6. THE CASTE EFFECT AND THE UNTOUCHABILITY

In the Hindu society, there is a caste effect. Every aspect of the Hindu society is full of caste effect. The caste effect is there in any sphere: social, educational, economical, political, marital or religious. A caste effect is the effect that a caste has on the individuals belonging to it. The caste effect is different for all the castes. To some caste effect is beneficial and to some it is harmful. However, in the absence of any viable alternative the lower castes cling to it. Caste is beneficial to Brahmans and harmful to Shudras. In the case of Untouchables, it is totally crippling and devastating.
The caste effect may be beneficial for examples in the case of upper castes and harmful in the case of lower castes. The outsiders may not see it apparently but if they study the disparities, the segregation and the disparaging ways of high caste Hindus and also the fact the certain people are not found in some places where as they abound in other places, then they would notice it. It is all due to voluntary actions of different castes. These voluntary actions also produce the caste effect taking the cues from Dharma Shashtras which have built the traditions. The Untouchables are stopped from drawing the water from the village well, and this is a caste effect. The Brahmans are respected everywhere - that is a caste effect. One is harmful and other is beneficial.
There are thousands of Jatis/Castes so there are thousands of caste effects. The overall function of caste effect for each caste is the same; it is to keeps each caste in its place. The main result of the caste effect is to keep individuals in the respective born-places, which mean keeping an entire caste in its place; and when it is done for every caste, then the whole caste system is righteously aligned with the divinely ordained order; and that is the Dharma. The harmony, then, prevails.
A man has to follow a particular profession. He has to marry in a particular group of people. He has to dine with a particular group of people. He has to refuse to follow any other occupation. He has to refuse to marry outside particular people. He has to refuse to dine with particular people. He has to refuse to teach others his occupational skills. He has to hate certain group of people. He has to respect certain group of people. He has to fear certain group of people. He has to show deference to certain group of people. He has to boycott certain group of people. He has to go out of his way to please certain group of people. And …, so on. All these are caste effects and there are many more. Certain people may have done nothing to earn or deserve this kind of reaction from him. Nobody has done anything to be despised; nobody has done anything to be hated. Nobody has earned respect or deference. In unofficial India - these are birth-attached. There are caste merits and caste demerits; there are no earned merits and no actualized demerits.
The caste effect does not depend on the deeds or actions of any individual; it depends on his birth-attached caste or Varna. It is the caste that determines the course of action for its members; the members do not have much say on this. The caste or Varna does not depend upon the deeds or actions of any individual. Anyway, the caste is a group entity not individual. Any individual action is not taken into consideration. It does not matter much because any individual action is mandatory caste bound. It has to be in accordance with the caste system; the caste effect ensures it. Any individual course of action follows from his caste. We know that the caste gives one a well defined standing and place in society with minor deviations in practice. The characteristics of an individual are simply derived from his caste. Any stark positive difference between the characteristics assigned and the actual, is seen with unbelieving wide and surprised eyes. The high caste eyes bulge out of sockets whenever such a difference is seen. The Sanatana Dharma did not create a society where the fruits depend upon the deeds or the results depend upon the actions - note. The fruits are bestowed by the caste institution on the high castes. There is no such feature as earned merit in Hindu society but only caste-bestowed merit or caste-imposed demerit. This is the traditional India, which unabashedly impinges upon modern India. Its foot prints, some clear, some hidden, can be found all over modern India. So much so that at times the modern India seemed to lose its existence at all. Abhorrence prevails. All the actions of lower castes are thwarted by the caste effect; so there is no access to resources; the result is the blunting of the efforts of the lower strata. The efforts of lower strata go waste. The Hindu society is a closed sections and closed actions society. The options for individual action are a closed set. All the action courses existing in society are not available to him. The actions of an individual are enclosed by the limited functions assigned to his caste. His choice of actions is limited. Therefore, everybody is found following a particular course of action that is defined by the factors external to him. The external caste forces are very strong for him to oppose. These choicelsss actions predetermine the course of action of life of an individual depending upon his caste. This makes the mode of life as a predetermined one. No really fateful event takes place in his life so as to make any change. In this traditional society, the moment for an individual belonging to lower strata, never comes. No moment is his moment! Their life is changeless. And the snail of change is killed as many times as possible.
One might be tempted to bring the Gita into consideration. But the esteemed Gita talks about following swa-Dharma (own Dharma) which is in fact a Varna Dharma or a caste-duty (sub Varna duty); no other course of action is open to him. The Gita says that it is better to follow swa-Dharma then to follow others' Dharma; the transgression on others' Dharma is not allowed. Swa-Dharma is nothing but Jati Dharma. In fact Gita insists on casteism. No other course of action is open to an individual other than his swa-Dharma or caste duty. Therefore again it is a closed set of actions which an individual has to follow. There is a specified set of actions open to his caste. Different castes have different sets of actions open to them.
