Towards a Caste-less Bharatham ( India ) –2.4.1

4. Caste and Privilege-1.


If social hierarchy is universal and if caste is simply one form of social hierarchy, what has made the Indian caste system an anachronism and anathema in modern times?

For one, as stated earlier, economic factors are the prime determinants of the social order – the social and political relations, and the class divisions that characterize modern societies.

The rise of ‘vaishya power’, as Swami Vivekananda put it, was coincident with the Industrial Revolution and has been the chief driving force for capitalist societies both in the colonial and the post-colonial era.

The jati hierarchy, however, is not consonant with economic status, and has often been at odds with the rising economic order.

Second, the free market capitalist economy always leaves room for upward socio-economic mobility, although in practice such rise may not be common.

The predetermined nature of jatis, however, tend to discourage social change.

Finally, it was the prescription of hereditary privileges and social discrimination, manifesting in its worst form as ‘untouchability’, that really made the caste system an eyesore.

Swami Satyaswarupananda
Sri Ramakrishna Mission.
To be continued  ..