Monday, June 23, 2008

MANUSMRITI - EPIC OF CASTE SYSTEM AND CASTEISM


[MANUSMRITI, ACCORDING TO UPPER CASTE HINDUS LIKE BRAHMINS IS ONE OF HINDU'S HOLY BOOKS. SOME EVEN DESCRIBE IT AS "ULTIMATE LAW OF NATURE"]

The Manu Smriti (Sanskrit: मनुस्मृति) is a work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society. It is also known as the Laws of Manu.

Manu divides Hindus into four varnas i.e. casteism. He not only divide Hindus into four varnas, he also grades them. Besides prescribing rank and occupation Manu grants privilege to swarnas and imposes penalties on the shudras.The status of the Shudras in the Hindu society as prescribed by Manu the Law-giver and the Architect of Hindu society. There are so many Codes of the Manu Smriti against the Shudras and Women which are below:

1. For the welfare of humanity the supreme creator Brahma, gave birth to the Brahmins from his mouth, the Kshatriyas from his shoulders, the Vaishyas from his thighs and Shudras from his feet. (Manu’s code I-31,)
2. God said the duty of a Shudra is to serve the upper varnas faithfully with devotion and without grumbling. (Manu 1-91) Manu is not satisfied with this. He wants this servile status of the Shudras to be expressed in the names and surnames of persons belonging to that community. Manu says:
3. Let the first part of a Brahman’s name denote something auspicious, a Kshatriya’s be connected with power, and a Vaishyas with wealth but a Shudra’s express something contemptible. (Manu II.31)
4. The second part of a Brahmin’s name shall be a word implying happiness, of a Kshatriya’s (a word) implying protection, of a Vaishya’s a term expressive of thriving and of a Shudra’s an expression denoting service. (Manu II. 32.)
5. A hundred year old Kshatriya must treat a ten year old Brahmin boy as his father. (Manu 11-135)
6. The Brahmin should never invite persons of other varnas for food. In case, the latter begs the Brahmin for food, the Brahmin may give them some left-over. Even these left-over must be served not by the Brahmin but by his servants outside the house. (Manu II2).
7. He who instructs Shudra pupils and he whose teacher is a Shudra shall become disqualified for being invited to a shradha. (Manu III. 156.)
8. A Shudra is unfit of receive education. The upper varnas should not impart education or give advice to a Shudra.It is not necessary that the Shudra should know the laws and codes and hence need not be taught. Violators will go to as amrita hell. (Manu IV-78 to 81)
9. “Let him not dwell in a country where the rulers are Shudras.” (Manu IV. 61)
10. He must never read the Vedas in the presence of the Shudras. (Manu IV. 99.)
11. Any country, where there are no Brahmins, of where they are not happy will get devastated and destroyed. (Manu VIII-20 to 22)
12. A Brahmana who is only a Brahman by decent i.e., one who has neither studied nor performed any other act required by the Vedas may, at the king’s pleasure, interpret the law to him i.e., act as the judge, but never a Shudra (however learned he may be). (Manu VIII.20.)
13. The Kingdom of that monarch, who looks on while a Shudra settles the law, will sink low like a cow in the morass. (Manu VIII. 21.)
14. Any Brahmin, who enslaves or tries to enslave a Brahmin, is liable for a penalty of no less than 600 PANAS. A Brahmin can order a Shudra to serve him without any remuneration because the Shudra is created by Brahma to serve the Brahmins. Even if a Brahmin frees a Shudra from slavery the Shudra continue to be a slave as he is created for slavery. Nobody has the right to free him. (Manu VIII-50,56 and 59)
15. A Shudra who insults a twice born man with gross invectives shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. (Manu VIII. 270.)
16. If he mentions the names and castes of the (twice born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red hot into his mouth. (Manu VIII. 271.)
17. If a Shudra arrogantly presumes to preach religion to Brahmins, the king shall have poured burning oil in his mouth and ears. Manu VIII. 272.)
18. A Shudra who has an intercourse with a woman of the higher caste guarded or unguarded shall be punished in the following manner; if she was unguarded, he loses the offending part; if she was guarded then he should be put to death and his property confiscated.” (Manu VIII. 374.)
19. A Brahman may compel a Shudra, whether bought or unbought, to do servile work for he is created by the creator to be the slave of a Brahmana. (Manu VIII. 413.)
20. No Shudra should have property of his own, He should have nothing of his own. The existence of a wealthy Shudra is bad for the Brahmins. A Brahman may take possession of the goods of a Shudra. (ManuVIII-417 & X129)
21. A Brahman may seize without hesitation, if he be in distress for his subsistence, the goods of his Shudra. The Shudra can have only one occupation. This is one of the inexorable laws of Manu. says Manu. (Manu VIII. 417)
22. A Shudra who wants to just fill his stomach may serve a Vaishya. If he wants a permanent means of living he can serve a Kshatriya. But if he wants to go to heaven or wants higher or superior birth in the next generation he must serve a Brahmin. (ManuIX334 & 335)
23. The most sacred duty of a Shudra is to serve the Brahmins, always, reciting the words “Brahman” with utmost devotion. Such a Shudra will get salvation. Otherwise he will die a worst death and will go to the worst hell. (Manu X-121)
24. But let a (Shudra) serve Brahmans, either for the sake of heaven, or with a view to both (this life and the next) for he who is called the servant of a Brahman thereby gains all his ends. (Manu X. 122.)
25. The service of Brahmans alone is declared (to be) an excellent occupation for a Shudra for whatever else besides this he may perform will bear him no fruit. (Manu X. 123.)
26. They must allot to him out of their own family (property) a suitable maintenance, after considering his ability, his industry, and the number of those whom he is bound to support. (Manu X. 124.)


