What Is It Like To Be A Dalit, India's Lowest Caste?

What Is It Like To Be A Dalit, India's Lowest Caste?

India's caste system is one of the oldest surviving forms of social stratification in the world. This caste system categorizes Hindus at birth, defining their place in society, what jobs they can do and who they can marry. The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. How did caste emerge? The Manusmriti, widely regarded as the most important and authoritative book on Hindu law and dating from at least 1,000 years before Christ was born recognizes and justifies the caste system as the basis of social order and order. Many believe that caste groups derive from Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation. At the top of the hierarchy are the Brahmins who are mostly teachers and intellectuals and are believed to have come from the head of Brahma. Then the Knights, or warriors and rulers, supposedly from his hands. The three Vaisyas, or merchants, were created from his thighs. At the bottom of the pile are the Sudras, who come from Brahma&#…