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Dear HN: I am the author. Thank you for your wishes. I do see that a short obituary like this needs some context. To address some of the comments: * Why choos
by ripe 3y ago
Dear HN: I am the author. Thank you for your wishes.
I do see that a short obituary like this needs some context. To address some of the comments:
* Why choose to disclose that my father was a Maharashtrian Brahmin: being brought up in such a household in the early twentieth century implies a lot of things. For example, rigid rules about non-violence and purity; not being exposed to other people's food and customs; avoiding leaving your country and going far away from home. These are huge barriers for a twenty-something signing up for a commission in the military. It's very relevant to reveal who he was and what choices he made. I should note that historically, certain groups sign up in the Indian army, and many groups don't. [1]
Regarding objections to the word Brahmin being mentioned, I should clarify: the caste system was evil, particularly in the nineteenth century, and the government of India made it illegal as soon as it became independent. Despite that, discrimination continues in many places today. But to understand people, you need to know something about them. The word Brahmin by itself is not a precise enough descriptor. Indian castes are much more local than that. "Maharashtrian Brahmin", in particular "Chitpawan Konkanastha Brahmin", is much more precise, and these gruops have their own history. In Maharashtra during this period, these groups gave up their land under the land reform movement [2]. Brahmins no longer owned property or exercised much real power, especially not over other groups. They tended to be well educated but middle-class. It would be quite different from being an upper-caste landowner in (say) Bihar during this period.
* Why say that the Bangladesh war was justified: again, looking at it from my father's point of view, I think it would be an important consideration for him. Not that he would have a choice in the matter---once you sign up, you have to fight. But he would need to justify it to himself.
[1] The Indian Army: its contribution to the development of a nation, Stephen P. Cohen. https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Army-Contributions-Development-Nation/dp/0520016971 https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Army-Contributions-Development...
[2] The "Bhoodan movement", (donate-your-land movement) by Vinobha Bhave in the 1950s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhoodan_movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhoodan_movement
- robertlagrant 3y ago> the caste system was evil, particularly in the nineteenth century, and the government of India made it illegal as soon as it became independent. I've heard this before, but can't find evidence of it. Does the caste system not live on to this day? I thought caste is a protected class in terms of legally discrimination, and not a thing that's been banned. Any present-day Indians able to clarify? My dad left India when he was three, so my knowledge is not current :-)
- toast0 3y agoAs an outsider, here's my take. The historic caste system included many restrictions on what people could do and who they could do it with. That's what was banned. That said, there are a lot of ways to guess at caste if one is so inclined[1], and some people choose to use these guesses to discriminate. That's why it's a protected class --- it's not permissable to discriminate based on caste. There's also affirmative action for historically repressed castes, with all that comes with affitrmative action, for better or worse. [1] caste related surnames and diet are the most easily understood by an outsider like me, but I think there may be caste related firstnames and other cultural indicators that I'm not aware of.
- mplewis 3y agoThe system even persists today outside of the continent: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-03-11/how-big-tech-is-importing-india-s-caste-legacy-to-silicon-valley https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-03-11/how-big-t...
- ForOldHack 3y agoThe article mentions Cisco.
- falloutx 3y agoIndians who were enslaved and brought to Carribean are the only immigrants who stopped using caste system.
- WillPostForFood 3y agoIn terms of legality, it was banned in the Indian Constitution: Part III Section 15 of the Indian Constitution: 15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.— https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s380537a945c7aaa788ccfcdf1b99b5d8f/uploads/2023/05/2023050195.pdf https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s380537a945c7aaa788ccfcdf1b99b...
- jitix 3y agoCaste based discrimination is illegal in India, but erstwhile lower castes are given academic and job reservations as a form of socio-economic equity. But as with a lot of government schemes this provision gets abused to some degree and many upper caste people claim that as "discrimination". That being said, there is no enforcement of the "no-caste" policy so in many smaller towns/villages the caste system is still widely practiced and lower caste folks discriminated/beaten/killed/etc.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]