Of Inhumane Caste System In Narendra Jadhav's Escape

“Every sixth human being in the world today is an Indian, and every sixth Indian is an erstwhile untouchable, a Dalit. Today there are 165 million Dalits (equal to more than half the population of the United States) and they continue to suffer under India’s 3,500-year-old caste system, which remains a stigma on humanity” (Jadhav, 1). Imagine half of the United States being considered impure and unable to do what they love because of the caste that they were born into. Narendra Jadhav family’s triumphant escape tells the story of his family’s struggle to escape the inhumane caste system in India and how Damu and Sonu dedicated their lives to help their children break free from the horrific caste system in India.

Jadhav’s true story shows

In preparation for the visit, Sonu’s mother “took chickpea flour, mixed it with goat’s milk, and rubbed it on [her] face, arms, and legs. She bathed [her] and washed [her] hair. She combed [her] hair back and plaited it tightly” (Jadhav, 91). Her mother dressed her in the finest sari that they owned and prepared Sonu in the best way she could. When Damu’s family members arrived, Sonu was not allowed to look at their face directly, even when they asked her questions. Sonu’s father washed their feet and started talking to the Damu’s family. They asked Sonu countless questions to see if Sonu matched the “standards” that they were looking for. Sonu even says in the book that she “...felt like cattle in the bazaar being inspected for defects” (Jadhav, 93). The only difference was that they never actually touched her, they just looked. After they left, Sonu’s mother asked her father which one was Damu, her father said that he did not come, only his family member’s were here. Sonu never met her husband before walking down the aisle, which to me is crazy because how can someone get married before even knowing each other. Though they did not know each other at first, they were still able to make it work even when things got

According to Dictionary.com, Hinduism is the common religion of India, based upon the religion of the original Aryan settlers as expounded and evolved in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, etc., having an extremely diversified character with many schools of philosophy and theology, many popular cults, and a large pantheon symbolizing the many attributes of a single god. “Hindus believe that God created the caste system. The sacred Rig-Veda, the earliest literary source in India, dating back to around 1000 B.C., describes how human stratification came about: a cosmic giant, Purusha, sacrificed parts of his body to create mankind. His mouth became the Brahmin, the priestly class; his arms the Kshatriya, the warriors and landowners; his thighs were made into Vaishya, the merchants; and from his feet were born Shudra, the servants. This fourfold division of society is called the Four Varnas (Chaturvarna). The untouchables have no place in the Chaturvarna, and are placed even below the lowest Shudra Varna” (Jadhav, 1). This goes to show that religion plays a very important part in the life of most Indians, it becomes part of who they are and how their religion can reflect their actions. I believe that this is the one thing that they have which keeps them from not giving up and keep fighting for the rights that they