about caste a long speech
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India's caste system is based on parallel classifications of varna and jāti. The system of varnas is attested in Hindu texts dating back to 1000 BCE and envisages the society divided into four hierarchical classes: Brahmins (priests and scholars), Kshatriyas (warriors and nobles), Vaishyas (farmers, artisans and traders) and Shudras (service classes). A fifth category of people considered beyond the pale ofvarna system were `untouchable classes', presently called Dalits (the oppressed). Scholars believe that the system of varnas was a theoretical classification envisioned by the Brahmins, but never truly operational in the society. The practical division of the society has been in terms of jātis (birth groups), which are not based on any specific principle, but could vary from ethnic origins to occupations. The jātis have been endogamous groups without any fixed hierarchy but subject to vague notions of rank articulated over time based on ritual purity and social or economic status. Historically the kings and rulers have been called upon to mediate on the ranks of jātis, which might number in thousands all over the subcontinent and vary by region. In practice, the jātis are seen to fit into the varna classes, but the varna status of jātis itself was subject to articulation over time.
Starting with the British colonial Census of 1901 led by Herbert Hope Risley, all the jātis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories.[7] According to political scientistLloyd Rudolph, Risley believed that varna, however ancient, could be applied to all the modern castes found in India, and "[he] meant to identify and place several hundred million Indians within it."[8] The terms varna (conceptual classification based on occupation) and jāti (caste) are two distinct concepts: while varna is the idealised four-part division envisaged by the Twice-Borns, jāti (community) refers to the thousands of actual endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas, as it provided a convenient shorthand; but a problem arises when even Indologists sometimes confuse the two.[9]
Independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes - the most disadvantaged groups - in a separate category. These crimes are greatly under-reported. In 2005, government recorded approximately 110,000 cases of reported violent acts, including rape and murder, against Dalits [10] For 2012, the government recorded 651 murders, 3,855 injuries, 1,576 rapes, 490 kidnappings, and 214 cases of arson.[11]
The economic significance of the caste system in India has been declining due to urbanization and affirmative action. However, there is the persistence of caste in Indian politics. It is not politics that gets caste-ridden; it is caste that gets politicised. [12] Upon independence from Britain, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination.[13] The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature.[14] In 2001, Dalits were 16.2% of India's population.[15] Most of the 15 million bonded child workers are from the lowest castes.[16][17]