READ TRANSLATION OF MANUSMRITI BY AN OXFORD UNIVESITY PROFESSOR:


http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm

CASTE SYSTEM AS GIVEN BY HINDU SCRIPTURES

All the hindu scriptures are nothing but the upholders and promoters of Varna-Vvavastha which is meant to maintain a perpetual dominance of bramhins over the dalit_Bahujans. These scriptures include vedas, ramayana, mahabharatha, gita and the most notorious of all- manusmriti.
Here are few examples of how these scriptures qualify to be a most dangerous creation of mankind ( worst than the nuclear bombs) which degenerated the status of fellow human beings(Dalit-Bahujans) to lower than that of animals for 3000 years.
Rigveda---According to Purusha-Sukta of Rig Veda , Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras originated respectively from the mouth, hands, thighs and feet of the purusha or the creator.
Ramayana ---Ram killed Shambuka simply because he was performing tapasya (ascetic exercises) which he was not supposed to do as he was a Shudra by birth.
Mahabharata--- Dronacharya refuses to teach archery to Eklavya, because he was not a Kshatriya by birth. When Eklavya, treating Drona as his notional guru, learns archery on his own, Drona makes him cut his right thumb as gurudakshina (gift for the teacher) so that he may not become a better archer than his favorite Kshatriya student Arjuna!
BhagvadGita-When Arjuna refuses to fight, one of his main worries was that the war would lead to the birth of varna-sankaras or offspring from intermixing of different varnas and the consequent "downfall" of the family. On the other hand, Krishna tries to motivate Arjuna to fight by saying that it was his varna-dharma (caste-duty) to do so because he was a Kshatriya. In fact, Krishna goes to the extent of claiming that the four varnas were created by him only. Thus, Arjuna's main problem was being born a Kshatriya. Had he been a Brahmin or a Vaishya or a Shudra by birth, he would have been spared the trouble of fighting a destructive war.

CASTE SYSTEM AND CASTEISM



WHAT IS CASTE SYSTEM?

A caste is a combined social system of occupation, endogamy, culture, social class, and political power. Caste should not be confused with class, in that members of a caste are deemed to be alike in function or culture, whereas not all members of a defined class may be so alike.The Indian caste system describes the social stratification and social restrictions in the Indian subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups, often termed as jātis or castes. Within a jāti, there exist exogamous groups known as gotras, the lineage or clan of an individual, although in a handful of sub-castes like Shakadvipi, endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used (e.g. banning endogamy within a surname).

According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, there are four "varnas." The Bhagavad Gita says varnas are decided based on Guna and Karma. Manusmriti and some other shastras mention four varnas: the Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests), the Kshatriyas (kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups). Offspring of different varnas belong to different Jātis. Another group excluded from the main society was called Parjanya or Antyaja. This group of former "untouchables" (now called Dalits) was considered either the lower section of Shudras or outside the caste system altogether.Unfortunately this system is still followed today largely on the basis of birth, It is believed that a person is born into one of four castes based on karma and “purity”-how he or she lived their past lives. Those born as Brahmans are considered [or worthy of] priests and teachers right form the birth on the basis of genearation wise traits or gunas ; kshatriyas as rulers and soldiers; Viasyas as merchants and traders; and shudras/sudras as labourers. Within the four castes, there are thousands of sub-castes, defined by different profession. region, dialect, and other factors.

