Faces of India: The Caste System

Part of the Faces of India series, this documentary focuses on the suffocating intricacies of the Indian caste system. Created as part of the ancient Hindu social hierarchy, the engrained socioeconomic discrimination of the caste system was outlawed by India's government and has become mostly irrelevant in the nation's cosmopolitan urban centers. But in more isolated parts of the country, the caste system never disappeared. This film focuses on the inhabitants of the holy city of Varanasi and surrounding rural areas, who mostly do not dare to challenge the caste limitations. One member of the so-called untouchable caste manages to somewhat escape social restrictions by gaining an education and becoming a college instructor—but many students of the upper Brahmin caste refuse to take their lessons with him. At the other end of the spectrum, the film discovers a Brahmin who rejected the educational demands of his caste and wound up barely scratching together a living by selling bracelets to tourists visiting Varanasi. No one in authority here is interviewed who can offer (if indeed possible) a cogent explanation of how the caste system benefits anyone, particularly those in the lower castes. Still, this is a very worthwhile introduction to a complex subject. Other titles in the series include Kashmir: Lost Paradise, Women: The Tears of Hindus, and The Mosaic Sounds of Calcutta. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)