Introduction to the History of India and the Caste System

Introduction to the History of India and the Caste System

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Introduction...

In this unit, we will discuss what gives India a comparative advantage in the IT revolution. In order to do so, we need to clarify any misconceptions or false perceptions we may have about the history, country, and the people of India.

History of India

India is home to one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Only in the last 50 years has India enjoyed true freedom of its people. Invasions of India began with the first Aryan invasion several thousands of years ago. Since then, India and its people have fallen under the rule of invading forces with great regularity.

Mohenjo Daro

The earliest Indian history is preserved in the ruins of a city called Mohenjo Daro, which lies in present-day Pakistan. Thousands of years ago, citizens of Mohenjo Daro had developed systems of counting, writing, weighing and measuring. They practiced advanced ways of life that were unknown in Europe even as late as the 19th century. The city featured ditches and canals that irrigated local farms. The fate of the people at Mohenjo Daro is unknown.

Multiple Choice

Mohenjo Daro is important to India. Why?

• It is a well known sea port.

• It is the economic center of India.

• It is the capital of India

• It is home to ancient ruin.

Aryans

Aryans began invading India about 4,000 years ago. They were the tribes of people from north of India in central Asia. The word "Aryan" is a Sanskrit word meaning "owners of land." They moved into India as other Aryans were moving into Europe. The Aryans in both India and Europe became ancestors of some of today's fair-skinned people in India and Europe.

During years of Aryan influence, the caste system developed in India. A caste system is a division of society based on wealth, occupation, and/or lineage. The caste system in India, which is based on one’s lineage, has lasted throughout most of its modern history.

Multiple Choice

The caste system was

• India's transportation system.

• a way to divide people into social classes.

• the most prosperous era in Indian history.

After the rule of Asoka, a time of regular invasions from the likes of Arabs, Greeks, and Scythians began. About 120 AD, the Scythians conquered northern India. They established the Kushan Dynasty. The Gupta Dynasty followed, which started India's "Golden Age." During this time, cities grew in India. Its schools and businesses grew and its people prospered. The first Europeans arrived nearly 1,000 years later.

Multiple Choice

The time period of great prosperity and growth in India was known as...

• Gupta Era

• Golden Age

• Asoka's Rule

European Influence

The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came to India in 1498. Europeans recognized the great natural resources of India and potential for trade and profit there. European countries raced to send explorers to India. Among the first European groups to settle in India was the British East India Company.

 

The Company was loosely controlled by the British government. It grew in power in India for hundreds of years. Through battles with natives and ruthless economic tactics, the Company grew to control most of India before native Indians knew what was happening.

Multiple Choice

The British East India Company was fair in its dealings with native Indians. True or False?

• True

• False

The Indian people rebelled against the Company in 1857. The revolution failed, but it brought the struggle of Indians and the cruelty of the Company to the attention of British rulers. The British government vowed to do away with the Company. In 1858, Britain assumed control of the land held by the Company. It became known as British India. The time period during which the British government directly controlled the part of India controlled by the Company was called the Raj.  This period lasted from 1858 to 1947. Later, Britain came to influence most of the rest of India as well. For the next hundred years, Indian resistance to British rule would grow.

 

In 1919 an Indian lawyer named Mohandas K. Gandhi became leader of a group called the Indian National Congress. He led non-violent opposition to British rule and supported Indians. Gandhi became one of the most respected leaders in Indian history. The work of Gandhi and his countrymen helped India to become a free state in 1947. India adopted its own constitution in 1949. Gandhi didn't survive to live in a free India. He was assassinated in 1948.

Multiple Choice

Mohandas Gandhi used violent resistance against the British. True or False?

• True

• False

In the years to follow, India used the help of nations around the world to make the life of Indians better. During the 1950s, billions of dollars were spent on improvements in agriculture, industry, and health. Today, India's economy and daily life continues to improve.  In addition, it is the world’s largest democracy.

Multiple Choice

What type of government does India have today?

• Monarchy

• Dictatorship

• Democracy

• Theocracy

Caste System

Now we want you to learn a little bit more about the caste system.  Our textbook refers to caste using the term “jati” so you may want to keep that term in your mind as we discuss this now illegal system.  

For thousands of years on the Indian subcontinent, a person’s social class (jati) was determined by birth. Historians later called this the caste system. Caste members lived, ate, married, and worked with their own group. A person born into​ one caste rarely changed castes or mixed with members of other castes. Social rules defined how to behave within a caste and when in the presence people from other castes.

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The caste system precedes written history, but it seems to have developed slowly over time based on the traditional beliefs of the Aryan nomads who began moving onto the subcontinent about 1000 BCE.  Each caste had a clearly defined role. Members of each caste were obligated to look after one another, so each caste had its own support system. These traditions were later incorporated into the Hindu religion.

Open Ended

What are the origins of the caste system?

Open Ended

What beneficial role did the caste system play in people’s lives?

Brahmin

At the top of the caste system were the Brahmin and the Kshatriya. The Brahmin were the priests, teachers, and judges who understood dharma. Dharma are the spiritual laws that govern the universe. The Brahmin often lived apart from the rest of society in temples.

Kshatriya

The Kshatriya were the warrior caste who made everyday decisions and ran the government. The Kshatriya had most of the power in everyday life, but their decisions could be overruled by the Brahmin.

Vaishyas and then the Sudras

The Vaishyas were skilled farmers and merchants. They occasionally had leadership positions in local villages. The unskilled workers were of the Sudras caste. Members of the Sudras caste often worked on the farms of the people of higher castes. Many Brahmin priests believed contact with lower castes would contaminate their souls. Vedic prayers were considered so pure that they could not be recited or even heard by a person of a lower caste. One Indian law stated that if a Sudras was caught listening to the Vedas, molten lead was to be poured into his ears.

The Untouchables

Foreigners, lawbreakers, people from isolated tribes, and people suffering from contagious diseases lived outside the caste system. These untouchables or “outcastes” were traditionally regarded as unsuitable for personal relations with people who belonged to a caste. Caste members were vegetarians, which meant that people who ate meat or fish were not accepted into their society.

Untouchables were hired to do work that members of the caste system would not do.  These jobs included killing or disposing of dead cattle or working with their hides. The untouchables also worked as sweepers, washers, or in other jobs that required contact with human emissions such as sweat, urine, or feces.

Untouchables were often forbidden to enter temples, schools or use wells where caste members drew water. In some parts of India, even the sight of untouchables was thought to be polluting. The untouchables were often forced to sleep during the day and work at night.

Mahatma Gandhi referred to the untouchables as the Harijan, a term that means “blessed” because Gandhi believed the Harijan were blessed by their suffering. Recently, many untouchables have rejected Gandhi’s term as demeaning. They prefer to call themselves the Dalit, a term that can be translated as “oppressed.”

The Indian government has provided the Dalit with employment privileges and granted them special representation in the Indian parliament. 

Despite such measures, the Dalit continue to have fewer educational and employment opportunities than Indians from higher castes.

The caste system became less rigid as the Indian people were exposed to outside ideas. Many Sudras and untouchables were attracted to the ideas of Islam because Muslims rejected the caste system. The Sikh religion which originated in the Punjab region of India, as well as Buddhism, which originated near modern-day Nepal, both also rejected the caste system.

Open Ended

Why might people of lower castes be interested in converting to religions other than Hinduism?