Englishmen are famously said to be "branded on the tongue". From the first word he utters, the Englishman announces to the world his regional provenance and, more importantly, his social class.
Although social distinctions are eternal, class barriers in Britain have largely crumbled in recent decades - but not among some British Indians, says the Times of India.
In Britain, even second and third-generation British Indians remain riven by the yawning divides of India's traditional caste system, the newspaper wrote on Monday.
The Indian caste system is thought to have originated with the Indo-European conquest of the subcontinent some three thousand years ago, slowly evolving into the complex social strata that today structure Indian society from the priestly Brahmins to the wretched Dalits, or "Untouchables". As Indians have emigrated, so has the caste system.
"Welcome to caste-ridden Britain, home to 1.3 million Indians, many of whom still scour marriage bureaux listings and adverts in the Indian press for the appropriate Ravidasia, Ramgarhia, Lohar, Lohana, Mochi, Mistry, Shah/Vania or Tank/Shatria spouse for their sons and daughters," the newspaper said.
According to the managers of popular marriage website Suman, cited by the newspaper, only one in four British Indian marriages takes place across caste lines.
Meanwhile, lower castes sometimes suffer the same ostracism in Britain as they would in India - ostracism many hope to escape in their new home. Initially "oblivious" to the caste system, Sikh playwright Reena Bhatoa was 13 when her parents told her the awful truth. "I discovered I was an untouchable," she told the newspaper. Systematic abuse from higher-caste schoolmates soon commenced.
Are Indians abroad "really so regressive that our organic lived reality is almost exactly as Dr Ambedkar gloomily described decades ago when he said "wherever a Hindu goes, he will take his caste system with him," the Times of India wonders.
Some clearly are. But others are working to help British Indians shed their caste. Bhatoa and fellow playwright Reena Dipti Annobil, both activists with the charity Castewatch UK (website currently down), have penned "The Fifth Cup", opening in Birmingham, which tackles the caste system head on.
Let's give the two Reenas a hearty "break a leg". And may they break a few barriers while they're at it.
Comments (3)
Please carry on the campaign and count me as one with you in support of the struggle against caste abuses and mentality Hindu upper castes have carried as their baggage from India. Our main concern in India is to weaken and end caste. Wish all success of the bold initiative.
Posted by Dr. A. K. Biswas | May 6, 2008 5:39 AM
Posted on May 6, 2008 05:39
Glad to find this post, and indeed this whole blog.
Did you see Shiv Gharu on the BBC this morning?
Would like to link between yourselves and MixTogether- plesae get in touch or leave a comment?
Posted by MixTogether | December 21, 2007 10:33 AM
Posted on December 21, 2007 10:33
THE FIFTH CUP WAS A MASSIVE SUCCESS AND IS ON NATIONAL TOUR NEXT YEAR 2008- WATCH OUT FOR IT
Posted by Reena B | December 18, 2007 5:43 PM
Posted on December 18, 2007 17:43