Date: 2024-07-17 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00003322
Country ... India The caste system
AJStream takes on the issue of caste in India and what steps are best taken to improve the situation
Burgess COMMENTARY
As I watched this edition of The Stream I was struck by the absence of much reference to religion. I am British and live in the United States, so am no expert on India, but when I have been in India especially in rural areas I have been struck by the role religion seems to play in people's lives. I understand the international community wanting to talk about the role of Indian law and the Indian Constitution in daily life, but my personal experience seems to suggest that religion is way more an influence on what actually happens in the family and in the community.
These are Tweets sent during the broadcast:
33m Peter Burgess @TrueValueMetric #AJStream Some amazing #dalit people with good educations show what is possible when caste doesn't get in way to stop schoolingOne of my friends in Southern India is a Christian dalit (untouchable) who had the good fortune to get some primary schooling from a Church ... and then some secondary schooling courtesy of the Church ... and eventually University, courtesy of the Church. He has given back over the years ... and this seems to me to be a pretty good example of how education makes opportunity and in the end we are all better off!29m Peter Burgess @TrueValueMetric #AJStream Question: How much of caste system is because of Hinduism. Are some Christian #dalits overcoming 'untouchability'?
Peter Burgess @TrueValueMetric #AJStream I have a lot of respect for religion, but is Hinduism a force for status quo rather than a modernization that downplays caste?
Peter Burgess