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ETYMOLOGY OF THE ENGLISH WORD ''CASTE''
DEFINITIONS Caste is described by Oxford Dictionary as "each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status" and as "any exclusive social class".http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/caste?view=uk Though now one thinks of Hinduism when one thinks of caste, caste is from the Portuguese language, first used by the Portuguese to describe inherited class status in their own European society. Vedas and other Indian scriptures speak of "Varna," classification of the human society in general based on guna (personality traits) and Indian societies speak of "Jati (tribe)." In "A New History of India," by Stanley Wolpert, " a process of expansion, settled agricultural production, and pluralistic integration of new peoples led to the development of India's uniquely complex system of social organization, which was mistakenly labeled the caste system by the Portuguese. For what the Portuguese [... called "caste" in the sixteenth century was, in fact the Rig Vedic "class" (varna) system of Brahmanas (priests), Kshastriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), and Shudras (artisans), whereas what Indians mean by caste is really a much more narrowly limited, endogamous group related by "birth" (jati)." However, it should be noted that the Vedic classification of a society is universal and is not limited to India. Further, the Vedic classification (varna categorization of society based on nature or profession) is actually non-hereditary, individual, and can be changed by learning or practice. The word jati (tribe) is used to describe any community, and not specific to any one religion. A person's jati (community or tribe or caste) is the social group (with its own culture, religious practices, traditions, language, customs, regional origin, etc...) one is born into, and is hereditary. There are countless castes or communities (jatis) in India. Many communities were known for certain occupations. Before universal education, like every where else in the world, job skills were often transferred within families and communities. Those communities (jatis) known for a particular occupation or related occupations that could be categorized into one of the four varnas (priest, warrior, merchant/agriculturist, artisan types of work), were over time known as belonging to one of the four varnas. However, it should be noted that there are many Hindu religions in which animal sacrifices are common. The priests in those non-Brahminical temples, Christian churches and Islamic mosques do not belong to the vedic priest (Brahmin) class. Caste or Jati's association with a profesional varna can change by choosing a profession. Due tribal, racial, religious and ethnic affiliations, one marries within the community they are born into. Each community governs itself without proselytizing, interfereing or imposing their values on other communities, and this live and let live attitude is the main reason why so many communities were able to maintain their diversity while living among other communities in India. Anthropologists use the term "caste" more generally, to refer to a social group that is Endogamous and Occupationally specialized; such groups are common in highly stratified societies with a very low degree of social mobility; that is to say, a caste system is one in which an individual's occupation and marriage prospects are determined by his or her birth and heritage. In its broadest sense, examples of caste-based societies include colonial Latin America under Spanish and Portuguese rule (see Casta ) and advanced countries like the United States Of America , apart from India . CASTES IN AFRICA See Also: Caste system in Africa Countries in Africa who have societies with caste systems within their borders include Mali , Mauritania , Senegal , Gambia , Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , Ivory Coast , Niger , Burkina Faso , Cameroon , Ghana , Liberia , Sierra Leone , Algeria , Nigeria , Chad , Ethiopia and Somalia . The Osu caste system in Nigeria and southern Cameroon are derived from indigenous religious beliefs and discriminate against the "Osus" people as "owned by deities" and outcasts. [[ Similarly, the Mande societies in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana have caste systems that divide society by occupation and ethnic ties.The Mande caste system regards the "Jonow" slave castes as inferior. Similarly, the Wolof caste system in Senegal is divided into three main groups, the Geer (freeborn/nobles), jaam (slaves and slave descendents) and the outcasted neeno (people of caste]].]] Other caste systems in Africa include the Borana caste system of NE Kenya with the Watta as the lowest caste, the "Ubuhake" castes in Rwanda and Burundi, and the "Hutu" undercastes in Rwanda who committed genocide on the "Tutsi" overlords in the now infamous Rwandan Genocide . BALINESE CASTE SYSTEM See Also: Balinese caste system The caste system in Bali is similar to the Indian caste system; however, India's caste system is far more complicated than Bali's, and there are only four Balinese castes:
