HINDU CASTE SYSTEM (APARTHEID/SLAVERY)
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CASTE SYSTEM IN HINDUISM
Caste System
The most significant feature of the Hindu social system is what is called
'caste' under which the people are divided into various groups. The status of
an individual in the society is determined by the caste in which he is born.
A Hindu is born in a caste and he dies as a member of that caste. There is no
Hindu without a caste and being bound by caste from birth to death, he
becomes subject to social regulation and tradition of the caste over which he
has no control.
A person born in a caste carries the name of that caste as a part of his
surname [ 1 ]. The division of the people into various castes is said to be
eternal so that no act of virtue or vice in this earthly life is enough to
make any change in the caste or social status of a man or woman. The caste
system of India has generally been regarded as an absurd, unhealthy social
phenomenon, without parallel elsewhere in the world.
On the top of the caste hierarchy is the Brahman and at the bottom is the
Untouchable (Dalit) and in between are the Kshatriya, the Vashya, and the
Sudra in a descending order. According to the Hindu scriptures, the Brahmans
have been sprung from the mouth of Brahma (Hindu god), the Kshatriyas from
his arms, the Vashyas from his thigh and the Sudras from his feet.
Broadly, Hindus are divided into two groups: caste Hindus (also varna Hindus)
and low-caste Hindus. The former includes the Brahman, the Kshatriya and the
Vashya who are the descendants of the fair-skinned Aryan invaders and the
latter includes the Sudras, who are dark in skin and are the offspring of the
original inhabitants of India. In this group is also included the most
unfortunate Dalit who is outcaste because he falls outside the original
fourfold groupings. He is untouchable because his touch is bound to pollute
the other castes and that is why he must always remain at a sufficient
distance from them.
The fourfold division is not the end of the caste system; the community is
subdivided into thousands of sub-castes (gotras). According to a survey
undertaken by the Anthropological Survey of India during 1985-92, those who
are called Hindu are divided among 2,800 unique communities. The so-called
low-caste Hindus are officially divided into three broad groups, namely
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. According to
this survey, these groups are subdivided into 450, 461, and 766 distinct
communities respectively [ 2 ].
The great distinctions of caste are to be maintained not only in the earthly
life, but also after death. According to Markandaya Purana, after death, the
virtuous Brahman goes to the abode of Brahma, the good Kshatriya to that of
Indra, the worthy Vashya to that of the Maruts, and the dutiful Sudra to that
of the Gandharvas [ 3 ]. Apparently, the Untouchable (Dalit) does not deserve
any place in any heaven, may be because of his untouchability.
Origin of the Caste System
'Caste' is a Portuguese word, used by the Portuguese as equivalent of 'varna'
(a Sanskrit word, which means 'colour'). They used this word to designate the
peculiar system of religious and social distinction which they observed among
those who are called Hindu. Caste originally was a colour-bar, and in India,
as later in America, served at first to separate free men from slaves.
Gradually, the Brahmans made it a religiously ordained social fabric for the
Hindu society. Manu, a Brahman, gave in his book, Dharma shastra, details
about the caste system.
When the fair-skinned Aryans invaded India, about two thousand years before
Jesus Christ (pbuh), they defeated the dark-skinned indigenous people,
Dravidians, who were the founder of the Indian Civilization. The Aryans
subjugated them, learnt many things from them and built up another
civilization which came to be known as the Ganges Valley or Hindu
Civilization. To perpetuate the enslavement of the original inhabitants of
India, the Aryans created the caste system, and thereby excluded them from
their own society with the name of Sudra (which means slave).
In the words of S.W. Theertha, "When the ancient priests set themselves up as
an exclusive caste of Brahmans in order to establish their self-assumed
superiority, they had to inflict degradation on all other Hindus (i.e.,
original Indians) and press them down to various layers of subordination.
They had to keep the people divided, disunited, weak and degraded, to deny
them learning, refinement and opportunities of advancement, and permanently
and unalterably to tie them down to a low status in society. The Hindu social
organization based on hereditary castes was evolved by the Brahmans with the
above object and was enforced on the people with the help of foreign
conquerors."[ 4 ]
Caste Determines Duty
In Hindu community, the basic duty of every individual is determined by his
caste. The Brahman is the rightful possessor of the Veda and is the chief of
the whole creation. He has the exclusive right to become a priest. It is
through his benevolence that other mortals enjoy life.
The Khsatriya is described as the dispenser of justice, particularly as the
one whose duty it is to punish law-breakers; he exercises the civil power and
to his tender mercies the Brahmans could hand over law- breakers. He has to
see that the various castes attend to their prescribed duties; but in doing
this work he must abide by the decisions of the Brahmans.
