For the purpose of comprehending the influence of society and culture on the individual and the community in general, two Indian individuals were interviewed on the internet. This was a great opportunity to delve deep into the societal system and interpersonal dynamics working in the Indian milieu. While both these respondents were chosen from the Hindu community (where caste discrimination and other social issues prevail), one of them was a Brahmin, the highest rung of the Hindu society, with the other one being a Dalit or a backward class individual. Now, of late, the issues encompassing Dalit community in India has been quite a burning one with the entire democratic system getting involved in eradicating the animosity or violence meted out to the people of the backward Hindu community in the country. Interviewing these two people with contextual questions provided the scope to explore the dynamics of the Indian society and how people get affected by the various institutionalized practices or norms of the Hindu community.
The Brahmin respondent was enquired about the economic status of his family. At this, the person replied that they have been among the well-to-do families of their community for many generations. This person went on to inherit a lot of property and money from his parents. On being asked about his profession, it came to be known that he owns a business of clothing in the city of Kolkata. Thus, it could very well be comprehended that he had no economic stringency whatsoever and rather lived a happy and comfortable life in his affluence. However, when the same question was asked in detail to the Dalit respondent, he went on to share that he was involved in clerical job at a local shop. Before that, he had been working in a tannery for many years. In fact, his family had been stuck by poverty for many generations. But, intriguingly he seemed to have accepted the way of life, in spite of being a graduate from a local college in the city of Kolkata. On learning about this, the first thing that would come to mind is the fact that in the Hindu community of India, the social rung is intertwined with economic status. Moreover, it seemed that the backward class people have come to terms with the systematic violence meted out to them by the society. They have been societally conditioned to believe that they are sort of inferior in position and capacity in comparison to the people of the higher rungs of the society.
As both the respondents were enquired more, it came to be known that the Hindu caste system came to be institutionalized thousands of years ago. The rungs were determined by the jobs that were ascribed to the people of the social classes. While Brahmins reserved the right of religious worship, the Dalit people were made to work in the tannery, skin dead cows for extracting leather, clean the sewage, and so on. In fact, when the Dalit respondent was asked more about the matter, he said that in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar (three of the states of India) Dalit community was considered as untouchables. This data coming from the respondent made it extremely clear that the Indian Hindu society is marked by extreme inequality where the institutionalized caste system came to undermine the sense of humanity or equal rights of individuals. This system having been in practice since thousands of years back, the Dalit respondent never hoped that it would get eradicated soon. (navsarjan.org, 2009) Now, the Brahmin respondent was asked to give his opinion about the systematic violence meted out to the backward class people of the Hindu society in the country. As per his opinion, there was no such systematic violence. The economic superiority of the people of the upper rungs of the society was supposed to be attributed to their existing properties and educational qualifications. Moreover, he added that a few acts of intolerance or discrimination get portrayed by the media to be the general situation in the society- something that is not correct in his view.
It is very intriguing to note that India is popularly called the world’s largest democracy owing to political structure and huge population. However, these kinds of discriminatory acts in a society are unexpected in a democracy. This also means that the Hindus belonging to the upper class exercise their hegemonic influence on the weaker backward classes- something that is only the sequel to the institutionalized oppression of the lower rungs. Now, it has to be noted that the Indian government went on to introduce reservation for the backward classes in government jobs, educational institutions and so on. This was done keeping in mind the vision of bridging the gap between the upper caste Hindus and the Dalit people who had been oppressed for centuries now. When the Brahmin respondent was asked about his views on reservation, he opined that it was unfair to the unreserved people of the society. He further added that the system of reservation based on caste identity in India was pushing the country backwards as incompetent people were getting good opportunities in education and career.
This goes on to show how the institutionalized discriminatory practices have come to influence the psyche of the people belonging to the upper rungs of the Hindu society in India. Gauging the psyche and perspective of the respondents, it could be comprehended that the stratification of the Indian Hindu society is very rigid in nature. Inter-caste marriages are known to be frowned upon by many even in this modern era. In fact, the Dalit respondent discussed about how honor killing is emerging as one of the most alarming menaces in the Indian society where couples get killed by the members of their own family if one of the two belongs to a lower rung of the caste system of the society. When asked, the Brahmin respondent opined that he was not really ready to be in a marital bond with a female from the Dalit section of the society. When he was asked the reason for having such an opinion, he simply downplayed by saying it is a personal choice on his part. However, his answers made it clear that the stratification of the caste system in India has an enormous effect on the sense of individual identity. However, since the social stratification on the basis of caste is also intertwined with the economic disparity in the country, there seems to be no immediate solution to the problem. This can surely be deemed as one of the most important issues that could thwart the holistic development of the Indian society as the Hindu community constitutes the major part of the population there.
Recently, the government of India has come up with the Digital India campaign where the governance aims to bring into the domain of digital access the entire population of the country. When asked to give his opinion about it, the Brahmin respondent said that he has had proper access to the internet and computers for many years now. On the other hand, the Dalit respondent opined that he had bought a computer just a few months back, and many people of his community do not have access to internet or computer. He said that most of the Dalit people did not have proper economic status to afford computers or digital technology as such. This reply came to testify the fact that, in India, difference of caste or social rung is sort of proportional to the economic statuses of the people. Thus, the stratification of the Hindu society has enormous effects on the lifestyle, wellbeing, development and access to opportunities for the people. The omnipotence of systematic violence in the Indian context is something that cannot be neutralized so easily for sure. (asianhistory.about.com, 2016)
When the respondents were enquired about religion, the Brahmin respondent was quick to opine that religion is of primary importance in the Hindu society. He went on to add that cow is treated as a holy being, and it is highly respected by all. On the other hand, the Dalit opined that religion made them remain ostracized in many ways as in certain places in India the Dalit people are not let to enter the temples. Moreover, the caste system of India went on to be further institutionalized by the predominance of religion in the lives of people. One of the known traditional occupations of the Dalit community is to skin the dead cows and remove their dead bodies. The Dalit respondent also expressed his concern about the recent incidents of violence on the Dalit people by cow vigilante groups in parts of India. This made it clear that Dalit people are definitely suppressed and subordinated by the hegemonic Hindu upper class people.
The society and culture of the Hindu community is greatly different from the Western world. As such, the interview provided a proper insight into the details and conditions prevailing there. To conclude, it would be correct to say that the interview of the mentioned people from India helps to understand the concepts of sociology and culture with great depth. The caste system in India can be taken to be an institutionalized matter that subjugates the lower rungs of the Hindu society. The fact that many Dalit people are converting to Islam to escape from the clutches of oppression meted out by the hegemonic upper class Hindus of the society is something one needs to delve deep into. Also, the interview makes it clear that any ethnocentric perspective would be a flawed one in the endeavor to comprehend the intricacies and dynamics of a society or community. One has to gauge the dynamics of the Hindu society sans any bias, getting to the depth of the inter-caste relationship and influence of religion.
References
(2016). History of India's Caste System. About Education. Retrieved from
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/india/p/indiancastesystem.htm
(2009). Who are Dalits? Navsarjan. Retrieved from
http://navsarjan.org/navsarjan/dalits/whoaredalits
