The British Raj and the India’s Caste System Essay Example for Free

The British Raj and the India’s Caste System Essay The Indian caste system, known as Varnas, is a centuries old system of social stratification. It is a strict hierarchal system that determines a person’s occupation for them. It also determines what they can wear, who they can talk to, who they can marry. Those on the top of the pyramid have all the wealth, power, and prestige, while those on the bottom are treated no better than the trash that is thrown away. It consists of four Varna’s: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. There is also a class outside the Varna’s historically called the untouchable’s. The caste system is an ancient cultural tradition that is so deep-rooted in the India cultural, and backed by historical and religious text. After the conquering Aryans established themselves as the ruling class, they adapted a caste system that would keep the Aryan’s in positions that would bring them wealth and prestige, and keep those they conquered subordinate to them. To strengthen their power, the Aryans were able to enforce their strict social rules through religious texts and the Hindu ideals of Varnas and Karma. It has been exploited and altered throughout the centuries by invaders, conquerors, and colonizers to prevent unification for their own benefit. Some may argue that the British created the modern caste system to benefit themselves, however, If anything, the British tried to alter a system they saw as unjust to give all Indians equal rights and equal opportunity. The modern caste system has its roots in the Islamic-Hindu era. Outside the ancient Hindu texts, The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, I use mainly secondary sources to prove my thesis, that the modern caste system has its roots in the Islamic-Hindu era. I think history speaks for itself it the numerous studies done by scholars: such as the Wiser’s who studied the caste system in tribes virtually untouched by the British; and Brian Smith who studied how the ancient Aryan texts support the ideal caste system. It existed long before the East Indian Company landed on the shores of India, and I am proving that Nicholas Dirk’s argument that the caste system is the result of modern colonialism as invalid. Culturally, India has been very diverse; India culture varies depending on the location you go to in the beautiful and vast country. Even though there are many different ethnic groups in India with their own social and cultural identities—they dress differently, speak different languages, have different religions, and eat different foods—depending on the region they are from, they all have the same â€Å"temperament.† They share the same values and â€Å"common bond† that shows a national cultural identity. The lifeline of that common bond is the Varnas, which evolved into the Indian caste system. Despite what religion Indian’s follow, their cultural values are highly influence by the great Indian epics: The Vedas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. Religious and spiritual thought has evolved from the Vedas, and reinforced cultural traditions. Many Indian Christians may still live by Hindu doctrines, such as the Doctrine of Karma, or practice meditation. These aren’t necessarily considered religious practices to all, but are cultural practices, or philosophies. The Indian cast system is so deeply embedded into this national cultural identity, and widely accepted as part of the Indian culture, that it is hard for Indians to escape it. As Nicholas Dirks says in his book Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India† Caste defines the core of Indian tradition.† India’s rich heritage can be seen in their literature; through the great epics: the Vedas (3000 BC-1000 BC), the Ramayana (1500 BC) and the Mahabharata (1000 BC). The Vedas weren’t only religious texts, but a prototype that philosophers and religious leaders used seek their beliefs; or law makers used to create a social and political lifestyle, such as the case with the Indian caste system. The Vedas seeks universal truths of cosmic functioning at all levels of existence. Knowledge and the identity of oneself in emphasized throughout its pages. The Puranas were later written to present and explain the â€Å"truth† of the Vedas. People pulled out what they wanted from it and used it to fit their needs. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are both â€Å"epics of the people;† they are ethnic stories that have been orally transmitted over the centuries and recorded in a collective text. They â€Å"reflect the ethos and the psyche† of the Indian people. These great epics have shaped India’s values, beliefs, and lifestyles. They are the origins of the social, religious and cultural history of India. The caste system didn’t arrive with the British East Indian Company in the 1700’s, but between 1500 and 2000 B.C., when nomads known as the Aryan’s started to migrate through the Hindu Kush passes and down into the Indus Valley. These tall, light skinned warrior types quickly subdued the short, dark-skinned indigenous peoples of northwestern India. These people, known as the Dravidian’s fled to the south for refuge. Taking control of their new domain, they forced their â€Å"Divine Knowledge†Ã¢â‚¬â€recorded later in the Vedas (1200-600 B.C.)