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Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

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Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#11

Post by yinyang_in »

reactspa wrote: post #5

I won't read it because caste is a trauma-inducing subject to me. I'll just leave my comment here so that the truth is available for anyone who cares. I'm a member of the so-called "upper castes", but not a Brahmin. Parents were very bohemian, never taught me anything about caste. Go to college in India. My best friend in college is a Brahmin. I knew that Brahmins were priests, didn't really know anything else about…

True, have seen system from inside. Have seen people of my generation still clinging to it.

Most of places I see it, is for economic reasons(priest job, reservations both are side of coins) and some have nothing to boost other than caste and no other incentives.

Always hoped education will get rid of this system that has turned evil, but that hope has also gone as western education system has nothing to offer. Probably some indigenous education reform might help, but would love to see some PhD or researched guy’s comment

Would love to see some solutions to this problem. One that I have heard is inter-caste marriage(haven’t researched much), but would love to see some more solutions for this problem or just no hope than another Shankaracharya.

If interested we can have website dedicated to solutions eradicate this system by offering people what this system gives them.

Also I think we can’t get rid of any system without offering replacement for it especially for huge and highly knitted society as Bharat.

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#12

Post by reactspa »

sn41 wrote: post #9
reactspa wrote: post #5

I won't read it because caste is a trauma-inducing subject to me. I'll just leave my comment here so that the truth is available for anyone who cares. I'm a member of the so-called "upper castes", but not a Brahmin. Parents were very bohemian, never taught me anything about caste. Go to college in India. My best friend in college is a Brahmin. I knew that Brahmins were priests, didn't really know anything else about…

Just so you know: the prevalence of non-Brahmin castes among toppers is discussed rather in hushed tones. The supposed explanation is that "richer" families have better access to coaching. I have been involved in public exams in India. I think the best predictor for performance is how relevant your parents' education is, to your career, not caste per se.

Agreed. My caste is obsessed with both money and education. I'll let you guess it on your own time .

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#13

Post by reactspa »

reactspa wrote: post #5

I won't read it because caste is a trauma-inducing subject to me. I'll just leave my comment here so that the truth is available for anyone who cares. I'm a member of the so-called "upper castes", but not a Brahmin. Parents were very bohemian, never taught me anything about caste. Go to college in India. My best friend in college is a Brahmin. I knew that Brahmins were priests, didn't really know anything else about…

Update: 2 more anecdotes

4) Brahmin friend of mine at work. Brilliant fellow. Solid decent chap overall. I tell him about this article I read about how in some city, a non-Brahmin girl wasn't allowed to do Bharat Natyam (a classical Indian dance form that is widely taught) on some stage because she wasn't a Brahmin. I guess traditionally only Brahmin girls were allowed to perform it. Turns out he agrees with this decision.

5) I'm eating South Indian food with a colleague in Chennai (I suppose he was a Brahmin, but am not 100% sure). I love South Indian food. I comment to him how good the food is. He says, it's not as good as it used to be because in the past only Brahmins were allowed to cook at that restaurant, but now they allow anyone to cook. He knows I'm not a Brahmin, and still he thinks it's okay to say such things to my face.

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#14

Post by rayiner »

reactspa wrote: post #5

I won't read it because caste is a trauma-inducing subject to me. I'll just leave my comment here so that the truth is available for anyone who cares. I'm a member of the so-called "upper castes", but not a Brahmin. Parents were very bohemian, never taught me anything about caste. Go to college in India. My best friend in college is a Brahmin. I knew that Brahmins were priests, didn't really know anything else about…

> 3) I now live and work in the U.S. A new hire, Indian, joins. Visits my office one day. Tells me he left India because he hates the caste system. I start warming to him. A little while later informs me that he's a very high Brahmin. Not an ordinary Brahmin, mind you, a high Brahmin.

All the super-progressive Indians I know in the U.S. are Brahmins. What's up with that?

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#15

Post by sn41 »

reactspa wrote: post #12
sn41 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just so you know: the prevalence of non-Brahmin castes among toppers is discussed rather in hushed tones. The supposed explanation is that "richer" families have better access to coaching. I have been involved in public exams in India. I think the best predictor for performance is how relevant your parents' education is, to your career, not caste per se.

Agreed. My caste is obsessed with both money and education. I'll let you guess it on your own time .

Oh, I can guess :) which is why I mentioned "richer" in quotes.

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#17

Post by rayiner »

Interesting article quantifying the effects of caste endogamy: https://razib.substack.com/p/the-character-of-caste?s=r

> In contrast to these cases, Indian endogamy has maintained discernible genetic differences even within the same village for thousands of years. In 2009, geneticist David Reich estimated that the Vyasa community of South India had been genetically isolated from its neighbors for 2,000 years. Endogamy rates were 99% per generation at a minimum.

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#18

Post by mohanmcgeek »

unmole wrote: post #7
youeseh wrote: post #2

Certainly, I hope anyone commenting on this will take note of the publishing date being more than 100 years ago. Who your kids end up marrying is mentioned as a big driver of caste in the article. I think that holds true today as well. All things being equal, your professor / lawyer / doctor parents probably don't want you to marry a janitor. And, I'm pretty sure this is true everywhere. In a highly competitve place…

> Certainly, I hope anyone commenting on this will take note of the publishing date being more than 100 years ago. That's irrelevant when discussing the mechanism, genesis and development of a system that goes back millienia. > they'll say something like, "he's from the janitor class, but thats okay, because he's a doctor" What are you basing this on? Exogamy between castes remains very low, even between different hi…

> Exogamy between castes remains very low, even between different high castes.

What are you basing this on?

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#19

Post by th3iedkid »

If there’s one thing I’ve seen across all rural regions of India, it’s terrible violence against the weak, irrespective of caste. This has been the same, probably for thousands of years.Categorisation with caste probably makes some sizeable chunk of it, but still it’s across the spectrum of castes, not just limited to a few.

Re: Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development

#20

Post by yes_really »

reactspa wrote: post #5

I won't read it because caste is a trauma-inducing subject to me. I'll just leave my comment here so that the truth is available for anyone who cares. I'm a member of the so-called "upper castes", but not a Brahmin. Parents were very bohemian, never taught me anything about caste. Go to college in India. My best friend in college is a Brahmin. I knew that Brahmins were priests, didn't really know anything else about…

Brahmins are around 4% of the Indian population. It's no surprise there weren't many of them in the top 10 selected. Even if there was on average only one out of 10 each year, that would still be an overrepresentation of more than double.
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