WHY IS IT A HUMAN RIGHT ISSUE AT PAR WITH RACISM ?

Established during the formative years of Hinduism, Caste system has prevailed in one of the most ugliest forms known to humanity. Although based on religious principles practiced for some 1,500 years, the system persists today for economic as much as religious reasons. Traditionally, although the mostly political power lay with the Kshatriyas, historians portrayed that the Brahmins as custodians and interpreters of Dharma enjoyed much prestige and many advantages. The caste supremacy complex has given rise to rigid caste segregation and subsequent social, economic degradation of lowest of its castes to the extent of "untouchablity". More than 160 million people in India are considered “ Untouchables ”-people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure, less than human. Untouchables are literally outcastes; a fifth group that is considered so unworthy that it wasn't included in the caste system. Because they are considered impure from birth, Untouchables [considered unworthy of doing any other job], have been forced to perform jobs that are traditionally considered “unclean” or exceedingly menial from ages . Even today when manual scavenging is banned in India on papers, One million Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals for very little pay. It has been found that despite official ban many Municipal Corporation Departments across India [mostly villages where there are dry toilets] still have employed many Dalits to do the job with bare hand, carrying it on head, like the same way they used to do from ages. Millions more are agricultural/leather workers trapped in an inescapable cycle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and oppression. Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion. A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells their story: “Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers”; “Dalit tortured by cops for three days”; “Dalit ‘witch’ paraded naked in Bihar”; “Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool”; “7 Dalits burnt alive in caste clash”; “5 Dalits lynched in Haryana”; “Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked”; “Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits”. “Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from the same cups in tea stalls,” said Smita Narula, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, and author of Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables.”Human Rights Watch is a worldwide activist organization based in New York. India’s Untouchables are relegated to the lowestjobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Casteist Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.Nearly 90 percent of all the poor Indians and 95 percent of all the illiterate Indians are Dalits, according to figures presented at the International Dalit Conference that took place May 16 to 18 in Vancouver, Canada Crime Against Dalits Statistics compiled by India’s National Crime Records Bureau indicate that in the year 2000, 25,455 crimes were committed against Dalits. Every hour two Dalits are assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched. No one believes these numbers are anywhere close to the reality of crimes committed against Dalits. Because the police, village councils, and government officials often support the caste system, which is based on the presumed religious teachings of Hinduism, many crimes go unreported due to fear of reprisal, intimidation by police, inability to pay bribes demanded by police, or simply the knowledge that the police will do nothing. “There have been large-scale abuses by the police, acting in collusion with upper castes, including raids, beatings in custody, failure tocharge offenders or investigate reported crimes,” said Narula. That same year, 68,160 complaints were filed against the police for activities ranging from murder, torture, and collusion in acts of atrocity, to refusal to file a complaint. Sixty two percent of the cases were dismissed as unsubstantiated; 26 police officers were convicted in court.

Despite the fact that untouchability was officially banned when India adopted its constitution in 1950, discrimination against Dalits remained so pervasive that in 1989 the government passed legislation known as The Prevention of Atrocities Act. The act specifically made it illegal to parade people naked through the streets, force them to eat feces, take away their land, foul their water, interfere with their right to vote, and burn down their homes. Since then, the violence has escalated, largely as a result of the emergence of a grassroots human rights movement among Dalits to demand their rights and resist the dictates of untouchability, said Narula. Enforcement of laws designed to protect Dalits is lax if not non-existent in many regions of India. The practice of untouchability is strongest in rural areas, where 80 percent of the country’s population resides. There, the underlying hardcore and rigid religious principles of Hinduism dominate.
Dalit women are particularly hard hit. They are frequently raped or beaten as a means of reprisal against male relatives who are thought to have committed some act worthy of upper-caste vengeance. A case reported in 1999 illustrates the toxic mix of gender and caste. A 42-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped and then burnt alive after she, her husband, and two sons had been held in captivity and tortured for eight days. Her crime? Another son had eloped with the daughter of the higher-caste family doing the torturing. The local police knew the Dalit family was being held, but did nothing because of the higher-caste family’s local influence.

CASTEISM, A FORM OF RACISM. SO WHY TO PRACTICE IT ?

