Caste System - My first awareness of it

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Divya

@dkmystery

Stunner

+ 4

Posted: 13 years ago

#81

Originally posted by: Chitrashi
The "loser" who came up with that line is Kavi Tulsidas. It is a line from Ramcharitmanas.

oh gr8

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Vaishnavi

@Strawbella

Dazzler

+ 3

Posted: 13 years ago

#82

Great post Chitrashi hats off to you. Though i am born to an orthodox parents i do strongly oppose this caste system. During ma school or college days i was not even allowed to do any group study or so because of this caste system. My mom used to scold mefor asking permission to go to friends house and study or to do any kinda school /College activity due to this screen of caste. Although we may talk but it still prevails in Indian Government.

Edited by Strawbella - 13 years ago

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Mahabhootni

@Mahabhootni

Navigator

Posted: 13 years ago

#83

Originally posted by: znursingh

That's simply NOT true! My husband is from South Africa-his family migrated 5 generations ago. When I went to meet my in-laws, I found all the Indian I met steeped in caste issues and religious traditions from the last century. Caste system is VERY much intact there.
No restrictions? You must be joking! Because of the group area act-races were SEGREGATED and that resulted in a VERY closed and tradition bound community-where traditions were moribund. I have rarely been more offended at the kind of thinking that prevailed amongst the so called educated elite in Durban-who strove to ape the Whites and proudly declared that they were NOT going to accept being ruled by the Blacks.My Sister in law married a Muslim fellow doctor-BOTH families regarded that THEIR offspring had married DOWN from his/her CASTE & race.Neither family accepted the marriage,nor the couple
The religious practices that I saw and the contempt that I saw openly expressed and accepted AS NORMAL for this or that lower Jaat was astoundingly backward.

So the SA Indians may have acquired the accouterments of a "welcome better life styles" but they had NOT shed the mindset they took from here.

Yeah, I was puzzled by the statement above because South Africa is the grand daddy of communal, racial issues.

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Mia1love

@Mia1love

Rocker

Posted: 13 years ago

#84

Amazing thread ! love it .

I have been raised my Whole Life in Brooklyn ,New York , so therefore the significance of being a Brahmin never really matter to me however like any other parent my mom did educate me on what is the caste system and what are each castes . My mom is a very very liberal minded woman , she was raised in India and moved to NYC over 25 yrs ago . So she always said that in order for the world to function everyone has a role , like a caste system. just like how 5 fingers makes a fist , these castes makes a society. each one has its importance and need in society. And Untouchable I never heard of that , and it is not part of the original Caste systems. ( according to my Limited Knowledge) . first time i heard about untouchables was in school , i think like high school or something in history class. I was like this is not hinduism .. but ignored it cuz my professor was a chinese man and what would he know .

however in the summer of 2001 my whole family went to india , it was my 2nd trip to india . I was about 16 yr old , and first time i saw discrimination . Interestingly my Mom and Aunts don't believe in untouchables . But my cousins Oh lord it was horrible to see their behavior . The maid that worked for them had been around for the longest, her mom would work for them and now the daughter. and she had 5 little girls all under the age of 10 . who would come along with her at times. and everytime i wanted to talk to them or play with them . My cousins would start a scene and the whole , they are dirty they are untouchable . I just ignored them. But one day

the baby- aarti came over without taking a shower , so i asked her mom if it was okay , if i can give the baby a bath . but when my cousin found out , he told me .. She can't be in the bathrooms and i have to give her a bath outside the house and i can't use the house soap . i was sooo Pissed off but Bless the lord i had A body wash so its just liquid . After that day he always stopped me from getting them small things like chips or snack or even teaching them the alphabet . I don't believe in discrimination so i ignored him . Cuz if i open my mouth hell would break lose and i would punch him but out of respect for his mom and my uncle i was quiet.

I knew i couldn't say anything to him cuz its wasn't my place so i told my mother and she only said One thing to Him . " A person who disrespects others, insults , degrades and belittles others is never a God loving , religious pious Person , You may think you are a good Brahmin but you are the Worst example of a Brahmin" .

I wish my mothers words had some effect on him But sadly No. .

I would just like to end off saying , that there is No such thing as Untouchables In Hinduism , Hinduism Doesn't teach us to disrespect others because of their caste. We are Suppose to believe God resides in the heart of ALL , that is why we say Namaste . We are all God's creation and every person birth right is to be respected , loved , educated and cared for.

