Step 5: Remember task 4 ?

In task 5 you will continue with your findings to the questions of the previous steps in which you have written down the similarities between the two books Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai and The White Tigerby Aravind Adiga and have constructd your own vision of India. But now we will look at the real India by means of summarized academic abstracts, YouTube video clips.

How does the choice in profession in todays Indian society (still) effect the traditional caste system after its 1950s outlaw? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPud5LSt74I From Dalit to top business mogul... In collaboration with the elite Bangalore-based International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Infosys is providing special training to low-caste engineering graduates who have failed to get a job in its industry. The training, which lasts seven months, does not promise employment. But of the 89 who completed the first course in May, all but four have found jobs. Infosys hired 17. By imitating the habits of a more prestigious neighbour, in dress or ritual, some low castes have sneaked a rung or two up the ladder. More recently, in an effort to be classified as an OBC or a dalit caste, some middle-ranking castes have tried to climb a rung or two down. Meanwhile, on the lowest rung of the ladder, dalit businessmen can be found operating in the informal economy, perhaps as small traders. They must be especially reliant on caste as a business network. But that reliance will change if they can expand into the organised sector. Where businessmen can gain access to credit without having to claim kinship, caste affiliations wither. (The Economist 2007).

Can you think of any profession mentioned in both books where caste consciousness plays a role, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books Profession: Realilty Similarities

Do marriages occur within the different levels in the caste system and what are its consequences in post-colonial India, regarding inter-caste marriages? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aLX3auq8dA&feature=relmfu Arranged marriages in India In the post-colonial shifting of material, legal and ideological bases, some of the given patterns of relationships between individuals and caste groups have changed and weakened because of the introduction of new, parallel and alternative structures of relationships. Although many caste groups and communities are involved in inter-caste marriages and associations that defy customary norms and caste practices and have no social acceptance, it is in relation to a dalit and non-dalit association or marriage that certain aspects, which impinge on wider issues, come to the surface more pronouncedly. These cases are selectively made a public spectacle by the dominant caste groups to settle wider issues at stake verging on contemporary political and economic interests. (Chowdhry 2009). Can you think of any marriages mentioned in both books where caste consciousness is described, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books Marriage: Realities Similarities

Are individuals shaped by their traditions and confined to its rules and regulations, and does the contemporary zeitgeist affect its interpretation? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2CwWgjaFFs Aravind Adiga interview 1

Jadhav, head of economic research for the Reserve Bank of India, is a member of India's Dalits-or untouchables-a group that numbers 165 million. His moving memoir is a tribute to his parents, who made it their goal to educate their children, especially his father, Damu, who stood up to the caste system. Jadhav paints a sweeping picture of the twentiethcentury human-rights movement led by Babasaheb Ambedkar, leader of the Dalit movement and Damu's lifelong inspiration. Hearing Babasaheb's urging to "educate, organize, agitate," Damu finds the courage to defy his role as the village servant, a tradition dating back 3,500 years. Jadhav embellishes his tale of politics and the rights movement with poignant glimpses into his parents' everyday lives: how their hut leaked during the monsoons, shelling tamarind pods for pennies a day, the devastation of the plague on families packed into tenements. One of his most surprising revelations is that even today he is asked about his caste, which remains "an inseparable part" of his identity. (Donovan 2005).

Can you think of any characters mentioned in both books where caste consciousness is described, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books Characters: Reality Similarities

Can you think of any references to Time ( past or present) mentioned in both books where caste conciousness is described, and what similarities it shares with todays reality on the ground, as shown in the example above? The books Time Reality Similarities

Could the rooster coop (still) symbolise the maintained status quo of todays government, or could it also have been without effect, even after post-colonial regulations dealing with the caste-system? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhLaeZ3hvzA&feature=relmfu Aravind Adiga interview 2 [...]the main reason that caste associations have counted for little at the national level is that India has not one caste system but many. [...]another consequence of the dispersal of power

to the state capitals has been the emergence of assertive, radically centralizing chief ministers in (at this writing) six large states containing just over 45 percent of India's population.13 In such states, the chief ministers exercise something close to personal rule, and caste associations-like all voluntary associations-have been rendered largely powerless. (Manor 2012). Can you think of any governmental relations mentioned in one of both books, and what similarities does it share with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books The relationship between governments Reality Similarities

Do you think in todays Indian society the majority of the lowest (outside) caste *the dalits+ accept their status peacefully in any random city in India? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A65rVU3JFNs Caste Tensions in Punjab Recent caste clashes in Punjab have destroyed the myth that untouchability is alien to this part of India and indicate that the downtrodden no longer can be subjected to social oppression and humiliation. A manifestation of Dalit assertion, these clashes have sharpened the issue of Dalit human rights (Ram 2004). Can you think of any Place mentioned in both books where caste consciousness plays a part, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books Place Reality Similarities

Does the feminist movement, regarding the topics related to the differences in gender, within the caste system effectively address the disputed issues related to equality? Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odkAN8us7vo Dalit Women issues are discounted by Upper-caste Feminist movement Research about the investigation of the contributions of gender, caste, and standard of living to inequalities in mortality across the life course in India. We conducted a multilevel crosssectional analysis of individual mortality, using the 1998-1999 Indian National Family Health Survey data for 529 321 individuals from 26 states. Substantial mortality differentials were observed between the lowest and highest standard-of-living quintiles across all age groups,

ranging from an odds ratio (OR) of 4.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.98, 7.13) in the age group 2 to 5 years to an OR of 1.97 (95% CI = 1.68, 2.32) in the age group 45 to 64 years. Excess mortality for girls was evident only for the age group 2 to 5 years (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.58). Substantial caste differentials were observed at the beginning and end stages of life. Area variation in mortality is partially a result of the compositional effects of household standard of living and caste. The mortality burden, across the life course in India, falls disproportionately on economically disadvantaged and lower-caste groups. Residual statelevel variation in mortality suggests an underlying ecology to the mortality divide in India (Subramanian; et al. 2006). Can you think of any adult gender issues mentioned in both books which are described, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? Books Men vs. women Reality Similarities

Can you think of any adolecance gender issues described in both books, and what similarities it shares with todays reality, as shown in the example above? The books Boys vs. girls Reality Similarities

References: Chowdhry, P. 2009. Modern Asian Studies 43, 2 pp. 437479. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S0026749X07003010 First published online 30 July 2007 Jadhav, N. 2005. Untouchables: One Family's Triumph over the Caste System in Modern India. Chicago, USA: Booklist Publications; 2005: 305-5. Manor, J. 2012. After Fifty Years of Political and Social Change: Caste Associations and Politics in India Vancouver, Canada: Pacific Affairs; 2012: 355-361,256. Ram, R. 2004. Asian Survey, Vol. 44, Issue 6, pp. 895912, ISSN 0004-4687, electronic ISSN 1533-838X. The Regents of the University of California.

Subramanian, S V; Nandy, S, Irving, M, Gordon, D, et al. (2006). American Journal of Public Health. Washington, USA: American Public Health Association; 2006: 818-25. The Economist, 2007. Database ProQuest Research Library. Retrieved October 17, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com.hercules.macam.ac.il/docview/223999446?accountid=41230