THE CASTE SYSTEM
Indian Hindu society is separated into four castes: Brahmins, an educated priestly caste, at the top, then Kshaitrya, rulers and warriors, Vaishya, who are merchants and traders and finally Shudra, manual workers. Those who are too low to be born into a caste are the Dalits or Harijans, also known as the Untouchables. Many historians observe that the lighter-skinned Brahmins are the descendants of Persian Aryan invaders and it is said that they introduced the caste system.
Whether that is true or not, it is undeniable that the Brahmins have a vested interest in maintaining the social apartheid of caste, which amounts to a systematic, graded and permanent inequality of which they are the beneficiaries.
In practice, the less than 5% of the population who are Brahmins dominate Indian politics, government posts, professional positions, the Hindu priesthood, the media and the arts. A lower-caste person cannot move upwards in society, and education is denied to the Shudra and the Dalits. Marriage across castes is not allowed. Shudra and Dalits are not allowed to possess arms, as these are the province of the Kshaitrya. They are therefore defenceless. By living a good and enlightened life, a Shudra can become a Brahmin, but not of course in this life.
The Shudra and Dalits are so persecuted, that if one of them accidentally brushes against the clothes of an upper-caste person, he is liable to be beaten. It is no wonder that the Dalits in particular are fleeing the Hindu religion – the Times of India reported on 5th October 2003 that 10,000 Dalits converted to Buddhism in Gujarat. The state of Gujarat actually has a law against religious conversion, but Buddhism, a more meditative form of Hinduism, pantheistic but less polytheistic, is not seen as a separate religion. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (the ‘World Council of Hindus’) threatened to disrupt the mass conversion, but stayed away.
The social fruits of Hinduism contrast the civil system set out in the Bible:
Exod 12:49: One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Deut 15:11: Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. Deut 24:14: Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy. Prov 22:2: The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
Jer. 22:3: Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
Matt 25:35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
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