Another way to counter is to bring Karma Hypothesis into consideration. Again the situation remains the same. The disconnecting Karma hypothesis talks about the accumulated actions of all the past lives. And these are, obviously, cannot be performed again; so these are not open to him- obviously. The actions of this life can only be caste-bound or Dharma would be corrupted. This cannot be allowed. The greatest Dharma is the Jati-Dharma or caste-Dharma; that is to be taken into account. Therefore, the actions or deeds of an individual which can change his life are not available to him; so everything is predetermined or predestined or static. Therefore, the deeds do not determine his present position. He does not determine the set of actions available to him; this determination is beyond him. His birth-attached position determined the set of actions open to him. As an individual, he is quite useless. He remains where he is. He has no choice over the actions that he can perform.
The caste effect follows from the functions assigned to each Varna or caste. There are certain dos and don'ts. All the castes follow them and produce the caste effect. In the traditional Hindu system, an individual is a derivation of his caste. He and his caste are the same. All the attributes applicable to his caste are applicable to him. The fingers of a hand are unequal so the castes must be unequal; so goes the argument. But the members of a caste are treated as equal. How come? The principle of inequality is not applicable to individuals only to groups! The people in a given caste must be different as no two individuals are the same. Any direct comparison of individuals across the castes is disallowed; any comparison cannot take place without bringing in the caste. The individuals are equals within the group but unequal across the groups. Even within caste or sub-caste seniority matters and provides a leading edge advantage to people with wisdom and experience which can only be gained through time.
In caste system, the sub-caste is the strongest binding force. The caste comes next and then comes the Varna. In Shudra Varna, the binding forces due to Varna are extremely weak - almost non-existing. The fifth group binding forces are also very weak. The strongest binding force due to Varna exists in the higher three Varnas. The caste system heaps and heaps tonnes of insults on the fourth and the fifth stratum. It cripples them forever with no chance. It condemns them to a hellish life.
When a high caste man moves in Hindu society, he receives respect and valuable opportunities without any effort at all - these are the cozy comforts of belonging to high castes at no cost. On the other hand, when a low caste moves in society he faces contempt and closed opportunities. This is the caste effect. The caste effect keeps any low caste as low caste and any upper caste as upper caste. When an unknown man enters a group and reveals his caste, then various expressions move across the faces of people. The expression may be full of awe or contempt. There may be happiness or pangs of pain. Hindu society is a rather secretive society. All the castes keep their secrets to themselves (keep their gates closed) and guard them zealously and especially the castes belonging to higher three Varnas.
The caste effect closes the gates of society for the Untouchables and also for the Shudras; for them the gates to valuable opportunities are closed. Therefore, one may say the gates are opened or closed depending on one's caste. This makes caste an extremely important factor because it means that its harmful effect would stop any valuable opportunities from reaching the lower strata.
The caste effect keeps the Untouchable outside society. The outcaste remains outcaste for unknown reasons. Wherever the Untouchables go, they face the closed gates. Their ineligible caste does not act as a key to these closed gates. The gates to reading scripture were closed by the Brahmans through the edict that the molten lead should be put into the ears of any Shudra or Untouchable if he happens to hear the words of the sacred Vedas. Nothing barbarian at all! When he cannot listen to Sanskrit than the question of reading and studying it does not arise. These gates are closed for anybody except the Brahmans. The gates of warriors are closed, by not allowing him to use the weapons. His entry is closed in the merchant market by not allowing him to buy a shop if he can. The rates of interest charged to him are exorbitant; he cannot pay the interest let alone the loan. All helping hands draw back suddenly the moment they know that they are dealing with an Untouchable. That is the caste effect. It is not due to individual but because of his caste. The individual may be a genius but futile and useless.
The caste is the key to a respected life with means, and it is also an enforced route to a forever insulted life full of penury. If you just do not have the correct caste or in other words the key, you may be indirectly forced through the unwanted gates. The good keys fit the good gates and bad keys fit the bad gates.
