First Day of Placement - Part 1
Today was our first day of placement, and Augustine arrived at the house to discuss with us the situation in India regarding the caste system and the status of women.
Within the most basic divisions of India's caste system, the highest caste are the Brahmin, who are scholars and intellectuals. Next are the Kshatriya, the kings, warriors, and protectors. Then come the Vaisya, who provide the economic strength through agriculture, production, and trade. Finally are the Sudra, who do all of the menial work to support all the others - everything from carrying and cleaning to burying the dead. The caste system is not without issues, and in particular there has been discrimination of the lower caste people, now known as Dalits, through untouchability (you may have heard of Dalits by their other common name, Untouchables). Being an Untouchable means being an outcast, who is not welcome to share any kind of social privilege or ordinary comfort that is available to members of the other castes. This may include not being able to use the same water sources, not being allowed fair wages for work, being socially ostracised, or even being banned from wearing shoes.
Augustine explained that he thought the caste system may have originated as a method of ensuring that there were people to take care of all the tasks necessary for life to work smoothly, and that from its very human origins it has become 'backed up' by religion, with people in lower castes also pacified by the notion of reincarnation. One religious story to explain the inevitability and unchangeable nature of the caste system is that the castes were born from different parts of the Creator: the Brahmin from the head, Kshatriya from the shoulders or arms, Vaisya from the thighs, and the Sudra (Dalits or Untouchables) from the feet - supporting all the rest but treading in the dirt.
Applying our knowledge of the self-perpetuating nature of socioeconomic disadvantage, it is easy to see that even though the practice of untouchability is illegal now in India, people who have poor access to resources - who lack nourishment, have more illness or injury, are more tired after a day's work, have less money to provide healthcare and education for their children, have fewer beneficial social contacts (less social capital), are then not able to provide so much nutrition, education, social capital etc to their own children. These children then grow up with less access to better jobs, and are more likely to continue living in relative socioeconomic deprivation, thus unwillingly passing the same issues onto their own children. Providing education, especially education about rights-based issues, providing leadership training, and other vocational training to Dalit communities so that they can agitate for their rights, make use of political power in their reserved political seats, and gain access to greater economic opportunities is therefore an important development topic within India.
Similarly, women's rights within India is another big issue. Generally speaking women have a lower status than men across all castes. This translates to women not being encouraged to study such useful things as men in terms of employability, reducing women's economic power. Another factor linked to economic status is the practice of giving dowry, making a female child an economic liability. Thus, less is spent on women's education and they may married younger, necessitating them leaving education early. Female children may become undernourished in poorer households, where the males of the family are allowed the pick of the food and the females may only be permitted to take leftovers. Poorer nourishment can mean poorer health, but while a male child may be taken to a doctor when this is deemed necessary, a female child may have to wait longer before being taken for treatment in order to wait and see if the expense can be avoided. Economic factors and the subjugated status of women can also lead to violence such as 'bride burning' or 'dowry deaths', see here for an article about this issue citing a case from Bangalore in 2015.
Within the most basic divisions of India's caste system, the highest caste are the Brahmin, who are scholars and intellectuals. Next are the Kshatriya, the kings, warriors, and protectors. Then come the Vaisya, who provide the economic strength through agriculture, production, and trade. Finally are the Sudra, who do all of the menial work to support all the others - everything from carrying and cleaning to burying the dead. The caste system is not without issues, and in particular there has been discrimination of the lower caste people, now known as Dalits, through untouchability (you may have heard of Dalits by their other common name, Untouchables). Being an Untouchable means being an outcast, who is not welcome to share any kind of social privilege or ordinary comfort that is available to members of the other castes. This may include not being able to use the same water sources, not being allowed fair wages for work, being socially ostracised, or even being banned from wearing shoes.
Augustine explained that he thought the caste system may have originated as a method of ensuring that there were people to take care of all the tasks necessary for life to work smoothly, and that from its very human origins it has become 'backed up' by religion, with people in lower castes also pacified by the notion of reincarnation. One religious story to explain the inevitability and unchangeable nature of the caste system is that the castes were born from different parts of the Creator: the Brahmin from the head, Kshatriya from the shoulders or arms, Vaisya from the thighs, and the Sudra (Dalits or Untouchables) from the feet - supporting all the rest but treading in the dirt.
Applying our knowledge of the self-perpetuating nature of socioeconomic disadvantage, it is easy to see that even though the practice of untouchability is illegal now in India, people who have poor access to resources - who lack nourishment, have more illness or injury, are more tired after a day's work, have less money to provide healthcare and education for their children, have fewer beneficial social contacts (less social capital), are then not able to provide so much nutrition, education, social capital etc to their own children. These children then grow up with less access to better jobs, and are more likely to continue living in relative socioeconomic deprivation, thus unwillingly passing the same issues onto their own children. Providing education, especially education about rights-based issues, providing leadership training, and other vocational training to Dalit communities so that they can agitate for their rights, make use of political power in their reserved political seats, and gain access to greater economic opportunities is therefore an important development topic within India.
Similarly, women's rights within India is another big issue. Generally speaking women have a lower status than men across all castes. This translates to women not being encouraged to study such useful things as men in terms of employability, reducing women's economic power. Another factor linked to economic status is the practice of giving dowry, making a female child an economic liability. Thus, less is spent on women's education and they may married younger, necessitating them leaving education early. Female children may become undernourished in poorer households, where the males of the family are allowed the pick of the food and the females may only be permitted to take leftovers. Poorer nourishment can mean poorer health, but while a male child may be taken to a doctor when this is deemed necessary, a female child may have to wait longer before being taken for treatment in order to wait and see if the expense can be avoided. Economic factors and the subjugated status of women can also lead to violence such as 'bride burning' or 'dowry deaths', see here for an article about this issue citing a case from Bangalore in 2015.
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