Social prejudices

Having been fairly free of social prejudices for most of my life, my recent brush with dalit literature got me thinking about these prejudices and where they come from. Most prejudices are nurtured and encouraged if there is a direct economic benefit. So the upper classes in India exploited a group of people for work they themselves did not do and paid no wages. What could be better than that? Slaves provided by religion or so it may seem. Culture propagates this economic benefit and the perpetrators of this crime loathe the victims. The loathing helps the exploitation. But this is subconscious for most people and they do not think about it. If the exploitation was not so financially beneficial then people would seriously ask "Can a dirty cloth wipe a desk clean?" No. The people who sanitize the sorrounding have to be cleaner than everything else so that they can clean. Or at least that should have been the logical way to go. So if the society was truly logical I would find eating food in a bhangi's house safer than a Brahmin's because the bhangi is a professional cleaner and knows the job. Alas, the society leans more towards exploiting than logic.

Cleaning is among what I consider unskilled labor. I see no reason to hate unskilled labor. Of course if you are skilled you may be justified in seeking more respect but there is no particular reason to loathe unskilled labor. Especially in modern India where you do have to pay for janitorial services. I say we can safely do without the pretenses of caste superiority.

Incidentally, the caste system prevailed all through the 700 years of Mughal rule and the 300 years of British rule but came crumbling down in democracy. For all the failings of democracy we must say it did get rid of this unnecessary evil.