Adam Brooks September 24, 2009 Professor Gajendra Kumar Theory Culture, and Representation - Assignment 3
Kishore on Caste and Religion “I do not belong to any of those castes,” remarked Kishore in a firm, but forgiving, tone. Molly and I had just met our new apartment neighbor a half hour ago when I made a simple mistake of asking him two questions in the wrong order. What I should have asked first was, “Of what religion are you?” Then, he would have told me that he was a Jain, and the question, “To which caste do you belong?” would have been irrelevant. He knew, talking to a couple of American kids studying in a fresh and unfamiliar place, that he would have to be tolerant of our lack of knowledge for Indian social structures. So he gestured for us to make ourselves comfortable, repositioned his specs, and imparted wisdom in a manner that only a retired educator like himself could. Caste is an old and deeply rooted establishment in India. Kishore proposed that it might date back as far as the year 600 BC, if one is to assume its foundations lie in the four original castes (The warriors, the priests, the merchants, and the menial workers) of that period. “Caste, as a concept, still runs strong even today. While at face value one can try to disregard it — and on a superficial level it may not appear to matter— deep down that person still knows his place in society” The expression on his face, I could only speculate, was marked by strong confliction. He explained that in history it did not matter how brilliant a person was, because obligation to the fulfillment of his place in society ultimately trumped all. While my initial reaction was one of frustration towards such a hopeless ideology, Kishore seemed to also disagree with it, but obviously had a better understanding and appreciation for the reasons behind it. Farther into the conversation, I got from Kishore not only that he thought India should move away from the caste system, but what he thought needed to happen for the departure to occur. He seemed to think that laws promoting a population more equal in wealth are necessary, but an incomplete solution: “Law is only a piece of legislation; education must also take place [to bring about] any change in these establishments.” A proud and apparently
dutiful father, the former high school instructor likened law without education to physically disciplining a child without reasoning with her. “I can hit a child on the wrists repeatedly for doing something wrong. That will work for a period of time, but in the end she will rebel against me. If I sit her down and reason with her about what is right and wrong, I can help her understand.” As a Jain, Kishore had an arguably more objective, outsider’s view on the caste system. He remarked that caste is a defining part of the Hindu ideology in India, as well as among the Christians. The concept of Christian communities distinguishing among themselves by caste floored both Molly and me. Ultimately, the spirit of the conversation shifted from a simplistic and direct question of, “To which caste do you belong?” to a humbling lesson in why all is not quite so simple in Indian society.