Education Strengthens Casteism

Introduction

Caste in India is a system that controls who gets power, wealth, and respect. It has existed for thousands of years. The upper castes use every tool to keep their control. Education is one of these tools. Contrary to what many believe, education does not break caste. Education strengthens casteism in India.

This essay shows how education helps the upper castes stay on top, keeps the oppressed in their place, and continues the cycle of caste division.

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1. Historical Reality: Education Has Always Been Unequal

From the start, education was only for the upper castes.

Brahmins and other upper castes controlled knowledge and sacred texts.

Dalits and lower castes were banned from learning.

This created a permanent divide.

When the British came, they introduced modern education. Upper castes quickly took advantage. They learned English, law, and administration. Dalits remained outside this system. Even after independence, this gap did not close.

Education has never been equally available.

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2. Access to Education Is Unequal Today

Upper caste families send their children to good schools. Dalit children mostly go to government schools with poor resources.

Schools for Dalits are often understaffed and underfunded.

Dalit children face discrimination and bias inside schools.

Poor families struggle to pay fees or buy books.

This unequal start means Dalits lag behind from the very beginning.

Education is not a level playing field.

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3. The Curriculum Favors Upper Castes

The stories, histories, and values taught in schools focus on upper castes.

Textbooks glorify upper caste heroes and gods.

Dalit struggles and achievements are missing.

Language used favors those who already know upper caste languages.

Dalit children feel excluded and less valued.

Education teaches caste hierarchy as natural and right.

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4. Even Higher Education Does Not Free the Oppressed

Reservations exist but only partially open doors for Dalits.

Many prestigious colleges and courses remain dominated by upper castes.

Dalits face discrimination on campuses.

After education, Dalit graduates often find only low-paying jobs.

They become delivery workers, security guards, or gatekeepers.

These jobs are insecure and low status.

They are new forms of old caste roles.

Education does not give upward mobility; it locks Dalits into low-paying work.

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5. Education Reinforces Upper Caste Control

Upper castes run schools, colleges, and policy.

They decide what is taught.

They form social networks that help their children get jobs.

They control money and politics behind education.

Dalits are rarely decision-makers in education.

Education strengthens the upper caste grip on power.

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6. Education Is Part of the Bigger Caste System

Caste is maintained by many tools together:

Economic control by upper castes.

Political dominance.

Social violence and discrimination.

Religious and cultural control.

Education fits inside this system.

It supports the caste structure. It does not break it.

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Conclusion

Education in India is not neutral. It helps the upper castes keep their place and keeps Dalits and others oppressed.

Access is unequal. Curriculum favors upper castes. Employment after education traps Dalits in menial jobs. Upper castes control the system.

Education strengthens casteism. It is one more way caste survives in modern India.

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This is the hard truth. Education has not freed the oppressed. It has kept the caste system alive.

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Education Strengthens Casteism

Dialogue featuring Madhukar and a mixed group of friends from upper and lower castes, discussing how education strengthens casteism in India. The tone is realistic, honest, and conversational, reflecting diverse views without sugarcoating.

Participants:

Madhukar (healer, mediator)

Arjun (upper caste, young professional)

Ravi (upper caste, student)

Seema (Dalit, college graduate)

Kiran (Dalit, working in delivery)

Lata (upper caste woman, teacher)

Manoj (Dalit activist)

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Madhukar: Friends, today I want us to talk openly about something that affects all of us — education and caste. Many say education will end casteism. But I believe education, as it exists today, only makes caste stronger. What do you all think?

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Arjun: I disagree, Madhukar. I think education opens doors for everyone now. There are scholarships, reservations. Dalits are going to colleges, becoming engineers, doctors. Isn’t that proof education is breaking caste?

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Seema: Arjun, I respect your point. But I live this reality. Yes, I’m a college graduate. But I still face insults, bias, and exclusion — in class, in jobs, everywhere. Even in colleges, the teachers treat Dalit students differently. Some classmates avoid us. The curriculum ignores our history and culture. How can education break caste if it pushes us out?

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Ravi: But isn’t this about social change, not education? Education can only teach. Society needs to change attitudes.

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Madhukar: Ravi, education is society’s tool to change attitudes — or to reinforce them. Let’s be clear: Who controls education? Who writes the textbooks? Who runs schools and colleges? Mostly upper caste people.

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Lata: As a teacher, I see this too. The syllabus is fixed. We have to follow it. It glorifies upper caste heroes and gods. Dalit histories and voices are missing. This makes Dalit students feel invisible. It’s a problem.

