Ram's Cafe

Many Indians try to explain away or shrug off, when asked about the caste system.
For those who want to have an idea of caste, check out the following link - I think it does a fairly good job at describing the concept, and its possible origin in the past: Religion in India - Caste System
However, I am fully convinced, that if there is one feature of the Indian society that has weakened it immensely, it is the caste system. I am not talking merely about the discrimination, because, discrimination in one form or another, exists in several societies. I am talking about how the existence of caste system has made Indians underachievers, despite a rather glorious past...
Caste system is not merely a division of labour - as some clever folks try to explain. There is a clear hierarchy - perhaps dating back all the way to the Rig Veda, where the classification of society is mentioned. I am least interested in whether this was correct or not, IN THOSE DAYS - because I have no clue as to how things were back then (and I suppose, most folks wouldn't have any clue, either). But the fact is that these classifications, in the course of time, became more firmly established into hundreds (if not thousands) of divisions. Obviously we did not have hundreds of well-defined professions, did we? So, the argument that caste is just for the convenience of social organization or division of labour doesn't wash.
It's not just the hierarchy that has ruined the society - but, more importantly, the fact that this was based on birth! So, a brahmin kid, who could be having a less than average IQ and other skills, would still be placed above a shudra (lower caste) kid of the same age, but who might be having better skills. But here's the catch - the brahmin kids were never tested against the shudra kids, because they didn't go to school together. In fact, formal education (even if it was limited to learning the scriptures and rituals), was strictly limited to the upper castes.
Despite these restrictions, the professionals (I mean the "real" professionals, namely, the farmers, masons, carpenters, metal workers, etc.) did carry on their traditional work, making whatever improvements in their skills, along the way....but the hierarchy remained. Thus, even though a grand temple (thousands of these temples have survived destruction by invading barbarians) was built with money and management by the rich guys (usually the local king), with the design made by the sculptors (not the brahmins, but the builders and sculptors - who knew what kind of dimensions for the arches and the beams and the pillars would be acceptable, based on the available materials and building techniques), and hundreds of labourers would work to complete the temple, finally, it was the priestly class who would decide who could enter the temple and who could not. This situation changed only long after the British arrived in India. The credit goes, not to the British, but to those activists and leaders who suddenly saw all that was wrong and unacceptable in society, and who fought for and demanded equality.
Temple entry was just one example. But, on a day-to-day level, there was (and even today, there still is) no genuine feeling of community, EVEN when faced by external threats and aggression! This, in my opinion, was the single biggest factor that allowed for external aggression and invasion to take place. Because, the upper caste people made sure that the lower caste folks did not have much of a stake in the running of the society...And the upper caste folks, when faced with complete defeat, more often than not, actually started working for the conqueror - as can be seen in the civil services of the Mughals, and, later on, the British. In fact, during the British rule, a lot of brahmins actually took pride in being fluent in the English language, and for passing the various examinations for jobs that were essentially clerical! And when the British left India, these same brahmins were quick to occupy all the top posts in the Indian bureaucracy.
This wouldn't have been bad in itself, but for the enormous and debilitating monopoly that was, and still is, continuing...severely curtailing and entrepreneurial effort. But the blame goes to Jawaharlal Nehru for this socialist mess. Nobody talks about the role of the bureaucrats in slowing down India's development.
Utterly unqualified chaps were running the railways and the telephones...Nobody questions their qualifications. The railway chaps take pride in the fact that Indian railways is the largest, in terms of route-km, and also happens to be the largest employer in India. But they don't mention the fact that when the British left India, there were about 50,000 route-km in India, whereas, today, it's about 63,000 route-km. More important is the fact that Indian railways celebrated 150 years, a few years ago. Which shows that railways were introduced in India soon after the technology became available even in Europe. I am not for a moment saying that the British did it for any charitable purposes - obviously they did it for their own benefit. But the fact remains that the railways were introduced where none existed. This was a humongous task, considering that, following extensive land survey, land had to be acquired, rail tracks manufactured, transported and laid, stations and signalling systems put in place, etc. If an occupying force could accomplish so much, what prevented the Indians from expanding and modernizing Indian railways to world class? In my opinion, what prevented was the lack of energy - from top to bottom. Today, even a simple task of connecting to existing railway lines (such as the Chennai Central with Egmore) is considered tough, and takes years (if not decades) to be completed! What a shame! The chaps sitting at the top are just content to hold on to their seats, get their promotions, enjoy the perks, ensuring a pension, etc. Seeing the top bureaucrats enjoying more than what they deserve, obviously the lower rank employees would do only so much... after all, it's the top chaps who are supposed to look at the big picture, make projections, take up challenging projects, and make sure they are completed. They didn't, and they couldn't do all these - because they are simply not qualified, they are NOT world class professionals!
