Caste System And Helping Hands

Over the last year, I have spoken at universities in Canada and the U.S. on India’s development challenges. One question that repeatedly came up was on the issue of caste and how it was impacting India. India’s caste system has been much studied and researched. It has been criticized and commented upon. Many have blamed it for present day ills.

Subscribing to the view that ‘development is an expansion of human capabilities’ and that poverty is more a lack of opportunity rather than anything else, I have been personally disgusted by the discrimination and the denial of opportunity that the caste system has created. Part of my dream for India is an egalitarian and caste free society where every Indian would have equal opportunity to pursue his life without fear and with all his basic needs addressed. The state would only be a facilitator ensuring that the people below the safety net have a helping hand and not be condemned to live off handouts.

Can this ever happen? Will our caste ridden societal framework

ever let this happen? How could the system based on division of labor (as propounded in the Bhagavad Gita) have degenerated over the years to what it is today?

Our early ancestors were mainly hunter-gatherers and depended on crude weapons to help sustain their lives and economies. With progress came the concept of a settled existence and this led them to have land holdings, take to agriculture, store food grains, and become less nomadic. Societal demands forced them to discover the secrets of metallurgy, fabricate better weapons, and develop their drive to acquire and defend. They not only had to start thinking about tomorrow, but also protect what they had and lead a life based on some social norms.

Development of specialized skills also led them to exchange what they produced and rudiments of trade started emerging. This meant more laws and society needed more specialized skills and people with different skill sets. People had to think through the way they lived and conducted themselves, the way they interacted with each other, they way they handled power and geographical boundaries. This meant that a class of people who were essentially thinkers and planners with knowledge of society, governance, and statecraft emerged.

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