Caste is a system of social organisation and acts as a Social Control tool.
It may be hard to digest under the notion that it breeds inequality among people and as such is reprehensible.
But it is innate.
Many are under the impression is a word coined by Hinduism to oppress people, while the rest of the world and Social systems do not have it.
Nothing can be farther from Truth.
Before we proceed to the Science news on this, I would like to add some points on ‘Caste’
The critics of ‘Caste’ system fail to understand the concept or even facts.
They use it as Varnasrama Dharma.
Varna means literally disposition, often used , of late, to mention, Color.
The disposition is determined , not by Birth but by attitudes that are inborn.
Asrama means’ stage’ as in Stages of Life.
So Varnasrama Dharma is a misnomer in this context.
Vedic texts do not express any special favors for a Group but prescribe some Responsibilities.
Each group is enjoined to have certain responsibilities and each supports the other.
Purusha Suktha of the Vedas, while narrating the origins of the Universe describes thus.
‘Brahmins are the Face,Kshatriyas, The Shoulders,Vaisyas The Thighs and The Sudras , The Feet’
( Brahmanosya Mukam Aaseeth, Baahu Rajanya Kruthaha, Ooru Thadhasya yas Vaisyah,Padhyo Soodro ajaayata’
The Face is indicative of the inner finer qualities and character , Shoulders, Valor and protection, Thighs support, and Feet Anchoring the whole Body.
What is conveyed is that the tendency to compare one with another and strive to be one up is natural and innate;they are dependent on and supportive of each other.
The Survival of the Fittest in Evolution stems from the urge to be ahead than the others to ensure survival;else the Organism will perish.
We always strive to excel than others in all our activities , be it in looks, Dressing, Status, Economic prosperity.
In the process we compete with one another through out Life and in times of the struggle for the Basics of Life, like Water, Food, Sex, we even kill.
The tendency to engage in one-upmanship is what actually ensures our Life,.
In the righteous anger against ‘Untouchability, people often confuse ‘Caste’ with it.
Caste as we call it has been in existence for over Five Thousand Years, where as Untouchabilty came into being around 600 AD.
While we can eradicate Untouchability as it is a conscious effort to isolate a group we can not do so about Caste.
People who practice Untouchabilty belong, normally, to Endogenous Groups’ and they are generally associated with those who were, in India,protecting the society, as a King, Soldiers.
One would find the practice of the Untouchability being practised more by these groups.like the Thakusr, Nadars and Thevars of Tamil Nadu.
The other communities in India,practice this habit very rarely.
A look at the statistics of Untouchability offences committed would prove that the Brahmins who practice Untouchability are very rare and few and far in between.
But the impression is that Brahmins practice Untouchability, an effort by the British to isolate the Group.
Caste , as i mentioned in my earlier posts, is based on Dispositions , not determined by Birth.
Howevrmuch one tries to eradciate it, it is not possible as it is Nature.
It will exist in some other from,as Poor and the Rich, Bourgeoisie and proletariat,Empolyed and The Employed; only the yard stick will differ(which is less scientic tahn based on Dispositions.
Even animals have Heiearchy and group feelings.
‘
Researchers analysed the distinctive “lip-smacking” sounds made by wild gelada baboons of the Ethopian highlands and found striking similarities to human speech.
Their noises are so human-like that Thore Bergman, an assistant professor with the University of Michigan, thought he heard people talking while he was hanging out with the creatures.
“I would find myself frequently looking over my shoulder to see who was talking to me, but it was just the geladas,” he said. “It was unnerving to have primate vocalizations sound so much like human voices.”
Male geladas smack their lips to produce a distincive “wobble” in their calls to females. These sounds follow a similar tempo to human speech….
“While females have strong social bonds in the group, a female will only interact with at most three other members of her unit.[16] Grooming and other social interactions among females usually occur between pairs.[18] Females in a reproductive unit exist in a hierarchy. Higher-ranking females have more reproductive success and more offspring than lower-ranking females.[19] Closely related females tend to have a similar hierarchical status.[19] Females stay in their natal units for life; cases of females leaving are rare.[20] Aggression is rare within a reproductive unit, being directed mostly towards members of other units.[18] More often, the females start conflicts, but both males and females from both sides will join if the conflict escalates.[18] Also, aggression within a reproductive unit is usually between females.[18]‘
‘Untouchability is not unique to India; it was practised in parts of Europe until a few centuries ago, and Japan still has a large number of ‘untouchables’, called the burakumin. But it is in the Indian sub-continent that this system survives, closely bound with culture, religion, history and contemporary politics. Today over 170 million men, women and children in the India are considered untouchable, and improvement in their lot has been slow despite legal safeguards and government programs.’
http://iheu.org/content/untouchability-india-overview
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/04/09/talking_monkeys/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelada
‘The term is commonly associated with treatment of the Dalit communities, who are considered “polluting” among the people of South Asia, but the term has been used for other groups as well, such as the Burakumin of Japan, Cagots in Europe, or the Al-Akhdam in Yemen. Untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, and Dalits substantially empowered, although some prejudice against them continues, especially in rural pockets dominated by certain other backward caste (OBC) groups.[1](wiki)
Related:
Most of the great sages and Gods worshipped do not belong to Brahmin community, supposedly higher in echelon.
In the Holy Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva,Brahma and Vishnu are Kshatriyas while Siva is a Brahmin.
Brahma and Vishnu are classified as above because one is originator (Brahma) of Life and Vishnu is a Protector, both functions are that of Kshatriyas while Siva liberates from the world through Knowledge and hence called a Brahmana.
http://ramanisblog.in/2009/09/30/270/
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