Caste System in India, Its Development and Influence on The Society

The caste system is an ancient hierarchal social segregation which has plagued the Indian society for years. There is a well-defined system of stratification and discrimination that it follows which has resulted in years of regressive behaviour and oppression of lower castes.

Caste is connected with the Hindu philosophy, family structure, traditions and culture. It is believed to have had a divine origin and sanction. The Divine Origin Theory states that the Hindu God of creation – Brahma, gave birth to the four ‘varnas’ which divided Hindu society based on birth and occupation. The Brahmins were at the top, then Kshatriyas, Vaishya and finally Shudras. This system is has been sustained for centuries through religious and social practices.

The Caste System is based on restrictions and regulations of all caste members. Every aspect of an individual’s life is to be dictated by each their own caste which has has its own rules and regulations. This rigid system has survived centuries in India, it is practically a characteristic feature of the nation.

A particular viewpoint which fuels the existence of this antiquated system in our country, is that is has served the preservation and development of the Hindu community. It is considered to be a merit that the caste system has kept alive the traditions, cultures and spirit of ancient Hinduism. According to K.M. Panikkar, the Hindu people constitute one of the oldest integrated societies of the world – they have existed for over two thousand five hundred years. He referred to the organized social system of caste division as one which has miraculously kept the Hindu society alive throughout the years, keeping it an active and vigorous society ready to make its place in the world.

The Caste System serves as a sort of Constitution to the Hindu Society – it has given structure and rules to all the castes, along with consequences along the lines of social isolation if not adhered too (for example, if a woman Kshatriya woman were too marry a Shudhra boy, they would at the very least be shunned from their communities). It has been hailed as a fundamental source of social stability.

The fact that the Caste System is praised on grounds of keeping a particular religion alive is one of the main reasons it should not exist. According to the preamble of the Indian Constitution, we are a secular nation. That means that no religion received special treatment, none is ranked higher than another. Yet we allow the functioning of an oppressive system, founded on Hindu religion which divided society based on birth and rank. It is a purely undemocratic stumbling block in the nation’s progress.

The system which allegedly kept Hindu society alive has divided the it into hostile and conflicting groups and sub-groups and has resulted in the inhumane practice of untouchability. Caste system is the cause of degradation of a large portion of population of the Hindus. Shudras were and still are treated as sub-humans. They are deprived of all social privileges and bound by several restrictions as a consequence of their birth. The caste system cutes off hundreds of thousands of people from mainstream Indian life even in the 21st century.

The restrictions put by the so-called higher castes on the so-called untouchables has created disunity in the Hindu society. The unity of the Hindu community has been lost over the years as the systems gets more rigid and defined due to propagation by politicians and panchayats who have their own political agendas.

It not only hinders our progress as a nation, but our unity as well. Innovation and mobility have no place in the caste system. The system makes no compromises because, within its constraints, “the most ignorant Hindu is also able to compel the obedience of the most intelligent.”

Since caste is based on birth, tradition and custom, the worker is denied his freedom to choose an occupation of his choice. Talent and merit is sacrificed for the sake of casteism, leading to immobility and inefficiency of labour which results in economic backwardness and widespread dissatisfaction.

The caste system has harmed the very fabric of the Hindu society which it has ‘kept alive’ by perpetuating such evils as untouchability, child marriage and prohibition of widow remarriage. Ironically, the system which is hailed as a preserver of Hindu society has led to mass conversions to Islam, Christianity and other religion by lower castes to escape the tyranny and oppression imposed on them at the hands of upper castes. The caste system thus leads to stagnation; it makes the society static rather than dynamic. This age old practice is sapping out the life of the Hindu community, not helping it. It has become a dividing element of the Hindu society – they are now divided into hundreds of sub castes groups, with rivalry, hate and enmity replacing unity. Even the high caste Brahmins are divided into different sects, each claiming to be more superior than the other. This extreme social stratification has cast a showdown on all aspects of Hindu society.