09-12-2006, 04:07 PM
Europe the real originator of the caste system
(hastily posted as a draft)
Introduction
This is an item which should be more explored and projected right in the faces of non-Indian historians, anthropologists, etc. and their Indian admirers and followers. The success of anti-Indian and especially anti-Hindu propaganda lies in the fact that these offenders arenât hit at their weak spot: the grave criminal expressions of their own systems in every field throughout most of their history! Some of their unique expressions, politically and religiously, have caused mass destructions on mondial levels. In an international court of justice (UNO) record, we would have almost exclusively names of abrahamitic (and their offshoot) criminals.
The foreign missionary and military was aiming at enslavement of the subcontinent through a paralysing indoctrination of Indian culture with their own concepts. The message was that what was good was foreign, and the bad was indigenous, in simple words. The bad had to be saved, to be civilized = christianised after European social model.
But how different was the christianised Anglo-Indian concept from European social realities?
At least from the feudal period on, Europe did know a clear caste system: The elite or lords are the hereditary land owners, which are bishops, kings, warlords and noblemen. Vassals are somewhat the slaves of the land owners. And the elite all claim their authority is from God. Both secular and religious power went hand to hand to completely christianise Europe and to enslave the non-elite. Slavery was normal upto the 12th century in Europe, but serfs tied to lords were still common.
Slavery worldwide was practised by christian and muslim rulers. The colonial powers abolished slavery in the 19th century, officially. But that century old mentality didnât vanish just in one century from their minds, mouths and manners. Political exploitation was replaced by economical and intellectual through monopolization of the resources.
The world has to de-abrahamiticize in every field, but especially socially, psychologically and academically. Too many words are loaded with abrahamitic sauces of interpretations doing grave injustice to non-abrahamitic origins. Even worse, non-abrahamitic systems are being judged against their discriminatory value system.
One of the crucial words to paralyse India is the word âcasteâ. But what is its origin?
Casta
Caste is a word which is non-Indian. It is derived from the Portuguese word âcastaâ = pure, breed, race. It is a word used in the 17th century in India. But the word and use is older:
Spanish casta, race, and Portuguese casta, race, caste. 1555, "a race of men," from L. casto "chaste," from castus "pure, cut off, separated," pp. of carere "to be cut off from" (and related to castrate), from PIE base *kes- "to cut."Application to Hindu social groups picked up in India 17c. from Port. casta "breed, race, caste," earlier casta raca "unmixed race," from the same L. word. (see dictionaries)
Hardly anybody paid attention to tracing the word and use of Casta to other parts of the world: to Latin America. ââ¦by the early 17th Century the castas were being defined. The term castas referred originally to people of mixed ethno racial heritage and was generally derogatory. The Spanish brought a fanatical fascination about race with them when they arrived in the "New World." â¦. Together, the castas, the Spanish, the Natives, and the Africans formed a rigid caste system that governed the ethno racial and class based hierarchy of New Spain. The Spaniards used their elaborate system of classification to maintain social and political control. "Pure blooded" Spaniards held the top position in their constructed social and racial hierarchy, and Africans were considered most inferior. Members of the mixed classes fit into the hierarchy depending on the quantity of "tainted" blood found in their genealogy.â
http://hemi.nyu.edu/archive/studentwork/co...lson/Casta1.htm
While the system was set aside as the spanish colonies got their independence, it left profound scars in modern Latin American societies. In México up until the present day, Mexicans reject the idea of racism but are highly aware of the skin color, associating it with social status. As a result, most role models in television and media are white.
This is thus the result of the institutionalized system of racial and social stratification and segregation based on a person's heritage.
In short, the word âcastaâ and its loanword in English known as âcasteâ cannot be separated from European racial (pure versus mixed) ideas and implementations in societies, typical of the colonial powers. The situation in Latin America is a clear proof that the âcaste phenomenonâ is an implemented European one, and is racial and discriminatory!