 The Jatis in the caste structure are endogamous groups following a given heredity occupation and have a given position in the social structure. Each caste is a further segmented group of Varna under latter's dominating philosophy. Each Jati is included in a given Varna. Each Jati exists in a given Varna; it cannot exist in two Varnas at the same time. Therefore, it is a sub part of Varna. The individuals belonging to different Jatis cannot intermarry. The individuals belonging to different Varnas, also, cannot marry. The Varnas are graded according to purity, the basis for which is provided in the scriptures – that is the paradigm of immutable purity. All the particular Jatis belonging to a given Varna may also be ranked according to hierarchy depending upon the gradation of its specialized occupation. Even the people outside the Varna system, the Untouchables have their own Jatis which are also ranked according to relative purity of their occupations. The Varna system is, in fact, an all encompassing social, political and economic system which divides all the powers among different Jatis on the basis of a paradigm of immutable purity. This allocation of power was decided by the pious, humble and poor (?) lawmakers adept in statecraft. Their humbleness is legendry – completely unrivalled – no disparaging arrogance touches them.  The endogamous nature itself indicates that a Jati is acquired by birth and so is its related Varna. Nobody can choose his caste or Varna because one cannot choose his parents. His all social, religious, political and economic rights, and obligations, follow from his Jati. He or anybody else has no control over them. The privileges/disabilities have been decided for an individual forever before the time of his birth. If one is born in a low Jati then he is destined to live a low-level ruined life forever bereft of any freedom or liberty or benefit available to upper castes. There is no choice for him. It is all predestined. Hardly surprising! Eternal comforts for eternal born-elites! Eternal insults and eternal empty bellies for eternally born-impure Untouchables. Humanity can be found weeping in ditches, forever.
Let us recall that the functions in Hindu society were defined on Varna basis; Varna is a group of people or a group entity. Or rather the highest Varna, with paranormal powers, decided it for others. The functions were not assigned to individuals but to the heredity groups. The functions of Brahmans were to study and teach scriptures and help the Kshatriyas in upholding Dharma. It is normally not emphasized that they were the lawmakers and state administrators also. Such a move would undermine their legendry image of great renunciators. All the laws were made by them in the name of God but for their own benefit. The functions of Kshatriyas were to rule the land, protect the people (varna wise) and uphold the divinely ordained Dharma. The functions of the Vaisyas were trading, cattle rearing and being engaged in agriculture. The function of Shudras was to serve higher three Varnas without accumulating any property or assets. The Antyajas were below Shudras and without any Varna. The wretched Antyajas were more disabled than the Shudras and were given unclean jobs in society. They lacked the freedom to walk with their heads held up high. They lacked the freedom to walk on the roads and still lack it when it comes to the village streets - the ghastly village streets.
There are some major dos and major don'ts in the Hindu society: a man can marry within only his caste; he can follow only his caste occupation; he can teach his occupational skills only to his sons or boys from his caste; he has to accord a certain respect to higher castes and dominate over lower castes; he should hate the lower castes and the Untouchable; he should socialize or dine with own caste people only. The don'ts are opposites to dos: a man cannot marry outside his birth group; he cannot follow the occupations of other castes; he cannot learn the occupations of other castes; he cannot show disrespect to higher castes and respect to lower castes; he should not socialize or dine with other castes; he should not love the lower caste and should not stop hating the Untouchables. Any deviations from the above are punishable by the ghastly caste Panchayats and the authorities that be - there is no scope for free will - it is a predetermined system. If the authorities that be, are not Hindus, then, they do not interfere in the internal matters of the Hindus. All the dos are related to his own caste and all the don'ts are related to other castes.
The people belonging to higher three Varnas are called the twice born because they have the right to undergo the thread ceremony at the time of coming of age. The fourth Varna of Shudras was not entitled to thread ceremony and hence not eligible to perform the Vedic rites. It is also called being ritually impure. It seems simple but it has devastating effects. It meant a kind of exclusion from the resources of the Vedic society. They were needed only for their labor. Similar was the fate of the fifth group also known as the Untouchables. The last two groups lived by their labor alone. For them the body was sufficient as a possession. They did not have any right to possess any property or land; the disability of not owing any land or assets was imposed on them to cripple them, successfully. Owning the land/assets/wealth was the sole prerogative of the twice born. It was a commanding privilege with sacred effects.
We know that the Brahmans were the people who controlled the kings and society. They knew the statecraft, rituals and society very well – needs no repetition. There was no need for them to have a direct desire or indulge in any activity to own the resources. The king was not supposed to rule over the Brahmans - the supposedly divine entities. During the Vedic sacrifices they got the largest share of the animals sacrificed leaving a few bones for their patron or king. When the sacrifices were stopped then they got a significant number of cows in donation that ultimately came from the kings and the Vaisyas. When the land became important then they got the land grants from kings, and nothing valuable escapes them. When temples came into existence, they controlled them, and, also, the wealth that came in the form of donations from the Kshatriyas and the Vaisyas. No temple could be started unless the idol was consecrated by the Brahman. They also controlled the land given to temples in grants. They were not answerable to anybody except Dharma that never asked them any question. How could it? It was busy putting other people in their respective places. Truly, the unworldly people are not answerable to anybody! Nobody found them losing any sleep over anything except the corruption of Dharma – the Dharma that wrenched the miseries and sufferings of low caste people. Few tears rolled inside down the throats of Untouchables; they dare not roll down outside on the sunken faces, mostly.
