Events and Ideas #1 India’s Caste System World History Unit 1
Essential Question What effects did the caste system have on Indian society?
Watch the video and summarize on your paper. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCQDIwHlXY
Caste System A person is born in to the same caste placing as his or her parents and remains there for life.
Brahmin: priests and scholars
Brahman Each Varna must observe certain rules of purity. The Brahmins are considered so pure that they may never eat food prepared by anyone but another Brahmin. Brahmins cannot go to a restaurant where the staff are not also Brahmins. Marriage outside one's one Varna is usually forbidden.
Kshatriya: rulers, warriors, landowners
Vaishya: merchants, professionals
Shudra laborers, servants, artisans, agriculturalists
The Untouchables There is a fifth major class in Hinduism, but it is considered so low that it doesn't even qualify as a Varna. It is the "UNTOUCHABLE" class because its members are forbidden to touch anyone who belongs to one of the four Varna's. If a Brahmin priest touches an untouchable, he or she must go through a ritual in which the pollution is washed away.
Harijan (untouchables) Musicians are untouchables Though their music is enjoyed by many, the act of playing some of these instruments is considered to be unclean. The saliva that is being blown into the horns is thought to be very unhygienic. Girls collect dung and hang it to dry. It is latter used by the other castes as fuel
Untouchable children often have limited opportunities in the caste system.
Untouchables Untouchables do all the most unpleasant work in South Asia. They are forced to live on the outskirts of towns and villages They must take water downstream from others, and not share wells with Varna Hindus.
Untouchables Hindus believed that untouchables deserved this treatment Hindus think that a person is born to this class because of bad karma he or she earned in a previous life. What is this called?
Reincarnation In order to be assured of a good life in one's next reincarnation, a person must do everything he or she can to live up to the expectations of his or her Varna.
Caste System Abolished The caste system is now officially illegal in India. Affirmative action programs have been adopted to create new opportunities for lower-caste Indians. Even the untouchable caste has had some success getting better jobs, including government positions.
Cultural Caste System Culturally, the system is not dead. Often the first two questions asked are: "What is your jati (job placement within your Varna)?" "What is your Varna (caste placement)?"
Essential Question What effects did the caste system have on Indian society?