—on their new subjects. The Rig Veda (1300-100 B.C.) was the main religious and socio-economic text. These philosophical and religious texts were said to have originated from the Gods—Aryan Gods—and later texts dated 600 to 400 B.C. were written by the Divine. Because of the domination of the Aryan people and the popularity of these texts, the period between 1500 B.C. and 500 B.C. is known at the Vedic period of Indian history—and this is where the caste system originated. Long before the Aryans arrived in the Indus Valley, they were already divided into three different classes: the warriors, the priest, and the cultivators; with the warriors on top of the social structure, and the priest, or Brahman, second. These light-skinned warriors had no desired to mix with the dark-skinned Dravidians that they had conquered. To prevent their ethic traits from being polluted by the dasyu, or slaves, they prohibited intermarriage between the two distinct ethnic groups; thus a fourth class was created to do most of the manual labor. As the Aryans and the local inhabitants mingled, Hinduism developed. The Hindu caste system would evolve from this ideal that ethnic traits, such as ones skin color determined ones social position—with lighter skin on the top, and those with darker skin on the bottom, and reinforced by the religious philosophies of the Vedas. Before the Vedic civilization of the Aryans, archaeological evidence suggests that the Harappan civilization was composed of many kinds of ethnic groups that were divided into different classes depending on their wealth. Because of evidence such as a permanent and sophisticated city structure and a â€Å"uniformity of weights and measures,† it is widely believed that this heterogeneous population had a centralized government who was ruled by a group of people, perhaps Brahmin, or priest. However, some people don’t believe that there was a centralized government at all since there were no holy temples uncovered, that the evidence just points to a sophisticated trade system. This second group believes that the Aryans weren’t invaders, but a group that lived amongst the existing Harappan civilization, who became powerful and were able to dominate the others. According to Robert Heine-GeldernIt, the second isn’t likely, because archeological evidence points to a people who were of Western origin; perhaps Transcaucasia. If the first were true, that would explain how the invading Aryans eventually adapted caste structure with the Brahmin class on top. After they already established themselves as the ruling class, over centuries, as they mingled with the indigenous peoples, they may have adopted elements of hierarchy of the local faith, with the priests, or Brahmin, on the top of the pyramid. There were four different castes, called varnas, in India: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The highest caste was the Brahmins. They are the priests and philosophers. Originally ranked number two on the Varna system, but rose significantly above the warrior class to number one. The second ranking castes were the Kshatriya’s. They were initially warriors and highest ranking. The third ranking caste were the Vaishyas, they were the workers; farmers, artisans, metal workers, and trades peoples. The lowest ranking of the Varna’s were the Shudras. They are the peasants, servants, farm hands, and laborers. There were also subdivisions in every caste called jati, which further broke down people’s hereditary social status and occupational group. Historically, the vocation you went into was hereditary and passed down from your father. As the civilization expanded, sometimes one could get away with going into a different line of work, if it was within their same caste. The structure of the traditional Indian village economy was reliant on a hereditary caste system. William and Charlotte Wiser called it the jajmani system, where a wealthy Brahman landlord would provide annual sustenance of his harvest for services of the different village servants and artisans throughout the year. The heirs to each particular service member, whether it be the village barber, blacksmith, astrologer, accountant, doctor, or whatever their particular job was, would be expected to take over for their fathers. Women were only allowed to be married off to men in the same caste as they were. By keeping everything hereditary, those in power were guaranteed to stay in power, and their superior genes to remain unpolluted by lower caste. Within the Jamani system, there was no chance of upward mobility; each individual had a fixed economic and social status that was essential to village life. When the Aryans first arrived, the warrior class was on the top of the social structure, with the priest, or Brahmin, below them. As the conquering Aryans expanded eastward over the next five centuries, they took on some characteristics of the native Indians they had conquered, the tribal structure being one of them. Since it is known that priest-kings ruled the pre-Aryan Harappa, Wolpert suggests that the Aryans learned from their conquered subjects to place more value on the counsel of their own Brahmans. This â€Å"revelation† that the Brahmins had over the warrior class, and subsequently, the Raj who were born Kshatriyas, or warriors, can be found in the Rig Veda hymn, the â€Å"Sacrifice of the Cosmic Man.