It cannot be said that the Brahmans were the poor people of society. Those who guided the kings, held the state administration job, made the laws, controlled the temples and got huge land grants could not be poor. They were indeed powerful; the powerful people are rarely poor; it contradicts nothing, only the legendry renunciating image. May be I am wrong and these were the poor people from low caste and not the Brahmans who benefitted from state administration jobs and kings – you never know. They wielded the power in society along with the kings. One can say that the Hindu society was characterized by more than one power center. The king could also not rule over them meaning that they were beyond any questioning. In other words, they were not responsible to anyone except the scriptures created and interpreted according to their sacred pious likings, whims and the fancies. The integrity of their likings was beyond question. In addition, they got all the administrative jobs with kings. The state was a virtual fief for the Kshatriyas and the Brahmans. The Brahmans enjoyed the resources of the state without doing any labor (unlike the Shudras) or without running the risk to life unlike Kshatriyas. All that caste effect!!! In later times, the risk to kings' life was also reduced to some extent by demilitarizing the general population. Only Kshatriyas and the soldiers were allowed to hold the weapons. The much-acclaimed virtue of renunciation of Brahmans is a grand facade that went deceptively and quietly behind the dense veil of scriptures. The renunciation – the magnificent piece of fiction!!! They sanctified all the transfers of wealth to them through the scriptures. Therefore, any such transfer of wealth was beyond the questioning by the heathen castes. This lasted for more than 2500 years. The current trend in this direction is weak but one never knows when it might become strong. The caste structure has survived many bad times in the history by cowardly hiding in the interior where the cowardly villages moved from here to there to avoid the invading armies and any outside contact.
The Vaisyas being mercantile caste owned all the capital in the economy though they had no say in the state and its coercive power. The Kshatriyas owned all the land. Apparently, the highest endogamous group of lawmakers Brahmans, was not supposed to own anything, but it devised various means to transfer the wealth from Kshatriyas and Vaisyas to itself; they returned nothing; not at all sly. It got the land grants from Kshatriyas and donations from Vaisyas through temples. After all, those who were guiding and handling society and the state could not be poor, barring some exceptions.
The Shudras and Antyajas had to remain without any property or any wealth all their life for the cause of the sacred Dharma. The Varna Dharma trampled on their rights, freedom and personalities - nicely. Nothing personal about it - merely caste effect - and no Dharma is involved in it. Really? All the non-labor resources of the economy and society like land and capital were eternally under the control of higher three Varnas. These were supposed to be in their hands until eternity in line with the eternal nature of the Sanatana Dharma or Hindu Dharma. The arrangements were made under the Hindu Dharma on forever or eternal basis. It takes pride in its eternity. The last two strata were eternally crippled to make them be eternally dependent on the higher Varna for their survival. They could not live a really independent life. Their wretched survival was impossible without total servility. The meek and the slavish obedience better be offered or else it would be extracted by the pure people through various means - direct or indirect. If one is born in a low Jati then one has to live a low-level subsistence life devoid of any self-respect. The self-respect is a privilege bestowed on the upper castes only, by the divinity. It is all caste effect. Divinity inspired! Divinity, man, divinity! It is a righteous way of life!
There is hatred, on not a small scale, in the Hindu society. Don't be aghast! The high castes do not suffer from the ability to love the low castes; they love disparagement, derision and vilification more. This may be news to you but this is merely a common situation for the low castes - to be the permanent objects of hate - reasons unknown. The modern law against untouchability is a proof of downward hatred against the Untouchables. Their liberty is confined, their lives are crippled and their psyches are thoroughly holed with social insults. The disrespect is a permanent visitor to them. A pious society, unarguably! Well, the glorious and stabilizing caste effect. It is the best society - goes without saying!
There is inherent purity/impurity in jobs, which can only be measured relative to the purity of Brahmans. The concept of sacredness has left a lot of people scarred at the bottom of the Hindu society. Behind the notion of purity and divine retribution was the power play by the highest Varna derived from their created illusionary paranormal powers. This paranormal power is on display even now when they perform Yagyas for the benefit of one political leader or another or for any cause or another. Through this, they could control the kings and society. You can add the ghastly Panchayats, caste councils, to that. The inherently pure people do the inherent pure jobs and inherently impure people do the inherent impure jobs - that is the Varna Dharma – and implemented by the village caste Panchayats.