The Vashya comprises the merchant, the agriculturist, and the keeper of
cattle. His chief work is keeping cattle.
The Sudra has been created to serve the other three castes (i.e., the
fair-skinned Aryans). "He is spoken of as a slave, his property, as well as
his person, being at the disposal of his master." [ 5 ]
The Untouchable (Dalit) is to perform the most unpleasant tasks: cleaning
lavatories, carrying night soil, skinning carcasses and making footwear.
Social, Economic and Other Aspects
The social, economic and other aspects of life are controlled by the caste
regulation. Caste differences are largely invoked while arranging marriages
and eating together. For rural Indians, castes shape almost every aspect of
their lives: the food they eat and who can cook it; how they bathe; the
colour of their clothes; the length of a sari (cloth worn by a woman); how
the dhoti (cloth worn by a Hindu man) is tied; which way a man's moustaches
are trained and whether he can carry an umbrella. Everything is determined by
caste and nothing is left to chance.
Caste regulations formulated by Manu are discriminatory in nature; they
favour the Aryan Hindus and discriminate against the so-called low-caste
Hindus. In teaching the duties of the 1ow-caste people concerning marriage,
Manu declares that a man aged thirty may marry a girl of twelve, and a man of
twenty-four years may marry a girl of eight. He, however, is very particular
about the marriage regulations of Brahmans. A Brahman must avoid marrying a
girl whose family has produced no sons, that which has thick hair on the
body, or is afflicted with hereditary disease. Let him choose for his wife a
girl whose form has no defect, who has an agreeable manner, who walks
gracefully like a young elephant, and whose body has exquisite softness [ 6
].
Punishment for offence is also determined by discriminatory caste
regulations. A crime against a man of his own caste by a Sudra is venial
offence; but a similar offence committed against a man belonging to so-
called higher caste is proportionately greater. If a Sudra through pride
dares to give instructions to priests concerning their duty, hot oil will be
dropped into his mouth and ears. A high-caste man having intercourse with a
Sudra woman is to be banished; a Sudra having intercourse with a woman of the
superior castes is to be put to death. Whatever a Brahman's offence, the king
must on no account put him to death; he may, at the most, banish him,
allowing him to take his property with him. Further, in case of wrongdoing
against him, a Brahman need not approach the civil court, he is free to take
vengeance upon the offender [ 7 ].
References
[1] Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, Madras, 1992, p.
187. [2] Dalit Voice, 15:4, p. 20. [3] John C. Oman, The Brahmans, Theists,
and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, p. 50. [4] Theertha, p.1 64. [5] Wilkins,
Modern Hinduism, London, 1975, p. 247. [6] Ibid., p. 196. [7] See Wilkins,
1975, pp. 239-40; Oman, p. 52.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPERIORITY OF THE BRAHMANS
From the days immemorial, the Brahmans in India, have been the owners of
wealth and power, the leaders of the people, the custodians of religious and
secular learning, unrivalled politicians and administrators, besides being
the trustees of the people's conscience as priests. In the words of S.D.
Theertha, "Probably no other class of persons in any society ever combined in
themselves all these advantages so exclusively as the Brahmans. It is equally
doubtful if any other aristocratic class has ever exercised their privileges
to the detriment of the common people so unscrupulously and for so long a
period as these Brahman priests." [ 1 ] He further observes, "No imperial
power ever imposed on a weaker people a more ruthless and soul-destroying
domination than the Brahmans did on the rest of their fellow citizens, and no
race of superior men ever arrogated to themselves such haughty supremacy and
false greatness as they have."[ 2 ]
The extent to which the Brahmans went on advocating their own unimpeachable
divine greatness may be seen in some quotations from the Manu Smriti as given
below [ 3 ].
'A Brahman is born to fulfill Dharma. Whatever exists in the world is the
property of the Brahman. On account of the excellence of his origin, he is
entitled to all. The Brahman eats but his own food, wears but his own
clothes. All mortals subsist through the benevolence of the Brahmans.'
'Let the king after rising early in the morning worship Brahmans who are
well-versed in the threefold sacred sciences and learned in policy and accept
their advice.'
'When a learned Brahmin has found treasure deposited in former times he may
take even the whole of it; for he is master of everything. When the king
finds treasure of gold concealed in the ground let him give one-half to
Brahmans and place the other half in his treasure.'
'A Brahman is allowed to marry four wives a Kshatriya three wives, a Vashya
two wives and a Sudra one wife only.'
Here are some more quotations which are very high sounding in respect of the
holiness and divine status of the Brahmans.
