Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: AIT and Caste System [Re: AKMehta] #14234 - 04/02/02 02:55 AM Edit Reply Quote

Dear AKMehta, Though I agree with you that caste is outdated, and Janmavadi casteism is very harmful, I disagree about thinking in castes and races in the past. It would be applying modern definitions and developments of caste and race to the past. That is just what the invasionists and marxists have done up till now. You have to judge the past in their right context. The same thing you can say about religious texts and practices. I also disgree that caste is the same as Varna or even Jati. And that Varna and J�ti have always had the same meanings. The ArthaSh�stra, which started as a S�tra in Mauryan period and developed into a Sh�stra, for instance doesn't mention castes, but guildlike occupations. One thing you mustn't forget is that there are many groups who used to be Brahmin or Kshatriya once and becaome later Vaishya or Shudra. And vice versa. The Dhadhis were once more a bardlike community, but lost prestige. The Karaskaras were Vaishyas but became the Imperial Guptas. And what to say about the Gval Abhiras becoming kshatriyas and ruling in the first centuries AD. The same happened with many who weren't Kshatriya or Brahmin. A big problem about the past is that we have too many interpretations of the invasionist and marxist school. It will take time to get a more balanced view of the past.