The cast system was established de novo in a more rigid form…..
The arts thus being relegated to the low casts, and the professions made
hereditary, a certain degree fineness, delicacy and deftness in manipulation was
no doubt secured, but this was accomplished at a terrible cost. The intellectual
portion of the community being thus withdrawn from active participation in the
arts, the how and why of phenomenon — the co-ordination of cause and effect
— were lost sight of. The sprit of enquiry gradually died out among a nation,
naturally prone to speculation and metaphysical subtleties, and India for once
bade adieu to experimental and inductive sciences. Her soil was rendered
morally unfit for the birth of a Boyle, a Descartes, or a Newton, and her very
name was all but expunged from them map of the scientific world for a time.
Acharya Prafulla Chandra Rây [2 August, 1861 – 16 June 1944]
History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India : Incorporating the History of
Hindu Chemistry by A. P. C. Rây.
Indian Chemical Society
Calcutta 1956
quicksilver - 19-5-2010 at 08:26
In a sense that's really sad. Some of the brightest young people I've known came from south Asia.
I'm not going to turn this into some political agenda but NAFTA farmed out a bunch of jobs as everyone knows to other countries. but they also farmed
out tech support and other service related gigs aside from the manufacturing stuff.
You can only do that for so long until anyone figures out they are being exploited. Especially the tech support where the workers are supposed to take
on western names (& still have their normal accent) - which would make anyone feel like they were 2nd rate.
Everyone has had some guy named "Tom", John" or "Phi" answer a tech support question...... Like their real names were somehow unattractive or make
them seem incapable of doing the job.hissingnoise - 19-5-2010 at 09:47
Quote:
Everyone has had some guy named "Tom", John" or "Phi" answer a tech support question...... Like their real names were somehow unattractive or make
them seem incapable of doing the job.
Difficult for the Western tongue I'd say rather than unattractive - Indian names are often quite long and complex.
But the incongruous regimentation of society that is the caste system is thought to be finally loosening its grip in all but isolated rural areas. . .
chemrox - 19-5-2010 at 10:47
I've seen some weird shit in those rural areas. A friend of mine, quite buff at the time, looked a lot like some of the images of the historical
buddha laid a trip on local tea seller. The seller asked his name and he gave him a no-caste name then demanded milk for his tea. The poor slob was
sure his cow was going to stop producing milk. My friend took pity on him and gave his real name before we left. My point? the caste system is
still alive.AndersHoveland - 21-10-2011 at 13:32
There is a reason so many of us are doctors, engineers, and researchers in Britain and America.
You do not think indians willing to work for lower wages has anything to do with it? A more likely explanation is that indians are willing to spend
the time, effort, and money to become highly trained and educated, to work for far less than a similarly educated english or american person is
willing to work for. Unlike all the other countries in the third world, there are plenty of indians that actually speak english. Cheap indian doctors
to prop up the NHS and cheap underpaid part time lecturers, brought in from India, so universities to have more money for big unnecessary construction
projects.
