December 30, 2011
As I continued my introduction to India, I recalled a conversation I had years ago. A friend of mine who had visited India told me that he could not define India as a single nation. To describe India as a singularity would be gross simplification of the idea of India. There is too many aspects and dimensions to India, that people who have lived here for their whole lives cannot define it.
We started our coursework by learning about the caste system in India. We paid particular attention to the Dalit caste, which was formally known as the "untouchables." Dalits are technically not a part of the caste. They are traditionally the lowest part of Indian society. Yet there must be distinction made between caste and class systems in India. While there is a significant correlation between caste and economic status, there is not a fixed relationship between the two. India has had prime minister who was a Dalit. The caste system in India is not a dogmatic reflection of wealth. Rather it is more a perception of purity.
In the afternoon, our instruction dived into the subject of displacement. Across various parts many people called "Adivasi" are being removed from their land by large multinationals who wish to harvest natural resources from Adivasi land. This scenario draws a disturbing parallel to the Northern Cheyenne in Montana, who must struggle to protect their microscopic partitions of land from energy developers.
In the evening we had dinner in Bangalore at an Indian Chinese fusion restaurant called Tamarind. All of the food was spicy and delicious. We returned to the campus and drifted off into sleep.
As I continued my introduction to India, I recalled a conversation I had years ago. A friend of mine who had visited India told me that he could not define India as a single nation. To describe India as a singularity would be gross simplification of the idea of India. There is too many aspects and dimensions to India, that people who have lived here for their whole lives cannot define it.
We started our coursework by learning about the caste system in India. We paid particular attention to the Dalit caste, which was formally known as the "untouchables." Dalits are technically not a part of the caste. They are traditionally the lowest part of Indian society. Yet there must be distinction made between caste and class systems in India. While there is a significant correlation between caste and economic status, there is not a fixed relationship between the two. India has had prime minister who was a Dalit. The caste system in India is not a dogmatic reflection of wealth. Rather it is more a perception of purity.
In the afternoon, our instruction dived into the subject of displacement. Across various parts many people called "Adivasi" are being removed from their land by large multinationals who wish to harvest natural resources from Adivasi land. This scenario draws a disturbing parallel to the Northern Cheyenne in Montana, who must struggle to protect their microscopic partitions of land from energy developers.
In the evening we had dinner in Bangalore at an Indian Chinese fusion restaurant called Tamarind. All of the food was spicy and delicious. We returned to the campus and drifted off into sleep.
