What is Caste Discrimination?

Caste Discrimination (Casteism) is worse than racial discrimination. Caste is associated primarily with cultures of the Indian sub-continent. The term ‘Caste’ itself is not an Indian one, coming from the Portuguese casta, meaning ‘race’ or ‘pure stock’. Indians themselves do not have a single term for describing the Caste system as a whole, but have a variety of words referring to different aspects of it, the two main ones being varna and jati.

The varna consists of four categories, each ranked differently in terms of social honour. Below these groupings are the so-called ‘untouchables’, those in the lowest position of all. The Jati are locally defined groups within which the caste ranks are organized. Jati is coupled with one’s occupation and the meaning of varna in Sanskrit is ‘colour’. The meaning of ‘colour signifies a social category or a social classification. It is used to enforce a social stratification but does not mean colour of skin.

According to those who practice and promote it, Caste is determined by birth and can never be changed. Uniquely in the annals of prejudice, it hamstrings the individual’s ‘upward mobility’. In India, Dalits are regarded as so inferior as to be ‘Untouchable’. For example, this is used to justify the discrimination that they face and consigns a vast majority of them to only the most menial and poorly paid of occupations.