† Division of occupational group into castes was applied according to the ancient Aryan-Hindu book, the Rig Veda. According to legend of the â€Å"Sacrifice of the Cosmic Man,† the first super-being, Purush, allowed himself to be destroyed to create a human society out of different parts of his body: the Brahmins from his mouth, or â€Å"thousand heads†, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from his feet. The highest caste was the Brahmins, who were the priest, because the brain holds knowledge. The second highest caste was the Kshatriyas, who were warriors, because the arms resemble strength. The caste below the warrior class was the merchants, known as the Vaishyas. These top three were considered â€Å"twice born,† their second birth making them initiated into the Hindu faith. On the bottom were the Shudras, or the peasants, or serfs, who were on their feet doing the manual labor, and considered too â€Å"unclean† to be born again. The â€Å"Sacrifice of the Cosmic Man† describes how the caste system came into existence, not as a human invention, but one created by the gods. Later, as the Aryans expanded and more primitive people came into the mix, they were considered too â€Å"polluted† to be part of the four-fold Varna system, and would become regarded as â€Å"untouchables.† Out of fear of being polluted by these outsiders, strict rules were enforced to prevent any contact with the higher castes; to include strict communal procedures. These rules were designed to isolate the untouchables from the rest of Hindu society, but at the same time enforce their need to do all of the â€Å"unclean† work that was too polluting for the rest of the more dignified classes; such as butchering of dead animals, or disposing of the dead. The Hindu doctrine of Karma further rationalizes the caste system as duties one is obligated to by birth. Karma is the â€Å"moral law of cause and effect.† The position on is born into is a reflection of how they were in their previous life; if someone is born into a lower class, than it is because of their bad Karma from a previous life. If one abides by the rules given to them in this life, they will move up in the next life. As Smith puts it, â€Å"one of the main entailments of the caste system is â€Å"the belief in Karma and the cycle of rebirth whereby ones social position in this life is ethically determined by moral actions in past lives.† This belief in reincarnation prevented people from questioning, or even revolting against, the caste system. The caste system received further religious approval in the Indian epic, The Bhagavad Gita; which is part of the Mahabharata. They â€Å"prove† that the caste system isn’t just man’s law, but divine law. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu god Krishna says â€Å"the distinction of castes, guna, and karma have come from me. I am their cause† (4:13). When Krishna tells Arjuna that, â€Å"No creature, whether born on earth or among the gods in heaven is free from the conditioning of the three gunas. The different responsibilities found in the social order – distinguishing Brahmin, Kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra have their roots in this conditioning† (18:40-41), he is very clear that everyone must follow the caste system. He goes on to explain the guna’s, or acceptable qualities, in retrospect to the traits and roles of the four castes. By doing the duties one is born to, and not someone else, he can never come to grief—even if it is imperfect (18:42-49). Even though scholars like Dirk may argue that the caste system has its roots in colonization, ancient Hindu texts dating back to the Vedic age prove that the Indian caste system had its root deep in traditional Indian society long before the East Indian Company began to colonize India. The modern caste system has its roots in the Islamic-Hindu era. Under Munghal rule in the tenth century, many Indian’s weren’t encouraged to convert to Islam; it wasn’t until the 16th and 17th centuries that a mass conversion to Islam appeared. The religious system in India that was the basis for philosophical and ethical ideals that influenced the daily life of the India people did not have a name prior to the arrival of Islam in India. Even though there were many different religions in the different Indian communities at the time, they all had a common unity in their acceptance of the basic legends, myths, and moral teachings that formed the ideals, or world view, on the meaning of life. The name that Muslims gave this common religious unity was â€Å"Hinduism.† This disproves Dirks claim that â€Å"caste, as we know it today, is a modern phenomenon, that is, specifically, the product of a historical encounter of India and Western rule†¦making caste a central symbol of Indian society.