India's Caste System in a Modern World

Nearly all of India's 1.1 billion people are part of the caste system. Although integral to the Hindu belief, it also encompasses non-Hindus and very often dictates a persons life. This system of social hierarchy divides Indians into 4 castes, the the Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups). These four castes are further divided into thousands of sub-castes based on family names.Surnames classify your status in society, especially in rural areas where the caste system is especially rigid and pervasive. But even in places like Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai, the first question asked upon introduction is often one of caste inquiry, "What is your family name?" It seems to me this is a way to pass judgment on strangers to classify yourself against others in a centuries-old heirarchy, a way to make assumptions about a person based solely on the generalizations of their social ranking. The caste system penetrates nearly all aspects of life in India, from where you work, to where you live, to your entrance into universities, to the person you marry. My understanding is that it is nearly impossible to marry into a higher caste, and marrying down can bring great shame and dishonor to your family. The caste system continues to bring about discrimination (although caste discrimination was officially outlawed by the Indian constitution) as stories in local papers frequently relay such atrocities as low-caste people being denied access to water from public wells, or being harassed and physically harmed for simply walking in high-caste neighborhoods. The blatant discrimination mirrors the social issues the US has had throughout our history and what we as a nation continue to struggle with today--the racial tensions, discrimination, and injustice towards African-Americans especially, but also towards the Chinese, Mexicans, and to nearly every other ethnic group that has immigrated to the US from poor, developing countries. India has followed the lead of the US in implementing affirmative action policies, a genuine concept that in practice has many unintended harms. India is now facing the same issues of reverse discrimination, of unwanted, unfair treatment, and of bafflingly difficult questions of how to improve the system to make education and job opportunities open, fair and equal for all. I hope Indians can do a better job than we have managed for ourselves.

So much of India's past remains discernible today despite the astonishing pace of change since independence in 1947. It's free market reforms of the 1990's have created one of the most capitalistic countries on earth. Combine that with a caste system which in large part defines who you are based on your material possessions, and you've got one of the most consumeristic nations on the planet. It's a bizarre mix of traditions and culture as old as the rivers that crisscross this giant country and of high-tech, innovative technologies that fuel the sprint towards westernization. It's a place that as an outsider I will never truly understand, but India is a place that has changed the way I see the world.