A little of the caste system in India

Many people ask me about the caste system when they know I’ve lived in India. It’s a question that instigates curiosity around the world. Indian society distinguishes, among many particularities, for its social system stratified in castes, based on hindu religion, followed by 80% of Indian population.

There are 5 groups of castes that are subdivided in other millions of subcastes, which takes to a total of more than 6.000 castes. A summary of the 5 main group of castes:

• Brahmins: the highest group of castes, it groups the social roles linked to hindu religion and intellectual activities;
• Kshatriyas: the highest after the brahmins, it groups the social roles linked to militarism and to the war activities;
• Vaisyas: groups the castes linked to trade and businesses
• Sudras: groups the castes linked to unskilledworkers, manual jobs
• Dalits/Pariah: also known as “untouchable”, the dalits are without caste, living literally marginally to society

No way I intend to describe all of the castes. I want to share what I could notice while living in India during 2012 and clarify eventual curiosities. A caste is a kind of stamental social class, linked to birth. An Indian citizen born and dies in the same caste, as it’s basically described, regardless how much he/she becomes rich and famous one day.

The caste surely determines the life of an Indian citizen: the range of professions to adopt, the career perspectives, the social capital, the power and conections, who to marry, the lifestyle, where to live, etc. Besides determine different social roles, the castes also pursue different values and mindsets, a fact usually not noticed by foreigners.

All around the world, it’s common people have those images associating Indians to yoga, love and peace, as non-materialistic persons, saints and religious… Well, let’s stop with bullshit farytales! Everywhere, people are human beings, and there are good and bad persons, right? Another reason to pay attention to the subtleties of the caste system.

That India of peace and love, white clothes, spirituality, religiosity, yoga, harmony, take care of the mind, prioritize the intellect over manual activities refers to the brahmin mindset, the highest group of castes, linked to religious and intellectual activities. Precisely for the power of this caste group, the brahmin mindset have been dictating the paradigms of Indian society until nowadays.

In the other side, the modern India have been projecting to values associated to honor, glory, take action, that translate the kshatriya mindset, linked to war and militarism. These values have been portrayed even by Bollywood stars and cricket players, the most popular sport in India. Such difference between the brahmin and kshatriya mindsets reflects one of the main cultural codes currently going on in the country. Other castes, surely, have their own values and particular aspects that have to be considered.

You can’t buy a caste, and in a power-driven society, money by itself doesn’t mean anything. Even in business, Indians are often emotional and intuitive, in such a way to deny a sales if don’t sympathize with you, or ask much higher than the real price. Are you kidding? No, I’m not! Important to remember that the castes linked to trade and business are not the highest ones. And for the companies thinking about import from India, I just can advise to inspect the materials there, otherwise you take a big risk to open the container/package and see something different from what was promised…And who’s going to pay the loss? What are you going to do with a container full of products that no client of yours is going to buy?

Many Indians notice the money as a mechanism to acquire what provides them comfort, joy with family and friends; something that flows from one hand to another. Since you can’t buy a caste, why work like a hell to build a fortune? It doesn’t mean that they’re innocent and naive with money! Those who have been in India know what I mean to be careful to don’t be overcharged, with scams and bargain every second.

Caste system is entirely different from what westerns mostly are familiar to see. It’s a millenar structure, carrying a power structure built along centuries, if not for some thousands of years. It’s not only about the power of some individuals, but about the power and the fortunes of many families that don’t need to do anything rather than maintain what they inherited.

It’s possible to see families who are inserted in a certain economic sector for centuries. In many cases, only their names are enough to indicate what are their profession/business/company, as well as power and influence. I also saw dalits on the streets, picking food from the trash, working in a slavery condition at houses, sleeping sitting on the floor or on the streets — and limited to this life perspective. I also could see persons who can do everything, literally everyhting, with lots of domestic workers at their houses to do all the tasks we can imagine.

It’s something that goes beyond the economical sphere, it’s a social structure based on power, and power is not for everyone. I hope to help you get a clear picture regarding this aspect of Indian society.