Casteism: Understanding History’s Most Persistent Form of Social Hierarchy

Casteism—discrimination based on caste, a hereditary social hierarchy—represents one of humanity’s longest-enduring systems of oppression. Unlike discrimination based on race, religion, or gender (which are significant), casteism operates through a complete social architecture that assigns humans to immutable hereditary categories determining occupation, marriage eligibility, social contact, and dignity.

What Is Casteism?

The Caste System Explained

The caste system originated in ancient India as a hierarchical organization of society into hereditary groups. The system is based on the notion that people are born into castes, remain in those castes throughout life, and cannot change their caste status through any means.

Traditional Indian caste structure included:

  • Brahmins (priests and scholars)
  • Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers)
  • Vaishyas (merchants and farmers)
  • Shudras (laborers and servants)
  • Dalits (untouchables—those outside the system entirely, considered ritually impure)

The radical claim: your birth caste determined your entire social destiny, spiritual worth, and life possibilities.

Casteism vs Caste

Caste is the social structure itself. Casteism is discrimination and oppression based on caste. While caste system originated in India, casteism (the practice of using caste to justify oppression) persists globally.

Historical Roots and Mechanisms

Origins in Ancient India

The Rigveda (ancient Hindu scriptures) describe the caste system as divinely ordained—different castes created from different body parts of a cosmic being, each serving different functions. This religious justification meant questioning the caste system meant questioning sacred order itself.

Over centuries, the system became increasingly rigid, hereditary, and oppressive. Intermarriage between castes became prohibited. Occupations became caste-determined. The lowest castes were considered spiritually contaminating to higher castes, subjected to severe restrictions and degrading treatment.

Mechanism of Perpetuation

Casteism perpetuates through:

  • Ideological justification: Religious texts presented hierarchy as cosmic truth
  • Economic structures: Lower castes forced into lower-paying, degrading occupations
  • Social structures: Marriage restrictions, social segregation, and limited mobility
  • Legal codification: Formal laws enforcing caste-based discrimination

Each generation was born into its parents’ caste, locked into that position regardless of ability or circumstance.

The Scale of Impact

Historical Atrocities

For over 2,000 years, Dalits faced:

  • Forced segregation and exclusion from temples, schools, and public spaces
  • Restrictions on occupation (forced into “untouchable” professions like manual scavenging)
  • Severe punishment for violating caste rules
  • Denial of basic human dignity and rights
  • Violence and sexual abuse justified by caste ideology

The scale of oppression—affecting hundreds of millions of people across centuries—makes casteism perhaps history’s longest sustained system of hierarchical oppression.

Modern Persistence

Despite India’s constitution banning caste-based discrimination, casteism persists:

  • Educational discrimination: Dalit students face exclusion and harassment
  • Occupational segregation: Certain occupations remain caste-determined
  • Marriage restrictions: Caste-based matchmaking and violence against inter-caste couples
  • Land inequality: Dalits own minimal land due to historical exploitation
  • Violence: Caste-motivated violence, sexual assault, and murder continue

Global Expansion

Casteism isn’t confined to India. South Asian diaspora communities in the US, UK, and other nations maintain caste-based discrimination. Many immigrants from caste-based societies continue enforcing hierarchy abroad.

Recently, casteism has been recognized in other societies—scholars have identified caste-like systems in Rwanda (ethnic hierarchies), Japan (discrimination against Burakumin), and other societies with entrenched hereditary oppression.

Why Casteism Is Uniquely Destructive

The Permanence Problem

Casteism differs from other discrimination: you cannot escape your caste. A person subject to racism might change location or identity. A person subject to sexism can organize across gender lines. A person born into a low caste has no escape—their children and grandchildren will remain in that caste regardless of achievement, ability, or effort.

The Totality

Casteism doesn’t discriminate in one domain (employment, politics, education). It affects every aspect of life—marriage, housing, food, social contact, spiritual status, and fundamental dignity.

The Invisibility in Global Discourse

While racism, sexism, and religious discrimination receive global attention, casteism remains invisible in international human rights discourse. The United Nations didn’t list caste discrimination as a specific violation until very recently.

This invisibility allows casteism to persist while other forms of discrimination receive global scrutiny and resistance.

The Path Forward

International Recognition

Formal acknowledgment of casteism as a human rights violation is essential. The UN Human Rights Council must explicitly address caste discrimination alongside race, religion, and gender.

India must strengthen legal protections and enforcement against casteism. Current laws exist but lack resources and political will for enforcement.

Educational Transformation

School curricula must teach honest history of caste oppression and actively combat caste ideology. Students must learn that humans have equal worth regardless of birth circumstances.

Affirmative Action and Reparations

India’s reservation system (affirmative action for historically oppressed castes) attempts to address caste-based inequality. These programs must be strengthened and supplemented with reparations addressing historical exploitation.

Community Accountability

Communities maintaining casteism abroad must be held accountable. Immigrant communities shouldn’t recreate oppressive hierarchies in new societies.

Individual Commitment

People from privileged castes must recognize their advantage. Anti-casteism requires privileged castes to relinquish hierarchical assumptions and work toward genuine equality.

Understanding Casteism’s Lessons

The Danger of Hereditary Hierarchy

Casteism demonstrates the danger of justifying permanent social hierarchy through ideology (religious, genetic, or cultural). No hereditary difference justifies permanent inequality.

The Resilience of Oppression

Despite formal legal equality in the Indian constitution, casteism persists centuries later. This shows that oppression, once institutionalized, survives formal legal changes—requiring active, sustained resistance.

The Importance of Solidarity

Resistance to casteism has grown through Dalit activism, scholars, and allies. Just as other liberation movements require solidarity across groups, anti-casteism requires privileged castes joining oppressed castes in struggle.

Conclusion: Toward a Casteism-Free World

Casteism is not ancient history—it is a current system of oppression affecting hundreds of millions globally. Its invisibility in international discourse is itself a form of violence, allowing perpetuation while other oppressions receive attention.

Moving toward genuine human equality requires:

  • Global recognition that caste discrimination is a human rights violation
  • Active dismantling of caste-based structures and ideology
  • Reparations and reconstruction addressing centuries of exploitation
  • Individual and collective commitment to recognizing equal human dignity regardless of birth circumstances

The caste system represents what humanity can become when hierarchy becomes ideology—when oppression becomes sacred. Overcoming it requires equally determined commitment to equality and human dignity.