Caste Thoughts

17/09/11

I was reading a little bit about the caste system in India, and don't get me wrong I am no expert and could have completely misunderstood but again it did get me to thinking about the socio-economic boudaries in the UK. It's not certain exactly why the caste system came about, it may have been that marriage outside of your families trade was not allowed because this would prevent the continuation or passing on of skills and expertise. It could also have been because certain jobs were dangerous and could spread disease and it was thought certain groups within castes built up immunity doing these jobs. Anyway this system still exists today and places restrictions on all areas of life and how you are expected to behave and are perceived and it

is a system that many are trying to move away from and there are laws in place to try and prevent discrimination.

In theory in this country there isn't a caste system, yet there are definate stereotypes that mainly seem to revolve around economic status and expectations. Families of low economic income or with no income are all provided accommodation in the same communities - where are the working role models? Is there the aspirations for young people growing up in

these communities? I don't know.

Another stereotype that seems to be prevalent and that is of the 'young person' - hoody, up to no-good, lazy, foul mouthed etc. has it always been the case that older generations frown upon and are afraid of groups of young people? Even I at only 29 years old am suspicious of groups of teenagers hanging around. How has this happened? Is this me being discriminatory towards young people or a snob?