Caste

Published on 11th September, 2022, in Times of India. A peculiar feature of the internet is finding a vast number of upper caste, mostly Brahmin, men who argue that there was no caste system prevalent in Vedic India. They further state that all talk of the caste system emerges after the British period, or perhaps because of Muslim rule. In other words, before the politically popular “Islamic invasion” of India, there was equality and justice in every village of India, where everyone was treated with respect and dignity. There was no 'untouchability'. However, there is ample historical evidence to show that Indian society, not just ..

Published on 1st January, 2022, in The Hindu. Ever since erstwhile champions of secular values have begun differentiating between Hindu and Hindutvawadi, a whole lot of intellectuals are bristling. They are arguing how these nuanced metaphysical differentiations hold no relevance on the street. Mostly from the Hindu elite, these are the same scholars who will argue that Islam should be separated from Islamism, and clarify that invaders of India should be described as Persianised Turks and not Muslim warlords. Religion as a word found favour in the 19th century. It referred to monotheistic mythology, which deemed god as a fact, despite the growing influence of ..

Published on 25th September, 2021, in Times of India. Recently, a conference was held on the theme of ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’. It was sponsored by American universities tired of Hindutva bullying. However, the decision to hold it immediately after the anniversary of the 9/11 twin tower attack, from September 10-12, was not accidental. It was a deliberate attempt to equate Hindutva with Islamic terrorism. For many, this was seen as a Hinduphobic idea. Many of the sponsors and participants of the conference see Hinduism as essentially casteist in nature, and for many caste is as bad as terrorism, designed to systematically strip one group of ..

Published on 22nd December, 2019, in Mumbai Mirror Once, Hinduism was inclusive, and memorising hymns didn’t turn you into an ‘instant Brahmin’ Christianity and Islam spread through conversion. A Christian missionary comes to the village and speaks of the virtues of monotheism, and the shortcomings of polytheism. An Islamic teacher turns people away from jahiliyyah, the barbaric or false way, towards the correct path of one true god. Here their way is considered better than the older way. There is exclusion, not inclusion. European scholars assumed that Brahmins were Hindu missionaries. And Buddhist monks were Buddhist missionaries. But these religions did not spread by rejecting ..

Published on 11th February, 2018, in Mid-Day. A young girl from Mizoram was told by her father to return home immediately after he learned that she was in love with a boy in Delhi. My friend said, "But isn't your boyfriend also from Mizoram?" The girl nodded yes. "But isn't the boy also Christian?" The girl nodded yes. "Then what is the problem?" my friend asked. The girl said her father disapproved as the boy did not belong to her tribe! While people decry the lower rate of inter-caste marriages in India, they don't decry the low rates of inter-tribe marriages in India. The former ..

Published on 5th January, 2018, on www.dailyo.in The casteism, as we know it today with strict rules of purity prohibiting inter-caste marriages, started 1,900 years ago, became common 1,500 years ago and rigid 1,000 years ago. We know this because of recent genetic studies. Note: the word caste is a European word for clan that is used for the Indian system of jati. The word jati, in turn, is confused with the Vedic system of varna. Vedas speak of a theoretical four-fold structure (chatur-varna). In reality, India has thousands of jatis that are crudely mapped to these four varnas, leading to much chaos and confusion. ..

Published on 15th January, 2017, on www.dailyo.in . Answering this question depends on whether you value caste, or you are indifferent to it. If you value caste, then this thought can be depressing, even terrifying. If you are indifferent, it will not matter. In pre-modern times, caste really mattered, as it identified you as part of the community. This community gave you a vocation and a wife, and demanded you follow the community rules, which included giving your daughter only to a member of the caste. It was an extended family. And so anything, which led to loss of caste, acquired great significance. Baudhayana Dharma-sutra, ..