B2 – Upper Intermediate
Imagine being born in a group that predetermines the entire aspect of your future. From the school you are going, the job you are going to have and even the selected group where you can choose who you’re going to marry. This is India’s caste system.
Watch the video and find out the basic concept of this system.
Discussion Questions:
- What is India’s caste system and how does it work?
- Who are the untouchables and why are they treated poorly?
- How does the caste system affect India’s social order?
- Do you find this social stratification fair? Share your opinion on this.
- Do you think the caste system can be completely eradicated? Explain your point.
6 replies on “India’s Caste System”
Indian’s caste system is a way to group the people in different categories in the society. These categories go from the highest level in which priests are found to the lowest belonging to the poorest people also known as untouchables. A person born into a caste can not change into another different one and they are also inherited from one generation to another one. This system comes from more than three thousand years and it determines what any person does in the society.
The untouchables are the lowest level in the caste’s hierarchy, and therefore they are excluded from the rest of the people. They are considered as impure and cannot mix with the rest of the population. They are in charge of the dirty work that nobody else wants to do such as cleaning the garbage or manage with the dead. The majority of the population in India belongs to this group.
The caste system stablishes the importance of the people for the society. The higher level the more significant.
This system is completely unfair since there is no any chance for the people to show their real potential. India can be losing people that otherwise, could be profitable for certain activities or work, just because they belong to the wrong category. Besides, it prevents the people to encourage them in the life, since they know that whatever they do it is useless.
I see very difficult for India to eradicate this system because it is one of the most ancient customs and it is very rooted in the people’s mind. Some important people such as Mother Teresa de Calcuta has tried it along her life and it was impossible, in spite of her charism.
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1. What is India’s caste system and how does it work?
It is a way to put people into groups. You belong into the group that you have born, and is not posible to change it.
2. Who are the untouchables and why are they treated poorly?
The untouchables in India are the poor class.
3. How does the caste system affect India’s social order?
The caste system is like racism.
4. Do you find this social stratification fair? Share your opinion on this. Is is really unfair. You have to be in the same caste all your life even if you would like to change.
5. Do you think the caste system can be completely eradicated? Explain your point. In India the cast are really establish. I hope that in the future this way of put in a box will be eradicated and people could have the freedom to decide who they want to be.
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1. It is cultural way of classifying people into groups. You belong to the group in which you have born, so it is very difficult to “change” the group during your life. It is a hierarchy, in which the top level is for religious people and the bottom one is for the homeless.
2. The untouchables are the homeless cast, they need to search in the trash in order to survive and the people from other castes ignore them.
3. I find it very unfair. For example, it doesn’t matter that you are a fine worker, if you are an untouchable (just because you born in that cast), you will not find work and will be sentenced to live in the streets.
4. I think that the untouchables cast should be abolished, as no human should live like that. For the other castes, it should be easier to “choose” your cast, if you fit well in it, and also, no cast should be considered more than other in other to preserve the human rights.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter. Good job practicing your writing.
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