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Kiran: I dropped out after 10th grade. My family couldn’t afford coaching or better schools. I had to start working as a delivery person. Education didn’t help me climb up — it pushed me into low-paying, insecure jobs. That’s the harsh truth.

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Manoj: Kiran speaks for many. Even with reservations, Dalits get poor quality education. Most colleges with better courses are still out of reach. After graduating, we find only menial jobs. Education didn’t free us; it put us in new cages.

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Arjun: But these are exceptions. Many Dalits do succeed. Shouldn’t we encourage education and reservation more?

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Seema: Arjun, it’s not about exceptions. It’s about how the whole system works. Look at school infrastructure. Dalit children go to government schools with broken toilets, no electricity, poor teachers. Upper caste kids go to private schools with computers and coaching. How is that equal?

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Ravi: Isn’t it also a matter of family support? Upper caste families invest more in education.

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Madhukar: Exactly, Ravi. Upper caste families have money, time, and connections to support education. Dalit families often struggle to feed children. That’s why caste stays strong — it controls wealth, education, and power together.

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Lata: I also notice language is a barrier. Dalit children speak regional dialects or tribal languages at home. The school teaches in Hindi, English, or Sanskrit-based languages. This creates distance and alienation.

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Manoj: Language is power. Sanskrit and English are seen as ‘superior’ languages, linked to upper caste culture. Dalit languages and dialects are ignored or ridiculed.

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Kiran: When I was in school, I couldn’t follow the lessons well. No extra help was given. Teachers expected us to fail. Many Dalit children drop out early.

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Arjun: But digital jobs like delivery, security, and gig work are growing. Aren’t they opportunities?

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Manoj: They are jobs, yes, but not opportunities for equality or growth. These jobs pay little, have no security, and keep Dalits in low status work — just like the old caste jobs, now in digital form.

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Seema: Education gives upper castes new ways to stay powerful — in offices, politics, business. Dalits are still kept out of decision-making roles. Even in education, Dalits rarely become teachers or principals.

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Madhukar: Education is part of the caste system’s machinery. It looks modern and fair, but it is designed to keep upper castes on top and the rest below.

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Ravi: So, what’s the alternative? Should education be scrapped?

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Madhukar: Not scrapped, Ravi. But understood clearly. Education, as it exists, is not neutral or liberating. It strengthens casteism because of who controls it, who it serves, and who it excludes.

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Lata: This is uncomfortable truth for many, including teachers like me.

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Arjun: I didn’t realize how deep this runs. I thought education was the solution.

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Manoj: Education can be a solution only if the whole system changes — who controls it, what is taught, how access is given. Until then, it remains a tool of caste.

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Kiran: I just want my children to have a chance. But right now, education feels like a locked door.

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Madhukar: And that locked door is held by caste. Until we recognize this, caste will remain unbroken.

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Seema: Education promises freedom, but for many of us, it is another way to stay trapped.

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Ravi: I hear you all. This conversation changed how I see things.

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Madhukar: That’s the first step — to see clearly. Education in India is not a ladder for all. It is a wall built higher for some and lower for others. That wall is caste.

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Arjun: I want to learn more and think deeply about this. Thank you all for sharing.

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Madhukar: We must keep talking honestly, beyond comfort. Only then can the truth about education and caste be faced.

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End of dialogue

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Education Strengthens Casteism

they tell you education will free you

but they never tell you whose freedom it wants

the schools open their doors wide

but only for some feet to step inside

the others wait outside

watching, hoping, forgotten

they teach you to read, write, count

but not how the system is built

built to keep you down,

to hold the ladder just out of reach

while others climb over your back

wearing clean shoes and sharp suits

they fill the books with stories

that don’t include you

heroes who look like them, gods that don’t speak your language

you learn to be small, quiet

to fit in a world that’s never made for you

you try to rise —

go to college, get a degree

but the rooms feel cold

faces turn away

whispers grow loud

you know you’re not welcome here

when you graduate,

the jobs you find

delivery boy, gatekeeper, security guard

same old caste work, new names

digital chains, invisible cages

the people running education?

mostly them — the upper castes

they decide what you learn, who you meet

who gets the breaks, who gets the scraps

they own the land, the money, the power

they use education to build new walls

not to tear down old ones

so education is a lie

a promise of equality

that always breaks before it reaches you

it’s a tool to hold you down

and keep them on top

and still you climb

because what else can you do?

hope is stubborn

even in cages

but don’t forget —

education in this land

does not set you free

it keeps caste alive

and caste laughs

while you learn to play the game

that’s already fixed

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.end.