The Caste System and Its Effects On Education

The caste system is a system used by India that ranks people in a social structure through heredity. The caste system puts people in one of 5 castes. The caste dictates the jobs that a person can work and the people that person can marry.

At the top of the caste system is the Brahmins. They are the teachers and priests in India. They make up about 5% of the total population in India. These people are the most educated in India. They study religious texts and teach them to the lower castes.

Right below the Brahmins is the Kshatriyas. In older times, the Kshatriyas were warriors and rulers. Now, they still do their job of defending and government. Brahmins can become public administrators, jobs that maintain law and order, and can also work defense jobs.

Right below them is the Vaishyas and the Shudras. Vaishyas are the middle class of the caste system. They work as merchants, traders, businessmen, etc. Shudras are the lower class and work as menial laborers and service providers. These 4 classes make up the primary caste system, however, there is one more class.

The Dalits are the lowest in the caste system. Some people do not see them as even members of the caste system and see them as below the caste system. They are also known as “untouchables” and perform jobs that no other caste would do.

The caste system affects jobs and marriage and creates a general trend in the financial status of its people. People who are lower in the caste system are poor and live in more rural areas compared to people like Brahmins and Kshatriyas who are wealthier and live in urban areas.

As expected, this also affects the education of children in each of the castes. Brahmins and Kshatriyas would receive the best education whereas Dalits, who make up around 50% of poor children, would receive little to no education. The caste system does not allow for people to move up castes and creates inequality. It does not allow for those in lower castes to be educated and is a loss of knowledge, innovation, and advancement.

This loss of knowledge becomes apparent when looking at literacy rates. Bihar has a large population of Dalits and has a literacy rate of about 50%. Kerala, which has a population of higher caste members, has a population of about 90%. There is a large gap between these two literacy rates, which reveals the large gap between the quality of education that the castes receive.

The caste system limits the education of many children in India and hinders their ability to read and learn. Along with hindering its people, it also hinders the progress of the country. It stops education and prevents people from making a better life for themselves. With an improvement in education for those of lower castes, the country can move forward towards development and progression.

Domestic Violence in Rural Regions in India

Because of its more open, less populated part, rural areas of India are more prone to domestic violence situations than those in more urban areas. More people live in rural areas or villages than in any other places in India.

Domestic violence, usually with women the victims of men in the household, can affect physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and reproductive health. Most likely, the person will sustain some type of injury, whether physically or via some sort of post traumatic stress or anxiety from the experience. The cruelty of this public health issue needs to be brought to light, especially in regions where education is much more limited and students drop out of school at young ages.

That being said, there are many pivotal social issues in addition to the core subjects of reading, writing, math, science, history, and other topics that schools need to address. Domestic violence needs to be put at the forefront for some amount of the basic learning process in rural India, or the government should make a message about it in order to inform people about what to watch out for and how to deal with domestic violence in their country. Since most victims are those who have less power in the household, making some sort of support groups, teaching those how to report acts of domestic violence, or shedding some light on the topic from the government itself would greatly impact their safety.

Due to a mainly agricultural lifestyle, the societal norms of the caste system and arranged marriages at a young age, and increasing alcohol consumption all add up to a substantial amount of domestic violence cases.

To go into more detail, the caste system and it’s direct social hierarchy over people can lead to domestic violence. Your social class or occupation in India is pivotal to success or can be the source of unequal treatment. If someone is in a higher caste than their spouse, their children, or other members of their family, they almost have power over the others, and can get special treatment for it.

Alcohol in a nutshell is known to make people worse with motor skills/coordination, more confident in their abilities (even though it is quite the opposite), and more easily agitated. With increased consumption, due to any number of outside factors, people are more likely to get enraged at anyone, have a short temper, and commit an act of domestic violence.

Violence against women, or VAW, has been seen as a sensitive subject, but needs to be addressed more for the long-term effects it has on not only the woman but also the family structure as a whole. Intimate partner violence, gender-based violence, and domestic violence can all occur in these places at a heightened rate, and can occur both in and outside of people’s houses, especially in less populated places.

Summing up, domestic violence is a widespread issue most prevalent in the more rural communities and villages. The government, while attempting to stop the issue, needs to directly go to these areas and spread more awareness and support for victims of domestic violence. This is not a problem that will just go away with time, and needs direct attention from the government and other organizations to be addressed. If ignored, the issue could spiral out of control more so than ever, negatively affecting countless families throughout the nation.

The Impact of Population Growth in India

India has a vast amount of people, with a population of over 1.3 million people. They have 17.7% of the world’s population in their country. Now, issues are beginning to arise for India and its massive population. India has reached its limit and can no longer support all of its people.

India is estimated to surpass China population-wise in 2027, showing how fast the population of India has grown and how many issues it can create. China has 7% of the world’s land, while India only has 2.4% while carrying a similar population size. While the population growth has slowed down, the damage has happened, creating many issues.

With a massive population, it is possible to utilize it properly to advance the country. With many working-class adults, there could be economic growth and jobs in the state. However, this is a challenge to achieve as the government needs to create new jobs and improve education for these working adults.

While the benefit of so many working adults sounds good for India, it causes great harm. With more people, more resources are used and required. With the massive amount of people in India, many people are driving at the same time and creating pollution through various other manners.

Another issue lies with the fact that so many adults can work, which could help the economy. However, there needs to be enough jobs for everyone. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Many adults struggle to find jobs for themselves. About 7 out of 25 people who are capable of working in India manage to get a job. The large population of India has become an issue and needs to slow down.

Globally, the growth rate of populations has been slowing. There are many contributing factors to this decrease in population growth. One is poverty alleviation in India. With less poverty, people are more educated and do not require children to help them work and support them as they can no longer work. Another factor is the increase in educated individuals in India. These individuals learn more about birth control and how harmful a large population can be for a country and have fewer children.

While the population growth has been slowing down, there needs to be more action taken. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised the people of India to have smaller families. While this is a step in the right direction, more work is needed. The government must identify and take actions against the problems to prevent things from getting worse in India.

Poverty is a big issue in India and one of the contributing factors to this issue as poor families have more children. The poor also are less uneducated. They do not understand the effects of a large population or the benefits of birth control, which helps stop population growth.

Another main issue is child marriage in India. Female children in India are sometimes married off and speeds up population growth. Child marriage is wrong and violates human rights. It needs to be stopped for the sake of its people along with slowing population growth.

These two issues need to be addressed by the government and action is crucial. The government needs to act and help its families in poverty and educate them. Women need to be empowered and be more independent in India.

The population of India is too high and the country is at its carrying capacity. Through the spreading of awareness and government action, this issue can be resolved along with the many other issues in India. The high population creates no benefit for the country and the population needs to go down. For now, the population shall continue to rise and the issues shall worsen until more action is taken.