The Caste System Today

Having lived in a rural village for the past seven weeks, we have experienced first hand the influence the caste system has on day to day life. This blog is based on our perception of the caste system through the things we have seen and individuals we have spoken to.

The history of our village has very much been dictated by the caste system and, despite the fact that it has been illegal for over 60 years, caste discrimination is still common practice in rural areas. The village of Indranagar exists today due to caste conflict.  Originally the villagers lived in Hanchipura, a village only 2 km away.  During a religious festival the villagers were pulling a pontoon (a common traditional practice).  The procession was deliberately divided with the higher caste members pulling one side of the pontoon and the lower caste members (Dalits) pulling the other. Inevitably, the pontoon started to turn as it was unevenly weighted due to the fact there were fewer lower caste members in the village. As a result a fight broke out between the two castes, which escalated and led to the higher caste members burning down the houses of most of the lower caste members. These lower caste members fled and lived by the side of the road for 5 years before being given a plot of land by Indira Gandhi, which is where they currently reside.

Since 1950, when the caste system was made illegal, the government of India has implemented policies, educational initiatives and social reforms to enhance social mobility within Indian society. These include scholarships, reserved university places and financial incentives. In addition to these educational reforms, the government has also set aside 20% of all state jobs for those of a lower caste. Although this has led to an increase of lower caste students, it has also led to a culture of positive discrimination. Through a discussion with our In Country Volunteers (ICVs) we have learnt that these scholarship programmes can be regarded as unfair.  The ICVs are Brahmans (the highest caste) and have expressed dissatisfaction with a number of schemes. It is viewed as unfair that entry to university should be based on caste status instead of achievement whereas in the social circles of the ICVs both castes are considered equal. Due to the government policy of positive discrimination for the lower castes, more access to university and better jobs has meant that some lower caste urban families have been upwardly mobile and now have a higher income than some of the traditionally wealthy higher caste families.  This has led to protests as higher caste students with a lower income still have to pay more than some wealthier lower caste students.

There has been a striking difference on the effect of these reforms between rural and urban areas. In the urban areas, where the caste system is less regimented, the reforms have arguably been quite successful as the number of lower caste students attending higher education has increased. Within the city an individuals caste would appear to have little or no bearing on their employment prospects. It is common for social structures to consist of a number of different castes and the topic is rarely discussed. However, inter-caste marriages between the higher castes and scheduled castes are still a taboo and often are not approved by the families. 

Within rural communities the caste system is still very much a part of day to day life.  In contrast to the city, the caste system affects where you live, your social circle and your influence in local politics as well as your job prospects. Despite government incentives, children of lower caste in rural areas are still reluctant to continue education above a primary level. Although this is less prominent today, the need for education is still undervalued. The majority of Dalit children will start some sort of agricultural work at a young age. In rural areas members of higher caste often enrol in higher education but scheduled caste members are restricted by their traditional roles as day labourers, and therefore have little to no social mobility or higher education prospects.

Due to these traditional cultural expectations that are still practised in rural areas the government initiatives have had very limited success; in the history of our village there have only been a handful of university graduates. Due to a combination of factors such as the low impact of government initiatives in rural areas and mounting public pressure against the negative impact of positive discrimination within cities, the Indian government is preparing to withdraw some of the incentives given to lower caste members.

If making education more accessible to the lower caste has had limited success, this begs the question, what can be done to change cultural norms and traditional prejudices once and for all?