The caste system has been regarded by many Indian reformers as an obscurantist by-product of an ancient and spiritual way of life; a religious and cultural tradition that confines people within rigid class and caste roles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The political elite in India has long recognized the adverse socioeconomic consequences of the caste system and following independence sought to outlaw its practices, particularly the practice of 'untouchability'. Such a deeply rooted social and cultural phenomenon, however, has proven exceptionally resistant to the legislative process. Despite heavy fines and prison terms for those who discriminate against their fellow citizens, the pitfalls of the caste system are still prevalent across India. However, there are signs that the caste system is finally buckling under the growing pressure of prosperity and the process of Westernization. The commercial demands of global capitalism, complete with Western notions of rationalism, liberalism and individualism, are challenging and changing some of the central tenets of classical Hinduism and, by association, the very nature of Indian society. As you would expect, these changes are most notable around large industrial centers with a ripple effect gradually encompassing surrounding towns and villages. Given these factors, the question arises: does this signal the end of the caste system, and if so, is it necessarily a social revolution that should be welcomed without reservation? In this article we will briefly outline the structure of the caste system and then study various examples of how the caste system works in modern India. These studies will allow us to draw some conclusions about whether the caste system is in terminal decline or simply adapting to the rigors of industrial society. Hinduism and Castes According to the Hindu doctrine of creation, human beings belonged to a hierarchical order of four social categories (Chaturvarnas) based on an occupational division of labor. The Brahmins who came out of the mouth of the creator were assigned the task of looking after the spiritual well-being of society; they were priests and teachers. The Kshatriyas who emerged from the hands of the creator were expected to physically maintain and protect the society and thus became rulers and administrators. The Vaishyas came from the thighs of the creator. Their task was therefore to materially support society; they were the accredited producers of wealth. The Shudras, who emerged from the feet of the creator, were assigned the task of serving the three higher Varnas. (Oommen p.69) These Varnas were only general classifications; within each classification there would exist hundreds, if not thousands, of subtle caste and subcaste variations (jatis), leading to the possibility of a caste increasing its intra varna status through strict adherence to Brahmanical rituals. Furthermore, while there were strict pollution/impurity taboos among Varnas, castes and sub-castes; making it possible for some sub-castes to be inherently tainted both morally and physically, and by extension making it impossible for them to touch or get close to members of higher castes or varnas, there was/is intense interdependence between these groups. The division of labor was so rigorous, elaborate, and specialized that each of these groups made the functioning of the other possible. Indeed, without these agreements, which intertwined economic and ritual relations between castes and were defined as the Jajmani system, Hindu society would notit would have worked at all. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it should be noted that outside this chatuvarna system there existed a social group that had neither class nor status: these were the outcastes or untouchables; who, at any time, represented nearly a fifth of the Hindu population; existing on the fringes of society and performing the most menial and humiliating tasks. One might ask why such a rigid and unequal pyramidal hierarchy, with Brahmans at the top and Shudras at the bottom, has remained intact for so long? The answer to this question lies in the belief in the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation. Hindu belief in reincarnation is accepted by all sects and philosophical schools of Hinduism as a self-evident fact of existence. On a human level, this means that what a man is in this life has been determined by his conduct in previous lives. Likewise, his conduct in this life will determine the kind of life he will lead in his next existence. (Ling p.28) Therefore, one earns one's position in the hierarchy of Varna through the process of one's actions (karma) in life. If one's actions conform to one's varnashrama dharma (class/life duty), one accumulates merit; if you move away from it, demerit accumulates. If one's merit exceeds one's demerit, one is reborn with a higher position in life; on the contrary, if one's demerit exceeds one's merit, one is reborn with a lower status. (Oomen p.71) So a Shudra can be reborn as a Brahmin or a monkey; depending on how he lived his life. Of course the ultimate goal of a Hindu is to free oneself from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth (Mukti) by performing one's dharma without any expectation of reward - action without desires. But the important point here is the widespread belief that one's actions (karma) in this life can impact one's rebirth in the next life: "a moral cause and effect