Is There an American Caste System?

[Guest guest]

A writer named Rajiv Malhotra published a fine and provocative essay

the day before yesterday (September 15, 2002) in an online Indian

magazine. It's a bit on the long side, but here's a quick summary

(freely adapted from HPI's), along with a link so that you can read

the whole thing if you wish (I did; it's worth it).

 

Malhotra's article examines the issue of "caste" in America --

contrasting the West's lurid fascination with India's caste system,

with the blind eye so often turned to the shifting tides of its own

social heirarchies. He argues that American society has its own caste

system. A key difference, however, is that in India, castism is

explicitly codified; whereas in America, social structure by

ethnicity or family lineage remains uncodified and subliminal.

 

He concludes with a discussion on Hindu identity. "Media, education

and public images of Hinduism are often dominated by negative

stereotypes. Hence, most Indians have multiple identities, bringing

out the one that works best in a given situation. Post-colonialists

have written about a phenomenon called 'brown shame' that was

encouraged amongst Indians by the British as a way to dominate

Indians. But nobody has brought out the more recent phenomenon that I

call 'Hindu shame.'

 

"To be openly Hindu is often seen as a matter of shame.... This new

Hindu American caste needs to learn from the successes of other

American castes (Jewish, Irish, Italian). This is especially

important as the population of Indians in America is projected to

increase to ten million by 2050, and there shall also be many non-

Indians who continue to adopt Hinduism."

 

For the full aricle: http://sulekha.com/articledesc.asp?cid=86551

 

I think the article may be of great interest to many members. I would

very much like to hear your comments.

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe