• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Saturday, May 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

India’s Caste System Is Criticized but America’s Class System Is No Better

Priya Harindranathan by Priya Harindranathan
08/21/20
in Opinion
A woman holds a sign during a rally to mark Juneteenth on June 19, 2020, in San Francisco

A woman holds a sign during a rally to mark Juneteenth on June 19, 2020, in San Francisco. Photo: Vivian Lin/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

During my first year in the US as a visiting scholar from India, on a visit to an American professor’s family, his wife was curious to understand India’s infamous caste system. After I had explained how the system had degenerated to exploit, discriminate, deny opportunities, and oppress the people of lower castes, she exclaimed, “Whoa, I would never want my kids to live in such a society!”

My immediate reaction was one of disbelief as she was easily appalled about the existing inequalities in Indian society, yet oblivious to the similarities of the system in the US. Although I wondered why it was so difficult for her to see that class-related oppression is not a third world problem, I remained silent.

However, a few years later, I read a letter from Harvard University’s president in response to George Floyd’s killing. I couldn’t help but notice the commonalities in this letter and the conversation I had with a white, college-educated, middle-class US citizen a few years ago.

The most striking is the prevalence of ivory tower syndrome in both: a nose blind approach to the realities faced by the minority groups.

Race and Classes in US

The American myth of meritocracy — a blindly optimistic belief that the US is a race-free, class-free society of endless opportunities that fairly rewards hard work — is used to rationalize class status and privilege.

In India, people find solace in the belief that one’s present life is a consequence of deeds (karma) from the previous birth, and that good deeds in the current life would free one in the subsequent birth.

Although both the American and Indian constitution guarantees equal rights and protection for all sections of society, in reality, the egalitarian principles do not hold good. Minorities in both countries face different forms of oppression.

Exploitation and Marginalization

In a capitalist society like the US people are legally free, unlike feudal societies and thus the class division and domination remain covert. However, the workforce is divided by race: Blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanics have high rates of unemployment and have considerably lower-paying jobs than Whites.

A crowd protests against the killing of George Floyd.
Hundreds of people gather to protest against the killing of George Floyd. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP

Likewise, the lower castes in India are deemed to engage in servile, low-paying labor. 

In both countries, the indigenous groups (Native Americans in the US and Adivasis in India) are displaced from their ancestral lands.

Powerlessness

Both in the US and India, the division of labor into intellectual and menial gives birth to two segregated classes of people: both in educational institutions and social circles. The class structure determines what schools you attend, what neighborhood you live in, the social group you belong to, the education and health care you can afford, the jobs you can get, and the respect you receive from society. 

The class system, like caste, thus compartmentalizes people at birth and leaves them with little power to make a class transition. 

This is the strongest form of oppression as it leaves the oppressed voiceless and indoctrinated with negative images about themselves.

Violence

Both in the US and India, racial minorities and lower castes are victims of violence, the most visible form of oppression.

Mob lynching and rape of women of lower castes are not uncommon in India. In the US, the post-civil war mob-violence by dominant groups has transformed into condoned violence of African Americans by the state police.

Cultural and Intellectual Hegemony

Both American and Indian culture is heavily impacted by British colonization. For example, while both countries do not have an official language, English is the dominant language. Other languages and even accents are looked down upon.

Oppressed people gain an understanding and critical consciousness of themselves and others through education, literacy, and self-reflection. An equally dedicated effort might be required to educate, critically reflect upon, recognize, and accept one’s privilege.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Priya Harindranathan

Priya Harindranathan

Ph.D. candidate at the School of Education and a research assistant at the Center for the Analytics of Learning and Teaching (C-ALT), Colorado State University. Her research interest includes multi-cultural education, cultural humility, technology-enhanced learning methods, and analytics. She has seven years of research experience in multiple cultural settings including in India, Germany, South Africa, and the US

Related Posts

A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.
Opinion

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

by Stephen J. Lyons
April 2, 2025
Smoke from the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, from Santa Monica, California, on January 7
National

Los Angeles Fire Deaths at 10 as National Guard Called In

by Staff Writer with AFP
January 10, 2025
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a meeting in New York on September 25, 2019
World

Zelensky Says ‘Unpredictable’ Trump Could Help End War

by Staff Writer with AFP
January 2, 2025
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.
National

Trump Wishes ‘Merry Christmas’ to ‘Left Lunatics’ in Frenzy of Social Posts

by Staff Writer with AFP
December 27, 2024
US President Donald Trump inspects border wall prototypes
National

Trump Confirms Plan to Use Military for Mass Deportation

by Staff Writer with AFP
November 18, 2024
US President Donald Trump displays a sign saying 'Trump digs coal' during a rally.
National

Gore Says Climate Progress ‘Won’t Slow Much’ Because of Trump

by Staff Writer with AFP
November 26, 2024
Next Post
Indigenous people from the Parque das Tribos community mourn at the death of Chief Messias of the Kokama tribe

Pandemic and Persecution: The Double Threat Facing Brazil's Indigenous

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing

America’s Grand Strategy in the Asian Century

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

harvard

Trump Admin Revokes Harvard’s Right to Enroll Foreign Students

May 23, 2025
Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest

‘Red Alert’: Fires Drive Tropical Forest Loss to Record High

May 21, 2025
Men pass a young girl to safety over rubble in Jabalia Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. Search and rescue teams rescue a Palestinian girl from under the rubble after the Israeli army attacked a building at the Jabalia Refugee Camp

WHO Chief Says 2 Million ‘Starving’ in Gaza

May 20, 2025
Calais, successful crossing of migrants to England

UK PM Says in Talks Over Third Country ‘Return Hubs’ for Migrants

May 16, 2025
AI chatbot applications.

Meta Faces Row Over Plan to Use European Data for AI

May 14, 2025
A photo taken with a drone over Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Johnny Miller/Millefoto

White S. Africans Due for US Resettlement to Leave Sunday: Govt

May 12, 2025

Opinion

A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Putin talks to Trump in Hamburg

From Roosevelt to Trump: The Complicated Legacy of Personal Diplomacy

November 15, 2024
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Can the UN Human Rights Council Protect Rights While Abusers Sit at the Table?

October 28, 2024
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post