Caste

Lesson 1. Introduction.

The thrust of Wilkerson’s argument is that a caste system exists in American society as well. When the systemic inequalities in American society are compared with the caste system in India and Nazi Germany, the similarities are many. 

Wilkerson argues that caste lines in the US are drawn on the basis of race or skin colour. For centuries, white people have benefitted from their dominant caste, at the cost of the degradation of Black people. 

With gradual positive change over the past few decades, the situation of people of colour has improved. However, with the elevation in the status of Black people, some sections of the white community have started feeling threatened. Trump’s election as the President in 2016 can be understood in the context of this anxiety of losing one’s privilege.

In light of the recent ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests, it becomes all the more important to understand why the inequalities still exist. Wilkerson’s book is a step in that direction.  

Lesson 2. Caste system is prevalent in American society.

Fifty years have passed since the civil rights movement. Yet structural inequalities between white people and people of colour, in the US, are more than apparent even now. Much lesser income, frequent acts of police brutality are some problems among others, that continue to plague Black people even now. 

How does one make sense of this discrimination, that has been embedded into the very structure of America? Wilkerson proposes the caste system as an appropriate lens through which this systematic hierarchy can be explained.

Caste is not a term used in the context of racism in the US. The word might remind you of India, where the caste system has existed for thousands of years. But it is prevalent in the US as well. This is not Wilkerson’s original argument. It has been put forth by other anthropologists and scholars as well.

The caste system is a system of social stratification, in which people are placed in slots in the social hierarchy. Members of the upper caste enjoy immense privilege. Those belonging to lower castes are subjected to oppression. 

The caste system is in force in America as well. It began with the enslavement of African people. In fact, the white supremacists of the South took inspiration from the caste system in India.

They believed that the white race was superior to all other races. In order to preserve the purity of their bloodline, they segregated Blacks and the whites. Legislations were passed to ensure Blacks remained subordinate. 

It is very difficult