mention the contradictions regarding the caste system refected in post indipendent india
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What is a “caste”?Since the great majority of Indians are Hindu, the caste system has played an enormous role in the history of India, and it continues to exert tremendous influence on modern Indian culture and politics. Social and economic divides still exist across India"Caste" is the term used to describe the complex system of social divisions that pervades life in India. Caste is an ancient hereditary system that developed alongside and became intertwined with Hinduism. Caste determines whom a person can marry, specifies what kind of work he can do, and even controls what he can eat or touch.
Where does this system come from?The most widely accepted theory is that the four basic divisions of the Hindu caste system—the varna—developed in the period 1500-1000 B.C. as a result of the Aryan conquest of India.
Where does this system come from?The earliest known mention of caste is found in the Aryan’s Vedic hymns, perhaps dating from about 1000 B.C.E. In a famous passage, the metaphor of the human body was used to describe Indian society. The brahman, or priestly, caste represents society's head; the kshatriya, or warrior, caste are its arms; the vaishyacaste—traders and landowners—are the legs; and the sudra caste—the servants of the other three—are the feet. This metaphor stresses the idea of hierarchy as well as that of interdependence.
The Four VarnaThese four castes—brahman, kshatriya, vaishya, and sudra—are the classical four divisions of Hindu society. In practice, however, there have always been many subdivisions (J'atis) of these castes.
Caste and DharmaIn Hindu religious texts, the dharma—the law, or duty—of each varna is described. It was thought that this dharma was an inherited, or inborn, quality. Consequently, people thought that if intermarriages took place, there would be much confusion as to the dharma of the next generation of children. As a result of such concerns, marriage between different castes was strictly prohibited. The practice of marrying only a person of "one's own kind" is called endogamyand is still a central rule in many Hindu communities.
UntouchablesInevitably, there were certain people who failed to live up to their caste dharma. Such people and their children were considered outcasts from Hindu society. They had to live apart from other castes and were given the jobs that no one else wanted to perform. Because of their contact with things considered unclean or polluted, the outcasts were believed to be deeply tainted. They came to be thought of as "untouchable" because people believed that their touch—or even the sight of them—would compromise a brahman's purity.
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