I read an article in the Nov. 24 edition of the Economist magazine regarding KR Narayanan, former President of India from 1997 to 2002. He passed away recently, but not before serving his country and his people.
He was a dalit or an untouchable as the West has come to recognize and associate the people at the “bottom of the heap” in India’s caste system. He didn’t let his second-class citizenry stop him in a society that has a well structured system of categorizing people.
Naturally, when society teaches people that they are in a higher category (or lower for that matter) of people than others they might begin to act on those thoughts. Lower-caste members of Indian society have long since been shit upon by the higher-caste members. Discriminatory practices still exist in areas that are not-so-cosmopolitan. (sound like something we’ve heard before, huh?)
It’s changing slowly though. Younger generations of Indians recognize the importance of unity amongst a billion people who are otherwise splintered by language, customs, and religion. The government is recognizing this as well. But putting laws into place is only as good as the enforcement of such. India can be a lawless place in consideration of the corrupt nature of politicians and the police. (Before angry mobs of Hindu Nationalists send me nasty-grams, I recognize that the West is corrupt as well and blah, blah, blah. Happy?)
The words class and caste sound a lot alike, but they invoke very different responses in people when heard. We use the much more mild sounding “class” when referring to people and how much they make. That’s what it really comes down to in the States: it’s your profession and how much money you have.
What makes me a little angry in reference to this and most other Western published articles regarding Indian caste is that they fail to compare it to our own caste system here in the States. It might not be called a caste system, but look no further than the neighborhood you live in to recognize that we have just such.
Americans love an underdog. And the Western media loves to incite a little rah-rah spirit in us when portraying the seemingly inhumane conditions of an otherwise backwardly depicted place. The resulting depiction of Indians and Hindus in Western media tends to be at the fringe and weird, even in the more intellectual rags like the Economist.
Yes, there are very poor people in India. Yes, they have to do the work that others who are wealthier and more educated do not want to do. Yes, they live in situations that most would otherwise choose never to step foot into.
But that’s not really that different here in the States, is it? Let’s be honest. You drive through a “bad neighborhood” during an odd hour and get scared. You drive past “bad people” and get a little anxious. We choose to live amongst our peers. Can you imagine living next door to someone who’s substantially less educated and in a completely different tax bracket? Not likely. And neither do Indians.
The lines in the American caste system are harder to identify because it’s really merit and money that count. (Unless of course, you live in the South where many more variables are added to their equation.)
American also love a good trainwreck. As long as it’s not their trainwreck to deal with.
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