Belonging from a Hindu family, I have lots of dos and don’ts to follow. My parents are one of the special couple in my society because they are of two different castes. Nepalese society is strict on the caste system, which means hierarchy according to the caste. Castes like Brahmin and Kshetriya which are considered as the upper class are not allowed to get married to a woman of another caste; even she is not from the lower class. My father is a kshetriya and my mother is a Gurung (lower than Kshetriya, but not a lower caste). It was a massive issue when they got married. As both of my parents were from middle class family, their families were strict about the caste system. Moreover, my father had only passed 10th grade whereas my mother only …show more content…
I was told from the very beginning of my childhood as well as encountered many of the circumstances where our family discussed about the lower caste people. It is nothing like our parents should teach us; the society teaches us before we are taught by our parents. Once we had a neighbor from the lower caste who was an old lady; she directly entered into our home. My father got furious and told her to be in her limits and call from the outside of the gate before entering. I personally found it rude, but it is prevalent in our society. Whenever I go out with friends, he asks with whom I went. The first thing he asks is what his /her caste is. Unlike class, caste cannot be changed with the economic status. Legally and historically, it was established as a law in 1854 by King Jaysthiti Malla according to their vocation (“Caste System in Nepal”). Later, this law brought inequality among Nepalese citizen. Again, a bill was passed against caste system in 1963 (6). However, the practice of discriminating the lower caste people is prevailing. One of the logical reasons can be the lower caste people work manually, most of them are dirty like shoe making, therefore, people would have started discriminate them. Another can be the thinking of parents which consider if we are close to lower caste people, we will be also interested in their work which is not considered as good job. Similarly, parents want to preserve …show more content…
In the past, we followed the caste system because there was order of profession according to their caste. However, nowadays the caste system has become an ideology. Now, the lower caste people are also educated and in high ranking position of their job. Now their identity has become ambiguous. At first, they were doing their own job, but now they are established and rich too. At this point, classifying them has become difficult. According to Mary Douglas, things which do not have clear classification are considered as dirt (1). Likewise, the lower caste people in my society are also considered as dirt. So, we are not allowed to gel up with them. Culturally, I was bound to practice the caste system, and religiously, I was told to pray every morning and
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system is known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class they were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality.
Usually, the Patels employe Dalits for the odd seasonal works. They worked and earned under-wages from Patels’ farm lands. But the wages were too stopped after Teeha’s fight with Patels in this village. Moti and Heera Khana’s were considering as a social respectable persons of Dalits. They brought a few persons from the village and ex-communicated Moti and Heera. It is what the social discrimination. Dalits claimed the rights, but excommunicated. Is this justice? Is caste a flaw?
Dictionary.com defines a caste system as “a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion” This means someone born into a low caste cannot move up to a higher caste because of this system. Although a caste system is not a set of laws, it is almost never broken because the caste system has been in place for so long.
Woodburne, A. S. "Can India's Caste System Survive in Modern Life?” The Journal of Religion, Vol. 2, No. 5. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. pgs. 525-537. Web
For example, Vedic India’s caste system was placed in the following order from top to bottom: the brahmins, warriors, middle class people, the low ranked civilians. The civilians were the ones who did the majority, if not all, of the back breaking work that allowed the land to flourish and feed the population. Although this class name isn’t part of the caste system, there is group that is considered so low that they cannot be part of the caste system, called “untouchables”. The untouchables know their place as well as everyone else so no one else interacts with them. In China, The social order works by keeping everyone in their designated category to avoid disorder as a whole because they are one huge family that cooperate together. Social order functions to keep everyone from causing a chaos and telling everyone the duties they fulfill. (BP#2: How social order works/
Naturally, to fulfill their dharma, people had to marry within their caste. Parents arranged proper unions for their children, sometimes at ages as young as eight or nine, before sexual attraction had a chance to complicate things.
In a scene the film Ravi goes to a wedding in India where a family member is being wedded. Ravi asked if he was happily marrying his wife, in love, and not having second doubts, all his family member expressed was no remorse, but it seemed as if it was something casual for him, it was necessary to marry, and that the bride he had chosen was approved from his parents, and the community of Patels. It seemed that throughout the film arrange marriage is viewed as normal in India, they don’t seem to ask their children if they’re happy about being arrangbeds into a marriage, it something that when you come of age you have to do. However in Indians living in America are challenging their parents and their cultures religion of arranged marriage. In America they are looking at the diverse cultures and falling love with people outside their culture, and making work, while others are still in the biodata and probably decided to marry into a Patel or other Indian name, yet still experienced dating other men before deciding. What was weird is that some Indian women don’t date until later in their college years when they are away because of the strict household their parents had and from fear of disappointing their family, and being
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
The first difference between American culture and Indian culture is marriage. A wedding is a great social event in our society, which establish a new bond between two individuals and families. Marriage is a joyful occasion with plenty of music, dance, partying and merrymaking. It also brings together a long-lost friends, relatives and acquaintances. In India, the parents choose the mate for their child, which is called an arranged marriage. In most cases, the bri...
It is these ideas that that sometimes promote the wrong image to Indian society. By promoting the ideas of caste people may be influenced to do the same in real life which can result in an array of situations. People may run away from home, or even commit suicide as a result of not being allowed to be with whom they please.
The vast majority of the population is Hindu religion and its organization and its operation is based on the centuries-old tradition and intangible principles. Among these traditions and rules, marriage is central because it is the cornerstone of the harmonious development of the Hindu society. Marriage is primarily a union between two same-class families to sustain the economic continuity and maintain the Hindu Society 's balance.
Caste System is a social system based on ascribed statuses, which are traits or characteristics of people at birth. The ascribed status includes race, gender, nationality, body type and age. The caste system ranks people so rigidly. A person cannot just change his caste any time he wants.
As it turns out, most of the marriages that take place in India are arranged. Arranged marriages are a traditional practice in India, so you can find arranged marriages being practiced in all social classes. The parents of the individual play a big part in this tradition because they are the ones who choose a partner for the individual to marry. The parents must look into the family background of the future bride or groom to make sure that their sons/daughters marry into good families. Not only that, but they go beyond the family background and check the bachelors/bachelorettes out for themselves to make sure they make a good choice. Once a potential partner is chosen, the parents may or may not set up a quick meeting between the two individuals. In other extreme cases, the individuals do not meet at all before the wedding. It is also customary for the two families involved in the arranged marriage to exchange gifts.
The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...
Many of the marriages in India are arranged. While the tradition is becoming less and less popular, parents will often search to find the right partner for their children. It is not just two people getting married,