Moderator:Forum Administrators
linguoboy wrote:Depends whether you'd consider the discrimination against other historically "untouchable" groups (e.g. Eta in Japan, Baekjeong in Korean, Tanka in southern China) a form of "casteism" or not.
Johanna wrote:In Western society we have similar sentiments still, sure, you may not be born "untouchable", but if someone finds out you are or have been a prostitute or that you've been in prison?
vijayjohn wrote:Johanna wrote:In Western society we have similar sentiments still, sure, you may not be born "untouchable", but if someone finds out you are or have been a prostitute or that you've been in prison?
Well, even if you're a prostitute or you've been in prison in the West, would anyone put restrictions on where you can get water from, systematically prevent you and your family from getting an education, destroy your house just because they feel like it (and they can, even without any legal justification whatsoever, and there's nothing you can do about it), etc.? I mean, isn't casteism (in India) way more extreme than that, or is it really that much worse in the West than I'm thinking?
vijayjohn wrote:Yeah, but what I'm saying is that casteism, at least in India, is a means of systematically disenfranchising a huge chunk of the national population, so it's not really comparable to people who have a bad reputation.
Lazar Taxon wrote:That's weird. There seems to be no agreement on what their origins were, what their name meant, what, if anything, distinguished them from other people, or why everyone hated them.
Wow, does your father have any idea what happened to them after they were freed?vijayjohn wrote:My great-grandfather owned Dalit slaves. My dad remembers seeing this for himself, and there is plenty of documented evidence that our family owned slaves as well.
linguoboy wrote:Wow, does your father have any idea what happened to them after they were freed?vijayjohn wrote:My great-grandfather owned Dalit slaves. My dad remembers seeing this for himself, and there is plenty of documented evidence that our family owned slaves as well.
vijayjohn wrote:I just learned about the Cagots of western France and northern Spain, who were regarded as an inferior caste.
Hmm, reminds me of Irish Travellers, who are widely considered non-Roma despite having preserved an itinerant lifestyle.loqu wrote:The only similar thing that I can think of is the Mercheros tribe, but it isn't talked about anymore except maybe in some Northern remote rural towns. (The only information in English I've found is this one).
linguoboy wrote:Hmm, reminds me of Irish Travellers, who are widely considered non-Roma despite having preserved an itinerant lifestyle.
There are parallels here to outcast groups elsewhere, such as Buda of Ethiopia and environs. They are also metalworkers and the dominant population ascribes supernatural powers to them, such as the ability to take the form of hyenas. They are discriminated against, but at the same time they also have a role in religious rituals among some cultural groups.
vijayjohn wrote:But in India, where would a Dalit go? The entire country (if not the whole subcontinent) is casteist to this day.
Varislintu wrote:vijayjohn wrote:But in India, where would a Dalit go? The entire country (if not the whole subcontinent) is casteist to this day.
Can I ask a stupid question that I've always wondered about? How come Indians of the lowest castes don't just fake being higher caste? How come Dalits didn't just go to another city, pretend to be some other caste, and start making a living?
Return to “Politics and Religion”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests