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The original statement that you had made was: "You can’t tell caste visually.". But your own comment "So does colorism, where lighter skin is preferred. But th

The original statement that you had made was: "You can’t tell caste visually.". But your own comment "So does colorism, where lighter skin is preferred. But they’re not the same thing and acting as if they are confuses much, much more than it illuminates." seems to indicate that it is possible, at least in part to determine caste visually as does the origin story you mentioned "Rigveda" which describes 'upper caste' 'Aryan' conquests over the 'lower caste' dark skinned indigenous population. Hence, 'varna' which you have now acknowledged means 'color' albeit you're claiming a more 'advanced' meaning beyond skin color which I'm sorry, but I perceive as an attempt to spin a racist/caste origin story into something more sophisticated. Let me guess, you're going to say the 'dark colored' here is something more sophisticated then just light skinned chariot driving nomadic invaders subjugating dark skinned indigenous city dwelling people? "Through fear of thee [Agni] the dark-coloured inhabitants fled, not waiting for battle, when, O Agni (fire) burning brightly for Puru, and destroying the cities, thou didst shine." (VII, 5, 3)

barry-cotter 4y ago
> The original statement that you had made was: "You can’t tell caste visually.". Yes, that’s still true. Compare Kerala Dalits and Brahmins[1] or Uttar Pradesh ones[2] or Punjabi Dalits and Tamil Brahmins like I did yesterday[3]. Caste isn’t skin color. > But your own comment "So does colorism, where lighter skin is preferred. But they’re not the same thing and acting as if they are confuses much, much more than it illuminates." seems to indicate that it is possible, at least in part to determine caste visually You can’t tell what caste someone is from their skin color. The entire range of Indian skin colors is in every caste. The distributions are almost certainly different but there are Brahmins as dark as any African and Dalits who look like Afghans. > Hence, 'varna' which you have now acknowledged means 'color' albeit you're claiming a more 'advanced' meaning beyond skin color At no stage did I use the word advanced. I suggest you reserve quotation marks for quotations as it aids clear communication. I do not speak Sanskrit but I bow to the expertise of those who do that it means a lot more than color, never mind skin color. > which I'm sorry, but I perceive as an attempt to spin a racist/caste origin story into something more sophisticated. You may not know this but the Vedas are stories of events that happened 3,000-5,000 years ago. The origins of caste prejudice are not super relevant to its modern particulars because Indians in the same region have overlappping distributions of skin color. We’re not talking Chinese and Egyptian here. More like Austrian and Lombard. [1] https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-dalit-man-assaulted-not-converting-christianity-after-wedding-157243?amp https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-dalit-man-assau... https://medium.com/@jawadakhtar/wedding-rituals-typical-to-kerala-brahmin-weddings-f09f8d35a4c3 https://medium.com/@jawadakhtar/wedding-rituals-typical-to-k... [2] https://english.varthabharati.in/india/dalit-groom-takes-out-wedding-procession-in-ups-kasganj-to-defy-caste-prejudice https://english.varthabharati.in/india/dalit-groom-takes-out... https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.craftsvilla.com/blog/the-uttar-pradesh-bride-wedding-rituals/amp/ https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.craftsvilla.com/blog/the-... [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31616355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31616355

barry-cotter 4y ago

> The original statement that you had made was: "You can’t tell caste visually.". Yes, that’s still true. Compare Kerala Dalits and Brahmins[1] or Uttar Pradesh ones[2] or Punjabi Dalits and Tamil Brahmins like I did yesterday[3]. Caste isn’t skin color. > But your own comment "So does colorism, where lighter skin is preferred. But they’re not the same thing and acting as if they are confuses much, much more than it illuminates." seems to indicate that it is possible, at least in part to determine caste visually You can’t tell what caste someone is from their skin color. The entire range of Indian skin colors is in every caste. The distributions are almost certainly different but there are Brahmins as dark as any African and Dalits who look like Afghans. > Hence, 'varna' which you have now acknowledged means 'color' albeit you're claiming a more 'advanced' meaning beyond skin color At no stage did I use the word advanced. I suggest you reserve quotation marks for quotations as it aids clear communication. I do not speak Sanskrit but I bow to the expertise of those who do that it means a lot more than color, never mind skin color. > which I'm sorry, but I perceive as an attempt to spin a racist/caste origin story into something more sophisticated. You may not know this but the Vedas are stories of events that happened 3,000-5,000 years ago. The origins of caste prejudice are not super relevant to its modern particulars because Indians in the same region have overlappping distributions of skin color. We’re not talking Chinese and Egyptian here. More like Austrian and Lombard. [1] https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-dalit-man-assaulted-not-converting-christianity-after-wedding-157243?amp https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-dalit-man-assau... https://medium.com/@jawadakhtar/wedding-rituals-typical-to-kerala-brahmin-weddings-f09f8d35a4c3 https://medium.com/@jawadakhtar/wedding-rituals-typical-to-k... [2] https://english.varthabharati.in/india/dalit-groom-takes-out-wedding-procession-in-ups-kasganj-to-defy-caste-prejudice https://english.varthabharati.in/india/dalit-groom-takes-out... https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.craftsvilla.com/blog/the-uttar-pradesh-bride-wedding-rituals/amp/ https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.craftsvilla.com/blog/the-... [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31616355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31616355