The sub-castes or sub- Jatis also do not inter-dine or intermarry because these are divided fundamentally along the bloodlines prohibiting any kind of interaction. There are very few people among non-twiceborn able to remember the bloodlines beyond three generations. The illiterate (forced illiteracy?) people do not keep the genealogical data. The Shudras and the Untouchables can hardly remember the names up to their three generations. Some can do but they are exceptions.
The heredity castes are hierarchal with hereditary hierarchal occupations. Each caste is supposed to have some predefined inherent or birth-attached qualities which make it fit for its defined occupation - made by god fit for that. The heredity privileges, crippling disabilities, boycotts and mutual non-cooperation are characteristic of this system. The walls of mutual non-cooperation are non-negotiable; everything is treated as internal matter of any caste; nobody interferes. All the castes are inward looking where their support and linkages lie. The stratified unchanging caste system is a social, economic and political system. It engulfs the society like a boa constrictor. In it, killing the freedom of a lower caste man is a natural and dharmic act. It bounds him from all the sides in the interest of social stability and/or Dharma but in favor of few people. It is an elites' religion- note; it has nothing to do with general population- note. This is clearly very ancient and crystal clear elites' system. It sits on the heads of lower castes like a mountain of burden. It was developed in rigorous way over a long period of time for performing the righteous acts like eternal exploitation of lower two groups, the Shudras and the Untouchables - indeed, it is also defined as the righteous way of living. The higher castes or Jatis come together, in a righteous way, when it comes to opposing the weak Untouchables. Bravo!
With all the humiliating power at their command, the lawmakers guided the lame duck destinies of the low caste people in logical direction - straight into the dungeon deep with the help of Dharma and Karma. The pure people live and love the hate spreading traditions. Any objections please? Please, take care to define the hate and love, derive the related actions and tally them with actual situations. Absolutely, no problem with the tradition of hate emanating from the Hindu Dharma Shastras.  The profundity just hangs down their faces. Their sacred logic hangs down from their profound and wise faces. There shall be no arguments about that. After all, they are the most pure and sacred. Crooked! Who said that? Straight to hell, please.
There was no intention to permit the Untouchables to keep them clean because water and clean clothes were denied to them - this would have been an affront to Dharma. Even the doors to cleanliness are closed to them in the unofficial India.
Different methods were used to ensure the balance in society. These follow from the dos and don'ts and the related punishments which in turn follow from the Dharma Shastras. Along with the coercive powers of the state and the grisly caste Panchayats, the Varna system uses the weapons of collective non-cooperation, collective boycott and collective excommunication to perfection. The perfection matters, you silly man, learn a few things from the high caste people! These weapons are honed to perfection. These ingrained weapons kept everybody in his place and provide stability in society in favor of upper castes throughout the centuries. These allowed the caste effect to be really effective. The last three weapons are perfect in a sense that no blood is shade and the work is extracted from the lower two social groups by closing all other avenues to them – force people to starve and they will do your bidding. This was low castes' encagement in their occupational specialized areas; which yielding nothing; it was not meant to yield anything. These are totally non-violent ways of controlling society and movement of resources. If the Shudras and Untouchables choose to opt for other avenues then they face non-cooperation, boycotts and excommunication from the Rest of society, sometimes even from within their own castes. The face of rest of society would keep on changing relative to a caste. The rebellion of a caste is put down by the rest of society; quickly or slowly; directly or indirectly – methods pure dirty. Most of these rebellions die a slow natural death because they do not have any sustaining power because of meager resources. Whenever some particular lower caste person makes a move, which is not in consonance with his caste, it is opposed by the rest of people through the use of abovementioned non-violent weapons. Sometimes violent methods are also used when the social fabric is under the danger of being broken by undue aspirations of underprivileged castes. The breaking of social fabric is unjust from the point of view of upper castes. They are the grand masters of justice. Who can argue with them?
The collective excommunication is the eternal weapon which provides this system stability along with the ghastly and dastardly Panchayats. It has been making the lives miserable for the millions of people in religious and spiritual India. India is the legendary land of thirty three million gods but not one of them powerful enough to mitigate the sufferings of the lower castes! The divine, exploitative, hereditary caste system persists in India. This persists in the face of industrialization and introduction of democratic political system. The principle of to each according to his caste operates efficiently for the benefit of Dharma.
The unreliable and disconnecting Karma hypothesis helps in explaining many contrivances in the Hindu society. The pure people spectacularly thrive on the accumulated good and virtuous karmas of all their previous life although all this stuff is untraceable. This illogical and moronic stuff has persisted due to the ignorant people full of pride. The stupendous stupidity is entangled in a mushy web of ego and pride and refuses to acknowledge itself.
