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Essay On Caste In The 21st Century

1260 Words6 Pages

Is caste acceptable in the 21st century?
My answer to this question is no. But before we get into the reasons, let us first analyse the meaning of caste, its reach and relevance in 21st century India.
Caste is a system of social stratification based on birth. So it means that a person is born into his/her caste and there is no way to change this. So, it is a rigid system where you are stuck in the same position or status for life unlike class which is based on social and economic status. Caste is mainly divided into 4 subdivisions namely, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudra in that order. The Brahmins occupation was priest; Kshatriyas’ warriors, Vaishyas’ traders and Shudras were servants. You weren’t allowed to change your occupation.
Now, let’s get on to how relevant it is in the 21st century in India. Debates about the inclusion of caste in the 2011 census bring about the question if caste is still relevant in India. The census shows data on the number of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) households in North, East, West, South, Central, North-Eastern, and in Union Territories. Though this has changed from the classification as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vasihyas and Shudra, elements of caste do exist even in the present. Reservation system is one example. Most educational systems and even government jobs have a reservation system for SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes (OBC). In fact, only 0.7% scholarships …show more content…

Centuries of caste based system has led to a legacy of inequality of land, education, business ownership and occupation which is why the reservation system was put into place. But it is still highly debated whether reservation system actually helps the lower castes and should be removed or continued. Therefore, these castes have material disadvantages. They also face social and economic discrimination resulting in inequality of

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