This very early European racial system was transplanted in India and made wrongly as equivalent or similar to the dynamic Jana, GaNa, Gotra and Jati systems. (4 VarNa was already for centuries dead, only being mentioned to make some order, but in reality a theoretical, fossil remnant)
Europe is the birthplace of rigid thinking, speaking and behaving systems, from social behaviour (see the word âetiquetteâ, prescribing into details how to behave), musical performance (compare Indian to western classical musicians. The stiff body language of western musicians is perfectly expressing the distance they create towards another), psychology (see how they hide their real natural emotions behind curtains of controlled . This is the basis of much western frustration and visits to shrinks), religiously (belief in a punishing christian god; constantly threatening clergy to maintain this image), social castes (elite clearly looking down on others and exploiting them; even christianised the blacks for instance were still slaves, counting less than dogs! How differently did the British treat the Indians, or the Americans and European imperialists in both the Americas treat the native Indians? ), colour issue (western elite is whiter than their non-elites, a clear sign they are using to show that they donât have to work on fields; the whiteness is emphasized later in the decadent periods with the use of cosmetics; black-white thinking coupled to race theories are introduced and indoctrinated in India through the British controlled educational institutes), political offshoots of âtheocraciesâ (totalitarian rule, fascism, nazism; unknown to non-abrahamitic systems, these do not need to be explained), religion (persecutions, holy wars, burning of witches and blacks, annihilation of tribes, etc.), women status (the woman didnât have much rights save for giving sons, till the 20th century; till the end of the sixties women in western countries had subordinate positions, totally no high positions in church-business-politics, much under the laws of male christians), missionary zeal (showing no sign of respect for others in any sense, they fanatically, sent by the divine as they want to think, impose their own rigid systems to others), etc.
Conclusion
I do not believe that a westerner can teach India any lesson in any of these matters. He rather should look into the mirror and after feeling deep shame for being a proud follower of this oppressive system, he should be taking some responsibility not to point any finger again at others and show some respect.
No system is perfect, thinking that the own is the best is not harmful, but denigrating the other, which is a clear sign of severe ignorance and bad self reflection (minority complex), has to be condemned and stopped immediately.
The christians and muslims clearly have huge records of grave criminal and murderous activities towards their own co-believers (sectarian wars) against each other (crusades etc.) and more barbaric against other areas outside the pale of their âblessed or promisedâ lands.
That westerners and their non-westerner followers dominate the academia doesnât mean that they hold the truth. The word casta and its use socially with political and religious and above all racial flavours were already a practical reality elsewhere, in Latin America with the upper caste Peninsulares or Spanish and Portuguese. The racist theories of northern imperialist Europe, has its origins in southern imperialist Europe. Both are deeply rooted in christianity. Both geographical areas gave birth to fascism (northern had German totalitarian nazism, southern had Italian Mussoliniâs and Spanish Francoâs systems).
Thus, standard books and their authors do not give the whole picture and certainly aren't free from the outdated methodologies applied to the study of non-western cultures, languages and their (historical) traditions.
P.S. there are many westerners, including academics, who have do have a balanced view. But they are not the dominant voices.
(hastily posted as a draft)
Introduction
This is an item which should be more explored and projected right in the faces of non-Indian historians, anthropologists, etc. and their Indian admirers and followers. The success of anti-Indian and especially anti-Hindu propaganda lies in the fact that these offenders arenât hit at their weak spot: the grave criminal expressions of their own systems in every field throughout most of their history! Some of their unique expressions, politically and religiously, have caused mass destructions on mondial levels. In an international court of justice (UNO) record, we would have almost exclusively names of abrahamitic (and their offshoot) criminals.
The foreign missionary and military was aiming at enslavement of the subcontinent through a paralysing indoctrination of Indian culture with their own concepts. The message was that what was good was foreign, and the bad was indigenous, in simple words. The bad had to be saved, to be civilized = christianised after European social model.
But how different was the christianised Anglo-Indian concept from European social realities?
At least from the feudal period on, Europe did know a clear caste system: The elite or lords are the hereditary land owners, which are bishops, kings, warlords and noblemen. Vassals are somewhat the slaves of the land owners. And the elite all claim their authority is from God. Both secular and religious power went hand to hand to completely christianise Europe and to enslave the non-elite. Slavery was normal upto the 12th century in Europe, but serfs tied to lords were still common.
Slavery worldwide was practised by christian and muslim rulers. The colonial powers abolished slavery in the 19th century, officially. But that century old mentality didnât vanish just in one century from their minds, mouths and manners. Political exploitation was replaced by economical and intellectual through monopolization of the resources.
The world has to de-abrahamiticize in every field, but especially socially, psychologically and academically. Too many words are loaded with abrahamitic sauces of interpretations doing grave injustice to non-abrahamitic origins. Even worse, non-abrahamitic systems are being judged against their discriminatory value system.
One of the crucial words to paralyse India is the word âcasteâ. But what is its origin?