Additionally, the different castes refrained from teaching each other their occupational skills. It could only be learned by a son from his father. Thus, the skills were handed down from one generation to next generation. The castes are mutually non-cooperative in occupational terms; they may be complimentary but not cooperative. Therefore, any individual cannot have two or more professions at the same time. This became natural as the endogamous nature of caste prevented any effective communication between different castes. The wall between each other was a crucial factor in maintaining the identity of a caste over a period of time.
One more specific attribute of Varna or caste system is the closed-gate policy. It is clear when one studies the caste effect. In closed-gate policy, we know, that the gates of all other professions are closed for the Untouchables and the Shudras other then the gates of their heredity professions; anyway they were born within their walls; these walls form their outside limit also - the social and occupational encagement. Well - made by god fit for that! The closed-gate policy deprives the low castes of any entry into any productive field or any field where value added is high. At every gate the caste of the man is verified by direct or indirect means and the social network is always here to sense and reveal the true caste of a man; see, a case of network having senses. Only when the gatekeepers are satisfied that the man in question has the required caste which makes him eligible only then he is allowed entry. Anybody can play the role of gatekeeper as and when the situation arises; anybody can take up the arms to save Dharma and destroy the aDharma - anytime. The system holds itself and adds to its longevity. Nothing malicious in this; people are free to choose with whom they interact and enter into beneficial transactions; and they cannot enter into any transaction with crippled Untouchables except regarding their heredity job. See, the caste has nothing to do with it! Only the victims are from the low castes - merely coincidence, millions of times. The famished people are hardly able to get out of the web of poverty due to the closed-gates policy; all the gates are closed for them. This encloses them in a hellish poor life where egos are crushed to bits on daily basis. All gates, which lead outsides, are closed and they cannot get out. Certain people call it a job by birth. How merciful to keep people in the rotten jobs! Touches my heart! Crippling low castes economically and socially, is no mean job, after all they are the pure people with the pure and effective means to carry out the cripplization. The gates of upper caste people are closed, and, poverty and impurity are kept outside. Impure people are no match for the pure people. No amount of begging, crying, weeping, imploring would open these closed doors which are opened only for the high caste people.
Caste provides bonding and anti-bonding factors. The people within a caste bond with each other. The people of different castes are repelled by each other unless there is a separate common interest. Caste is all prevalent. You move left; it is there. You move right; it is there. You move horizontal; it is there. You go vertical; it is there. You move down; it is there. You make a big jump; it is there. You run fast as you can; it is there. You move in a zigzag manner; it is there. You make an awkward angle to escape; it is still there right in front you. You go from village to village; it is there. You move from city to city; it is there. You go from the bottom to the top of society; it is there. You leave the country and join the India Diaspora; it is there. Please do not rub your eyes with disbelief; it is the belief that sustains the caste system. You go to education field; it is there. You go to any profession; it is there. There is no sphere of society beyond its reach. You go to any temple; you go to market; you go to any business; it is there. One has to do what it tells one to do. It is such a powerful unseen force. The caste effect is not a myth. It is simply invisible to the outsiders. It cannot be seen but can only be felt when its tangible effects strike you with a silent thud. There is no escape from its effect. It is felt only when it stops you from undertaking any particular activity because traditionally you cannot do it. One simple proof of its existence is that the Untouchables are not allowed to take water from the village water well. Touching a chord? You must be joking! But it suits high caste people very well! Very sympathetic people, they are!
The inherent impurities in caste system are different from cleanliness; it is not related to hygiene. All the hygiene in the world cannot remove the impurity which is in blood. The disconnecting sense of purity and impurity prevents people from intermingling. The purity can only be maintained through its disconnection from the impurity. Therefore the purity can only be maintained if people are kept separated from each other. As impurity spreads by touch then the only way to maintain the relative purity, is to not to communicate with relatively impure people; the safest way is to communicate only with people of your own kind and disconnect others; this results in closed gates policy. Everybody closes its gates for people less pure then them. Period.
 Ultimately, the extreme non-communication, the untouchability, results, all the gates are closed for them. The filth can be washed away, but not the inherent or birth-attached impurities that become fused with an impure man from birth if he belonged to the impure category of Shudras and the one below them. It gave rise to a long living caste based society where everything was decided by the caste. The caste decides what would be his social status, what would be his economic status, what would be his mode of living, whom would he marry, with whom would he talk and all other sundry issues, which you may normally considered mundane or private. See! The culture differs, purely! Thus, life in general was predestined, static or choicelsss.
