RIHLA #3

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1) This article relates to what we are learning in class a lot. In class, we are learning about how early civilizations were really unorganized, unfair, and cruel. This article shows how people are divided by class, and the classes aren't fair. The higher class has a lot more power and respect, while the low class has no power and less respect. This is exactly what we are talking in class, different classes and different treatments/punishments.
2) I think people in India view the Caste System as normal and fair. I think they think this because they don't know any better, many have been born this way and don't know any difference. In India, people are born in a certain class and take certain roles. They believe this is their destiny so they simply agree with it.
3) The treatment of the Dalits in India seem very similar to how African-Americans were treated in the past. In the past, African-Americans were slaves and they were punished horribly. They were punished more severely than a white person that committed the same crime. Just the same way Dalits are treated in India, they are punished more severely than a higher class-man for the same crime. This was unfair for African-Americans and is unfair for Dalits today.
4) The thing that very caught my attention is the roles they had. Each certain class had certain roles for its people. If you were born in the low classes, you had to work hard labor or other harsh jobs. However, if you were born in a high class you automatically worked less in a more clean environment. For example, in the text it states, "Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals." This shows how the lower class, Dalits, did the harsher work.

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