In much of India, Dalits were prohibited from entering temple" (India Caste system, ancient India Caste System)
There have been indications since 1450 of changes and a questioning of the caste system. For example, in 1469, the guru Nanak, 1st guru of Sikhs, "...refused to accept the caste system and the supremacy of the Brahmanical priests and forbade magic, idolatry and pilgrimages." (The Fifteenth Century 1450-1475)
It was however in the colonial period of the British rule of India that the caste system was extensively critiqued and efforts made to create a more equal society. This was largely due to the influence of the new norms and values brought by the colonizers.
During this period there was also the beginning of various reform movements. These criticized and questioned "...the rigidities of the caste system, the degraded status of women, child marriage, and female infanticide." (Civil Society And Governance. An Overview Of Issues And Trends In India)
During this period there were many modifications and changes made to the caste system in the light of the more contemporary ideas about human equality. "Alongside the reforms, there was also an effort to introduce modern western education in India to make people aware of the progressive ideas. All the reformers of this period presented a synthesis of religion, society and education to reconstruct the social space. "(Civil Society And Governance. An Overview Of Issues And Trends In India) For example, the Brahmo Samaj "... criticized the practice of sati (burning of widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands), polygamy, child marriage, and the lower status accorded to women." In 1950 India's new constitution outlawed discrimination based on caste. (India Caste System Discriminates)
During the 1970's there was an increased move towards the greater implementation of civil rights and liberties towards a more egalitarian society. "Civil liberty, ecology, women, and dalit movements captured the civil society space to make demands on the state in an unprecedented way. "(Civil Society And Governance. An Overview Of Issues And Trends In India) Another factor that was instrumental in reducing the influence of the caste system was...
In society, there are examples of people who have been able to transcend their class. For example, basketball stars like Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were able to ascend from abject poverty to extreme wealth through their athletic achievements. However, despite their wealth one can reasonably raise the question of whether these individuals were ever able to transcend their class. Indeed, "transcendence" implies that one has completely dissociated himself from
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But sometimes the victims themselves are afraid to voice their grievances in the public because speaking up entails shame, ostracization, and even extra-judicial killings. The victims can express their grievances in public "only at certain times and in certain ways" because their rights are infringed on social and cultural levels (Dewey). The fact that cultural and traditional beliefs and attitudes contribute to violations of women's rights in a systematic manner
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