Different dialects of the Balinese Language are used to address members of a different caste. The Balinese caste system has completely dissipated and is no longer in use due to the untouchable rebellion of 1649. Nonetheless, even though it is not written in law, most people still belong to the caste system. CASTES IN INDIA See Also: Indian caste system Reservations in India Caste system among South Asian Muslims Caste system among Indian Christians Caste system among Hindus See Also: Indian Caste System Caste in India mistakenly links two categories - the Varna (class/group) and the Jati ( Tribe ). Prior to European colonization by Portugal and Britain, the Portuguese word caste was not used to describe the Hindu term Varna and the Indian term Jati in India. Varna as enunciated in the Hindu sacred scriptures of Vedas and the non-sacred Manusmriti text, seems to have categorised the people in the Indian society based on qualities and occupation. It formed ideologies of identity and status and may have been open to a changing process of the coming and going of groups. Broadly speaking, the Varnas are Brahmins (priests, scholars and teachers), Kshatriya (warriors and rulers), Vaisya (traders and agriculturists), and Sudra (manual workers). Brahmins have usually been described by the western orientalists as the priestly class, but this may not be very accurate. A temple priest need not have been a Brahmin, but a Yajna priest always was. The Greeks and the Muslims showed a better understanding when they described Brahmins as the Philosophers. The people who fell outside the four varna included the Dalit s, Adivasi s, and foreigners (all were called Mlechhas), probably because they did not subscribe to Vedas and the rules and values of the Vedic society. Over time, it is thought, influenced by economic and social factors, the social ranking became a traditional, hereditary system of Social Stratification . It operated through thousands of endogamous groups, termed '' Jāti ''. Though there were several kinds of variations across the breadth of India, the jati was the effective community within which one married and spent most of one's personal life. Often it was the community (jati) which one turned to for support and also the community (jati) which one sought to promote. The community (jati/tribe) system, usually with politically and economically derived hierarchies, has been followed across the Indian continent with regional variations across India , Pakistan , Bangladesh and Nepal . Different religious denominations have traditionally followed different kinds of community (jati) stratification that has nothing to do with their respective religion. With the assertion of "caste" identities under the British empire, communities (jatis) sought to place themselves within varna and mobility in reference to it was not uncommon. Sanskritization is an example of this. While the prevalence of the community (jati) social ranking has declined significantly over the course of the twentieth century, remote and rural areas of the subcontinent continue to subscribe to community ranking. Contrary to popular belief, historically there was a great deal of mobility and intermingling between Indian communities, and among Hindu varna categories, other than Brahmins, largely based on economic or political status of the concerned group. While community (jati) endogamy remains quite strong and though a diverse and rich range of communities is healthy and valuable, ongoing linking of communities to a particular social status is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the process of dissolution of inherited social status. However, one significant blow to inherited social status in India came about with the abolition of royalty when India gained its independence from the British Empire. Ironically, India is in this regard ahead of several democratic European countries that still have kings, queens, princes, princesses, including its former colonial master Britain. The remaining struggle in India is to separate the rest of the communities regardless of the religion they follow from any social rank, while allowing for the uniqueness of each community. The Vedic priests were enjoined by their scriptures and texts, including the Manusmriti , to live in poverty and to shun possessions and temporal power and to instead devote themselves to the study and teaching of scriptures and other knowledge, to pure conduct, and to spiritual growth. In fact, they usually subsisted on alms from the rest of the society, including from those in the Shudra varna. This is an important point in understanding the difference between caste and class, which are usually equated in the westernised mind, with concepts of economic hierarchies and dominating power structures deeply embedded in its world-view and belief systems G.S. Ghurye (1969)-Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakashan, Mumbai 1969 (1932)and Dirk "Castes of Mind" online "Caste" became an important element of Indian politics after the British imperialists used "caste"-based classifications as the basis of classifying the colonized Indian population, especially the Hindus, in the population censuses of late 19th Century. This became more specific in the 1901 Census, because the Indian population, not being aware of what the Brahmins thought of them, by