Caste

The recent news about honor killings prompted me to delve deeper into the issue. During my research I understood that these killings are a result of caste system. To know more about it it I had to know more about the caste system.

First thing that came to my mind was that if this system is prevalent for such  a long time then there must be some advantage of the system. Thus this post lists some pros of the system then some cons of the system and finally I  end with my own perspective on it. 

One thing that I must say at this point is that I am no expert in history or society. So there might be some mistakes in my references to history. I apologize beforehand for that. One thing I believe is that I have freedom to have and share  my own perspective.

To start off following are the Pros of the system: -

It is to be understood first that the divisions were according to the jobs that people did. It had nothing to do with birth and the group in which you belonged could be changed by changing the work you do. For example a kshatriya could become brahmin if he became an intellectual.

The advantage of the system was that there was a proper division of work. It made the society more organized and hence strong.  There were four divisions according to works done.

Brahmin was the first division. It means the one who has realized brahmaand. It means the person who has realized god.This group of people were intellectuals and were responsible for teaching people and advising kings on matters of kingdom. They did not have to care about how to earn money for they solely lived on donations.

Kshatriya(क्षत्रिय )is a word derived from Sanskrit work ( क्षत्र ) means a warrior. This was the second division. This can be thought of as the army.  They were people who protected the society from external attacks.

Vaishya was the third divison. The word derives roots from  word vish which means "to work". They were the most well to do and were merchants and traders and were meant to handle the economy. They also had the responsibility to support brahmins and kshatriyas as they were source of generation of wealth.

Sudra was the fourth division. The etymology of the word is not clear. This group did tasks like craftsmen ship and human labor. They were the support system as they did what was necessary to support the economy. Tasks like farming, pottery etc. were done by them. 

This division was highly effective because it resulted into distribution of work among the groups or varna. The people of a particular group became increasingly effective in the jobs assigned to them and caused the society to flourish.

Cons of the system: -

The system although very effective in nature resulted into the identification of a person according to the group he/she belonged to. The  grouping also became extremely rigid with time. People were not allowed to change the group in which they belonged because some groups expressed their supremacy over others. 

The one thing that lead to nadir of the society was that group or varna of a person was determined by birth and not by looking at the skills. The family in which you took birth determined your group and status in society.  

My Perspective: - 

The above mentioned divisions were created for the division of work and were very logical but they were not formed with the intention that one group takes the advantage of the other by declaring one as supreme and other as lowly. Also birth had nothing to do with the groupings and initially people had full right to change their groups based on their ability.

Manu Smriti is considered the basic book in which caste ism is codified. it was a book written by an intellectual named Manu. Manu Smriti literally means "a collection of what manu has remembered". All that manu did was to write down what is observed regarding castes around him. So he was not a creator of anything. He was just a codifier. Manu himself says that if there is anything in his Smriti which is not acceptable to the conscience of any person, that person should reject it and act according to his/her own conscience. Which means that it is not a law that must be followed as it is done now a days.

Manu smriti was presented as a religious code or law by Britishers to serve their own purposes. Sir William Jones was the person in british era who introduced this document as a law for Hindus. He duly accepts that the document was tampered with and the existing version of manu smiriti is a doctored version that suited the British. 

The point of taking this fact into consideration is that the varna system was supported by British since it caused a division of society. The system was in perfect line with their policy of divide and rule. This caused a deep penetration in society and finally made the society so blind that people are now ready to kill their own sons and daughter just because they love and/or marry somebody outside their own caste. The system and the status that comes with it has surpassed the love in the relationship between parents and their children.  Lately I have read a lot about honor killings and seen public statements of people justifying their actions after killing their own family members. This paints a very sombre picture of the future of the society.

According to me the fact that some system is followed since a long time does not qualifies it as correct. The roots of the system must be understood and care must be taken weather the sole purpose for which the system was created is satisfied or not. The caste system is another system which is no longer serving its purpose and is causing more harm than benefits and that too for centuries now. It is high time people should let it go and embrace humanity.

To emphasize once again this is just my perspective on the topic and as always is open for discussion..

BooK Review: Long Walk to Freedom

 Just finished reading the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. The book is named "Long Walk to Freedom "

Nelson Mandela is truly an epitome of inspiration and needs no introduction. He has sacrificed his life of the independence struggle of South Africa. He aspires people to become great. A person who truly believes that for a nation to flourish each individual must exceed their own expectation.

The book takes us through his childhood to the point of his appointment as the  president of a free county. The book clearly shows that all of us have choice. We are the creators of our own destiny. 

In the book he mentions that while he was in prison for 27 years there were some moments when he questioned himself weather he was correct in choosing his country over his family. His agony can be seen from the following lines in the book, " A mother's death causes a man to look back on and evaluate his own life. Her difficulties, her poverty, made me question once again whether I had taken the right path. That was always the conundrum: Had I made the right choice in putting people's welfare even before that of my own family? For a long time, my mother had not understood my commitment to the struggle. My family had not asked for or even wanted to be involved in the struggle, but my involvement penalized them."

The fact that inspired me the most is that ever after achieving independence he has not stopped and has involved himself into the daunting task of building a nation.

His involvement for the cause of nation building is evident from the last few lines of this 768 page book. He says toward the end " But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended."  

If you ever wondered what made a man great read this book and you will know for yourself.