"A man who basely assault a Brahman, with an intention to hurt him, shall be
whirled about for a century in a hell called Tamisri; but having smitten him
in anger and by design even with a blade of grass; he shall be born in
one-and-twenty transmigrations from the wombs of impure animals."[ 4 ]
"If a man sells his cow he will go to hell; if he gives her to a Brahman, he
will go to heayen." [ 5 ]
"If on Ganga's (the river Ganges) anniversary the whole villages be given to
Brahmans, the person presenting them will acquire all the merits that can be
obtained; his body will be a million times more glorious than the sun; he
will have a million virgins, many carriages and palanquins with jewels and he
will live in heaven with his father, as many years as there are particles in
the land given."[ 6 ]
"The son of Ita then inquired: Tell me Vayu, to whom the earth, with its
wealth, rightfully belongs to the Brahman or the Kshatriya? Vayu replied: All
this whatever exists in the world, is the Brahmans property by right of
primogeniture: this is known to those who are skilled in the laws of duty. It
is his own which the Brahman eats, puts on, bestows. He is the chief of all
the castes, the first-born and the most excellent. Just as the woman when she
has lost her (first) husband takes her brother-in-law for a second; so the
Brahman is the first resource in calamity; afterwards another may arise
(Mahabharata)."[ 7 ]
"No blame accrues to Brahmans from teaching or sacrficing or from receiving
money in any other way... Just as a fire does not lose its purity by blazing
even in a cemetery, so too, whether learned or unlearned, a Brahman is a
great deity. Cities are not rendered magnificent by ramparts, gates, or
palaces of various kinds if they are destitutes of excellent Brahmans."[ 8 ]
"Whatever good man bows to a Brahman, worshiping him as a Vishnu, is blessed
with long life sons fame and wealth... The bearer of a drop of water which
has been in contact with a Brahman's foot has all the sins of his body
thereby destroyed. Whoever carries on his head the holy things touched by a
Brahman's foot verily, verily I say, he is freed from all sins (Padma
Purana)."[ 9 ]
"The wealth that is stolen by the Brahman tends to well being in the next
life; the wealth that is given to the Sudra tends to Hell." (Sukraniti) [ 10
]
"The Brahman is supreme to law even to moral law when it clashes with his
worldly interest; and though it is disgraceful for him to be a hired servant
he may without hesitation take the property of a Sudra." (Dharma Shastra) [
11 ]
"Let a Brahman be ignorant or leaned, still he is a great deity. To Brahman,
the three worlds and the gods owe their existence. Thus though Brahmans
employ themselves in all mean occupations they must be honoured in every way,
for each of them is a great deity." (Manu Smriti). [ 12 ]
"Through the powers of the Brahmans the Ausuras were prostrated on the
waters; by the favour of the Brahmans the gods inhabit heaven. The ether
cannot be created; the mountain Hamavat cannot be shaken, the Ganga (river)
cannot be stemmed by a dam; the Brahmans cannot be conquered by any one upon
earth. The world cannot be ruled in opposition to the Brahmans; for the
mighty Brahmans are the deities even of the gods. If thou desire to possess
the sea-girt earth, honour them continually, with gifts and with service." [
13 ]
"In the Mahabharata Bhishma says to Yudhishtira, 'the highest duty of a
crowned king is to worship learned Brahmans; they should be protected as one
protects oneself or one's children, and be respected bowed to and revered as
if they were one's parents. If Brahmans are contented the whole country
prospers; if they are discontented and angry; everything goes to destruction.
They can make a god not-a-god and not-a-god a god. One whom they praise,
prospers; and one whom they reproach becomes miserable."[ 14 ]
It should be noted that the books in which the Brahmans have been elevated to
such a superhuman and super-divine position were written by the Brahmans
themselves. Among them, Manu was the most prominent law-giver. In sharp
contrast to the superhigh position of the Brahmans, the status of the
original Indians whom the Aryan invaders gave the name Sudra (slave) was
lowered to a level quite unfit for any human being. This the Brahman's did to
perpetuate the dominance of the invading nation over the defeated people.
References
[1] Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, (Madras: 1992),
pp.113-14. [2] Ibid., pp. 163-64. [3] Ibid., p. 37. [4] Wilkins: Modern
Hinduism, London: 1975, pp. 240-41, quoted from the Manu Smrithi. [5] Ibid,
p. 241. [6] Ibid. [7] Mahabharata, Saptaparvam, verse, 2755. [8] John C.
Oman, The Brahmans, Theists, and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, pp. 50-51.
[9] Dr. John Wilson, Indian Caste, Vol. 1, p. 426, quoted by Oman, p. 52.
[10] Theertha, p. 118. [11] Ibid., p. 239. [12] Ibid., p. 37. [13] Muir,
Sanskrit Texts, vol. 1, pp. 129-30, quoted by Oman, pp. 50-51. [14] R.G.