The Untouchables gain insulted status with birth, and without sweating it out. See, no effort in climbing to the insulting status. What an amazing feat! They simply have to be born and everything is accomplished. Astonishingly simple, simply astonishing! Without learning to walk, without learning to speak, they gain this insulted status - very indolent. It is all dharmic way. The insidious hunger for status of man is satisfied at the time of his birth. What an altruism! He has to bear it like a cross across his body all his life. The birth-attached insulted status speedily engulfs the Untouchable's life; he is not given even a chance to learn to walk. Fairness goes for a walk in the dharmic labyrinth and loses its way out. Perhaps it never comes out of fear of being killed so the labyrinth is a safe place for it. The streets of Chamarwada are littered with the blood of butchered chances. Free will? What kind of bird is that? It is butchered in the egg itself in this self-proclaimed non-violent and sublime society.
Mercifully, they are kicked around right after the kids start to move out of the Chamarwada or Untouchable house cluster. What a way of dealing with a child - telling him where he belongs! You cannot accuse the high caste people of malicious intention; they do it out of mercy. It is only for the good of Dharma. Any complaints about the lack of mercy in Hindu society should be expunged herewith. Obviously, it is matter of delight for the pure people. God is great who has given them such position or is it their karmas? You know the vagueness prevails. The transparency is out. It was never there being butchered before the time of its birth.
A permanent closed gates policy, dependence on dos and don'ts and the requirement of maintaining relative purity help in maintaining the Dharma on a permanent basis. It is, also, of great help in maintaining the purity of haloed circles.
Such kind of crippling caste effect is not monstrous. It is very civilized way. Calling them monstrous would not be fair otherwise how do you deal with the subhuman? These subhuman beings ought to know their birth-attached place in society. It is in their collective destiny to be our servant, and nobody can alter it. Since it is their destiny, we do not have any personal grudge against them. After all, we are the pure people. And crookedness and slyness cannot touch us even with a bamboo stick.
A dark and cruel world waits for the Untouchable children who are yet to be born, to make them enjoy society's crippling ways, which are co-terminus with the death. It should not be a small consolation that they were born - born to be insulted and to be servants.
The caste effect is the result of hatred and closed gates in line with the Dharma Shashtras. The Untouchables are crippled economically, socially and religiously as they are kept outside these areas deliberately. A man with no land, no possessions, with no access to resources like water and money, and lack of knowledge, is effectively crippled. He is without any means to sustain himself. He has to depend on others for keeping life in the body. The born-insulted should not hope for anything more. Their hope is mangled beyond any chance of identification. They are kept in the dumps and all the gates of coming out of it are closed for him. This makes him effective bonded labor in the traditional society. The man of pit remains in the pit - better a dustbin. This is social and occupational encagement. After all, the caste effect is the caste effect. The Untouchables are herded in the bottomless pit of quagmire with all the gates to escape closed, forever. They face the indestructible and unseen walls of collective boycotts. They butt, butt, butt and butt their heads against these walls but the result is the same. The walls never give way. Ultimately, they make peace with them. The strengths of the caste walls are stronger than the butting power of their heads. The butting strength of the famished people is not exactly overflowing with the power. There is no doubt about this. The undented boycott has lasted for thousands of years, and, the pure people are happy with it - the time tested system. The ghastly and grisly caste Panchayats were very effective along with the civilized people suggesting the pouring of molten lead in the ears of low caste people. Society maintained its harmony and fabric.
Two square meals a day is a matter of serious and grave concern for the hopeless and famished Untouchables. They cannot think of anything else. Swerving away from servility can cause a serious arrival of violence resulting in sufferings. These sufferings are fresh and free. There is always a fresh stock in the cue. Now you cannot complaint about lack of freshness in the Hindu society. You only have to know where to find it. The free and fresh sufferings bleed the Untouchables dry. The fresh atrocities are ever standing to jump into action whenever required. Actually they never leave their place and grow always fresh in dharmic waters.
But their labor is a much required factor. The grain sown, watered and harvested by the labor of the Untouchables is not defiled; amazingly, it remains pure; strange are the ways Hindu scriptures. They should be unseen but their labor should be visible. They should labor away, away from their sight. The concept of sacredness leaves a lot of people scarred at the bottom of society. They are to be kept away while the society enjoys their lowly paid labor. The concept of purity is a devastating tool in the hands of its cruel wielders at the top.
Only closed gates policy along with intermittent violence can keep them in their righteous place, not the wretched and poisonous modernity. The rotten and insulted status is meant to be forever; it is not supposed to exist for a given period of time; the word is “eternal” not “temporary” . The abnormal concept of sensitivity finds no place here. Our exalted and luxuriant lives have no meaning until you, the impure people, crawl on the ground and tremble at the hint of our mere presence. They should be crawling supplicants. Yes, that is it.
The opportunity does not take a walk through the Untouchables' area. It is thoroughly controlled by the high castes and resides within their castle hardly daring to venture out for the fear of being butchered. It hardly makes sense if you are an outsider but for insiders it is way of life - thoroughly understood to the last bone.
