Dorje Gurung

Dorje Gurung

Caste System Fostered and Propped up Groupism in Nepal Corrals People into Small Social Circles Part II

family group ethnicity marriage featimage

The "brilliance" of the caste system is what Ambedkhar characterized as its inherent "graded inequality."

In Nepal, the gradation can be found not just between the five castes, but also between the ethnic groups, between communities that make up an ethnic group, within communities and therefore between individuals.

And because social status is valued so much, the gradation has determined who you could marry and form a familial alliance with, which in turn dictates who you socialize with the most. Were inter-caste marriage the norm, the caste system would break down.

Accents, Science, Nepalis, American Idol, and Arthur Gunn

Arthur Gunn American Idol featimage

Combination of lack of good quality and level of education and a social system based on a highly discriminatory caste system means that, in Nepal, there are many instance of people displaying their ignorance and/or bigotry and prejudices without even them being aware that that's what they are doing.

This blog post is about one such example: Nepalis mocking the American twang in a Nepal-born American as well as fellow Nepalis for their non-mainstream Nepali accents.

When Looks Can…Deceive

when looks can deceive 3266 featimage

Nepalis generally make a lot of assumptions about and are judgmental of fellow Nepalis based on their appearance and/or their name and/or surname, a consequence of our social system, the monstrous caste system.

In this blog post I relay a typical incident of a fellow Nepali making assumptions about who I am and what I do based entirely on my facial features -- my ethnicity.