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How was the early caste system of india structured
Caste system in indian civilization
Caste system in indian civilization
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Around the world, people are born into poverty against their own will. The location in which they are born will determine the level of difficulty in escaping their poverty. The caste system is a well-known way of life associated with Hindus, who are predominantly found in India. India is known to have the most extreme poverty conditions in the world, and the caste system makes it hard to escape such poverty. However, North Americans do not have such problems because of the opportunities that are offered, and the less obvious classifying of society. Location is an essential component when it comes to whether a person will be doomed to hardship or will eventually escape.
The Portuguese word casta means race, or breed, and Hindus have traditionally interpreted this as different levels of society, known as the caste system used in India (“India caste system”). The caste placements are commonly associated with a specific occupation, for example, a priest is a member of the Brahmin caste, and a merchant is a member of the Vaishya caste (“BBC - The caste system”). A Hindu is born into the caste that their parents are ‘members’ of, and as a member of that caste, they must marry in the caste, perform the expected occupation of that caste and eventually die as a member of said caste. The lowest caste of the system are the Dalit, or ‘untouchables’ as they are more commonly known. Members of this caste are also born into it, but because of their extreme conditions of living in poverty, they were too despicable to be considered a part of the caste system. These ‘untouchables’ were usually found begging on the streets and did not have a job that fell into the categories of the caste system, therefore were severely looked down upon by all othe...
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...nd are only expected to live in poverty in the most extreme of conditions and beg for money. They are frowned upon from all other castes and are avoided at all costs, which does not give them much opportunity to escape from poverty. However, in North America, specifically Canada, society has progressed with the help of the government to help people escape or avoid living on the streets for their entire lives. The government has provided many chances for the less fortunate, and even well off people to reduce their chance of living a life of poverty. Living in India, where the caste system dictates how your lifestyle will be, differs from life in Canada because of the many opportunities that are available to the people to help escape poverty. A person’s future regarding whether they will live in poverty or be able to escape it is heavily influenced by where they live.
...ecause there is strong dependence of how a person overcomes poverty and matters in life.
There are four main castes and one in which they consider to be the outcastes. The four main castes are the Brahmin, the next is the Kshatriya, the third is the Vaishya, and the fourth is the Shudra. The outcastes are in the group called Dalits. Each caste has a purpose in life, the Brahmin are considered to be the priestly caste in which they are teach the Veda, and are to “sacrifice for others and receive alms” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Kshatriya is considered the warriors or the ruler caste, they have constant practice in battles, and they are to protect the world from harm. The Vaishya are to be the merchants and the farmers, they tend to the cattle, they, “engage in farming, keeps cows, trades, lends money at interest, and grows seeds” (Institutes of Vishnu 5-10, pg. 44). The Shudra are the manual laborers who according to the Institutes of Vishnu under the Four Castes, are to serve the twice born men who are to sacrifice and to study the Veda, the Shudra also engage in all the different duties of craftsmanship (5-10, pg.44). In case of a crisis, each caste is allowed to follow the occupation of the caste that is below them in rank. The duties in which all four of these castes, whatever gender or stage of life, are to follow and hav...
In India, the religion of Hinduism in particular, provides two sources of support in regards to the social structure of the era. These sources are the Vedas and the Upanishads. According to The Rig Veda when Purusha’s body was divided “his mouth became the brāhman; his two arms were made into the rajanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shūdra was born (Reilly, 92).” By splitting up the body in this way, there was a justification for the creation of the varna or caste system. The highest class or Brahmin’s were the priest class, who were also known as the most pure. In this role, they were the connecting figures between Purusha and his people, which is reflective of them being his mouth. The next upper division class was the Ksatriya or warrior/leader class. In the class, the role was to do the fighting which was reflective of them being Purusha’s arms. The artisan/farmer or middle class was known as the vaisyas. In this class, members represented the role of the thighs of Purusha, who were responsible for doing the brunt or tougher jobs in society. The nethermost social class was the sudra, who were serfs and servants. They represented the feet of Pursha, which is reflective of their status as the lowest class. Along with the Vedas, the Upanishads served as a written guideline for the varna. These works urged the concept of doin...
Although poverty has minimized, it is still significant poverty which is characterized by a numerous amount of things. There are two types of poverty case and insular. “Case poverty is the farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt” (Galbraith 236)Case poverty is not irretraceable and usually caused if someone in the household experiences “ mental deficiency, bad health, inability to adapt to the discipline of industrial life, uncontrollable procreation, alcohol, some educational handicap unrelated to community shortcomings” (Galbraith 236).Case poverty is often blamed on the people for their shortcomings but on some levels can be to pinpoint one person's shortcomings that caused this poverty. Most modern poverty is insular and is caused by things people in this community cannot control. “The most important characteristic of insular poverty is forces, common to all members of the community, that restrain or prevent participation in economic life and increase rates of return.
