Caste System Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The Indian caste system is primarily a division of human endeavor, yet the caste system also profoundly impacts Hinduism. A four-tiered system, the main castes of birth into the Hindu social system include: Brahmin (priestly class), Kshatriya (administrative class), Vaishya (mercantile class), Shudra (worker class), and Dalit (untouchables). Karma determines birth into one of the main castes, which means all of humanity is created unequal. Dalits are India’s “hidden apartheid” and constitute approximately 20 percent (three hundred million) of India’s population. The exploitation and oppression of the Dalits causes this population to occupy a position of perpetual economic and physical vulnerability, and condemnation of the Dalits varies from social ostracism to punitive violence.

However, many people have rallied to give Dalits the same rights as other Indians. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born an “untouchable” and became one of the most outspoken advocates for granting mutual rights to Dalits. He eventually advocated conversion to other religions, and in 1956, he and thousands of his followers converted to Buddhism as a rejection of Hinduism and its caste system. Udit Raj was also born an “untouchable,” and he converted to Buddhism and labored against the social injustice of the Dalits. Although he was born Kshatriya, even Buddha condemned the caste system, as illustrated when he said, “Not by birth does one become an outcast . . . by deeds one becomes an outcast.” Christian missionaries have been active in outreach ministries to the Dalits, and many Dalits converted to Christianity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Shortly after India’s independence from Great Britain in 1947, it technically became illegal to discriminate on the basis of the caste system; however, such discrimination is not uncommon in modern India. Today, the caste system has a prevailing influence both economically and socially, especially in rural areas. In urban areas, the caste system is still defended but is less observable. The Buddhist religion, which began approximately 552 BCE, is a consequence of Hinduism, and therefore, some aspects of the caste system are practiced in Buddhist countries like Japan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.

The caste system associated with Hinduism is not only the world’s oldest social hierarchy; it is also an example of a traditional economy. Caste, custom, and heredity primarily determine allocation and ownership of available resources in this economy. According to the Hindu caste system, one should not attempt to alter one’s destiny, but to commit life to one’s current degree or estate in a way that is similar to the European feudal system. As an economic structure, the caste system is oppressive in restricting any opportunity to change one’s occupational or social status.

According to Hinduism, people strive to achieve release from samsara, the cyclical process of death and rebirth, and consequently, the notion of karma, which is the law of cause and effect. The law of karma necessitates inevitable consequences in subsequent lives and is intimately associated with the social and economic structure of India. The original socioreligious system of India was Varnashrama Dharma, which did not restrict change in one’s occupational or social status. However, the caste system is based upon jati, or birth, and identifies status in a rigid and hereditary manner.

The Varnashrama Dharma was not intended to be rigid, which is evident in the Bhagavad-Gita 4, a sacred Hindu scripture. Krishna, a Hindu deity, explained that he “established the four castes, which correspond to the different types of guna [quality] and karma. ”The class and stage divisions were established as the most effective means of engagement in eternal religious principles because they are based upon action and inaction in the material world. Ability, proclivity, and labor will control a person—not birth—and these qualities will be judged to determine social class. Social class will determine dharma, or moral duty, which is an essential doctrine of Hinduism. However, the distinguishing characteristic of Varnashrama Dharma and the contemporary caste system is the consideration of birth to determine social class, which is why Varnashrama Dharma is the historical basis for the modern caste system.

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