First article by Bitandi

HAS CASTE LOST ITS RELEVANCE IN TODAY'S MULTICULTURAL INDIAN SOCIETY ?

As you all are aware that Indian culture is the world's oldest culture. It has its paramount significance in the whole world and no one can deny this thing. Despite this every culture has its weakness, In Indian culture, this weakness is named as the caste system .

In the time of the Vedic period, it was the occupation of the individual that decides from which caste this person belongs to. But the significant changed happened in the later Vedic period when the caste is identified on the basis of VANSH/JANM .like, If the person was born in the family of Brahmin then he/she has to teach others and perform the rituals. If the individual was born in the family of Shudras he/she have to serve the other three upper-caste; Brahmin, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.

"ढोल गँवार शूद्र पशु नारी, सकल ताड़ना के अधिकारी "

However, we can not judge his intention behind writing these lines. But we can surely say that the condition of women and the lower caste was pathetic at that time.

Condition of Caste system in present india 

Initially, there were mainly four castes that existed in ancient India .but now we can count hundreds of caste. Every caste is demanding reservation in the govt jobs, public sector enterprises, educational institution.

Peoples are in a race to raise their caste vis a vis supreme to others but no one is talking about how to eradicate this national development barrier. Peoples from different castes are encraving their caste name on their houses, bikes, cars, Instagram-FB bio in a very proud manner. These examples are not from the ancient period but from the twenty-first century  and I am sure that many readers have also noticed,

 Reservation is the solution to eradicate the caste relevance?

As you know the govt appointed The Mandal Commission, or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India on 1 January 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India.

however the govt can provide representation to the backward classes but to change the perception of an individual's mind,  there is no law that exists in this world.

I can give you the example of the above lines: a woman named Rajeshwari who is a Dalit in  Kerala, contested in the panchayat election and elected as panchayat president but in the meeting of the panchayat the upper caste representatives (vanniyars ) forced her to sit on the floor during the meeting. So the conclusion; govt can appoint leaders from the suppressed class but how to respect them totally depends on the citizens of the country.

courtsey:indian express

"Any Brahmin or sufficiently high caste Hindu prisoner from his class if eligible for appointment as a cook." as earlier mentioned in the Rajasthan Prison Manual. However, Rajasthan is just one state to have continued with caste-based practice in prison and has now finally repealed it because of intervention by the high court. But other states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and West Bengal still have not made any efforts to make necessary amendments.

 

Group A officers : 11.1% scheduled castes  , 4.6% scheduled tribes

whereas in Group D (safai karmchari ) : 40%  SC only 

NO SC/ST faculties in  12 IIM  , 11 SC/ST faculties in 20 IIM

Out of total 82 secretaries to PMO only 4 are SC/ST .                                    

 source :MoPma rajyasabha 

WAY AHEAD :

Despite this reservation of nearly half-century, the caste hierarchy is still dominant in Indian society .but it is also true that we cannot neglect the significance of reservation in the emancipation of suppressed class. Culture plays a pivotal role in the formation of caste-based discrimination so one should understand the culture in a more rational way.

- Bitandi