INL - Societal Expectations in Indian Society Lesson

Societal Expectations in Indian Society

Indian society comes with a set of learned rules and expectations. One of these understood ideas is the caste system. The caste system is a way to separate the social classes into higher and lower social classes. There are five different levels to the caste system in India: Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, and Harijans. An individual will be born into, marry, and die within the same caste level. Also, certain occupations depend on the caste. For example, the Brahmans are priests, the Kshatriyas are rulers or landowners, the Vaishyas are merchants, the Shudras are agriculturalists, and the Harijans are the "untouchables", or outside of the caste system completely. The caste system supposedly keeps society from becoming chaotic by already placing people where they are supposed to be.

The Harijans (the untouchables) are also known as the Dalits. The Dalit struggle is the oppression that is often compared with the African-American struggle in America due to the violence and discrimination shown towards the Dalits. Historically, Dalits were known to hold jobs such as cleaning streets, cleaning sewers, and butchering animals among others. Indians believed the pollution was contagious and labeled these people as Dalits—the untouchables. Since the 1950s, India has passed many laws and initiatives to protect the lower castes, but oppression still remains.

Dalit literature is literature of the downtrodden. Considering Dalit means "suppressed" or "crushed", so Dalit literature reveals the oppression of the Dalit and provides the political status and a manner of protest for the untouchables.

Art - Dalit Expressionism

Dalit art and literature comes from the "untouchable" caste of India. These works serve many purposes for the Dalits. Art and literature was a way for the Dalits to protest how they were being victimized and allow others to feel their pain. However, Dalit art was also a way for the Dalits to release their negative feelings in order to release tension.

Click here to read the article featuring Savindra Sawakar, a Dalit artist. Links to an external site. As you read through the article, try to recognize how the paintings reveal the struggle of the "untouchables" under the caste system in India. Also, note the struggles of those in the lower societal levels.

Nonfiction

Two very important people from India have helped spread the importance of true peace and kindness for everyone in the world—including the Dalit. Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa were both influential in the fight for peace and justice for all. Gandhi was able to have a following of both Hindus and Muslims due to the use of nonviolent and peaceful resistance as his "weapons". Mother Teresa was a Nobel Peace Prize winner due to her efforts in running hospices and caring for people who others consider "untouchables"—those with leprosy, AIDS, and other diseases.

Click here to read the Humanitarian articles. Links to an external site. As you read the articles determine how they are similar and different.

Also, note their influences in Indian society and in the world today.