2. Caste System
• In the Early Vedic Period Caste system was a division of
society based on occupation. People could move from one
caste to the other depending on the job they chose.
• There were four varnas or castes-
• (a) Brahmins(Priests)
• (b) Kshatryas(Warriors)
• (c) Vaishyas(Traders and Farmers)
• (d) Shudras(Labourers)
• There were the chandalas or ati-shudras, who were
thought to be outside the caste system and treated as
untouchables.
• By the Later Vedic Period , the caste system became more
rigid. Caste became something permanent a person was
born into. Various sub –castes came up within the four
main castes.
3. Practice of Untouchability
• It was the worst aspect of the caste system.
• The untouchables did all the dirty work which
involved dirt and germs.
• The Chandalas were therefore treated as dirty and
polluting.
• They were forbidden entry into upper caste houses,
temples, hospitals and other public places.
• They were not allowed to draw water from village
well.
• At village events, they were not allowed to eat with
the rest of the people, nor use the same utensils.
• Millions of people across India, therefore , led the
most wretched lives just because of an accident of
birth.
4. How was the caste system enforced?
• The kings were empowered to punish those
who violated the system.
• The Priests quoted from law books written by
sages like Manu to assert their authority.
• They used superstition to scare the ignorant
masses into submission.
5. Adverse effects of the Caste System
• Social injustices like untouchability and
discrimination were given the sanction of
religion. Generations of oppression created
economic and social inequalities across the
country.
• Indian society became fragmented . People
identified first with their caste, and only then
with the nation. They had no sense of
nationalism.
• Caste divisions were a hindrance to individual
progress; they did not recognise individual talent.
It encouraged incompetence and affected the
quality of Indian society.
6. HISTORY OF REFORMS
• As early as the 6th century BCE , thinkers like
Mahavira and Buddha raised their voices against
the injustices of the caste system.
• From the 8th century CE, the Bhakti saints taught
that all humans were equal, and that there was
on religious sanction for the caste system.
• In the 19th century, many social reformers spoke
against the caste system, calling it ‘the greatest
evil of our social customs.’
7. • Jyotirao Phule(1827-1890) : He was one of the
most committed social reformers of the 19th
century. He worked tirelessly for the uplift of
the lower castes, and disapproved of the
supremacy of the Brahmins.
• His work earned him the title of Mahatma.
• He founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj in 1848
in Maharashtra.
• He told that there was no scientific basis for
the religious beliefs and superstitions that had
been developed by people of the upper caste
to oppress the dalits. According to him in the
eyes of god all humans are equal.
8. • Sri Narayan Guru(1854-1939) : He was one of the first to
fight against the evils of the caste system in Kerala.
• He founded the Sri Narayan Dharma Paripalan Yogam
(SNDP) in 1903 to reform society.
• He established the Aruvipuram temple where people of all
castes were allowed entry.
• He was convinced that the dalits could only progress
through education. He established a number of
educational institutions, primarily for the education of the
backward classes.
• Main teachings were :-
• All humans have just one caste, one religion and one god.
• Any religion will suffice, if it makes a person a better
human.
• Knowledge is power, so gain freedom through education.
• Unity is strength, so unite and fight for your rights.
10. • Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919) : He took
up the work of the Brahmo Samaj in andhra
Pradesh.
• He fought for the rights of women, and raised his
voice against untouchability and blind religious
beliefs.
• To enlightened the common people, he started a
monthly magazine in Telgu, Vivekavardhini, and a
weekly, Satyavadini, which was published in both
English and Telgu.
• He also started the Hitakarini Samaj in 1906 to
take up reforms in society.
• He started a school for girls in Dowlaiswaram,
and conducted widow remarriage.
11. • Periyar Ramasami(1879-1973) :- E V Ramasami,
foundly called Periyar , was a crusader for the
cause of the downtrodden in Tamil Nadu.
• He vehemently opposed the atrocities committed
against the dalits.
• He believed that all women and men should be
given equal opportunities to develop.
• He was against the superiority of the Brahmins
who according to him were Aryans descended
from the north , oppressing the local Dravidians.
• He started the Self –respect Movement to
safeguard the rights of the Dravidian people.
12. • He was also a prominent leader of the Justice
Party, which he transformed to the Dravidar
Kazhagam .
• Periyar believed that equality for all would
become a reality only when the caste system
was eradicated.
• Because of his agitations, the government
amended the constitution to protect the rights
of the oppressed , and reservation was
introduced for the backward classes.
13. • Mahatma Gandhi (1869- 1948) :- Mahatma Gandhi’s
contribution to the social uplift of the people was great. He
knew that there could be no true freedom for India as long as
millions of Indians suffered from the scourge of untouchability.
• He called the untouchables harijans, and fought for their entry
into temples.
• He also started the Anti-Untouchability League on 30 September
1932 to remove untouchability in the society, which later
renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants
of Untouchables Society"). At the time industrialist Ghanshyam
Das Birla was its founding president with Amritlal Takkar as its
Secretary.
• Harijan Sevak Sangh is a non-profit organisation founded
by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 to eradicate untouchability in India,
working for Harijan or Dalit people and upliftment of Depressed
Class of India. It is headquartered at Kingsway Camp in Delhi,
with branches in 26 states across India
• He led the people by example.
14. Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891-1956)
• He is the father of the Indian Constitution.
• He spent his life fighting to give the dalits their
rights, and to ensure that they could lead a life of
dignity.
• He fought for their right to enter temples, and to
draw water from public wells.
• He urged the dalits to cast aside the religious
taboos and superstitions that had bound them to
servitude.
• Towards the end of his life , he adopted the
Buddhist faith, which he believed worked
towards creating a classless society.
15. The Impact of the Reform Movements
• It awakened & educate the people about caste
system.
• Passing of laws to abolish practices like Sati and
Child marriage by the British Government.
• Growth of nationalism.
• Constitution assured equality to all.
• Reservation system.
