last of the caste /class system are the laborers, Shudras, who toil to make everyday living but doing odd jobs and jobs that none other would do, they included barbers, cleaners, butchers etc

The system was a marvelous concept – the purpose was to make sure that knowledge of a particular trade was never lost and is carry forwarded from one generation to the other. Today we try to understand the genealogy and try to figure out that one particular gene that is responsible for any given factor of excellence or the lack of it. May be the ancient men within their limited knowledge did understand this aspect and wanted this excellence to pass for one generation to the other in the form of skills or guarding it within their own caste!

The caste system would not have begun with the intent to abuse any set of people it would have begun as a means of conducting trade or enriching the gene pool(in simpler terms enhancing the skills) with in a set of people who do a particular trade/business/profession. But the creators of the system did not know that man as he progresses would become morally corrupt to an extent that it will be man eat man world in no time.

Over a period of time when society grew and legions started invading one other these systems started to take more rigid boundaries and started imparting rules that led to the unfathomable deeds of un-touchability and child marriage and sati(jumping(forced in most cases, as time went by. But this tradition started with women folk not wanting get abused by the invading army choosing to jump in the pyre of their husbands) into husbands pyre) etc. The power of the Brahmin class increased exponentially over the period of time and with systematic abuse of the whole caste system they were able to achieve anything in the name of God and possessing supreme power. If that was not enough the British Raj with its Victorian way of life imposed everything English on us. A country that had temples dedicated to SEX and Sexual Postures became so closeted that the very utterance of the word SEX became taboo! The Brits did not understand the caste system as their society was divided based on CLASS system. In the 10 censuses that Brits conducted, the society got further divided caste wise ultimately over the period of 200 years under their role an already degrading system was further abused by the power mongers – leading to social and political oppression on the lower caste.

The caste system is still in place intact and it is not only prevalent in India as the general consensus of the world stands. As an example here is how it function’s in today’s world in the most affluent and most powerful nation of the world.

CASTE	FUNCTION	Today’s AMERICA
Brahmin	the learned class that safe guards the texts and is looked upon to decipher the sacred scriptures	The President and Judiciary – in todays America it is the left or right leaning judiciary that makes a difference in interpretation of law. In actuality the interpreters of the law were always expected to be neutral in stance and not let personal affiliations hamper their interpretation of law. But in today’s politics even judiciary remains biased and jolly around with their own interest groups
Vaishya	The very class of men that protect the nation and follow a kings command	The Army/Navy/Airforce – only today its is special interest groups like Riffle Association, Blackstones, Halliburton’s etc., that dictate – the countries to invade which inturn get them lucrative Federal contracts
Vaishyas	The business men	The Rockerfellers, Morgans, Mellons, Kochs, and similar high profile families and rich senators who decide and influence policy making to inturn benefit their own. These form the very core of the business community playing the key strategists who with the power of money, connections and lobbyists make the business decisions for America.
Shudras	The Common Man / Blue collar worker & middle class	It is this class of people that no one seems to care in today’s America – they are squeezed from every which way to shell their hard earned money in the name of American dream.

Very much as the caste system in India was not supposed to create barrier among people but to have a better learned society, the democratic processes in America was supposed to create a society where law was not interpreted based on affiliations, the lobbying power of interest groups or by the sending power of any vested interest group. There is no difference between the two, only the names of the players have changed but the basic function and abuse of power has made a system that could have functioned well to a pile of crabs in a well that won’t let anyone advance to top.

Coming to a conclusion if it’s a BOON or a BANE – all I can say is in its present form of functioning it definitely is a BANE, but I am sure during its inception it started off as a BOON to the society and like all good thing it came to a tragic demise during its journey to its ultimate form as it looms today on the society with its ugly and venomous fangs.

The interpretation and analysis expressed in this article are purely mine and by no means hold scientific or conclusive evidence.

Your comments are most welcome.