But nobody noticed this, because it was all too convenient to blame the politicians - who were a dirty, rotten lot, anyway... but the fact remains that while politicians come and go, it's the bureaucrats who stay on forever...And, I am fully convinced that the prevailing mindset in the Indian bureaucracy is a carry-over from the casteist mentality. Creativity, taking up challenging tasks and completing them, work ethics, etc., are not as important, compared to hierarchy, sychophantism, etc., which leads to mediocrity...
While I may not be laying out in detail and in an organized way, I am convinced that caste has to go, before it's too late. Caste corrupts the minds - it dulls the senses, people lose sense of the big picture about what's happening around them... and what have we got to lose by throwing away this stupid system?
Oh, one more thing - while the brahmins sit at the top of the hierarchy, it is by no means that this evil practice is limited to the Brahmins alone. The cruel joke and the irony is that it is zealously practised by all the people who are at various levels of this hierarchy. The situation is so stupid and so dangerous, that we have incidents where people from communities that are already bracketed as "backward"or "most backward", beat up folks from communities that are ranked even below - such as the Dalits (formerly called as "untouchables", and officially called Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). Just walk through any college campus, or any government office...At the very least, you can see a condenscending behaviour towards those who have made it into the colleges or government jobs based on some reservation (the Indian version of "affirmative action").
I have personally seen at a high-level meeting in New Delhi, there was this professor making a comment about someone being a "neo-Buddhist". When some of the people at the meeting did not understand what he meant, he said, "oh, just like our President is a neo-Buddhist". It turned out that he was referring to someone as coming from a lower (untouchable) caste, just like the President of that time (K. R. Narayanan), since several of these folks had converted to Buddhism as a protest against the caste-based discrimination. I had no doubt that the person who made this comment (who was a Professor at a prestigeous University) was clearly prejudiced, despite his education and his scientific "achievements".
Though it can be argued that the caste system has nothing to do with Hinduism, and it's only a social practice, and not a religous feature, the fact remains that most Hindus have not denounced this practice. It shows that either their brand of religion has not helped them to see things as they are, or, worse, they actually stand to benefit from this hierarchy - either way, it shows that Hindu society needs a major overhaul for the inherent beauty and spirituality to blossom...As a first step, caste has to go! I know it would be difficult to give up these concepts - so much sentimentality would be attached to these - and, a lot of times, people derive their identity from their castes - especially those in the "upper" castes - so I can understand why they wouldn't want to give up the goodies! I'll tell you why you have to give it up - especially to the youngsters, and even more importantly, to those youngsters who are not married - throw away your caste identity, try to reach for excellence in whatever you do (even if you don't necessarily become world famous, you can try to be the best you can be, always, and in every undertaking - from the mundane everyday chores to special tasks, show that you care for excellence) - throw away a worthless and imaginary identity. Don't hide behind false notions of superiority - India is not yet a developed nation. We have miles to go. Along the way, we need to make sure that everyone has enough to eat, a decent place to live, has adequate water and sanitation facilities, and most imporantly, is able to live a life of dignity, no matter what profession one is engaged in... And caste system is not going to help in any way! The world will respect India for what it is, collectively - a foreigner is least bothered if you are a Brahmin or a Shudra, and any foreigner visiting and traveling in India can see for himself/herself about our efficiency, cleanliness, orderliness, politeness, etc. It is possible to have a dignified and self-assured society, even if most people do not speak English. On the other hand, what we have is a society where there are a significant number of English-speaking, so-called educated people, but the society as a whole, is chaotic, unruly, and, unfortunately, corrupt... If your parents and relatives come in the way, try to convince your parents that there's no need to hold on to these caste divisions, don't worry too much about the relatives - they will come around, once they see your real worth as a person...Live a dignified life, and make sure you let others live a dignified life, as well...