The Institution of Caste in Hinduism
By Syed Osman Sher
Mississauga, Canada
Humans are by nature suffering from the “us and them” syndrome. It has given birth to the caste system leading to people’s stratification in a society based on the notion of a section being pure and the other polluted.
Various factors are at play in creating this phenomenon, like economic and financial position, profession, race, descent, place of origin, etc. Such differentiation among the people is generally endogamous and hereditary, and so the stigma continues generation after generation resulting in such evils as hatred, discrimination, maltreatment, exclusion, segregation, and servitude.
Many countries have seen such groups of outcastes like Japan’s Burakumin, Korea’s Baekjeong, Yemen’s Akhdam, Nigeria’s Osu, Somalia’s Madhiban/Yibir/ Tumal, and Kenya’s Watta. This class is generally required to perform dirty works like scavenging and to live in designated areas separate from the living quarters of the high caste people. Millions and millions of people around the world are suffering from this apartheid. The caste system is man-made and, therefore, either has been done away with through legislation or has lost its intensity with the passage of time and change in the norms of society and in the economic and social status of the victims.
In this regard, the caste system of Hinduism is the most well-known, and unique too. Not being confined to a country but acquiring the sanctity of religion it structures the life of a Hindu from birth to death, even to his next birth irrespective of the place where he is born or lives. Being one of the chief pillars of Hindu society and religion, it is persisting tenaciously even to this day. An orthodox follower of this religion holds that the caste system is of divine appointment and that it has existed for all time. This philosophy springs out of the person of the Divinity himself. The tenth and final “book” of the Rig Veda (X.90), explains in the hymn, 'Sacrifice of the Cosmic Man” (Purusha-sukta): “Into how many portions did they divide this being whom they immolated? What did his mouth become? What are his arms, his thighs, and his feet now called? His mouth became Brahmana, his arm was made Rajanya; his thigh was transformed into Vaiśy; from his feet sprang Śudra”. Such a classification of human being claimed to be universal and divine, however, is not accepted anywhere in the world or by any religion.
Hindu religion maintains that all living beings have an immortal soul. The quality of actions (karma) of a person during his lifetime determines the status in which he would take rebirth with this eternal soul. Thus, the soul has to pass through a succession of lives and deaths, until it achieves liberation (moksha). The underlined fatalism that one's own karma of the previous life is responsible for his present state or caste into which he is born forces him to accept unquestionably his status in society. This religious sanction was so sacred that even with later political and social advancement no government could dare adopt measures for its eradication in order to enforce equality among citizens. On the contrary, they subordinated their policies to the exigencies of society. The present Constitution of India, however, prohibits its application, but religion, legend, tradition, and illiteracy have such a strong grip on the masses that it has not been able to make much of a difference.
Strangely, while the institution of caste is totally absent in Islam, the followers of this religion living together with the Hindus in India since the early eighth century also could not separate themselves from this Vedic embrace. Today the Muslims of the Indo-Pak subcontinent belong to various castes, higher or lower, by descent, race, and profession, like Syed, Sheikh, Malik, Pathan, Jat, Kunjra (vegetable seller), Qasab (butcher), and Julaha (cloth weaver). It has created somehow a sort of social segregation among the Muslims, most notably in the sphere of inter-marriages. In the footsteps of the Brahmans, the highest caste of the Hindus, the Muslims too should have one. Since Islam has no Cosmic Man, the person of the Holy Prophet was available there for their help; his descendants became Syeds. The rest were considered not of such a noble origin, although Islam says that the most preferable in the sight of Allah are only those who are pious. The Prophet’s admonition for the differentiation between Ajams and Arabs, and between blacks and whites, was thrown to the winds. (On a personal note: I use Syed with my name only as a part of the name given at birth by my parents, and as inscribed in my educational documents: no racial value is attached thereto).
Hinduism is not a revealed religion. It has no set doctrines and is such a composite of varied beliefs that it belies easy definition. It has no church or hierarchy of priests, nor congregational set-up of any sort. The main factor that is detrimental in affecting reforms from within is the absence of an authoritative body that could assess the needs of the society from time to time and make pronouncements. The caste system is not a small component of the faith; rather it has encompassed the entire structure of Hinduism. Necessarily, very gigantic and revolutionary steps were needed for its reform. Also, the measures to bring change in this institution might not be taken in a short run; they had to be evolved and the society to be conditioned for it over a long period of time.
But initiative never came forth in this direction from the people of intellect, learning, and high position who alone could bring a change. Unfortunately, they were the high caste people and were themselves the beneficiary of this arrangement. The scourge of the caste system thus persists. Hinduism does not allow any dent in the system irrespective of the change in the financial position and social status of the individual. For example, the present President of India is a Dalit, and he will remain an individual of the lowest caste.
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