From: n2skr@iastate.edu (Suresh K Reddy)
Subject: Caste Problems and Solutions (??????)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 11:21:56 GMT


 Caste feelings ni vodalaleka podaaniki karnaalu emiti?
 Kulam peruna inni atyaachaaralu jarugutunna, enduku yee
 reluctance to get away from it?? Veetiki samadhaanulu
 telisinaa, parishkaaram undaa???

 Yituvanti prasnalu manalo kondarani peedisthunnai, konadaru
 who are in advantageous position are happy with it...
 
 Thought I can share these thoughts of mine with those concerned..
 (I am still forming my theories....Tappulu, boothulu vundakapovu)

 1) We all know that politicians and others who can derive some
 advantage from the caste-wars, wouldn't mind at all if the situation
 continues..

 There are tonnes of normal and reasonably good people, in our
 country, but still they are also unable to get away from this business,
 part of it could be fuelled by politicians and bad-elements in society,
 but there also seems to be a genuine confusion in an average person...

 tara-taraalu gaa vastunna aachaaralu ivvi, vaduluko galamaa antaaru kondaru..
 if they leave this caste system, what awaits them next, is it gauranteed
 that one moves to a better way of life??? The fear of the unknown doesnt
 allow most people to experiment with these sensitive issues in life..

 Are there any advantages at all, to this caste system??
 One thing that comes to mind is the marriage system..
 The arranged marriage system that we have, works mostly because
 of the caste system...

 In Brahmins -- there are again different kinds of sects and sub-sects
 In SC/ST -- there are also tonnes of sects and sub-sects, and 

 people dont even go for inter-sect marriages leave alone inter-caste
 marriages.....One of the advantages of these divisions, is that a
 large amount of database is carried about the family behaviours,
 eating habits and a lot of tiny-tiny details......which enables
 a man, to just look at a girl and if both consider that they are
 eedu-jodu, can get married without the process of checking each
 other out (which these western societies have to undergo, because
 some girl might come from soem vague town in Germany and settle
 down in America, which leaves no choice, but to check each other 
 thoroughly for the sake of compatabilities, and after all those
 years they can come to a conclusion about each other, but not about
 their parents etc. --which makes it impossible for them to have close-knit
 families like we have)

 Well is this kind of close-knit families and arranged marriages, most
 desirable thing to have??? can be debated for years, without any conclusions,
 I dont know if somebody can conclusively prove that western way of life,
 in these respects is better than our Indian way of life, 

 And, anyway most people in India have no complaints about this,
 so now we have a strong argument for caste system to continue,
 and people will be very reluctant to throw all that and go into
 a new system

 We can say fine a set of people can keep databse etc. and carry-on
 this arranged marriage system etc., but why do one set of people
 have to feel that they are superior to other set of people..?????

 This is entirely a different question, and this could be because
 of the following prejudices amongst most people..
 
 1) Rich person is better than a poor person
 (If a person is not very ambitious, and is happy to live like
  a sweeper, but is a jolly good-fellow and enjoys film songs and
  dances, doesnt give no trouble to nobody...why is he inferior to
  somebody who is ambitious and wants to become rich (I am not saying
  that there is something wrong in getting rich)..)

 2) Stronger person is better than a weak person
 (Physically fit fellows, who jog 10 miles a day and do a lot of
 kasarattu, are they superior to somebody who doesnt care so much
 about his physical fitness, but is interested in some other things)

 3) Educated people and intellectuals are better than uneducated people
 (Formal education and a degree from an institution, is it the only way
  a person can learn??? And, with this formal education, a guy is better
  suited for a PARTICULAR job in a PARTICULAR field, but is he necessarily
  better than an uneducated person in all spheres of life???)

 'Chaduvu raani vaadavani digulu chendaku, 
  manishi madiloni mamata leni chaduvu-lenduku'....aa paata might
  partly convey what I want to say..

  A Brahmin might consider himself superior to SC/ST because he
  has access to knowledge etc. Similarly for other castes, and a 
  hierarchy is set-up...

 These kind of prejudices are there also in the west, but they dont
 seem to have this grouping phenomenon.... why???

 Indian society has been pretty static over the centuries, and there was
 very little migration, and also people tended to remain in the same jobs,
 and continued to pass it onto their children...

 So cobblers remained as cobblers, Brahmins remained as Brahmins etc...
 But, in the western societies, Technology from 1500 AD, brought such
 dynamic changes that, it was impossible for people to maintain, the
 same job, and pass on the skills, because market needs and skills 
 required kept on changing with every year...

 In India the villages are still largely untouched by modern technology,
 though in the cities because of modern technology we can begin to see
 the effects on the people, now-a-days it is quite common for a Brahmin
 to go to a SC/ST house and have dinner, and mix with him, though the 
 interaction is limited beyond a point...In the cities, we are reminded 
 of castes only because of the politicians, i.e., at every stage we see
 reservation and quotas and somebody will ask us about our caste...

 Ideal thing could be ....people dropping such prejudices, kaani it is an
 extermely difficult thing to achieve, some daring politicians coming 
 forward and dealing with quota-syatem in a sane manner, rather than
 for their selfish needs (kalalo kooda voohinchadam waste)

 So, if those things dont happen, then only technology entering the 
 villages, and enabling a qualified man, irrespective of his caste
 to avail opportunities...can improve the situation

 If the politicians are bad, Indian people have to fight them,
 or escape to US and European countries, no point in keeping on complaining.
 It is upto the disadvantaged people to fight for their rights, practically
 speaking why would people in advantageous position, give up the advantage,
 unless they really happen to be extra-ordinary people...

 Even if thousands of committed people come forward to fight for the
 right cause, it will take years to get India out of its present mess,
 
 Lecturelu danche vallu chaala mandi vuntaaru, kaani munduku vachi
 dhairyangaa nilabade vallu chaala-takkuva..

 'Nadi-roddu lo rape jarugutoonte, chuttooo gumi-kudini janam
  ayyo-papam ayyo-papam antoo vunte emi jarigutundi, aa gumpu
  lonchi munduku vachi edurkone vaadu raavaali'

  Ekkada vunnaru, aa dhairya-sahasaalu kala vallu...kaana-raare


 sury
(cgsuryan@pyr.swan.ac.uk)

p.s. Grammar ante manaki padedi kaadu, GRE lu gatraa mukkuna batti
 pass ayina vaadini, but still there is very little transmission loss..