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Westminster Conference
Caste
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UK Discrimination Law |
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CasteWatchUK held its conference on
Tuesday 6th November, 2007 on raising awareness about Caste
Discrimination occurring in the UK. The conference was held at
The Palace of Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA..... |
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Sandwell Conference
Fighting Caste Discrimination in the UK |
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Held
on Sunday, 15th July 2007, at Sandwell Council House, Oldbury,
West Midlands, B69 3DE.
The conference
brought together scholars, social activists, academics and
community leaders to address topics
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CasteWatchUK conference - “ Caste and
Indian Christian Diaspora” -
Read more..
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CasteWatchUK
under attack from Hindu Council UK for leading Equality
Campaign
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Read more..
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Is Caste
Prejudice still an issue? - by John McManus, BBC
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Read more..
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CasteWatchUK is interested to hear
from you, especially, if you have been a victim of Caste
discrimination. You may have been a victim of Caste
name-calling, or you may have been bullied or your
personal relationships have may been threatened or
affected. Alternatively, you may know someone who has
been affected by Caste.
We would like to hear from you.
Please click here to leave a message.
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What is Caste Discrimination? |
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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. |
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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 organised. Jati is coupled with one’s
occupation and the meaning of varna in Sanskrit is ‘colour’
that signify 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 cannot be
changed. In a class based system there is 'vertical
mobility' but this is denied in a Caste based system. In
India, Social Stratification, historically, gave rise to
'Untouchables'. Although, practice of Untouchability is
legally prohibited in India but 'Untouchables' continue to
be shunned socially and economically. Each Caste continues
in a state of social paralysis antagonistic and hostile
towards each other's interests.
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Forthcoming Event
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