and large did not understand what was meant by "caste" and gave their occupation, religion, education, etc. as their "caste".. This time the census enumerators insisted on slotting the population into the four varna categories, even if it meant a loose fit. Thus the British succeeded in melding the empirical reality of jatis (communities) with the Brahmin's theoretical construct of varna (categorization of occupations), as "caste"(inherited social status), causing the popular modern perception of Indian society having been "always" divided into the four "hereditary" "caste" groups from "time immemorial". Some activists consider that the "caste" (tribes and jatis) is a form of , who writes that treating caste as a form of racism is "politically mischievous" and worse, "scientifically nonsense" since there is no discernible difference in the racial characteristics between Brahmins and Scheduled Castes such as the Jatav . He writes that "Every social group cannot be regarded as a race simply because we want to protect it against prejudice and discrimination". Discrimination that must be cast away ,''The Hindu'' Sociologist . Caste system among Indian Muslims See Also: Caste system among South Asian Muslims There are also several caste systems among some Muslims in India. They are broadly divided into two castes, Ashraf and Ajlaf, or ''oonchi zaat'' (high caste) and ''niichi zaat'' (low caste). The Muslim Caste system in India was analyzed by Muslims who are regarded by the Ashraf and the Ajlaf as ritually impure and who are relegated to professions regarded as "menial" such as scavenging and the carrying of Night Soil . In addition, Muslims in Bengal organize their society according to social strata called "Quoms", where division of labor is granted by birth, rather than by economic status. Professions perceived as "lowly" are provided to people of certain ostracized Quoms, and higher Quoms get professions perceived as superior. Race, Caste, and Other Invidious Distinctions in Social Stratification - UC DavisDept. of Sociology The Quoms are rigidly segregated with little or no intermarriage or cohabitation. Ali Chamundi Bootha and Bobarya Bootha are backward castes. Caste system among Indian Christians See Also: Caste system among Indian Christians Some converts to Christianity have retained the old caste practices of the Hindu religion. Caste practice are usually hangovers from the former religion or the acculturation of the Hindu practices into their new faith. In particular, Catholic Dalit Christians in certain parts of India are regarded as an undercaste by upper-caste Catholic Christian clergy, nuns, and Hindus and are discriminated against in society. Modern status of the caste system The inherited social status is gradually relaxing, especially in metropolitan and other major urban areas, due to higher penetration of high education, co-existence of all communities and lesser knowledge about caste system due to alienation with rural roots of people. But in the countryside and small towns, this system is still very rigid. However, the total elimination of caste system seems distant, if ever possible, due to Caste Politics . The Government Of India has officially documented castes and subcastes, primarily to determine those deserving Reservation ( Positive Discrimination in education and jobs) through the Census . The Indian reservation system relies entirely on Quotas . The Government lists consist of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes : ;Scheduled castes (SC) : Scheduled Castes generally consist of former "untouchables" (the term " Dalit " is now preferred). Present population is 16% of total population of India i.e. around 160 million. For example, the Delhi state has 49 castes listed as SC. List of Scheduled Castes Delhi Govt. ;Scheduled tribes (ST) Scheduled Tribes generally consist of tribal groups. Present population is 7% of total population of India i.e. around 70 million. ;Other Backward Classes (OBC) :The Mandal Commission covered more than 3000 castes under OBC Category and stated that OBCs form around 52% of the Indian population. However, the National Sample Survey puts the figure at 32%. Reply to SC daunting task for government , ''Tribune India'' There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India. It is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is lower than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission and the National Sample Survey. What is India's population of other backward classes? ,''Yahoo News'' The Caste-based Reservations in India have led to wide-spread protests, with many complaining of Reverse Discrimination against the forward castes. Caste politics See Also: Caste politics in India The Mandal Commission was established in 1979 to "identify the socially or educationally backward", Bhattacharya, Amit. 4 ''Times of India'', April 8, 2006. and to consider the question of Seat Reservations And Quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. In 1980 , the commission's report affirmed the Affirmative Action practice under Indian law whereby members of lower castes were given exclusive access to a certain portion of government jobs and slots in public universities. When V. P. Singh Government tried