Is casteism racism?

Casteism is a very sensitive topic in India. Many Indians claim that it doesn't exist in today's Indian society, but we still have cast caste-based reservation policy, inter-cast marriages are still not very well accepted, and many more things like this indicate that caste and caste discrimination still exists. I often wonder how it all started? Is casteism any different form of racism? Was there any need to divide society into different sections and label them? Should our profession decide our social status? If we say all humans are equal then why do we discriminate? I already discussed how religion divides us but within the same religion also we find many ways to discriminate against each other. Interesting, isn't it?

There are different theories for the origin of castes in India. There are religious, biological, and socio-historical theories about its origin. Religious theory is most popular and many people (who still practice casteism) like to believe that there is some religious significance attached to their superior or inferior social status based on their caste.

The social division of ancient Indian society into four sections can be traced back to Manusmriti. The book is in the form of a discourse given by Manu to a group of seers. Manu is considered as ‘progenitor of mankind’ (I think Moses is a similar character in Abrahamic religions). This text became the standard reference for all future related texts (or Dharmashastras). When the social division was originally created in four sections or varnas (Vaishya, Brahman, Kshudra, and Kshatriya) to run the society smoothly I believe there was no hierarchy or they were not ranked in any particular order. Every section’s work or job was equally important in the functioning of society. Varnas or these professions were not inherited but were acquired by merit. I think the original intention of this division might have been noble, but it allowed the division of society which resulted in different groups, that ultimately became casts that started caring for their own interests rather than caring for society and its welfare. It turned out that the side effect of medicine was more harmful than the benefit it offered.

I would like to believe that any religion in its original form doesn’t teach any type of discrimination within or outside that religion. So-called intellectuals got special status in society (because of their knowledge); this status also gave them some powers and privileges. They failed to realize the responsibility that came with that special status. Selfishness and greed prevented them from implementing the actual code of conduct which was recommended (selection by merit not by birth). They wanted to hold on to that power so that their future generations also enjoy the same status and privilege. The only way to stop others from getting empowered was to inhibit their ability to acquire knowledge. This was achieved by creating rigid boundaries between sections of societies (or varnas) that were difficult to cross. They manipulated the meaning of scriptures and misused their superior social status for this. As generations passed, they gradually started feeling more superior or privileged than others and eventually, they started believing that it’s their birthright to rule others and they started exploiting certain sections of society for their benefit. This resulted in the caste system, untouchability, social discrimination, and inhuman treatment of so-called lower cast people. According to me it's not in any way different than racism. This mentality hampered the human progress of Indian society for centuries. In similar manure, women from all casts were suppressed and forced to live a very restricted life, to me it looks like they created a separate caste named 'women' and no one even realized this. That is why I raised the question in the beginning, was it necessary to divide society like this based on professions? Today also we see this type of mentality in our society, even after achieving so much progress in all fields we are unable to get rid of this mentality totally.

Discrimination in some form exists even today in almost all societies or countries in the world, in some countries, it's based on caste or religion, and in some countries based on race, color, nationality, etc. Casteism or any sort of discrimination is against humanity. Nature doesn’t discriminate based on caste, color, or race. This monster of discrimination has survived too long and some elements of our society are still protecting it for some unknown reason. Any type of discrimination should not have any place in civilized society. Let's pledge not to discriminate against anyone based on color, religion, nationality, or anything else.

Thanks for reading. Your views and comments are welcome.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)