The idea that people of poor communities conform to a living standard and behavior is a concept described by Oscar Lewis as the culture of poverty. It is the belief that poor people consists of their own beliefs and values and behaviors. And more than 45 years later after the term, the culture of poverty paradigm remains the same: there is a consistent and observable culture that is shared by people in poverty. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as the culture of poverty. differences in behaviors and values among those that are poor are just as significant as those between wealthy and poor. The culture of poverty is a construct of smaller stereotypes which seem to have implanted themselves into the collective conscience of mainstream thought as undeniable fact. However, as we will see, nothing could be further from the truth. Based on 6 most common myths of what defines poor from wealthy, I will provide evidence to the contrary.
Fifty percent of Indian people do not have proper shelter. More than seventy percent do not have access to toilets or clean water. We can imagine the huge amount of problems lack of sanitation can bring. How can people focus on trying to make money when they do not even know where they will lay their head down to sleep at night. Another interesting thing I learned was that a lot of India follows the caste system. The caste system is a class structure and it is determined by birth. It essentially locks into whatever situation you are born into. If you are born to a poor family, you will remain poor and if you are born to a rich family you will be rich. You have no room to improve your life economically. How can we get rid of poverty and improve people’s lives, if so many of them still believe in the old traditions they we born into. It seems to turn into a cycle that will be hard to break. Another big reason for the poverty in India comes from the lack of literacy especially in women. Our earning power is largely tied to our level of education, if people do not have access to that they cannot better their lives. I not only learned in previous courses but also from online research that the more educated a woman is the less likely
Dictionary.com defines a caste system as “a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion” This means someone born into a low caste cannot move up to a higher caste because of this system. Although a caste system is not a set of laws, it is almost never broken because the caste system has been in place for so long.
The Dalits are a part of the lowest social status group in the Hindu caste system and are born below the caste system; the caste system is a system where the Hindu people are categorized by their occupations. The caste based society is used throughout india and extends farther into other nations; it goes to Pakistan, Siri Lanka, Nepal, and South Asia. When it first was created, the caste system solely depended on one’s job or their work, but it eventually became hereditary, passing on from family to famil...
The society also had its cultural practices which played a big role in my situation. This setting brought out a culture where women were to always stay at home and wait for the men to go get food and do the hard work leaving the women behind taking care of children and carrying out the house chores. This provision only increased the poverty in the area and especially in my personal experience where my father dies and my mother who was used to staying at home as the custom, is now the one who will struggle getting a job that which will take a woman for an
In this photo essay “Geography of Poverty: A journey through forgotten America” by Trymaine lee, he uses Photos by matte black as well as other visuals such as maps to explain poverty in the United State. When viewing, and reading through this photo essay it is obvious that the essay is focused around the poverty in the United State. Lee explains how there is a population of poor Americans living in the United States who lack essential needs. He uses a lot of statistics to demonstrate the increasing poverty rate in certain parts of this country. But he makes sure that the statistics isn't what's creating the platform for this literature, more pathos rather than ethos to connect to audience. The argument in this essay is we are slowly forgetting
Religious cultures of the world face the difficult of poverty and their beliefs on poverty. Societies believe that many different things cause poverty, as well as ways of surviving it. Poverty isn’t just about being rich or poor, it is also about what causes poverty and how to understand the reason for it. Many cultures have their own beliefs as to why poverty exists as well as how to contribute to it. In this essay, I will be discussing three major cultures and their beliefs on poverty. Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism are the cultures of study. This essay will be comparing and contrasting their beliefs of why it exists and how they deal with poverty. Also, explaining why each of the cultures beliefs more in depth, helping people understand the societies better with a more detailed background.
The categorization of a caste descends as low as “untouchables.” This term was ascribed to people that were considered so tainted that they were not to be touched by the other castes, and they were not allowed to even be in sight of the upper class. One could postulate that this is quite similar to the antiquated belief that African Americans were “unclean” and should be segregated from Caucasians.
In this research project there will be a great deal of changes from then and now because of time era and also the change in influence. This research project is about how life was like for a boy living in the 1880 to 1900 era compared to the present day. I will discus their home life, family life, and personal life, morals, & responsibilities. The first paragraph within each title will be "then", and the second paragraph within the title will be the "present day". This will cover all of the information that I have found on the selected subject. This information will be presented in my report in many paragraphs. Each of the paragraphs will be labeled separately
The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...
Mehta, Aasha K., and Amita Shah. 2002. Chronic poverty in India: overview study – defining the nature of chronic poverty in India. Manchester: Chronic Poverty Research Center.