India's Caste System (Blog #2)

In class we discussed the importance of certain relationships in China that establish a patriarchal society. I decided that I wanted to look more into the importance of hierarchal societies by taking an extra look at India and its caste system. According to the small section in our book and the site that I found specifically about the caste system (http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8b.asp ), the caste system is commonly explained in terms of Brahman. The subgroups within the caste system are termed jatis. The first class being priests and teachers known as Brahmins. The second class is a warrior class referred to as the Kshatriyas and the third class of merchants known as Vaishyas. The fourth class is the working class called Sudras. The "fifth" class is the Untouchables or dalit. They have the worst of the worst jobs and are considered the most filthy people. People are only able to marry and eat with people within their own jatis. In modern day, the caste system is outlawed in India but there is still discrimination and less rights allocated to the Untouchables. Gandhi was a prominent leader and advocate of ending discrimination against the Untouchables. As of today, the Untouchables who call themselves Dalit are still fighting for equal rights and political involvement.