I havent been back to India since then . Hopefully by the end of this year i can go again , and i will see some chances 😃

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Vaishnavi

@Strawbella

Dazzler

+ 3

Posted: 13 years ago

#85

@Mia1love- nice to see your post. Yes you are right that ancient mythologies and in Vedic period the caste system was not prevailing this. One more thing that you have beautifully analysed about the caste system in India. One more thing you will surely see a change coz of the Satyamev jayate effect:-)

Edited by Strawbella - 13 years ago

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Mia1love

@Mia1love

Rocker

Posted: 13 years ago

#86

Originally posted by: Strawbella
@Mia1love- nice to see your post. Yes you are right that ancient mythologies and in Vedic period the caste system was not prevailing this. One more thing that you have beautifully analysed about the caste system in India. One more thing you will surely see a change coz of the Satyamev jayate effect:-)

thank you sweety ! i will be honest. its sad to see , that a Show like satyamev is needed to bring a change in society, when the change should have began at home. that is what parents are for , to help educate children, to teach children what is paap aur punya , Like how my mother taught me, not to see caste but a person. I was crying when i saw this episode . ANd In my mind i was like My mother would have beat me if I insulted someone because of the caste system .

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Not Given

@Chippeshwini

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 13 years ago

#87

My terribly backward, uneducated grandmother (don't judge me with my language, she's done horrible things to my family) made a comment about a different caste once...

basically, my cousin eloped to get married. She married a man of a lower caste (she is brahmin), but she didn't give a crap about the difference. This incident took place 10 years ago, and she's, touchwood, happily wed, with a beautiful daughter.

Anyway, when she had recently gotten married, my dadi, shoving her foot into stuff that isn't her business, asked my mausi, very condescendingly "kashi aahe aata ti? ticha parivaar theek waagta ka? kase aastil te loka" which means "how is she? What is her family like? I wonder what kind of people they are..."

this coming from some brahmin woman who has emotionally tortured her son, her daughter-in-law, and indirectly her grandchildren.

Why do people STILL think that people of lower castes are different in behavior? What's worse is, people of supposedly 'higher' castes act all high-handed, when they themselves sometimes do horrible things to people.

Caste-ism has seaped into each nook and cranny of our country.. from the way we determine who is clean enough to touch, to the way we determine how to behave with whom, to whom deserves what time of job or education...

WHY is our mentality still so backward, when time and life has moved eons ahead from the time when these said social barriers were "needed"?

Edited by liverach - 13 years ago

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bewafa

@bewafa

Dazzler

Posted: 13 years ago

#88

Bumping this up...to have the first page without spam. LoL.

This episode is on Water shortage...wow, I had no idea this was so bad.

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Equine

@Equine

Dazzler

Posted: 13 years ago

#89

i really dont undrstand why th open category students ( i refuse to call thm forward castes and th others backward) blame th reservd students for their failure to get th admission. if thy didnt get enuf marks its not th fault of th SC/ST students. jealousy much????????/thy shld b competing with th open category students and not with th reserved students.

reservation is there for a reason. its for th upliftment of th oppressed castes. thy shld not b held to th same standards as th other students coz there r many socio-economic dynamics being playd out in their education. a sc/st students's primary education itslf is loaded with numerous hurdles. th discrimination startin right frm th schools( as its shown in th show). while an open category student is encouragd 2 study n excel by th family and th society.

all these ppl opposing reservations for caste dont seem to oppose th reservation for women. why??????????????/

bcoz th women's reservation is fully utilized by th creamy layer too. i've seen women frm super rich backgrounds capilizing these reservations 2 get into colleges. is it not injustice 2 men then??????????/ in a way, no. bcoz a girl's education needed 2 b encouragd for th society 2 accept it. if there is a boy n girl in th same family, a girl's education is sidelined. in th same way, a creamy layer student and an reservd student may belong to th same economic status but their social status wud not b th same considering th ongoing discriminations in our society.

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Rita

@Rita.C

Navigator

Posted: 13 years ago

#90

What a fab discussion!nothing irritates me more than when educated, intelligent Indians tell me there is no caste system in India anymore. I go hello? Have u taken off your shades??
We have caste system in every place but less so in big cities
My grand father died off shock because my uncle married a non Brahmin
And when Dad openly declared that his kids would marry good humans irrespective of caste it caused outrage in the extended family
I did not know about the practice of caste though I knew in theory because we lived away from the extended family till much much older
I still forget our gotta and jaati and taut how it should be
I want my kids to forget too
My70+ father called the other day to share how heart broken he was to hear my PhD intellectual cousin say she will only marry a Brahmin and that Brahmins are superior
How easy it is to be superior- all u have to do is be born
My so called aristocrat grand Ma used to refuse to eat from the maids or my friends who were from different religions. My mother too tries to separate the dishes of family and servants but I forced mom to accept the same dishes in my house when I was still in India
We need to force change since its too ingrained in us

My so called less educated mum in law is far more liberated ..she doesnt give a hang about caste or religion proving its got little to do with qualifications

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Caste System - My first awareness of it - Page 9

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