Born Behind Bars

India’s caste system organizes socioeconomic classes, or castes, into a hierarchy. This system has existed for millennia and, though it has undergone various changes relating to its legality over time, societal prejudices against the lower castes persist. The caste system has its roots in Hinduism, and most castes correspond to a part of the body of Brahma, the God of creation. This suggests that all castes are necessary for society to function; however, the Dalits aren’t associated with a body part even though they do important work. Also, not all castes are treated or valued equally even though people of all castes do important jobs to contribute to the collective. Each caste is associated with a certain income level and specific job types as well as societal privileges.

The highest caste is the Brahmin (which, as the highest class, has a name resembling Brahma), in which people have professions similar to teachers and priests in that they lead society in spiritual or educational ways. The Brahmin caste is associated with Brahma’s head because of their educational function. The next caste is the Kshatriya, in which people have professions that help protect society and lead it in logical ways, like politicians and soldiers. The Kshatriya caste is associated with Brahma’s shoulders. Next is the Vaishya caste, which contains merchants, farmers, and people in other professions who produce or sell goods that society needs. The Vaishya caste is associated with Brahma’s legs. Next is the Shudra caste, in which people are manual laborers who do the jobs that keep society moving. The Shudra caste is associated with Brahma’s feet. The lowest caste, which isn’t associated with any part of Brahma, is the Dalit caste, in which people work as janitors, street cleaners, and other roles to generally clean up after society. People of other classes generally consider those of the Dalit caste “outcaste” or “untouchable” even though their work is immensely valuable to society.

The caste system is based on Hindu scripture, which makes it ingrained in the social consciousness despite changes in legal meanings. Taboos against marrying outside one’s caste or hiring someone of a lower caste has created difficulties in achieving “upward mobility,” or transcending the caste into which one is born. Legal measures have reduced caste-based segregation and prejudice, and the enactment of government quotas has aimed to help people of lower castes get higher-paying leadership jobs. However, as Born Behind Bars suggests, enforcing such laws is challenging, often more so than enforcing antidiscrimination laws in the US, so persistent caste-based prejudice still haunts the lives of many.

In Born Behind Bars, Kabir and Amma are Dalits, which creates significant obstacles that they nonetheless find the strength to overcome. Amma is imprisoned wholly because of her caste: She was accused of theft due to stereotypes and, although she was innocent, couldn’t afford bail or a lawyer for a trial. Therefore, she served a decade of prison time for a crime she never committed. Upon Kabir’s release from prison, where he was born, he realizes how intense caste-based prejudice is out in the world. Most people ignore him completely, calling him “untouchable.” The authorities give him to human traffickers because they don’t care enough to double-check who is picking him up from prison. People even threaten him with violence just because he’s in the same area as them. Some of this prejudicial behavior is illegal yet still frequently occurs.