to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission in 1989, massive protests were held throughout the country. Many alleged that the politicians were trying to benefit personally from caste-based reservations for purely pragmatic electoral purposes. CASTES IN KOREA See Also: Baekjeong The baekjeong (백정) were an “ Untouchable ” outcaste group of Korea , often compared with the Burakumin of Japan and the Dalit s of India and Nepal . The term ''baekjeong'' itself means “a butcher”, but later changed into "common citizens" to change the caste system so that the system would be without untouchables. In the early part of the Goryeo period (918 - 1392), the outcaste groups were largely settled in fixed communities. However, the Mongol invasion left Korea in disarray and Anomie , and these groups began to become Nomad ic. Other subgroups of the baekjeong are the ''chaein'' and the ''hwachae''. History Before the Mongol Invasions in mid-13th century the outcastes in Korea, called the '' Kolisuchae '', were divided very lightly into two camps; the '' Hwachae '' or ''suchae'', who hunted and butchered, and were seen as crude; and the '' Chaein '', who were principally Actor s, Entertainer s, Minstrel s, Prostitute s, and so on, and were sometimes described as “frivolous”. Near the end of the Goryeo era the term ''hwachae-suchae'' replaced ''kolisuchae'' to refer to the outcastes, before the groups were divided into separate classes altogether, the ''hwachae'' and the ''chaein'', who were then seen as distinct groups. Initial attempts by King Sejong to assimilate the outcastes of Korea were a failure, and they were forced to live in Ghettos outside mainstream habitations Discrimination and emancipation attempts Throughout the history of the Choson empire, the baekjeong were forced into specific professions like basket weaving and performing executions. They were also considered in moral violation of Buddhist principles, which lead Koreans to see work involving meat as polluting and sinful, even if they saw the consumption as acceptable. The group had long suffered severe social Discrimination in Korean Society . The baekjeong were seen as a contemptible and polluted people that others feared and avoided meeting. By the end of the Choson dynasty, legal reforms were underway to emancipate the status of the baekjeong.However, this legal equality did not equate to social equality. Many remain segregated from larger society, and conditions have worsened in some respects. Towards the end of the 19th Century , there was an increasing impetus on Human Dignity and Liberalization . Of particular importance was the growth of certain religions supportive of change. However, the baekjeong had benefited much less from these changes than other groups, such as the slaves. The other major religious influence on human rights came through Christianity. Some Missionaries had success converting baekjeong to Christianity , emphasizing that everyone has equal rights under God . However, everyone was not equal under the Christian congregation, and protests erupted when missionaries attempted to integrate them into worship services, with non-baekjeong finding such an attempt insensitive to traditional notions of hierarchical advantage. Beginning in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the baekjeong began to resist the open social discrimination that existed against them. The Hyŏngp'yŏngsa was launched in Chinju on 23 April 1923 through the alliance of wealthy or educated baekjeong and non-baekjeong proponents of change, advocating for “the abolition of classes and of contemptuous appellations, the enlightenment of members, and the promotion of mutual friendship among members.”6 It advocated both for individual civil rights as well as communal fellowship. Thus, the Hyŏngp'yŏngsa pursued both an equality of human rights and the right to assimilate into the broader public, even as it worked to forge a common identity. They focused on social and economic injustices affecting the baekjeong, hoping to create an Egalitarian Korean society. Their efforts included attacking social discrimination by the upper class, authorities, and “commoners” and the use of degrading language against children in public schools. In 1927 a number of members of the Hyŏngp'yŏngsa were arrested for their involvement in the creation of an underground nationalist organization. The growing power of the radical wing divided the movement, and much of the economic support provided by wealthier baekjeong was pulled, particularly under the strain of the Great Depression , which had negatively impacted the meat and leather trades. The young socialists in the Hyŏngp'yŏngsa forged connections with other movements, attempting to broaden the movement and work towards “the reconstitution of Korea as a whole.”7 At the 1931 national conference, they stirred controversy within the movement by introducing a dissolution proposal, feeling that the organization had abandoned its original aims in favor of those of the bourgeois Intellectual s directing it. It was their belief that dissolution would better serve their interests as it was replaced by Trade Union s. The dissolution proposal failed, but not without further alienating more conservative members of the movement, who