Caste System In Brave New World

Brave Old World:
The Indian Caste System and Aldous Huxley’s Dystopia
According to sociologists, a caste system is a social structure composed of ascribed statuses; that is, the governing principles of a society divide its people by inalterable traits. However, the Indian caste system is a more complex matter in that it does not exist solely for the division of economic classes, or loosely govern the relations between subcultures. Rather, the castes are binding social contracts that tie directly into the predominant religion of the region. The Hindu caste system, on the whole, represents not only economic disparity in the Indian subcontinent, but social discrimination and the necessity that a society remains at a cultural equilibrium. Spanning several thousands of years, the caste system of India has only recently been abolished, while much of its hold over Indian culture has yet to subside; it is an enduring concept that has profound

implications for human nature and the need for categorization.
THE ORIGIN OF THE CASTES
The caste system originated very early on, prior to any permanent political structure developed in the Indian subcontinent. At its genesis, there were four main castes, or varnas: the priests, the rulers and warriors, the artisans and traders, and the peasant class. Several theories exist to explain the beginnings of the caste system, though the most accepted catalyst is the migration of the Aryans into the Indus River valley (Deshpande). Varna, which doubles as the Hindi word for caste, actually means “color.” It is theorized, therefore, that the castes began with the drastically differing skin tones of Aryans, Dravidians, and other ethnicities native to the Indian subcontinent. Very few migrations occurred into, or out of, India, framed as it was by ocean on three sides and a mountain range to the north, and the Aryans took a place at the top of Indian society by conquering the native peoples. The isolation of India also likely played a role in the development of the castes, as there was little opportunity for outside social structures to take root in the region. As the Aryans displaced the local hierarchies, they designated most locals on the level of servants and peasants. However, an ethnic subset with extremely dark skin, the Mahars, were declaimed as outcastes and socially ostracized. They became the so-called “untouchables.”
The Hindu caste system is perhaps the quintessential example of religious doctrine’s strict hold on society. The Aryan ‘Brahman,’ or priests, incorporated the varnas into the Hindu religion. The creation of man in the Rig Veda, an ancient Hindu religious text, asserts that:
When they divided Purusa how many portions did they make? What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet? The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the Rajanya made. His thighs became the Vaisya, from his feet the Sudra was produced (Griffith and Shastri).
Thus, even in the most basic Hindu myth was mankind divided into castes, firmly affixing the association of caste with religion in Indian culture. In conjunction with creating man into four predetermined castes, the religion also taught belief in reincarnation. In that, it was asserted that an individual was born into a caste “due to past injustice,” citing their actions in a previous life as a cause for their current fortune or misfortune (Deshpande 22). The inseparability of caste with religion is one likely cause for the survival of this archaic system well into the modern age.
Not only has the caste system thrived for several millennia, but it has also sustained itself through major political turmoil. Despite several dynasties rising and falling, the introduction of a new, norm-challenging religion, and eventually, the conquering of India by the British Empire, the caste system was extant, despite ample opportunity for social change. This is a testament to how deeply entrenched the caste system is in Indian society. The influence of the East India Company, however, damaged the stability of the castes by introducing new legislature that undermined the strictness of Indian social mores.
THE IMPACT OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
The caste system, by virtue of existing to divide individuals into categories, is rife with discrimination. The Dalit outcastes faced tremendous opposition from the other varnas, living in poverty and isolated from Indian society. To some extent, this has begun to change, but crimes against the untouchables often go unreported, and it was speculated that of financial aid sent to help Dalits in the 1980s, “not more fifteen percent ever reached the intended beneficiaries” (Ninian). Corrupt and prejudiced officials intercepted most aid. Rates of caste-based crime against Dalits are very high, though national statistics are regarded as inaccurate because many of these crimes, including murder and rape, go unreported and unpunished.
The Dalits have little room for social mobility; indeed, the caste system defers social mobility to the next life, preventing any members of a caste from changing their situation. This social stagnancy is in many ways damaging to those in the lower castes and is complicit development of prejudice; discrimination against lower castes is encouraged, because being born into these castes is seen as a punishment for the actions of a past life. However, a phenomenon has developed to increase social mobility, though generally to a very small extent. This phenomenon, known as Sanskritization, is the process by which members of a lower caste adopt the cultures of higher castes, thereby associating themselves with the more respected classes. For example, because religious and physical cleanliness is highly important to the revered Brahmin caste, lower castes occasionally adopt the asceticism inherent to the Brahman (Sharda). They will give up many base pleasures, such as alcohol, to mirror the Brahman; this is somewhat ironic due to the initial habits of the Brahman to ingest soma, a native plant alcohol, for religious purposes, showing that the Brahman control what is seen as desirable and pure.
Each varna, though limited by strict inter-caste regulations, filled every role necessary in Indian society. In addition to the four major castes, there are thousands of subcastes, or jati, composed of groups that make a living off a particular occupation. As Deshpande asserts, the maintenance of a position in the jati occupational hierarchy is accomplished via an “elaborate ritual system” that controls the relationships between the jati (13). These specific divisions of labor ensure the smooth running of society, as each necessary function is performed. As it is taboo to violate the regulations of jati behavior and the belief in reincarnation also claims that fulfilling the requirements of one’s caste is the way to move up in the caste system, few caste members will rebel against these restraints and risk ostracization.
ABOLITION OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
The movement toward the abolition of the caste system was a slow and arduous process. Tied as it was to Hinduism, the dominant religion in India, few were willing to take a stand against it, and even fewer made any more than marginal success. The first significant changes came in the mid-nineteenth century and gathered steam during the independence movement in the 1900s. At first, the self-proclaimed Dalits worked to find a place for themselves within Hinduism, but by 1910, the Dalits turned their sights on “distancing themselves from Hinduism” while Mahatma Gandhi worked both to uplift the Dalits and incorporate them into the religion (Deshpande). Around the same time, B.R. Ambedkar began a second movement that focused on fighting the economic and political subjugation of the Dalits. The caste system was officially abolished in 1947, but the work of activists was far from over.
The caste system, while illegal in name, was and is still widely practiced throughout India. Certainly, Gandhi, Ambedkar, and other activists made great strides, but crime rates against Dalits scarcely lessened and caste-based discrimination never truly slackened. The majority of Hindus continued to believe in the caste system as a punishment or reward for past lives, and the few laws banning violence against certain castes and other discrimination were not taken seriously or strictly enforced. Even today, places exist where Dalits “live in segregated communities and the only contact they have with higher caste people is in doing the menial jobs” that are considered part and parcel of their outcaste status (Ninian). The rights of Dalits are still shockingly unprotected and state policy has yet to impose serious consequences for discrimination.
RELATIONSHIP TO BRAVE NEW WORLD
The Indian caste system is strikingly similar to that of Brave New World in several ways.

Huxley’s system of dividing people in the World State is fixed on the notion of filling all the necessary functions in society, from productivity to reproduction to governing; this is almost precisely the purpose of the jati in India. They also follow the pattern of predestination, determining before birth what career a person will take up and what status they will have in society. In fact, one can argue that the World State has perfected predestination by conditioning its citizens to be satisfied with their lot in life. The social division of the classes is also similar, in that lower castes are perceived as lesser, while upper classes are to be admired. These similarities are unsurprising, as Brave New World was written around the time of the major campaigns against the caste system. Huxley draws from the caste system to add a further dimension to his fictional world and provide social commentary on the strict division of socioeconomic

groups.