Caste System in India

Sunday evening and there is nothing great on the Television. As usual switched on the "potti" - (that is how i call my "kanini" - laptop) and I received an unusal request from a person in skype.

His name was Lea - that's how is display name appeared in skype - I that the person was a He.

[9:24:22 PM] Lea says: hi, my name is lea and I am from Germany. In school I have do write a very important work about the caste system in India, in order to make the work more vivid and more lifelike I decided to make a questionnaire. I therefore want to ask you if I can send you this questionnaire. It would be very nice and you would really help me.thanks a lot!Lea

I was just warming the sofa with my but on it and spontaneously decided why not help this guys - sounded like a reasonable request. I asked him to send the questions over skype and here we go with the questions and the answers.

Sunday anniku paana orru urpidiyaan kariyam - orru paiyanuku help pannirkean - so why not post that in the blog.

Questionnaire

General question:

1) Gender: FEMALE

2) Age: 26

3) Occupation: SOFTWARE PROFESSIONAL

4) married/single? SINGLE

5) children/no children? NO CHILDREN

6) Did you spend your whole life in India? YES

7) Are your parents both Indian or are they foreigner? BOTH ARE INDIANS

Question regarding to the caste system:

1) The Constitution of India promise in its preamble every citizens “Equality of status and of opportunity”. Do you take the view that this assurance is a lie or do you think that it is reality? I AGREE. EVERYONE IS TREATED EQUAL IN FRONT OF LAW AND MOREOVER MORE OPPORTUNITY IS GIVEN TO MINORITY AND WOMEN.

2) In article number 17 the Constitution of India assures the people of no caste, the untouchables:

“Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.”

Do you have the opinion that the politicians have reached their aim to abolish untouchability or are the untouchables still discriminated and seen as “polluting”? I WOULD RATHER SAY THERE IS STILL SUCH PRACTISES IN REMOTE VILLAGES IN INDIA BUT HIGH PRIORITY IS GIVEN TO ABOLISH THIS. IT DOES TAKE SOME TIME TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF SUCH A MINDSET. IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY ABOLISHED AS GENERATIONS WOULD PASS.

What do you think about the second sentence of the 17 article? Does the police punish people who still practice untouchability? YES PEOPLE ARE PUNISHED IF THEY FOLLOW SUCH PRACTISE

3) Do you know if the caste system is pervasive in India? And are there differences between urban areas and rural areas?

YES CASTE SYSTEM IS PERVASIVE AND THERE IS LOTS OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS WHEN IT COMES TO THOUGHTS ON THE SAME.

4) How does the caste system works in everyday life?

IT IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ANSWER. TAKE THE CASE OF HINDUISM - IT IS A WAY OF LIVING. AND THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT SUB SECTS IN HINDUISM AND THEIR PRACTISES DIFFER AND THE SAME IS APPLICABLE FOR MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIAN. WAY OF LIVING DIFFERS EVEN IN FOOD HABITS EVEN IN HOW THEY COOK. THIS IS RATHER A LONG ANSWER :)

5) The caste system is entwined in Hindu beliefs, but does it encompasses non-Hindus as well?

YES - YOU CAN EVEN SEE HINDU CHRISTIANS AND HINDU MUSLIMS.

6) And how does the caste system works between Hindus and non-Hindus or foreign people?

NOT SO GOOD. PEOPLE HAVE NOT BECOME SO BROAD MINDED. BUT IN COMING GENERATIONS IT WOULD BE MUCH BETTER AND THERE WILL BE IMPROVEMENTS IN THOUGHTS AND IDEAS.

7) Are there still the four castes (Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra) and the people of no caste, the untouchables?

NOPE. BRAHMANS STILL EXIST IN BOTH RURAL AND URBAN AREAS. KSHATRIYA AND VAISYA ARE RATHER VERY RARE. SUDRA - THEY DO EXIST PREDOMINENTLY IN RURAL AREAS.

8) Are there explicit standards within a caste?

YES. IT DOES EXIST. EVEN HINDU'S YOU HAVE HIGHER AND LOWER SECT.

9) Does the caste one belongs to have influence on the choice of occupation today because in the past Brahman for example had to become priests or scholars, and Kshatriyas had to become warriors or rulers?

NO NOW A DAYS IT IS MORE TO WITH HOW OF MUCH EXPOSURE AND EDUCATION A INDIVIDUAL GETS.

10) What is about personal contact/ relationship with members of other castes?

IN URBAN AREAS IT IS LESS. RURAL I WOULD SAY IT DOES EXIST. BUT THE DEGREE OF SEVERITY IS COMPARIVITY REDUCED.

11)What do you think about marriages between different castes?

Do you believe that a person, who decided in favour of a love-marriage, would be excluded from the family?

I FEEL THAT THIS RIDICULOUS. MARRIAGE IS BETWEEN TWO INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR COMPATABILITY.

12) Is it possible to move from the own caste into a lower or higher one? YES. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO HINDUISM THERE IS NOT SUCH THING CALLED CONVERSION AND THERE IS NO PREACHING FOR THE SAME AS IT IS A WAY OF LIVING.

13) Do you think that the Indians have become more flexible in their caste affiliations? YES IN URBAN AREA A FEW OF THEM HAVE BECOME BROAD MINDED BUT THE PERCENTAGE IS VERY LESS.

14) Do you know the reason why the caste system is sill existing in India? Is it perhaps attributable to the samsara (reincarnation) and karma (quality of action)? Or is it because of the system of marriage? I BELIEVE IT IS FOR SAMSARA AND KARMA. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MARRIAGES PEOPLE STRICTLY DO NOT GET MARRIED OUT OF CASTE, BUT NOW A DAYS THERE HAS BEEN MORE OF REVOLUTION ON THIS TOPIC WITH RESPECT TO MARRIAGES.

15) To which caste do you belong to? HINDU – BRAHMIN - MORE DETAILS - VADAKALAI IYENGAR - WORSHIPPERS OF GOD VISHNU.

I did not want to go to the depth how bad it was in rural areas – nambha nata pathi bad aah portray panna pidicala – but I also did not want to lie that caste based issues does not happen in India – touched things from a 100 feet level.

Any thoughts on the question and answers – feel free to add your comments – your keyboard would not cry if you type a bit :P.