An Ancient Deadlock for Democracy

The origins of the varna system can be traced back to a hymn in rigveda which depicts the brahmins as the priestly class, the kshatriyas as the noble class,the vaishyas as the commoner and the shudras as the servant class. More than 3000 years down the line, this system has not only managed to exist but has become an incessant source of grave injustice and maltreatment. The constituent assembly envisioned a free, democratic India with a common sense of nationhood ingrained in its citizens and even though India has progressive methods of statehood rooted in its civilisational past, the caste system posed to be a hurdle in fulfilling this vision. This article seeks to critically analyse how the caste system has been an everlasting obstacle towards achieving democracy for ancient as well as modern India.