The idea of progress : to what extend can we say that India has achieved progress in human rights?

I am going to deal with the notion « ideas of progress ». There’s 2 types of progress : the social progress which is an evolution in terms of quality of life through economic development (modernization), and also the application of science and technology, the scientific progress. Progress implies change and evolution and throughout history most of the advances have been positive. I'm going to deal with social progress and to focus more particularly in India with the caste system. So, to what extend can we say that India has achieved progress in human rights ?

In a first part, historically the indian society is based on a caste system. The highest caste is the Brahmin who are the priest, the teacher, judges... then, there's the Kshatriya who are in the government, the warriors, the middle caste is the Vaishya who are the land owners, the merchants, the Sudras who are employees, workers etc. and the last is the lowest caste: the Outcastes also called « untouchables » or « dalits ». this system was so discriminatory. But it was abolished in 1950 and this allowed the access to education for all the children, access to jobs in the administration,...

But unfortunately, equal rights is not achieved.We saw a document about the “love commandos” who are pupils who help indians lovers to be accepted by their parents or to escape them to live their love. If 2 pupils fall in love and they’re in 2 different castes, then it’s gonna be hard for them to be married and that their families accept the marriage because even if the caste system is abolished by the law, it stills in Indians minds.  So it symbolize that humans right especially the setting aside of the outcastes, haven’t evolved.

To continue with the idea that the human rights haven’t really evolved, we saw a document which speak about the current issues with Dalits in India. Dalis continue to be discriminated against. Dalit women are the target of rapes, dalit men are physically abused, they haven’t got access to health care, they work in poor in conditions. During the tsunami which was in 2004, Dalits were prevented from drawing water because there’s a superstition which says that their hands are polluted. Furthermore they haven’t received compensation.

In conclusion, India tries to make advances in human terms, for example by abolishing the caste system in 1950, but it was not because it was abolished that the Indians abolished it. As we have seen, it remains in the minds of the Indians even in the most extreme cases (rape, tsunami, etc.). Fortunately, organizations like the "lovers commandos" are there to advance the Indian vision without the caste system, and to help the most deprived.

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