What are the salient features of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan launched by the Government of India for water conservation and water security? (Answer in 150 words)

Answer

Approach:IntroductionDefine Caste and mention how it has long been considered as a distinctive feature of Indian society.BodyAs the question asks for caste’s relevance, both sides have to be written about. Mention about caste has become less important in many areas.Then mention how it continues to be relevant in several other areas.ConclusionConclude stating that caste is a social system that is still having its place in the society although it has changed the ways and places where it manifests.

Introduction

Caste is a system of social stratification with associated values and ideas that legitimized and reinforced the existing social structure in Indian society. Caste has for long been viewed as a distinctive feature of Indian society.

Body

But due to many factors such as the visionary Indian Constitution, modern education, industrialisation, urbanization, etc. Indian society has started giving less consideration to ‘caste’. It can be seen in following ways:

• Achieved status is of greater importance: Class is more important today than caste. Educational qualification, occupational position, income etc. are the bases of identification of the individual rather than caste identity.


• Reservations have improved socio-political representation: This has changed the very basis of caste-based discrimination.


• Caste no longer decides occupation: One can no longer deduce a person’s caste by looking at his occupation.


• People today want to be identified as liberal, broad-minded and cosmopolitan. This multi-cultural society finds caste to be a backward mindset, disrespectful and violative of the Constitution.


• Public and private establishments: Restaurants, shopping malls, regional celebrations, local festivals, public institutions, private establishments, do not consider the caste factor.


• Inter-caste marriages:Strict codes of marriage and inheritance have been diluted due to increased inter-caste marriages.

But caste as an entity has not become completely irrelevant even in today’s society.

• Caste decides aspirations:Caste still plays a great role in deciding personal aspirations and social capital. This is particularly strong in the rural areas.


• Inter-caste marriages are not that common. Even matrimonial sites cater to caste-based preferences for marriage.


• Casteization of Politics and Politicization of Caste:Politics in today’s Indian society is ridden by caste-based identities.


• Violence based on caste is still prevalent:Several incidents have been highlighted in the media and rogue elements in social media have sometimes used these incidents to flare up caste sentiments.


• Manual scavenging:Most of the occupations must have become caste-free, but Manual scavenging, the worst surviving symbol of untouchability, is still an occupation of the people from the so-called untouchable caste.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to fully eliminate the influence of caste, as it is deeply ingrained in many aspects of Indian culture and society. Caste as a dominant force may not be easily visible today in our multicultural society, however, it still thrives in subtler ways and holds clues to the dynamics of our society. Caste has become less relevant for the upper caste and upper class, while for the lower castes, caste has become all too visible in both, suffering as well as getting benefits from the State.