44: A journey to understanding the Indian caste system with Sudha Singh

Episode 44: Demystifying caste with Sudha Singh:

Parallels have been drawn between racism in the west and casteism in India - both are social constructs, both privilege groups of people, limiting the life chances and horizons of millions of people because of where they are born

For everyone interested in race, an understanding of caste it essential. Pulitzer Prize winner and author Isabel Wilkerson says, "We cannot fully understand the current upheavals, or almost any turning point in American history, without accounting for the human pyramid that is encrypted into us all: the caste system"

Since, I re-started my DEI journey a couple of years back after hitting a career wall I have been advocating for a fairer, equitable and more representative industry and society. As a founding member of the Race and Ethnicity Equity Board at the PRCA and Co-Chair of the Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council, I am passionate about what I do and am determined to help bring change.

I talk about about race, ethnicity, equity and inclusion all the time, so I think it would be very hypocritical of me to not talk about caste - the proverbial elephant in the room and the pervasive inequalities and inequities it breeds.

So, over the coming months I will be speaking with subject matter experts, thought leaders, academics and individuals to throw more light on this behemoth that castes a dark shadow over our society. I am no expert, so this is an exercise in learning and mainstreaming conversations about caste and hearing perspectives from those who continue to be marginalised and afflicted by it.

My hope is that people stop considering being 'caste blind' as the gold standard for fairness (both in corporate India and society); and start acknowledging the deep divisions that exist in our society and the caste penalty that millions of people pay every single day.

In this episode I also speak about πŸ‘‡πŸΎ

πŸ‘‰πŸΎ India's affirmative action programme a world first that is enshrined in its constitution which was written by a visionary, intellectual giant and Dalit, Dr B.R.Ambedkar

πŸ‘‰πŸΎ Isabel Wilkerson and her take on caste in India

πŸ‘‰πŸΎ A recent Pew Research Centre Report on religion and caste in India

πŸ‘‰πŸΎ Caste, Privilege, and its manifestations

There are also a few sound bytes from people sharing their personal views on caste in 2021

#societyandculture #inclusion #fairness

Listen hereπŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ‘‡πŸΎ

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-elephant-in-the-room/id1540074396?i=1000536469957