Bhandarkar, Peep into Early History of India, pp. 64-65, quoted by Theertha,
pp. 90-91.
-------------------------------------
STATUS OF THE SUDRAS
The Sudra has a precarious position in Hindu community. According to Manu
Smrithi, a Brahman is forbidden to give advice or even food to a Sudra, for
the ghi (clarified butter) having been offered to the gods, must not be eaten
by him. Further, the Brahman must not give 'spiritual counsel to him,' nor
inform him of the legal expiation of his sin. He who declares the law to a
servile man, and he who instructs him in the mode of expiating sin, sinks
with that very man into hell.
A Brahman should never be the guru of a Sudra. 'While the first part of a
Brahman's name should indicate holiness that of a Kshatriya's power and that
of a Vashya's wealth, that of a Sudra 's should indicate contempt. The Veda
is never to be read in the presence of a Sudra, and for him no sacrifice is
to be performed. He has no business with solemn rites [ 1 ].
A Sudra has no right even to listen to the Veda. Recitation of or listening
to this sacred book is exclusively a privilege of the Aryan Hindus. There is
provision of severe punishment for a Sudra, in case he dares to enjoy this
privilege. If he "overheard a recitation of the Vedas, molten lac or tin was
to be poured into his mouth; if he repeated recitation of the Vedas, his
tongue should be cut; and if he remembered Vedic hymns, his body was to be
torn into pieces."[ 2 ]
A Sudra is debarred from marrying a woman of the higher castes; if he does,
their offspring will sink into a class even lower than his own. He must not
participate in carrying the corpse of a Brahman. He is allowed to carry his
dead only through the southern gate of the city where he may live. The murder
of a Sudra by a Brahman is equal only to killing a cat or a frog or a cow [ 3
].
In fact, the Sudras who have only deprivations and sufferings in their lots,
are not Hindus. As Wilkins suggests, "the Sudras were not originally part of
the Hindu system, but were engrafted into it..."[ 4 ] Still worse than the
Sudras are the Dalits (also called Untouchables) who fall outside the caste
system and are therefore the worst in the social hierarchy.
References
[1] Wilkins, Modern Hinduism, London, 1975, pp. 247-48.
[2] Swami Dharma Theertha, History of Hindu Imperialism, Madras, 1992, p. 42.
[3] Wilkins, 1975, p.248.
[4] Ibid., p. 255.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFERIORITY OF THE DALIT
The so-called Dalits (Untouchables) are the most pitiable victims of the
obnoxious and pernicious caste system. Manu has little to say about them. He
affirms that the members of three castes, the Brahman, the Kshatriya, and the
Vashya, are twice-born; the fourth, the Sudra, once-born; there is no fifth.'
All others are outcastes. The common name Dasyas (slaves) is applied to them
all.[ 1 ]
The treatment accorded to the Dalit is simply inhuman. According to Manu
Smriti, 'Outcasted persons have no share in inheritance.'[ 2 ] The orthodox
Brahmans still believe, if the shadow of a Dalit falls on them, they are
polluted and will have to purify them by sprinkling over themse1ves water
from the holy river, the Ganges [ 3 ]. 'You may breed cows and dogs in your
house,' wrote Mr. M.C. Raja. 'You may drink the urine of cows and swallow
cowdung to expiate your sins, but you shall not approach an Adi Dravida [ 4
]. These people are still denied the use of public wells and tanks and at the
same time stigmatized as unclean. They are still kept out of schools and
colleges maintained by public funds and at the same time despised as ignorant
and illiterate. They are still Shut out from temples, and yet branded as
ungodly and unfit to associate with. For access to public roads and even for
spaces to bury the dead, they have to depend much on the capricious
benevolence of their caste-Hindu neighbours.[ 5]
References
[1] Wilkins: Modern Hinduism, London: 1975, p. 263. [2] John C. Oman, The
Brahmans, Theists, and Muslims of India, Delhi, 1973, p. 47. [3] F.M.
Sandeela, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism, Delhi, 1990, pp. 69-70. [4] i.e.,
original Indians: Dalits, Sudras, tribal people. [5] Swami Dharma Theertha,
History of Hindu Imperialism, (Madras: 1992), pp. 184-85, quoted from P.
Chidambaram Pillai's Right of Temple Entry, p. 150.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Ch. Rajinder NIJJHAR
Castes are many and are based upon birth in a family rather than
profession.
Ch. Rajinder Nijjhar, M.Sc.
A Jat of the United Greater Panjab,
Mussallmaan of Pir Nanak Shah,
Gnostics are the living christs (satgurus) and NOT Christians, of Living
Allah (Spirit),
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