Manasvi Singh week 3

Chapter 1 ‘Understanding Caste’ And Chapter 2 ‘The Axis of Gender Stratification In India’By Uma Chakravarti

It is for sure true that in our society, men and women are and have been treated differently. Two of the few but quintessential reasons are class and caste hierarchy. The patriarchal Brahmanical culture made sure that the burden of oppression by caste and varna doesn’t fall on it. Acceptance is a key to continue the coercion on the aggrieved (here Dalit women), which is far more brutal than class oppression. The weak are exploited through dominating means of production, higher self- proclaimed self-respect and dignity. All these are in turn somewhere always been resented by the oppressed in the caste system but are overshadowed by the written texts such as the ‘Dharmashastras’. The high caste pure blood justifies the hierarchy by hiding behind holy rituals, sacrifices and ‘sacredness’ of the Hindu religion which in turn makes sure that the two never be counted as one. Social scientists believe that there is more than what meets the eye. From the naming of children to the punishment people got, it was different at all levels, the Dalits being in the worst position. Berreman’s ‘institutionalized inequality’ is one of the results of modern discrimination. Excess opportunity gives excess power over the resources which in turn confirm the dominance. The higher class owns most of the land and hence enjoys the product and power arising through gaining control over the market. There caste and class are not the same but are interrelated. The owner of the means of violence to exercise powerful and effective control over the other. Female subordination is another struggle of women, other than class and caste. And the interconnection between the three has a different impact. Female subordination is a result of the growing patriarchy. There were different instances in the history where historians have noticed women be partially independent where though they had some freedom in their life economically but not over their own sexuality.