Невероятная индия. Религии, касты, обычаи. Андрей Фурсов. Мировая История.

Caste (through German Kaste or French caste from port. casta - “origin”, originally “pure breed” [1]) is the general name of the social groups into which Indian society has historically been divided. Castes are characterized by endogamy, hereditary fixation and restrictions on the choice of profession [2]. Initially, the term "casta" (casta) in Spanish and Portuguese meant "origin by birth", "breed", "variety" and is still used in this sense, for example, in relation to grape varieties. In Spanish, it was applied to racial groups in the Spanish colonies in America. In Portuguese, after the discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, it was used for class division in India and has since spread to other languages, mainly in relation to Indian varnas and jati. There is a fundamental difference between Latin American castes and Indian varnas; between the former, at least formally, mixing of any kind was allowed, as a rule, leading to the transfer of offspring to another caste; in addition, Latin American castes were based primarily on visual differences. Mixing between the Indian varnas in most cases was unacceptable, between the jati (subdivisions of the varnas) was sharply limited. Indian castes literally have no number. Since each denominated caste is divided into many sub-castes, it is impossible to even roughly calculate the number of social units that have the minimum necessary features of jati. The official tendency to downplay the importance of the caste system has led to the disappearance of the corresponding column in the once-a-decade censuses. The last time information about the number of castes was published in 1931 (3000 castes). But this figure does not necessarily include all local podcasts that function as social groups in their own right. It is widely believed that castes have lost their former importance in the modern Indian state. However, developments have shown that this is far from being the case[4]. The position[specify] taken by the INC and the Government of India after the death of Mahatma Gandhi is controversial. Moreover, universal suffrage and the need of politicians for the support of the electorate have given new importance to the corporate spirit and the internal cohesion of the castes. However, despite the fact that castes have existed in India for more than two millennia, their influence and significance in society (especially in cities) is gradually being lost, although in rural areas this process is rather slow. In big cities, castes are losing their importance especially quickly among the liberal intelligentsia, as well as in the business community. The Constitution of India of 1950 recognized the equality of castes and the legal full rights of the untouchables (parts 3, 4, 4-A). The Constitution (Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950 is part of the Constitution of India. An Indian citizen has the right to obtain a caste certificate as proof of belonging to a caste included in the table[5]. At the same time, the Constitution of the Republic of India of 1950 prohibits the use of the concept of “untouchables” (outcaste, lit. “out of caste”) and defines discrimination on the basis of untouchability (but not on the basis of caste in general) as a criminal offense (Art. 17). State bodies do not have the right to be interested in the caste of a person; instead of the concept of caste (jati), the term “community” (community) is used in the documents. The caste hierarchy is preserved only in the sphere of ritual and private life, regulating the household and religious relations of the Hindus. Legally, civilly, all Indian castes are equal. In 1997, Kocheril Raman Narayanan, who comes from the untouchable caste, was elected President of India. The main author of the draft Constitution of India and its first Minister of Justice was Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who also came from the untouchable caste. #worldhistory #furs #indiancastes Source:    • Как живет Индия. Рассказывает Андрей Фурсов