Indian Caste Systems & Stratification

Stratification is a system, by which society ranks its members in a hierarchy, is the norm throughout the world. All societies stratify their members, which can depend on wealth, income, ethnicity, gender, political status, religion or caste. This is seen in many cultures of throughout the world; however it is evidently an important issue when it comes to Indian culture and caste.

The Indian Caste system describes the social stratification in place by members of Indian society. People are separated into one of the different castes, which determine their importance and by which people are discriminated. Caste is linked to Karma and Samsara. If you live a good life and obey the caste rules, you will be reincarnated into a higher caste. However, this only applies for men, since women can only reincarnate into an animal.

Although there are many subdivisions of castes in modern India, traditionally there were four main castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. There is also a 5^th caste, the Dalits, which are not even considered a caste, as they are the considered “untouchable” and lowly.

The Indian Caste System is a means of stratification because people are ranked and discriminated against because of the caste they belong to. Caste is achieved by birth and it is also endogamous: one must marry a person within the same caste. Marriages between people of different castes are forbidden and very controversial, since they go against the cultural norms most Hindu people live by.

Since the caste system does indeed stratify the individuals in society, we also see social inequality comes into play. We see that people in the higher castes are given more opportunities and privileges, while people from lower castes are forced to endure harder punishment than Brahmins for the same crimes; they are not allowed to share meals with people from other castes and are responsible for menial tasks, such as cleaning, scavenging, and such.

The articles that support the caste system argue that the caste system formed in order to have a more functional society. It argues that by classifying people and measuring their success by the area they are assigned to, we are having a more logical way to compare them to other individuals and determine their level of success. It also states that not all men are born equal; therefore, not all men need to have the same rights. I disagree about this because, regardless of the circumstances in which anyone is born, I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to make the most of their lives, and by having the caste system, in which there is little, if any, mobility, we are eliminating opportunities based on birth, not merit.

The articles that are against the caste system elaborate on the crimes and violence caused by conflicts in regards to inter-caste issues. Couples and activists murdered, oppression and discrimination, and lack of assistance from law enforcement agencies are just a few of the things that are common consequences of the stratification in India caused by the caste system. These articles argue that the caste system promotes slavery and enforces the belief that some people are better than others, simply based on birth.

When we examine the Social Conflict paradigm, we see that it does not support the Indian Caste system, but rather than that, it explains it. Gerhard Lenski said that society was filled with inequalities which cause conflict and bring about change (Macionis 2008).

When we look at the current situation in Indian society, we see that there has been an increase in the inter-caste marriages. We can also see that because of this, there has also been an increase in the murders of inter-caste couples, an example of the conflict caused by people not accepting the inequality when it comes to inter-caste marriage. The government has an incentive set up in order to promote an increase in inter-caste marriages.

Analyzing the Indian Caste System in the eyes of Emile Durkheim, we see that the Structural Functional paradigm supports the caste system by arguing that society and all its parts work well and have an important role in how we act, think and feel (Macionis 2008) It would also argue that the Indian Caste system is a function of society, meant to allow the knowledgeable people govern while the others are born to be merchants and others are born into a life of service to other of higher castes and hard labor.

Personally, I believe that the caste system is not favorable for society. It causes hate crimes, enforces inequalities and uses caste as a justification for all these. I believe that more than creating order, it causes more friction and tension in society than any good it can portray. By analyzing how stratification works and its consequences, I’ve been able to understand society better and see how it causes harm to others.
References

Macionis, JJ. (2008) Sociology (12^th Edition) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Wax, Emily Washingtonpost.com. Saturday, November 22 2008 Washington Post Foreign Service

CliffNotes.com