tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post8302290624403185351..comments2024-03-23T04:01:39.348-04:00Comments on Understanding Society: Village life in IndiaDan Littlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-91970807687811621182010-08-25T00:23:20.011-04:002010-08-25T00:23:20.011-04:00It is an interesting read but it isn't surpris...It is an interesting read but it isn't surprising, that there is a lot of income and social disparity. I wonder if there is any backing to the claim that the situation is not getting better, though. It is certainly true that the degree of social hierarchy - the caste and class systems are worse than many other countries, but I would assume, at least from my own personal experiences, that the situation is improving significantly. <br /><br />In fact, the issue of caste is more complicated than most people appreciate. Consider, for example, that the incumbent government in the state of Rajasthan was thrown out of power when a dominant caste in the state wanted to become "the untouchables"! Yes, that's right, the caste wanted to be classified as the Dalits and the government refused. Caste hierarchy runs both ways and is seldom the traditional simple "exploitation" as is looked upon. <br /><br />Seeing from my own personal experiences, both in my native village and the cities that I grew up in, the relevance of caste is decreasing in all areas and parts of the country. The cities have the concept of caste almost only because of the government reservations (similar to affirmative action but again, more complicated!) Unless obvious from a name, in most cities, you would never know the caste of, say, a friend.Siddharthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135145441968614097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-67019351318774688192010-08-24T13:00:28.649-04:002010-08-24T13:00:28.649-04:00The huge unequality might explain not only the fas...The huge unequality might explain not only the fast ecnomic growth, but also the accumulated social conflict in India, although the aspect of social conflict was not mentioned in the essay. Considering the structure of industrialization, economic unequality could contribute to the fast growth industrialization, but result in further economic disparity, which inevitably leads to more social unequality in India.Siyuan Songnoreply@blogger.com