People follow different cultures, languages, traditions, occupations, attires, eating and living styles and have grouped themselves into different communities. These communities have their norms and regulations and in India(especially in Hindu religion), these communities are in the form of castes. It is because these are based on their ancestor’s caste, status, and occupation.
Recently, I have been in a conversation with one of my close friends; she was worried about her future. She loves a person from another caste, but she can’t confide in her parents, as she fears that this would lead to their social boycott by other caste-members. In a strictly caste-based society, inter-caste marriages are still a taboo. Especially in some rural areas, if a couple from different caste decides to get married, then both the families are penalised and socially boycotted.
Origin Of A Caste-Based Society
Caste-based societies are prevalent in India. It originated thousands of years ago when our land was divided into four classes based on the occupations of people. The Shudras(artists, farmers), the Vaishyas(traders), the Kshatriyas(fighters or soldiers), and the Brahmanas(priests or educators)- the entire society was classified within this fourfold division. Centuries have passed, but our society is still following the same old rules and customs. Many social reformers and educationists have tried to free the society from the bondage of class and castes but to no avail.
In the Gurukul system of ancient time, all the children from various castes were given the same education and the same upbringing. But, when they would back to their homes with all the new learnings and knowledge, they had to continue with the same occupation as their parents’. Thus the societal gap between the lower and upper caste started widening and those at the lower rung of the social hierarchy lived at the mercy of the dominant upper caste.
Choice-Less Marriages
In today’s generation, too, parents send their children to universal schools to learn everything under the sun and excel in every field. They have also started allowing their children to choose their favourite career and move ahead in their lives. But, when it comes to marriages, they still choose to follow redundant caste-based norms. They expect their children to marry someone from the same caste as they feel that their son/daughter would be contaminating the family’s honour by getting an outsider into the family.
If however, the couple decides to let go of all shackles and inhibitions and decides to get married, quite often they face numerous hardships and severe societal hostility.
Contributions Of The ‘Phule’ Family
The world still remembers Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitri Bai Phule for their fruitful contributions towards eradicating the caste-based system and spreading awareness about the evils of this archaic practice. They have faced many threats from their contemporary society. But, they trusted their methods and fearlessly kept on doing the good work. The nation remembers them and in their name has opened several educational institutions.
India is turning into a globalised country very rapidly. But, if an individual still fears society while making harmless personal choices, then certainly we still have a long way to go in order to catch up with the modern era.
Societal Roles
Society is meant for the good of its people. It was formed so that people could share responsibilities as well as hardships mutually. It is not for stopping people in the fulfilment of their wishes. An adult individual with a sound mind is fully aware of the rights and wrongs; they are free to make personal choices as long as they are not violating the law and order of society. The role of the community is to support and emotionally nourish it’s members and not smothering them by the imposition of irrational rules and regulations.
One should be free to spend their life with a person of their choosing. The only thing that should matter at the end of the day is happiness and the peace of mind.
Society is for the growth and happiness of the individual. Keeping this in mind, the Indian government provides reservation to the people from backward castes to compensate for the centuries of injustice meted out to them.
Negative Liberty: Self-Choice
When we talk about the caste-based societies and choice-less marriages, the concepts of sir Isiah Berlin’s ‘Negative Liberty’ should be followed. Negative liberty is freedom from interference by other people. Negative liberty is primarily concerned with freedom from external restraints and unnecessary interventions by society and the government.
I want to conclude my article with the famous quote of German Existentialist Philosopher Nietzsche, “society must not exist for society’s sake” but for “a type of being who is able to raise himself to its higher task and to a higher state of being”.