Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
As Minister of Law in India's first post-independence government, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar drafted the constitution of India that provided the legal framework for the abolition of many oppressive aspects in Indian society (Beshkin pp). Ambedkar is regarded as the father of the Indian Constitution and the country's leading champion of human rights.
The caste system in India is one of the world's longest surviving forms of social stratification (O'Neill pp). This fifteen hundred year old system follows the basic precept that "all men are created unequal" (O'Neill pp). The ranks in Hindu society come from a legend in which the main groupings, or varnas, emerge from a primordial being:
From the mouth come the Brahmans the priests and teachers.
From the arms come the Kshatriyas the rulers and soldiers.
From the thighs come the Vaisyas merchants and traders.
From the feet come the Sudras -- laborers
(O'Neill pp).
In turn, each varna contains hundreds of hereditary castes and sub-castes, each with their own pecking orders of hierarchy (O'Neill pp).
There is a fifth group called the achuta, or "untouchable," and according to legend, the primordial being does not claim them, therefore they are outcasts, "too impure, too polluted, to rank as worthy beings" (O'Neill pp). Tom O'Neill of National Geographic writes, "Untouchables are shunned, insulted, banned from temples, and higher caste homes, made to eat and drink from separate utensils in public places, and, in extreme but no uncommon cases, are raped, burned, lynched, and gunned down" (O'Neill pp). Although the Indian constitution forbids caste discrimination, thanks to Ambedkar, this ancient system still exists in modern Indian society (O'Neill pp). However, the displays of prejudice today are a far cry from the days before...
I would also expect resistance from devout Hindus, since the caste system is ingrained in their religion. Their opposition would be to the perceived dismantling of one of their defining institutions. The higher castes in particular would oppose this move. There are some similarities to the U.S. civil rights movement. The lower castes have at times worked to improve their conditions and to remove barriers to economic and political mobility.
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