If the opportunities are allowed to take free walks in the Untouchables' areas then how can Dharma and Karma affirm their lofty images? Both of them would prove to be liars – one is incriminating and the other is discriminating – the compliments when taken together tend produce a clear picture of Sanatana Dharma by cutting through the dense veil covering - created by the pure people.
The enforced penury provides conducive conditions for the victory of dharmic forces. Agony, misery and penury dig their heels in the Chamarwada. They refusal to move is a measurement of strength of pure and dharmic forces. Anyway, one is never in doubt of it. If you are, please, remove your doubts and come to terms with the harmony prevailing in the Hindu society. Agony, gloom and despair start shuddering with fear even if they are miles away from the upper caste areas; such great repelling forces emerge from these areas. Thus, agony, gloom and despair hid in the nearest Untouchable area where they are safe. And smug smiles evolve into sadistic smiles in the upper caste areas.
The bewildered lower strata never knew what cruelly and beastly hit it below the belt in this fair society, where everything is decided by the unknown karmas, and, the exalted and unselfish intentions of traditional and dharmic forces, created by the pure and pious people. All the boycotts and non-cooperation come from the closing of gates which is simply natural - a part of caste society. Whenever an Untouchable makes an entry anywhere; dharmic whispers of boycott move swiftly from ear to ear. The sacred whispers move, and they move to keep the peace. They move to conspire tacitly to keep the Untouchables out. And the caste-ineligibles are kept out. Everybody in the mainstream is happy. After all, it has done a great and sacred service to Dharma.
The art of crippling forever is no mean achievement! Or is it?
The sea change can wait, wait and wait…
And low caste people can endure, endure and endure…
Grasping this is necessary to understand this system frozen in time.
The Untouchable dreams are convinced by the broken bones that they are meaningless. So, they take to their heels and disappear into oblivion. The standing caste terror lends a helping hand in their disappearance. A happy ending - before any social disaster begins because of them. The dreams are nipped in the bud preventing the impending disaster. The magnanimity of Dharma should not be doubted at. All the way sublime it is.
But, stop and listen! What is this ranting? Your nice and condemned forefathers never ranted like this. How nice they were! They accepted everything we, the pure people, gave them whether it was leftover or beating or insults. You name it; we gave it; everything wretched available, see. They never objected to their indirectly enforced squalid living conditions. Your impure and polluting rants are of no use. Get real man. Get used to your wretched life.
There is a malefic, malicious and covert conspiracy against Dharma by the mean people. What else can you expect from such lowly people who have birth-attached eternal lowliness! What do you expect you from the low caste people? They should virtuously work in our fields and factories at the lowest possible level of wages without selfish interests. Otherwise how they are going to get the salvation or improve their next life? Adharmic fools! They do not know what is dharmically good for them. Servility man, the servility! The Crawling and crouched servility is good for them. That is meant for them. That is why they get punished from time to time for not following the divinely ordained Dharma. That is the truth whether you like it or not. What you again want proof? This paranoid obsession with proofs! Your doubt about the sacred words will surely take you to the hell where your unpunishable soul would be punished! Be aware of the punishment. Rewards? There are no rewards for you – we have disconnected rewards from efforts and from you!
The closed gates successfully prevent the opportunities from knocking at the gates of lower strata. Imprisoning the opportunities in caste castles effectively cripples the lower strata. This is only to preserve Dharma. Only a little harmless practice, we the pure people would say that it is beneficial and is a boon; after all, we are the pure people.
The gates are closed for the lower strata out of charity. We want them to follow Dharma and what a greater achievement in life than virtuously following the Dharma! We want them to develop loyalty to their birth-attached lowly, menial occupations, and, the relative dependent thinking so that they serve us better. It is all for their benefit. It is to make them dharmic so that they do not forget the Dharma. They should get Moksha according to the Gita provided they perform their caste-bound duties without any self-interest. Only when all the avenues are closed for them except the one meant for them only then they would willingly do their servile and condemned jobs and get the Moksha which no one has seen. Is it crime to help somebody in attaining the Moksha? Is it? We, the pure people, are doing them a charity by forcing them to follow their birth-attached jobs. It is all for their benefit. It is all charity - the selfless charity. We are famous for that - the eternal standing charity. Only the fools would think it otherwise. All the remarks about absence of charity in Hindu Dharma should be expunged herewith. The fools making such remarks do not know the altruistic qualities of pure people. Only out of charity, these people are made to work under the scorching sun for crumbs to attain the Moksha/salvation. They can achieve the Moksha only by serving us with humility. We leave them with no choice but the route to Moksha.