† The Muslims made it the central symbol of Indian society when they named it Hinduism, to establish it separate from their Islamic society. As Muslims started intermingling with Hindus, it further complicated the caste system. Because Muslims rejected the Hindu belief of people born with inequality, the Bhakti movement sprang up from the 14th to 16th centuries; long before Dirks claims that the English started influencing, and putting a negative stigma, on the caste system. Inferior castes would find other forms of religious expression separate from Brahmin priest. Castes broke up, and new jati’s formed that would identify each caste based on their belief system. The great Indian epic, the Ramayana, that was popularized during the medieval period, describes how Rama and Krishna were incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and would repeatedly come down to earth and mingle with all of God’s people; not just the Brahmins. The Bhakti philosophers taught that all individuals, regardless of their status in life, could have an intimate relationship with God. This differed greatly from the Aryans concept that taught inequality in relation to God and only the priest, or Brahmins, could speak with God. Lower castes were even forbidden from reading the Vedas or entering Hindu religious temples. Medieval India also changed the hereditary occupation system. Men were no longer restricted to the position that was determined to them by birth. There was now chance of upward mobilization within each jati; not the main caste classification. Not just individuals, but Jati groups, were able to improve their status in society. In order to not go against religious teachings, families would have to save up enough money to pay poor Brahmin to preform rituals that would elevate the social standing of a particular family. They would then have to change occupations, and practices, appropriate to the social group that they were being elevated to. Another way to move up socially would be to serve in the military; military service wouldn’t necessarily allow you to move up to another Caste, but your jati (or social standing within caste) would move up accordingly. Life for Indian’s was very different under Islamic rule than it was under the Aryans. The arrival of the East Indian Company stirred up the traditional caste system; but it didn’t by any means â€Å"create† a modern caste system, as Dirks suggests; that was already underway with the arrival of Islam. The English tried to, either directly or indirectly, make life better for those that were discriminated against under a centuries old system of legal oppression. Even though the English had a hierarchy, people were able to upward mobilize and all citizens were bound by the same laws. Under the Indian caste system, there was no upward mobilization, people often died in the same caste they were born in. This was disrupted slightly during the arrival of industrialization and mass trade that the East Indian Company brought with it. The centuries old tradition of patriarchal hereditary caste occupation was disturbed by industrialization and imports from other British colonies. People whose occupations had a hand in producing goods that were now being imported or made in factories were now out of jobs. Factory jobs, or other Western type jobs, weren’t hereditary. They had no choice but to find new jobs, often jobs that weren’t classified under a particular caste, such as public works or factory type jobs. As English colonization expanded, there was further concern amongst the higher castes about intermingling between castes—especially where public works projects and service in the military was concerned. There was fear amongst the higher castes that physical contact between the pure and impure castes was inevitable in such crowded places as train stations, public wells, or closed quarters on ships. There were concerns amongst Hindu’s about serving in the British military. In the military, the â€Å"soldiers were of a different caste now—neither so fine, nor so tall as they were before.† In the military, the British were the only superior, and all Hindus serving were treated as if they were the same caste, having to work side-by-side with members of different castes. However, after the uprisings of 1857, sepoys who were of higher caste maintained their caste and religion. The later was extremely important, because any infringement on their religion could result in loss of caste. Those that continued to revolt were punished by having to clean the blood of the English men, women, and children, who were massacred. They were forced to do this dishonor, which would have resulted in loss of caste under their Hindu faith, before being executed for their heinous crimes. In this retrospect, the English used the Hindu caste system as vengeance for acts against their ‘white’ superiority. The British didn’t create the caste system, or intend to exploit it. They tried to make their new Indian subjects a functional part of their society, as well as rectify the aspects of the caste system they saw as unjust. Traditional Indian law was loosely based off of parochial and sacred law that was loosely interpreted by different Brahmin; there was no uniform justice system. There were also different sets of rules and laws for different castes. A lower caste could be severely punished for the same crime that wouldn’t be punishable for a higher caste. There is no doubt that the English exploit the caste system for personal gain, but they also made great strides in individual equality before the law. Under British Law, all individuals were equal before the laws; therefore if a higher caste and lower caste member committed the same crime, they were both subject to the same punishments; and discrimination against lower caste was now against the law. As the Rudolph’s say in there book The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India, the transformed state has helped, â€Å"India’s peasant society make a success of representative democracy and fostered the growth of equality by making Indians less separate and more alike.