What do young Indians think of the Indian Caste system ? In the UK, it unfornately thrives and we have intelligent med students (I'm sure other students as well) who still follow this malignant practice.
Early on in India, most Brahmins (priests) kept the ancient religious & philosphical knowlege of the Vedas and Upshinads to themselves. Divisions in society (caste) where produced, intially to run an organized and efficient society. The Brahin caste realized that enforcing such divisions by associating divisions with divinity, they could keep their job. Religious rites and ceromonies would always belong to an elite and kept in the family, assuring status and wealth.However such strict divisions have hindered India's progress. The constant invasions-from the Mughals to the British can be partlly attributed to the lack of unity in society caused by such divisions.
Even in the present day, an Indian person will look at a surname and be able to tell whether he/she is a high caste or low caste. Generally, high caste believe that they are the most educated and uphold moral virtues. But as Henry Thoreau says in Walden- The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode.
High caste or Low caste-people should be judged on their actions. A high caste person steals, so does a low caste person. A brahim family prays and so
does a low caste family prays. We are the same- but its is what we do (our actions) that define us.
What does everyone think? Any staunch supporters of caste system, please give evidence of how it has helped India and if it has ever been a useful social system.
A Sethi
You are absolutely right.
The "caste system" is actually not a part of Sanatana Dharma (the pure and original form of what is now called Hinduism).
The common Hinduism as it is practiced now is actually a corrupted version of the original Sanatana Dharma ("Eternal Law/Order/Truth" is a rough translation from Sanskrit). Things like vegetarianism, sectionalism, and what is described today as the caste system are deviations and corruptions of the original path of Sanatana Dharma.
I come from a family that has, for a countless number of generations, followed and studied Sanatana Dharma - particularly the Shruti - aka the Vedas, which, according to Sanatana Dharma, are the words of the divine (Bhagavad Gita is considered smriti). The Vedas are the central pillars of Sanatana Dharma/"Hinduism".
According to the Vedas, there are four varnas (varna basically means aspect/characteristic of society). These are described as the Brahmin (learned/educated/scholar), Rajanya (royalty/princely/knightly/diplomatic), Vaishya (businessman/shopkeeper/merchant/trade), and Shudra (servant/farmer/labourer). This is merely a description of society and its groups. It is similar to how there are terms such as middle-class, upper-class, blue-collar, etc used to describe groups in America. There was nothing indicative of individuals being locked into castes based on birth. In fact, many respected gurus, including certain rishis themselves, were not born into traditionally brahmin families, but were regarded as brahmins after they gained great wisdom and whatnot. Notice there is no mention of "untouchable' or anything of that sort in the Vedas.
The reason the caste system of today developed is because of the way things started working. For various reasons, including diffulty of social mobility and corruption of people in power, the caste system developed into today's.
The Hindus who look down upon others based on birth do not know the true meaning of the path they claim to follow.
Long story short - the Vedas recognize that different people have different skills and qualifications, but it is not by birth, it is by guna (qualification) and karma (work). So if someone born of a shudra father becomes qualified and works as a brahmin (someone who seeks the truth, gains wisdom, and "does good"), he is a brahmin. In the same way if the son of a brahmin doesnt have the qualifications of a brahmin or work as a brahmin then he is not a brahmin. There are so many examples of this in the Vedic scriptures.
I do like talking abt myself alot huh? 
