My Other Sources
Here are some other sources of research from which I draw
more knowledge of the caste system topic.
A. INTERVIEW WITH INDIANS IN AMERICA
1.Rakhi Patel, 21, Vaishya, Gujrat, Leva-patibad
According to Rahki,
Q: What do you think of India's caste system? What do
you know about it?
A: And no matter how people try to deny that it doesn't
exist anymore, it does exist. My dad's did. Although he lived
in a small village, I think in the big city, they say that
the cast system doesn't exist anymore and I think that it
does exist. But I think in bigger cites you're less vulnerable
to it because you're coming to a big city where nobody knows
you. Whereas in a small village, everybody knows everybody
and your status is known amongst everybody so it's harder
for you to associate with a higher class or a lower caste
,etc. And I think even in America, caste is easily apparent
because a lot of, well Gujrati families anyways, in particularly
the Leva-pativad caste, they like to marry within the caste,
they're very specific about it.
Q: How do you know they are the lower caste and were there
much contact between your dad's ?.. did you see that there
were any contacts between your dad's family with them. Did
they keep a lot of distance?
A: I'm sure they were because it was just the way they
look and the way they carry on their lives. Kind of the whole
pollution and purity thing where they dealt with the polluted
things where as the higher caste, its something they won't
want to deal with, something they're not proud to do. In terms
of interaction when they talk about them and talk to them,
they're very condescending, like the family towards the workers
because I remember one time where one of the lady's daughters
was sick and couldn't come and I remember my grandma just
mauling off. "Oh god, her daughter is sick. They're not
doing a good job. Blah, blah, blah." It was really condescending.
It was never to the point where they come inside and eat in
the house. You know, like eat with us and sit at the table
with us.
An insightful episode:
I was assuming that he may be of the lower caste as well but
because he was a driver and he'll drive you everwhere so when
you went to someone's house for dinner, he was invited as
well. But he wouldn't sit at the table with you with as part
of your family, but they wouldn't let him-maybe he'll sit
on the floor and eat but not at the same time as you. I remember
one time where I was wondering where he went and when I woke
up I found out that overnight he slept on top of his taxi.
He didn't sleep inside. And this was a two-week trip that
we took.
So the whole two weeks he just slept outside?
Not all the time but sometimes he slept in the car and if
the place we visited had a room for him?.But he would sleep
outside or in the car or whatever.
Q: Why do you think different caste stick together within
the same group?
A: Kind of like when you go to college, for some odd
reason, you see ethnicism just happen like that. And you have
certain pride that goes along with it too. Like a certain
tradition that you want to keep going. I think with certain
caste comes certain rituals, etc.
So they just want to basically uphold the tradition and also
it's just natural to just stick together?
It's the same way as when you join an association of the same
ethnicity cos you want to keep the culture together, you wanna
keep the culture alive. Just like if my parents want me to
marry within my caste system they want the tradition going,
they want it to survive throughout the years.
2.Anok Aggrawal, 54, Vaishya, New Delhi
According to Anok,
Q: So you're saying that the caste system is breaking
down. Even 30 years back already all the different people
from different caste actually socialize together. There isn't
this thing about how all the Vaishyas mix only with Vaishyas
and all the Brahmins mix only with Brahmins?
A: The cast system is definitely broken down. Because
in any metropolitan city, in big town or big city, people
don't even know who you are. Nobody cares which cast you come
from. It may have been practiced long time back but always
in smaller places. Because smaller places people know who
you are, type of thing
Many many years back when I used to hear from my father, the
Scheduled Caste were not allowed in the temple. But these
days you go to a temple in Delhi, you don't know who's standing
next to you. You don?t know anybody. Whether the person is
a scheduled caste or a Vaishya. What you do, where you live
in life has nothing to do with caste system.
Q: Either way in India and America there's really not
that much difference in terms of the caste system would you
say that in India there would be more traditional families
that would adhere more to the caste system and arrange marriage
compared to America because they're more westernized here?
A: Within the Indian families, def in this country,
nobody believes in caste system or they don?t care who they
marry. An Indian can marry a girl form Philippine, or China
or Japan or England. Or a black girl for that matter or vice
versa. Almost everybody I know if they're going out with somebody
or they've gone out with someone and most of the marriages
are not arranged actually. Its very common for girls and boys
to arrange they"re own marriages. They come and tell
their parents, "Ok now we're ready to get married."
So things are very different here. But in India, the old traditions
are also breaking down. And people accept it because people
feel the value in it because when people arrange marriages,
parents have to go through a lot of stress and tension to
find what they consider a suitable match.
3.Veena Dayah, late 40s, Vaishya, Gujrat, Leva-patibad
(translated by Rakhi Patel)
According to Veena:
In terms of caste, she says that in the olden days it was
really important, people used to, if they were of the lower
caste they do not even let them inside the house and they
were definitely, definitely not allowed inside the kitchen
and even if they were allowed inside the house they were told
not to touch anything.
She says that nowadays, she is enthusiastic about everyone
being friends no matter what caste they are. However in term
of marriage, she is very adamant that her kids marry within
the caste. And her two main things are, one, it"s only
her belief, that it's her personal preference more than anything,
that her kids marry into the leva-patibad. And two, the only
bad thing about marrying out of your caste is that then your
kids will be confused as to what caste they are and that it
may cause problems for them.
Basically her personal thing is that her kids marry within
her own caste and it's just a personal preference and its
not something that. It's just something to make her happy?It
has nothing to do with god basically.
Why will it make her happy?
It?s just a personal belief that?s all it is. And it's nothing
to do with her going to heaven its just something she wants.
Did she have a strict upbringing? Yes she did
Is hers an arranged or love marriage? Yes, it was an arranged
marriage. Very arranged.
Another thing in terms of marriage is that basically that
once they find a person for you, the parents duties are to
research the other person's family and make sure they are
of good background because they're going into that family
so you want to make sure your daughter or your son will be
taken care of and they'll be able to perform the duties.
B. FILM REVIEW - CASTE AT BIRTH (written/directed/produced
by Mira Hamaresh)
The film was featured the caste system of India. It opens
up with the question of intermarriage between a daughter and
mother, followed by a classroom scene where the students are
questioned about the subject of India's caste system. Then
the film interviews a number of people from a variety of castes
to show the difference in their everyday lives. Topics of
the sacred thread ceremony, the lower castes working in the
household, and a lower caste's fate as a worker for the rest
of his/her life are shown.
The film ends dramatically with the atrocities that the outcastes
face in rural villages. One of the most disturbing was a massacre
of an Untouchable community in Nanhi Village near Jahanabad
in the Bihar state. It was covered by Javleen Singh, a journalist,
who interviewed family members of the deceased. The killings
were by the landlords, over low wage and water.
In the film, the audience was exposed to how unfair the society
is in India where there is such a vast disparity in quality
of life just because of one's birth. The film paints a very
realistic portrayal as to what the Untouchables suffer from
in India. However, the film seemed a little biased or seems
to want to prove a point, showing only one side of the story.
Still, it was educational to watch and absorb the one side
of the India that the rest of the society seems to try to
cover up for.
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