A Perspective on CASTEISM vis-à-vis Cultural Nationalism

I never wanted to write something on caste until a friend of mine was discussing with me that she isn’t able to convince her parents on her marriage plans as the one she wanted to marry belongs to a different caste. Well, to be very frank this is not something unusual in today’s society. Therefore I made a sincere attempt to understand how the caste system evolved over a period of time and how it is interpreted rather misinterpreted by today’s social order by and large.

Read on..

Although many Hindus subscribe to the belief that one is born into a certain caste, this belief is not supported by their scriptures (Holy Books). The caste system in India has degenerated into a system falsely recognizing men born in Brahmin families as Brahmins, even though they don’t exhibit the qualities of Brahmins. This has caused so many problems and I say with conviction, most of it is “Self Imposed”.

Let us try and understand the Castes’ i.e. “Varnasrama Dharma” as explained by Lord Krishna, the creator himself..

Brahmanas – Are the ones who possess and practice “Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness”.

Ksatriyas - “Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas”.

Vaisyas - “Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas”

Sudras - Are those “who offer their labor and service to others”.

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that “I created the castes, the caste system is created by me through the distribution of Gunas (tendencies, qualification or quality) and Karma (action, deed, work), meaning that according to what we do in this world here, so will our character be. Though I am the Creator of these things, do not think that I am partial, that I am taking sides, that I am performing actions; I am beyond the Gunas”.

According to Lord Krishna different people with different skill sets and qualification are categorized to perform their respective duties for the betterment and welfare of the society. But please note that the same lord Krishna mentions in the Gita that CASTE as explained above is not by BIRTH but by QUALIFICATION and WORK.

It was natural that a child born in a Brahmin family would be accustomed to the environment and naturally acquires the qualities to become a qualified Brahmin, likewise same was the case with Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and the Sudras. However no one could stop a Sudra from becoming a Brahmin if he desires to be so, of course after acquiring the necessary traits and qualification to become a Brahmin.

Let me try to explain this with a small example, let us assume four different professions in the society, Advocates, IAS officers, Doctors and Chartered Accountants. An advocate’s son or a Chartered Accountant’s son does not automatically qualify to step into their father’s shoes just because of their birth in respective families, if they wish so, they need to qualify themselves by clearing the necessary exams, internships, practice etc. The same way, a Doctor’s son can always aspire to become an IAS officer or a Chartered Accountant.

Now over a period of time, if all the IAS officers decide to make their children IAS officers, all the Judges decide to make their children Advocates and be obstinate that they would get their children married only to families which practice the same profession as theirs’ will that be fair? NO right, which is what, is happening in today’s India.

The qualities of a Brahmin are clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gita:

samo damas tapah saucam

ksantir arjavam eva ca

jnanam vijnanam astikyam

brahma-karma svabhava-jam

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness–these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.”

These days, the samskaras (Hindu Rites) are generally not performed or not properly performed and the gurukuls, the training schools for the boys, are no longer in operation. So there is generally no training or practice. Therefore these sons of Brahmins who have no brahminical training have to be called “dvija-bandhus” or friends of the Brahmins. Unless they actually have the qualities of Brahmins and work as Brahmins they can’t be called a Brahmin, the same is applicable to the other three castes as well. You may even be qualified as a lawyer educationally but if you don’t practice, if you don’t work as a lawyer, no one will accept you as a lawyer.

A self proclaimed Brahmin or a Ksatriya for that matter (Just because his or her forefathers were once Brahmins and Ksatriyas), who neither posses the qualification nor the qualities to become one, feels hesitant to get their children married to ones who belong to some other caste, say Sudra or Vysya for no reason. It’s nonsense isn’t it?

Even during the period of Vedas, there were no restrictions in inter caste or inter societal marriages, it was left to the discretion of the individuals and there are ample evidences to support this fact. Let us take our very own Ramayana, Rishi Vishrava, the father of Ravana who was born to the great Rishi Pulastya (who was one amongst the 7 Sapta Rishis) got married to Kaikesi, who was born to an Asura King Sumali. We know the story of Rishi Vishwamitra who was once a Ksatriya Emperor who later became a Brahmin sage, a Brahma Rishi in fact who are considered to be members of the highest class of Rishis. These are just a few well known examples from the Puranas, as there are umpteen of them.

Let us truly introspect ourselves; the self proclaimed so called Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vysyas, Sutras and thousands of communities which fall under these four categories, think that they are more sanctified than Rishi Vishrava, Brahma Rishi Vishwamitra or the Lord Krishna himself, If so, I am sorry to say, they must be making a complete fool out of themselves.

Mahakavi Bharathi, although born into an orthodox Brahmin family, gave up his own caste identity. One of his great sayings (Jathi irandozhiya verillai) which meant, 'There are only two castes in the world: one who is educated and one who is not. Once he said that he would be the happiest person on earth if his daughter gets married to a harijan.

We have very high regard for Mahakavi Bharathi and his poems; we sing his songs but neither understand its substance nor practice it in our lives. It’s high time that we wake up to the reality; it is not Lord Krishna or the Bhagavat Gita which says NO to inter caste marriages but our very own FEAR of rejection, dejection in family and societal circle which ultimately compels us to say NO. We are a part of the same Society which we fear to, be the change, the society would perfunctorily accept the change.


The concept of ‘cultural nationalism’ enjoins upon the adherents of different faiths in India to respect, and take pride in the common unifying culture of our ancient land while celebrating its many diversities.  Let us respect our rich culture and tradition our forefathers have left behind, let us take pride that we belong to this nation which is as diverse as the universe itself, let us esteem our rare and unique Vedas & Upanishads. Let us NOT get LOST by marginalized thoughts and emotions on castes which is relatively a recent development in our long standing history.

The need of the hour is CULTURAL NATIONALISM and not CASTEISM.

Jai Hind.

Note – I have referred to many websites, journals, blogs on Hinduism, Ramayana and the Bhagavat Gita, therefore I do not claim the above post as a result of my own, original thought process. This is just an expression of my perspective and how I look at the caste system.

Your comments and thoughts are most welcome.