The Horrifying tale of Caste System in India

When we talk about the horrifying scenario of casteism in India, we'll have to begin from the old age. Ever since the Manusmriti prescribed the caste system for understanding the roles and occupation each person has to do in society, the man decided to do it his way. He devoured the caste system and made it his weapon to show who is superior and who is inferior. After this, this system has been used for everything, except for the right reasons.

The caste system is very much prevalent in India. Be it our politics, economy, or our society, we can see the shadow of caste everywhere we look. The reservation system that we follow, 'oonch-neech' jaati we talk about, or even marriage from the caste, it's all because of the caste system we started to follow long back. When it comes to politics, it plays a major role. While the concept of castes holds some importance, politics takes a person and makes their bond with caste identity stronger. For instance, in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, people who are from the higher castes only win elections. If a candidate from a lower caste wins, they are not even taken seriously. Although the lower castes do have higher political interests, it is the upper castes who have higher political awareness. The lower castes want to come into power so that the atrocity that they still face can be put to an end. But what we see here today is that power shifts from one dominant caste to another where people’s loyalties towards their castes are tested.

Coming to the role caste plays in an economy, you would have by now realized that no matter where you look, caste will be there. We have to understand that caste inequality is directly associated with economic equalities. Statistics show that people from the higher castes do the greatest number of white-collar jobs. Just because you may be from a lower caste maybe the reason you missed out on a job that you were more qualified for than another person who was from the higher caste. Although there is the reservation system that promises the upliftment of the lower caste society, that mostly works for public sector jobs.

And lastly, let’s discuss the relationship the caste system has with society. The most brutal of them all, society is thrown to shambles when caste comes into play. The honour killings, starving people, brutally raping and murdering people just because they belong to the lower castes are just examples of how badly people are treated. When people from the lower castes are killed ruthlessly for doing nothing, it gets into people’s heads that if you belong to a higher caste family, then you can do as you please. And, if you are from a lower caste family, you are inferior and have to adjust to and serve the upper class.

Many redressals have been taken up by the Government to solve this problem. Untouchability was abolished in the late 20^th century. Inequality on the basis of caste was made illegal. Of course, one cannot forget Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who fought for the rights of the people from the lower classes. For the major part of his life, he has fought for those people who have been tormented by the society as he was also one among them.  Reservation has been made mandatory for all jobs and economic help to those who are financially unstable. Various schemes like the Scheduled Castes Welfare Programmes, Post-Matric Scholarships for Lower Castes etc. Various articles like Article 17, Article 335, and Article 46 was made in interest of the lower classes.