Casta
Caste is a word which is non-Indian. It is derived from the Portuguese word âcastaâ = pure, breed, race. It is a word used in the 17th century in India. But the word and use is older:
Spanish casta, race, and Portuguese casta, race, caste. 1555, "a race of men," from L. casto "chaste," from castus "pure, cut off, separated," pp. of carere "to be cut off from" (and related to castrate), from PIE base *kes- "to cut."Application to Hindu social groups picked up in India 17c. from Port. casta "breed, race, caste," earlier casta raca "unmixed race," from the same L. word. (see dictionaries)
Hardly anybody paid attention to tracing the word and use of Casta to other parts of the world: to Latin America. ââ¦by the early 17th Century the castas were being defined. The term castas referred originally to people of mixed ethno racial heritage and was generally derogatory. The Spanish brought a fanatical fascination about race with them when they arrived in the "New World." â¦. Together, the castas, the Spanish, the Natives, and the Africans formed a rigid caste system that governed the ethno racial and class based hierarchy of New Spain. The Spaniards used their elaborate system of classification to maintain social and political control. "Pure blooded" Spaniards held the top position in their constructed social and racial hierarchy, and Africans were considered most inferior. Members of the mixed classes fit into the hierarchy depending on the quantity of "tainted" blood found in their genealogy.â
http://hemi.nyu.edu/archive/studentwork/co...lson/Casta1.htm
While the system was set aside as the spanish colonies got their independence, it left profound scars in modern Latin American societies. In México up until the present day, Mexicans reject the idea of racism but are highly aware of the skin color, associating it with social status. As a result, most role models in television and media are white.
This is thus the result of the institutionalized system of racial and social stratification and segregation based on a person's heritage.
In short, the word âcastaâ and its loanword in English known as âcasteâ cannot be separated from European racial (pure versus mixed) ideas and implementations in societies, typical of the colonial powers. The situation in Latin America is a clear proof that the âcaste phenomenonâ is an implemented European one, and is racial and discriminatory!
This very early European racial system was transplanted in India and made wrongly as equivalent or similar to the dynamic Jana, GaNa, Gotra and Jati systems. (4 VarNa was already for centuries dead, only being mentioned to make some order, but in reality a theoretical, fossil remnant)
Europe is the birthplace of rigid thinking, speaking and behaving systems, from social behaviour (see the word âetiquetteâ, prescribing into details how to behave), musical performance (compare Indian to western classical musicians. The stiff body language of western musicians is perfectly expressing the distance they create towards another), psychology (see how they hide their real natural emotions behind curtains of controlled . This is the basis of much western frustration and visits to shrinks), religiously (belief in a punishing christian god; constantly threatening clergy to maintain this image), social castes (elite clearly looking down on others and exploiting them; even christianised the blacks for instance were still slaves, counting less than dogs! How differently did the British treat the Indians, or the Americans and European imperialists in both the Americas treat the native Indians? ), colour issue (western elite is whiter than their non-elites, a clear sign they are using to show that they donât have to work on fields; the whiteness is emphasized later in the decadent periods with the use of cosmetics; black-white thinking coupled to race theories are introduced and indoctrinated in India through the British controlled educational institutes), political offshoots of âtheocraciesâ (totalitarian rule, fascism, nazism; unknown to non-abrahamitic systems, these do not need to be explained), religion (persecutions, holy wars, burning of witches and blacks, annihilation of tribes, etc.), women status (the woman didnât have much rights save for giving sons, till the 20th century; till the end of the sixties women in western countries had subordinate positions, totally no high positions in church-business-politics, much under the laws of male christians), missionary zeal (showing no sign of respect for others in any sense, they fanatically, sent by the divine as they want to think, impose their own rigid systems to others), etc.
Conclusion
I do not believe that a westerner can teach India any lesson in any of these matters. He rather should look into the mirror and after feeling deep shame for being a proud follower of this oppressive system, he should be taking some responsibility not to point any finger again at others and show some respect.
No system is perfect, thinking that the own is the best is not harmful, but denigrating the other, which is a clear sign of severe ignorance and bad self reflection (minority complex), has to be condemned and stopped immediately.
The christians and muslims clearly have huge records of grave criminal and murderous activities towards their own co-believers (sectarian wars) against each other (crusades etc.) and more barbaric against other areas outside the pale of their âblessed or promisedâ lands.
That westerners and their non-westerner followers dominate the academia doesnât mean that they hold the truth. The word casta and its use socially with political and religious and above all racial flavours were already a practical reality elsewhere, in Latin America with the upper caste Peninsulares or Spanish and Portuguese. The racist theories of northern imperialist Europe, has its origins in southern imperialist Europe. Both are deeply rooted in christianity. Both geographical areas gave birth to fascism (northern had German totalitarian nazism, southern had Italian Mussoliniâs and Spanish Francoâs systems).
Thus, standard books and their authors do not give the whole picture and certainly aren't free from the outdated methodologies applied to the study of non-western cultures, languages and their (historical) traditions.
P.S. there are many westerners, including academics, who have do have a balanced view. But they are not the dominant voices.
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