The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. Many believe that the groups originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation.
The origins of the caste system in India and Nepal are shrouded, but it seems to have originated more than two thousand years ago. Under this system, which is associated with Hinduism, people were categorized by their occupations.
Around 3500 years ago, the various tribes that were creating the Rig Veda was grappling with a way to organize all the different systems – since there were 100s of tribal groups & occupation groups. Rig Veda did it this way.
- Brahmins (with all the different clans who were in priest related occupations)
- Kshatriyas (the warriors)
- Vaishyas (merchants)
- Shudras (workers)
Strength of the Tribes
In most parts of the world, tribal units generate the highest degree of passion. For instance, Hitler and various German leaders before him worked hard for centuries to bring all the Germanic tribes together. Africa is rife with 100s of tribal warfare. Scotland almost split with the rest of UK as they value their identity more than their nationstate. In the US, politics often happen at the level of races – Democrats often get the blacks, asians & hispanics, while Republicans get sizable whites.
India too faces the strength of the tribes. Many tribes/jatis have a strong political identity & a pseudo warfare is constantly going on among many powerful jatis.
How the Caste system became harmful
If we just say doctors > plumbers, it is somewhat harmful, but still tolerable. However, if we combine that with clan blased work [for instance, some clans would take up medicine and others would take up plumbing] it gets quite harmful. In various parts of the world, the strata and guild formation existed somewhat separate. In India, these two got merged & that is the reason for all that harm. It means that some will always be doctors & since doctors are considered superior, they will always be a group who are born superior.
To prevent this, we need to both prevent clan based occupation selection and also understand the dignity of labor – every type of labor is good for the society. Doctors are no more important than plumbers or farmers.
