Untouchables Essay

The untouchables of the caste system are banned from temples, and must drink, and eat separately from the rest of society. There are 160 million untouchables throughout India; they make up about 15 percent of the Indus river population. The Laws of Manu was a document that gave each varna and what they should eat, who to marry and how to manage their money. The strict caste system developed by the Aryans’ social hierarchy was made in order to give people rules and expectations to live by; it plays a purpose in Indian society today by giving each rank a certain role they must play to society.
The strict caste system of India was developed in order to maintain order throughout the society. The ancient Hindu castes originated from a “primordial body” which had the Brahmans from the mouth, the Kshatriyas came from the arms, the Vaisyas from the thighs, and the Sudras from the feet. Although not included on the “primordial body” was the untouchables, they were considered polluted and impure people therefore they were given the dirtiest of jobs such as cremating the dead, sweeping the gutters or removing dead animals from the streets. The people born into Hinduism were born into the caste system, which was an extreme method of social stratification. People of all castes looked the same, in most slums all lived together, drank from the same well and stand in the same lines. The Brahmans are the people with the most power making them superior toward the untouchables, for instance a group of untouchables had obtained a portion of land but was taken over by the Brahmans, in order to get the land they wanted they killed four people, and 18 were injured, and many villages were burned down. The social stratification pushed the untouchables to use courts to fight against the higher ranked castes, the higher leveled ranks used violent fights to get their way because they had more control to start. The social stratification of the caste system keeps people under control.
The caste system still has an important purpose in Indian society. Although it creates a harsh level of discrimination it also achieves its purpose of keeping people and ranks in order and that each rank is playing their part in society. At one point in time the lowest castes and the highest ranked in society came together in order to achieve a common goal, to stop the growing influence of the party representing the Sudras. Although they lived completely different lives they were able to join together to reach their

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