that operates automatically and externally throughout the universe." (Ling p.27) So far we have established that the caste system was/is the socioeconomic edifice upon which Hinduism is based. And that adhering or not adhering to the principles and duties of the class/caste system dictates one's reincarnation in the next life. Once these concepts are established, one can understand why the caste system has proven so resistant to change. However, the last hundred and fifty years have seen determined attempts by various prominent Hindus, such as Ram Mohan Roy, Ramakrishna and Mahatma Ghandi; improve and downgrade the social structure of caste in its relation to Hinduism. Along with the penetration of Western ideas and techniques, this has culminated in a notable weakening of caste practice and respect. This phenomenon is illustrated by comparing three case studies of village societies during the post-independence period, when moderation and pressure for change were greatest. Modern Society and the Caste System As mentioned above, the nineteenth century heralded an era of intense examination and reevaluation of the Hindu faith by many of the leading Indian scholars of the time. This "Hindi Renaissance", as it was called, was the denial of his formal self and the reaffirmation of his spiritual essence. These reformers, under the onslaught of secular thought and Western religious example, became the visible embodiment of a new, awakened Hinduism – awakened by Christianity and government bodies to social concern especially for the sick and needy, but also awakened to need for a religion of tolerance and charity. (Ling p.370) This revaluation of Hinduism was prepared by the reform movements of the nineteenth century, but it reached and touched the heartsof the entire Indian people only after the emergence of Mahatma Ghandi as the pre-eminent Hindu spiritual leader. "For it was he who lent his enormous prestige to the assault on what all that was best in India for centuries had perceived as a cancer at the very heart of their religion, the caste system itself and its ugly corollary , the creation of a religious proletariat without civil rights, the outcasts or the untouchables.' (Zaehner p.8) It must be emphasized, however, that this liberal revolution, which attempted to bring Hinduism into the twentieth century while preserving the spiritual essence of the religion without the social artifice; after all, it was an orthodox Hindu who killed Ghandi , the great reformer.Thus the acceptance and spread of new ideas and ways of life was a slow and painful progress.In the 1960s Bharati stated that he believed that before the great majority of the Indian people could to "modernize" oneself would have to undergo the process of Sanskritization. Involved in this concept of Sanskritization is the adherence to certain forms of traditional behavior summarized in the Sanskrit language, its hieratic literature and the secular practices associated with it can be seen in a tanner caste in southern India. Such a group seeks to become more acceptable and respectable in the eyes of the surrounding Hindus, its leaders must decree, and succeed in implementing, the omission. of those professional and ritual acts which in the broader Hindu context are considered contaminating. It could be a decree prohibiting widows from remarrying, for example, or a change in eating habits, such as those relating to the consumption of meat, or in the worship of those deities without an ideological connection with the pantheon. of Sanskrit deities. (Bharati p.70) Furthermore, Bharati points out that literally hundreds of tribal and other low-caste groups did not traditionally employ Brahmin priests for their marriage and funeral ceremonies; but in the process of modernization they went through a phase of Sanskritization, that is, the acceptance of Brahminism and its rituals as instrumental in the performance of rites of passage and other ceremonial observances. If this hypothesis were to be given credence, it would mean that most of rural India would first seek to increase their status by putting aside traditional devotion to Bhakti cults and begin the process of modernization by adopting orthodox Hindu practices. Thus strengthening the caste system. just at the moment you would expect it to collapse. While one can see the merit and logic of such a position; this writer would suggest that Bharati underestimated the pace and power of modernization and overestimated the attractions of tradition. A much more complete picture is created by the work of the American anthropologist Kathleen Gough. A study of village life in a traditionally strong Hindu area - Tanjore, in southern India - led Gough to conclude that the social and economic structure of caste was beginning to collapse there too: "It is clear that, in general, the social structure of Tanjore village is changing from a relatively closed and stationary system, with a feudal economy and cooperation between castes classified according to ways established by religious law, to a relatively "open" system of change, governed by secular law, with an expanding capitalist economy and competition between castes, sometimes strengthened and sometimes overshadowed by the new struggle between economic classes (Ling p.376) Although this survey was conducted in 1955, its findings would have great resonance for the inhabitants of the. village of Deoli, in Uttar Pradesh, the heartland of Hindi; almost thirty years.