† In that retrospect, England colonization may have had a more positive effect on an already oppressive system. The spread of Christianity was promising for those born of lower caste. They were offered an education; that was formally punishable to lower caste members. Many of the lower caste and untouchables converted to Christianity to escape their given statuses. Those that converted were freed of their previous identity, and were no longer considered part of a particular caste; although their social status often stayed the same. This may not have alleviated their problems, but it was a step in the right direction. Those that converted to Christianity could now get an education, or apprenticing under a Christian missionary. They could now aspire to do something different than what they were ‘born’ to do. There was now the hope of a better life, that hadn’t existed before under Hinduism. Today people have mistaken Varnas for caste and treat them as identical. Varnas are God created and caste is not. Varnas are conditioned with one’s actions and desires based on Gunas. The caste is manmade. It is simply a social institution and can easily be changed and modified according to changing needs of society. Caste-by-birth was never the original intent nor it ever was the basis upon which the Varnas were constituted, Sutra says that a person should be engaged only in a field of activity that he is capable of doing. In 1891, the British established the Census of India as an attempt to better understand the caste system in relation to occupation, religion, and status. In 1935, the British in India finally came up with a list of four-hundred tribal groups and untouchables. Under British reform, they would be put on a list as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and would receive special privileges in order to â€Å"overcome deprivation and discrimination.† In that retrospect, the British government started affirmative action in India for those that had been oppressed under the centuries old Indian Caste System. The English threatened the Hindu way of life that had existed over centuries and was reinforced by Hindu scripture. When Muslims started mingling with the Hindus, the caste system was altered, but the basic beliefs of karma and existence remained a unifying factor. When the East Indian Company started colonizing India, they didn’t just stir things up, but threatened the religious aspect of the Indian caste system that kept those on the bottom subservient to the top castes. Without intending to, the English got the nationalist movement going; although it would go in two different directions depending on what side of the fence one was on. Mahatma Gandhi was an influential leader in the Nationalist Movement during British rule; he believed that he could change untouchability in the Hindu religion, and started calling them â€Å"Harijans,† meaning God’s children. When reform within the Hindu religion started to look bleak, Dalit leaders started to advocate for a separate electorate for the Dalit’s. On the other end of the spectrum from Gandhi was Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who rose up from a community of untouchables and fought for political equality for Delits. Both continued their campaigns after Indian independence. But after independence, neither would be successful without the British to advocate for them. The British brought with them industrialization, urbanization, literacy, social mobilization, and political democracy. However, it is the Indian caste system today that is preventing India from progressing as a modern nation. Although people are now crossing vague occupational lines due to technology, India still has a long way to go to break the deep-rooted deep root belief that the Hindu religious texts, the Varnas, justify caste inequality as birth right. But thanks to the British, they got a kick in the right direction. Works Cited Armstrong, Karen. The Great Transformation: The Beginning of our Religious Traditions. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. Easwaran, Eknath. The Bhagavad Gita. Canada: Nilgiri Press, 2007. Print. Dirks, Nicholas. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton University Press, 2001. eBook. Judd, Denis. The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. Heine-Geldern, Robert. â€Å"The Coming of the Aryans and the End of the Harappa Civilization.† Man Vol. 56, No. 151 (Oct, 1956): 136-139. 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Joti Sekhon, Modern India (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000), 48. [ 25 ]. Untouchables thought the name Harijan, that