Want to know something about another country? Ask it here (AND NO MORE "ASK A ..." THEADS!)

[hellheaven1987]

I've always wanted to visit India, but I admit these gangs of cruel eunuchs freak me out!

Mmm... If I go to India I would worry more about toilet than anything. My father said it is better to find a location of toilet before you try to eat something in India...

[Pra]

How important is the caste system today in Indian society?

It depends, but I've mostly been only to the big cities where it doesn't seem to matter as much, though there is still an undercurrent of 'castism'. My family are Brahmins, and they think that they're a bit better than others; some of this is grounded in the fact that quite a few seats in Colleges are reserved for 'scheduled classes' and 'backward classes'-so in effect a person scoring a 30th percentile but being in such a class may get into the college whereas a Brahmin with 95th percentile cannot get in-like my Cousin in Medical School.

Relationship-wise, people still look to marry others in their own caste, but I think that with modernization castism may slowly dwindle away-hopefully it does.

I got a stupid ?, so don't answer it if you dont want too. I am sure you've seen the Simpsons and are Indians in anyway offended by Apu, or how he is portrayed?

I am a bit offended by Apu's characterization, but then you've to remember that he's a caricature like the Taco Bell Dog; it's not really that big of a deal. I was more offended by that Bubble Boy movie with the Ice Cream selling Indian who called Shiva a woman. At least when you make fun of someone, have some amount of reality to it!

Just wondering. Also, how are Indians dealing with "Modernization"? As in how technology and American media are effecting Indians and Indian culture.

I can only speak as one part of Indian Culture, and as an expatriate, but from what I've seen, Modernization in terms of Industry and Technology is welcomed; Modernization in terms of how it's changing Indian culture and attitudes towards things like love, and caste is being dealt with a bit of trepidation.

I have a question, kind of strange but I'm curious after seeing a documentary a while back.

I heard there was a rather large eunuch community in India, and according to the doc they "banish" black magic from peoples homes, and they threaten people with magic if they are not paid money and/or given food. I found it so odd, just wondering how common this was.

I've always wanted to visit India, but I admit these gangs of cruel eunuchs freak me out!

This is something I'm not too knowledgeable in, but I know that there are groups of eunuchs/hermaphrodites who take in hermaphrodites into their groups. The most I know of these groups is that they come to your house during your wedding and ward of some evilness around a new child if it is being born.

Custom has it that it is best to accept the groups and give them some food and treat them well, to avoid incurring the wrath of the hermaphrodites-who've been dealt a bad blow by society. Still this is mostly 'hearsay' and shouldn't be taken as fact.

[Noble Savage]

I have studied Hinduism a little bit (mainly about Religion vs way of life) but what I don't understand is the history of the aryans? were they from Europe originally or Indian natives who adopted a bit of western culture

Thanks

[Cluny the Scourge]

I heard there was a rather large eunuch community in India, and according to the doc they "banish" black magic from peoples homes, and they threaten people with magic if they are not paid money and/or given food. I found it so odd, just wondering how common this was.

Gypsies still do the same thing here in Britain. They come to your door and ask if you would 'buy off a gypsy' offering you some worthless rubbish for sale - they rarely threaten directly, but the implication is that if you don't 'buy them off' they will put a gypsy curse on you with their magic. I just tell them I don't believe in magic and they hurriedly get in a 'God bless you' as they go, as if just to make clear they aren't really practitioners of the dark arts after all.

[Pra]

I have studied Hinduism a little bit (mainly about Religion vs way of life) but what I don't understand is the history of the aryans? were they from Europe originally or Indian natives who adopted a bit of western culture

Thanks

There are a lot of conflicting theories on this. Some say that Aryans came from Europe into India, others say, and I believed this for a while, that the Aryans were just a group of people who left India and went to Europe-a sort of Indocentric History.* In all likelihood, I think that the Aryans were actually a group of people from Iran who came into India.


*My father's best friend, a Professor of Surgery at Denver University, has done a lot of research into this subject. He says that in the beginning of Hinduism it says that there was a war between the 'Devas', lead by Indra, and the 'Asuras'. The Devas won and the Asuras had to leave/were banished.

He's done some research into this and says that there is historical allusion to the fact that the Devas and Asuras may've been different tribes who had slightly different forms of worshiping God. Whereas the Devas believed in a system of many Gods-the more recent Puranic version-the Asuras believed more in the formless God, though the source of the said 'God' was considered the same.

The Asuras, he says, were actually the people of Iran. Or they became the Zarathustran-worshipers. If you look into the Avesta, there are many commonalities with the Rig Veda, such as 'Mithra'.

Still most of this is pure conjecture, and there is mostly circumstancial evidence backing him up-good food for thought though.

[therussian]

So, why are you guys named after the American Indians?

[NaptownKnight]

So, why are you guys named after the American Indians?

