Despite Millennia of Oppression, Why Did Not The Lower Caste And The Untouchables Revolt Against The Indian Upper Caste?

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This symbolism, however, says more. Since a body is healthy only when all organs function properly as a team, it denies Varna arrogance as 'My Varna is greater.' It rather highlights the necessity and therefore importance of all Varnas. Although a teamwork is seen, and it sounds like a commune working for an ideal, unlike in communism, dharma dictates here. It does not stop there; it narrates more rules to bring about, what it calls, an egalitarian society: The Rules of The Varna System: 1. At birth all are Sudras. 2. Like doctors, lawyers, etc. these Sudras enter into any one of the educated 3 Varnas (Dvija), through aptitude aided training. it, there was more acceptance than resentment. Even if they thought of a revolt, they were few, far in-between, uneducated and unaroused. Well, with all that, revolution had no chance, and that is why it lasted so long. The rigidity is such that it is even finding it hard to go away today. Although things are changing now, Dalit Christians have petitioned in the UN against the Pope. 3. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and brings about the arrogance that can't be good for a healthy society. Since the addition of a 2nd Varna brings additional power, if not incompetence, the addition of the 2nd Varna power is frowned upon. A filthy rich Brahmin usurping two Varna powers, for example, is frowned upon. 4. Almost reminding the justice of some modern judges, it sees no equality in punishment. Tracing 'uneasy lies the head that wears the crown' and 'he should know better' a Brahmin gets harder punishment than a Sudra. 5. It is not purity based and, therefore, has no untouchability. The Caste System: A Hindu Sin Although the caste system borrows the names - Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra of the Varna system, the borrowing and the similarities with the latter end there. Arguing unmarried men's needs in the priests abusing kids, although some accuse Catholicism of enhancing paedophilia, it is not a Catholic teaching. Similarly, the caste system is not Hindu ordained. Instead, the casteism act goes against the Hindu teaching and thus become a Hindu sin. But then, most Hindus do practice it. And strangely enough, even people of other faiths, including Muslims and Christians in India, practice it. The Catholic Church has even made it official and categorised churches for the untouchables. In any case, the caste system is a social institution that is based on purity that adds untouchability to the four suggested above. It, therefore, is spoken of as the high caste and the low caste. Being birth based, a person is born into the caste of the father, and that remains unchanged, throughout life. But then, with social corruption being the rule, even the 5 castes could not remain so. Each caste is divided into sub-castes. There could, for example, be several classes (sub-castes) of Brahmins. In addition, in the absence of the restrictions, a Brahmin could easily plough the field and still retain the caste by his birth i.e. Brahmin - albeit a lesser one. Lower caste marriage or other factors, however, could make one slide down in the caste ladder. The rigidity not only made the lower caste people suffer, as suggested below but aptitude lead desire for a different caste job didn't make even the high caste born enthusiast really happy. In addition, while Sudras did not have access to the Vedas - the highest scriptures -the untouchable were simply not allowed to touch the others. It was not only that the latter's body was impure to the higher caste people, what he or she touched was impure too. Water, the most important material, touched by them was a no for the rest. Although they were needed for menial and other jobs for the upper castes, being untouchable they had to live separately in a different place and with their own amenities. They and the lower caste people were poor, and violence against them was not uncommon. Yes, done mostly by the higher caste people, India did have a political revolution and showing empathy for the ageless distress, they did make discrimination and untouchability illegal. They also offered reservation to what Gandhi called, the 'Harijans' (God's children). But the question, 'Why there was no social revolution against the higher castes' still remains. And the answer is surprisingly found in the understanding of the concept of middle-class in the economic class system. The Middle-class Concept: The Social five castes system has got nothing to do with the economic middle class, but surprisingly the middle-class concept of the economic three class system better explains it. This is because, in the upper, middle and lower class tensions, while the upper class gets the joy of getting respect from all and seeing its paucity, the lower class gets used to giving respect to the other two, the middle class is in an odd and uneasy position. It looks like it is at war with itself. Because it has the means to have a comfortable living, it resents ways and the means of the upper class. But then, as a balancing act, it feels comfortable by the honour bestowed by the lower class.

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