Sociocultural Complexity Reflection

Sociocultural Complexity Reflection

Judge Madan

Period 6

October 28th, 2014

Religion is a major factor in the social structure of a society. The caste system existing in India is an example of this; essentially a social structure based upon religious beliefs. This system originated from the Aryans, who were a group of Indo-Europeans that migrated to India around approximately 2000 BC. They organized themselves into four different castes, by their “varna[, or skin color, which] was the distinguishing feature of this system.” The four different castes, from the highest to lowest were the Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (laborers). The caste that an Aryan was given determined their role

In India, an individual 's caste can not be changed. Being in a higher caste may grant an individual more opportunity to be prosperous, however individuals from lower castes are “much poorer than [individuals from the higher castes],” with “no opportunity [to] advance (Caste)” This large gap is shown as Shibojyoti Sanyal, a Brahmin has a high-paying job with Sales and Marketing, while a Dalit is treated, “like dirt,” they are “told to wash the utensils...sit there” indicating that they have a low paying job (Caste, Cast Aside: Bigotry Bans Target Tradition). Not only do “caste barriers play in holding back India’s economic progress,” but the people from lower castes are faced with discriminatory actions towards them. Vishal and Shraddha, a married couple, “have been forced to cut ties with their families who opposed the match because they belong to different castes,” as “Inter-caste marriages are largely frowned upon in India (Caste or Class).” Another example of this is that “upper caste children do not want to eat food made by [a Dalit],” and that “the parents consider the food polluted by [her] touch. (Caste Aside: Bigotry Bans Target Tradition)” Some parents are even “[withdrawing] their children from [the school]”, and “put [the children] in a private [school]” on the basis that “[they] don 't want their children do eat food made by lower caste people. (Caste Aside: Bigotry Bans Target Tradition)” This is happening even though “discrimination based off the basis of caste is illegal” and it is a widespread problem throughout India (Caste Aside: Bigotry Bans Target Tradition). This is why new policies were implemented to aid lower castes. In India, universities “reserve almost 50% of the student openings in state universities for the [lower