Monday, June 6, 2022

Understanding the Indian Caste System

Studying Hinduism? 

Here are two excellent sources for understanding the caste system.  One comes from the BBC in an essay called "What is India's Caste System," and the second comes from Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organization.

Dr. Audrey Truschke tweeted both links and notes that 

Caste and its core practices--purity rituals, untouchability, and endogamy--have their roots in ancient India. It offers power and control. You can identify caste through various factors, including surname, accent, dress, region of origin, and even visible face markers."

Dr. Truschke also recommends the first few pages of the book, Everyday Hindusim, for its review of caste, which she says appears in the first 5 pages of the book.

Here is a link to Dr. Truschke's tweet.

No comments: