Casting a Light: Interviews and Insight into the Hindu Caste System

For more than four millennia, the Hindu Caste system has underscored life in India. With five stratifications, the caste system defines life for its members. The five stratifications include four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras as well as the “untouchables” -- also known as Pariahs or Dalits. In a post-colonial and post-Gandhi world, the caste system has shifted. With affirmative action programs, the election of a Dalit President in 1997, and globalization in general, the question arises: what is life like for a person in each caste system in this day and age? Through a series of interviews with university students currently living in the United States, this question will be investigated. These interviews seek to tell real stories about real people in a modern era. Each story further aims to give a better understanding to those who live outside such social borders