U.N. HAS PLACED CASTEISM IN INDIA AS A "FORM OF RACISM"......SO WHY SO MANY EVEN EDUCATED YOUTH STILL DO NOT WANT TO THROW IT FROM THEIR MENTALITY. RESERVATION ARISED BECAUSE OF CASTEISM AND CAN'T BE IGNORED TILL CASTEISM IS PREVAILENT. SO WHAT ABOUT PROTESTING AGAINST CASTE SYSTEM FIRST? WE SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK AT THE ROOT OF PROBLEM RATHER THAN SHOOTS.
YOUTH ANTI-RESERVATIONISTS SAY SOCIETY IS CHANGED NOW. HAS IT CHANGED OR WE ARE JUST SEEING CASTE SYSTEM TAKING MODERN FORMS. WE CAN NOW SEE ENGLISH MATRIMONIALS EVEN MATRIMONY WEBSITES BASED ON CASTES. THE PEOPLE USING INTERNET REPRESENT OUR MODERN YOUTH. NOW YOU CAN EVEN TAKE EXAMPLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES. YOU WOULD FIND HUNDREDS OF CASTE BASED COMMUNITIES LIKE "BRAHMANS", "PROUD KSHATRIYAS" ETC WITH MEMBERS IN THOUSANDS SOME LARGEST ONES HAVE SOME 50,000 MEMBERS.
EVEN IN THIS SCENARIO YOU WOULDN'T FIND MANY SC/ST COMMUNITIES. AS I MENTIONED ABOVE LARGEST ONE ON ORKUT WHICH IS INDIRECTLY RELATED TO SC/STs NAMED "AMBEDKAR" HAS 600 MEMBERS. THIS CLEARLY ANSWERS WETHER HIGHER CASTE'S WANT CASTE SYSTEM OR LOWER CASTE'S. THIS SHOWS EXCEPT IN FORM OF QUOTAS, HIGHER CASTES REMAIN THE PROUD BENEFICIARIES OF THE INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM.

http://www.orkut.co.in/Community.aspx?cmm=5085362
http://www.orkut.co.in/Community.aspx?cmm=10603460
http://www.orkut.co.in/Community.aspx?cmm=535624

LOOK AT SOME OF ABOVE COMMUNITIES ON ORKUT AND READ WHAT SHIT IS BEING DISCUSSED THERE. THE PROUD UPPER CASTE YOUTH HAS LOST ALL SHAME TO WRITE THAT "ONE SHOULD'NT MARRY INTER-CASTE BECAUSE THEY HAVE PURE BLOOD".

SOME OF THIS YOUTH EVEN WHISPER THAT "CONSTITUTION IS AGAINST THEM AND SAYS THEY CAN BE JAILED EVEN THEY JUST SAY CASTE SPECIFIC WORD LIKE CH**AR TO THEM" BUT WHEN IT COMES TO RACISM WHERE THEY ARE VICTIMS OF THEIR COLOUR THEY SAY WORD "BLACK" USED FOR THEM IS HELLISH.

WHY PEOPLE DON'T TREAT CASTEISM LIKE RACISM?
ANSWER MAY BE IN WORDS OF VICTIM AND CULPRIT HERE BUT VICE VERSA THERE.

ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT FACT IS
IN RACISM YOU HAVE DISTINCTIONS OF COLOUR ......BUT IN CASTEISM YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE BIOLOGICAL DISTINCTIONS [ COULOUR ETC ]....... THEY ARE SAME........SAME BLOOD .........SAME TYPE OF HAIR..........SAME HEIGHT ......EVERYTHING SAME.......BUT HE IS JUST BORN IN ANCESTRAL HIERARCHY WHICH HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS DISTINCT BECAUSE THEIR PAST ANCESTORS WERE MADE TO DO A PARTICULAR OCCUPATION.
YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THAT THIS PERSON IS DIFFERENT. BUT YOU CALL HIM A SHUDRA. IN RACISM, ONE MAY NOT LOOK LIKE HIS OWN SO HE DISCRIMINATES. BUT IN CASTEISM THERE IS NO REASON,EVEN BIOLOGICALLY [ALSO SOCIALLY IF HE DOES'NT PROCLAIM HIS LOWCASTE] TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN HIM. EVEN CULTURALLY ALSO THERE IS MORE THAN 80 % RESEMBLANCE. RATHER, THERE ARE MORE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT HINDUS OF DIFFERENT REGIONS THAN DIFFERENT CASTES. DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN DIFFERRENT CASTES HAS BECOME SO PREVAILENT THAT IT IS FOUND EVEN IN NRI HINDUS.


 

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