I can answer that one, unless of course it was a joke. Columbus thought, when arriving in the Carribean, he was in the east Indies, thats why he called the inhabitants "Indians". I guess the name stuck.

[Niccolo Machiavelli]

It depends, but I've mostly been only to the big cities where it doesn't seem to matter as much, though there is still an undercurrent of 'castism'. My family are Brahmins, and they think that they're a bit better than others; some of this is grounded in the fact that quite a few seats in Colleges are reserved for 'scheduled classes' and 'backward classes'-so in effect a person scoring a 30th percentile but being in such a class may get into the college whereas a Brahmin with 95th percentile cannot get in-like my Cousin in Medical School.

Relationship-wise, people still look to marry others in their own caste, but I think that with modernization castism may slowly dwindle away-hopefully it does.

Interesting - what's Indias constitution saying about them? Judging from the rules on college seat distribution, it may referr to them (whereas I thought they're considered a private matter which however is deeply anchored in Indias society.).

And another one - I've losely worked with many Indians - how come, if India has such a great diversity in languages, their accents (if they have an accent) when speaking English all really sound alike and that particular accent is very distinctive in the intonation. I thought it was some stupid stereotype, but most Indians I've met sounded distinctive and alike.
Do Indian languages share a similar intonation or is that from Hindi?

[Pra]

So, why are you guys named after the American Indians?

They were so cool we thought that we might as well be named after them.

Interesting - what's Indias constitution saying about them? Judging from the rules on college seat distribution, it may referr to them (whereas I thought they're considered a private matter which however is deeply anchored in Indias society.).

In the 1950s Indian Constitution, 15% of educational and civil service seats were reserved for "scheduled castes" and 7.5% for "scheduled tribes." (Wiki)

In 1979, a commission called the Mandal Commission reviewed the practice and decided to increase quotas from 27.5% to 49.5%.

And another one - I've losely worked with many Indians - how come, if India has such a great diversity in languages, their accents (if they have an accent) when speaking English all really sound alike and that particular accent is very distinctive in the intonation. I thought it was some stupid stereotype, but most Indians I've met sounded distinctive and alike.
Do Indian languages share a similar intonation or is that from Hindi?

Theoretically, many will say that there are either two language bases, or one language base that Indian language is derived from. Hindi, and other North Indian languages are derivatives from Sanskrit-South Indian Languages like Kannada and Tamil are said to be derivatives of a Dravidian Language. Others say that both South and North Indian Language is derived from Sanskrit...

Anyway, in accordance with both theories, the language conjugation in most North Indian Language-though stresses are always different, so a English speaking person from Bengal will sound different than one from Haryana or Punjab. Likewise, whatever the basis of South Indian Languages, a South Indian English Speaker will have a slightly different twinge. The reason that most Indians you work with may sound similar is because quite a few migrate to specific big cities where there is a 'better standard' for spoken English to the point that the accentuations spoken by the instructors become more standardized. Alternatively it may be because the people you work with are all from a similar place.

For instance, a Bengali/Assami/Oryah speaking English usually sounds like he's speaking with his cheeks filled with sweats so his tongue moves more up and down. A person from central India like UP will tend to speak a little bit more pronounced accentuations. A South Indian has a particular habit of speaking and smacking his tongue a bit. Most educated English speakers from India sound the same though, as mentioned above.

[Armfelt]

Why can't Greek men keep their hands to themselves while standing next to a moderately attractive woman on a bus?

[Zenith Darksea]

6.and yunan is persian name for greece that turks took from persians(like many other cultural things,turks were nomad).I think yunan comes from Ionia.

This is true. The Ionians were the first Greeks that the Persians came into contact with, and so the Persians referred to all Greeks as Ionians thereafter (or 'Yunnan', in ancient Persian). The Greeks themselves were quite aware of this at the time, as Aristophanes' play Acharnians includes a Persian ambassador to Athens who refers to the Greeks in general as 'gaping-arsed Ionians'.

Why can't Greek men keep their hands to themselves while standing next to a moderately attractive woman on a bus?

They're just Mediterraneans, and you have to expect that from them. But have you ever seen Italian men? They're much worse! I met an Italian guy who is a Greek Orthodox Christian at a meeting of my university's Orthodox Student Society, and he was pretty sly, I must say. There's an American Protestant girl who goes to the Orthodox Society (she wants to be Orthodox, but for the time being she's in denial), not bad-looking, and this guy invited her out to dinner afterwards. She came back, well, traumatised. Yes sir, the Italians are the worst that I've seen!

[therussian]

Yeah, it was a joke. But Naptown, I think you misunderstood my question

[Garbarsardar]

Why can't Greek men keep their hands to themselves while standing next to a moderately attractive woman on a bus?

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/grap...rapes&b_desc=1

[Pra]

Macedonia, yes. Skopians not.

