Vatsala Poddar Week 3

Understanding Caste 

The first chapter talks about the Caste system and the dynamics that exist between caste and the class in society.  The caste system is particularly of a Brahmanical notion as it fails to give Dalits and women the same status in society. It does not recognize the experiences of those positioned at the lowest levels of the system and this is reflected in the Manusmriti. This book is considered as the guiding principles for the Hindu community, where something as personal as a name is also differentiated. It believes that people belonging to the upper caste have superior and stronger names whereas those at the lowest levels of the system have weak names. Uma Chakraborty demonstrates how class and caste intersect to justify the discrimination inflicted upon women especially belonging to the lower strata by way of a patriarchal-Brahmanical hegemony. Endogamy is still practiced, which shows the amount of control men have over women sexuality. A woman expressing her sexuality and desires are always considered odd because this is for the ‘men’. Here intersectionality can be seen between class, caste and gender thus proving that it is a pervasive concept. In order to keep their Jati ‘pure’ women are reduced to mere objects and they have various restrictions imposed on their movement by way of power dynamics in the system. The caste system is so embedded in the society that even if a person wants to think differently, they would inherently feel like they are doing something wrong. The caste system is engrained in the society and has become a part of the culture as well.