CULTURAL STRUCTURE

One of the more confusing mysteries of India is her caste system. This was originally a segregated social order structure imposed over 3000 years ago by the invading Aryans upon the native population in order to maintain their purity of race. As time passed, this social order, which became known as the caste system, gained Hindu religious sanction.

At the top are the Brahmins, the priests and arbiters of what is right and wrong in matters of religion and society. Next are the Kshatriyas, who are soldiers and administrators. The Vaisyas are the artisan and commercial class, and finally, the Sudras are the farmers and the peasant class. These four castes are said to have come from Brahma's mouth (Brahmin), arms (Kshatriyas), thighs (Vaisyas) and feet (Sudras).

Beneath the four main castes is a fifth group. They literally have no caste. They are the untouchables, the Dalits, which means oppressed, downtrodden and exploited social group.

A Dalit is not considered to be part of human society, but something, which is beyond that. The Dalits perform the most menial and degrading jobs. Yet even when they do sometimes perform important jobs, as individuals, they are very rarely recognised socially. Dalits are seen to pollute higher caste people if they come in touch with them, hence the 'untouchables'. If a higher caste Hindu is touched by, or even had a Dalits' shadow fall across them, they consider themselves to be polluted and have to go through a rigorous series of rituals to be cleansed.

There are approximately 250 million Dalits In India. This means that 25% of the population is Dalit. It also means that in a country, where everybody is supposed to have equal rights and opportunities, 1 out of 4 persons is condemned to be an outcaste of society.

Dalits are poor, deprived and socially backward. They don't have sufficient access to food, health care, housing and clothing. Neither do they generally have access to education and employment. With these deprivations, the injustice and abuse that they face in every day life effectively leaves them as a non-people. Officially, everybody in India has the same rights and duties, but the practice is very different. Social backwardness, lack of access to basic life requirements keeps them in perpetual bondage to the caste system. Today, they are crying out to the world community for help!

Additonal information about the situation with India's Dalit people can be found on our American partner organisation's webiste at dalitnetwork.org.