Why is this? I'm not that aware on Macedonian history.

Also, though this is a bit unrelated, so you may not know much about it, but I've heard of a large 'white power/neo-Nazi' movement in Bulgaria and Macedonia, is this somewhat true?

and, what's your favourite Kabob recipe?

[Armfelt]

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/grap...rapes&b_desc=1

Did I mention rape anywhere

[Banned]

Yes sir, the Italians are the worst that I've seen!

Hehe...

I agree with you...


@Rape Stats:

Greece...114
Italy...2,336

[Garbarsardar]

Did I mention rape anywhere

Nah, you just made an unsupported statement. Do you have any data on groping or you just project an ill-thought racial prejudice?

[Orphic Hymn]

Why is this? I'm not that aware on Macedonian history.

Politics my dear friend. When politicians attempt to legitimize their country's existance by plagiarizing someone else's history, its simple logic to expect some form of reaction, especially when this someone is us Hellenes who take according to some an unexplainable amount of pride in our history and express extreme passion in upholding it.

Also, though this is a bit unrelated, so you may not know much about it, but I've heard of a large 'white power/neo-Nazi' movement in Bulgaria and Macedonia, is this somewhat true?

Unfortunately its indeed true. I've never understood the reason why the first try to erase their historic roots (Bulgars=Turkic tribe = Central Asia) and support this drivel instead of taking pride in them.

As for the second, its all related to the above mentioned political stupidity. By adopting the fallacies certain Nordic circles (change "Nordic" with either "neo-nazi" or "white supremists") promote (of a blond blue-eyed people that created the foundations for western civilization) they attempt to support their government's paid propaganda genetics paper (which was dropped for lacking scientific merit) which allegedly proved their rights as an autochthonous to the Balkans people to its history and that we Hellenes are of Ethiopian origin and thus has no legitimate right of relating ourselves to it.
In several of the so called "accurate" sites that promote their version of history, you'll always find a reference to genetics and a link to some of the trash a certain Arthur Kemp (well known Nordicist suggested to be implicated in the racial murder of Chris Hani) has written.
Anyway, instead of babbling, here's a highly interesting article titled "Gene Wars" that explains the exploitation of science and the distortion of history for political reasons.
http://www.azure.org.il/magazine/magazine.asp?id=347

[Garbarsardar]

• What is your view of the "untouchables"?
• Do you think the cast system is useful still?
• Give me the perfect daal recipe, I dare you!

[The Fish]

• What is your view of the "untouchables"?
• Do you think the cast system is useful still?
• Give me the perfect daal recipe, I dare you!

1. Untouchability is, luckily, starting to wane (especially in urban India; it still remains largely intractable in the rural part). Hopefully this concept, which was never a part of the original varna system, will be done away with. The ironic thing is, though, that with the current affirmative-action-like system in India, many communities are actually trying to label themselves as untouchables (there was even a recent mini-riot in North India because of this). The very system designed to help improve the lives of these communities has actually helped perpetuate their status. But in another way it's proof that the social stigma of being an untouchable has decreased to the point that the economic benefits of staying as one predominate.

2. Ok, here's the long answer: the chatur varna (four caste) system has never been that important, because rarely do people identify themselves based on that system. Rather, the concept of jati, which is sort of like a clan, or community, has been the main focus of identity. Thus, rarely will someone say "I am a sudra." Instead, they may say "I am a mudhaliaar" which is a South Indian landowning jati roughly classified under the sudra label (this is largely a hold-over from the British census system, where people were forced to declare themselves a member of one of the four castes). Because of these distinctions, Indian societies are stratified into many, many small groups with different cultural identities. I mean, literally two people from the same village may speak different dialects based on their jatis. For instance, my Tamil tends to be significantly Sanskrit-influenced, a result of my identity as an Iyengar, a jati within the Brahmin umbrella. I sometimes have a hard time speaking to shop-owners two doors away from my ancestral home in Madras, because basic words are different. I know that Pra's family has contributions from another South Indian Brahminical jati, the Iyers. And even here, there are subtle differences in certain words. In addition to language differences, even religious observations, weddings, etc. are distinct.

My point in all this is that abolishing caste distinctions may seem like the logical progression of a liberalizing society, but it would involve the collapse of an extremely intricate social tapestry that has evolved over thousands of years. Literally thousands of distinct dialects, within the already numerous Indian language groups, would be destroyed, along with unique forms of worship, celebration, and so on. That, in my mind, would involve the loss of a great deal of the basic identity and incredible diversity of India, which would be a true loss. This is why I have no problem with people choosing to marry within their jati (it's what I plan on doing). As long as access to basic needs like healthcare, education, and religious access remain equal among the different groups (something that still needs to be worked on), I don't really see the need to destroy a social system that has helped shape an entire civilization.

3. Sorry, making perfect daal requires a sari and a propensity to answer to the call of "Mom."