would already financially strapped from broader economic conditions in Korea. CASTES IN LATIN AMERICA See Also: Casta Many Latin American countries have caste systems based on classification by race and race mixture. An entire nomenclature developed, including the familiar terms "mulato", " Mestizo ", and "zambo" (whence " Sambo "). The caste system was imposed during colonial rule by the Spanish who had practiced a form of caste system in Spain prior to the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims. While many Latin American countries have long since rendered the system officially illegal through legislation, usually at the time of independence from Spain, prejudice based on degrees of perceived racial distance from Spanish ancestry combined with one's socioeconomic status remain, an echo of the colonial caste system. The United States and many Caribbean countries also share similar caste hierarchies based on race and race mixture. http://www.zonalatina.com/Zldata55.htm http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(197112)76%3A5%3C1626%3ARACILA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-6 NEPALESE CASTE SYSTEM See Also: Nepalese caste system The Nepalese caste system resembles that of the Indian Jāti system with numerous Jāti divisions with a Varna system superimposed. CASTE SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN See Also: Caste system among South Asian Muslims A similar caste system is practiced by Indian Muslims in Pakistan , although with variability since the concept of caste is not recognized in Islam . In the absence of "classical" castes, typically the proxies used are ethnic background ( Sindhi , Punjabi , Pusthun , Balochi , Mohajir etc.), tribal affiliations and religious denominations or sects (Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya, Ismaili, Christian, Hindu etc.). The social stratification among Muslims in the "Swat" area of North Pakistan has been meaningfully compared to the Caste system in India. The society is rigidly divided into subgroups where each Quom is assigned a profession. Different Quoms are not permitted to intermarry or live in the same community. The Caste system in Pakistan creates sectarian divides and strong issues along similar lines to those divides seen in parties in Pakistan, who insist that amending the laws to make them more civilized towards women is against the mandate of Islamic religious law. Strong feelings over Pakistan rape laws ,''BBC'' The late Nawab Akbar Bugti a freedom-fighter for the Balochistan Liberation Army fighting for secession from Pakistan, criticised Punjabi attitudes to women when he said, "What respect we give to a women, irrespective of her caste, religion or ethnicity, no Punjabi can understand." Tribals looking down a barrel in Balochistan SRI LANKAN CASTE SYSTEM See Also: Caste in Sri Lanka CASTES IN YEMEN In Yemen there exists a caste like system that keeps Al-Akhdam Social Group as the perennial manual workers for the society through practices that mirror untouchability. Akhdam: Ongoing suffering for lost identity ''Yemen Mirror'' Al-Akhdam (literally "servants" with Khadem as plural) is the lowest rung in the Yemeni caste system and by far the poorest. According to official estimates in Yemen, the total number of Khadem countywide is in the neighbourhood of 500,000, some 100,000 of which live in the outskirts of the capital Sana’a. The remainder are dispersed mainly in and around the cities of Aden, Taiz, Lahj, Abyan, Hodeidah and Mukalla. YEMEN: Akhdam people suffer history of discrimination ,irinnews.org Origins The Khadem are not members of the three castes--Bedouin (nomads), fellahin (villagers), and hadarrin (townspeople)--that comprise mainstream Arab society.They are believed to be of Ethiopian ancestry. Some sociologists theorize that the Khadem are descendants of Ethiopian soldiers who had occupied Yemen in the 5th century but were driven out in the 6th century. According to this theory the al-Akhdham are descended from the soldiers who stayed behind and were forced into menial labor as a punitive measure. Discrimination The Khadem live in small shanty towns and are marginalized and shunned by mainstream society in Yemen. The Khadem slums exist mostly in big cities, including the capital, Sana’a. Their segregated communities have poor housing conditions. As a result of their low position in society, very few children in the Khadem community are enrolled in school and often have little choice but to beg for money and intoxicate themselves with crushed glass. Caste In Yemen by Marguerite Abadjian,''Countercurrents.org'' archive of ''The Baltimore Sun'' A traditional Arabic saying in the region goes: “Clean your plate if it is touched by a dog, but break it if it’s touched by a Khadem". Though conditions have improved somewhat over the past few years, the Khadem are still stereotyped by mainstream Yemenese society, considering them lowly, dirty, ill-mannered and immoral. Many NGO's and charitable organizations from other countries such as CARE International are working towards their emancipation. The Yemenese government denies that there is any discrimination against the Khadem. ''Yemen Times'' SEE ALSO
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