Wanted all Guppies insight on the whole caste system.
nowadays i suppose it doesnt matter so much with the new generation but oldies always talk about castes and how so and so is of falaana clan and so and so is of tinga clan.
there was an occasion where me and my grandad went to a business award ceremony held in the Xcel arena in London. one of the nominees was a family friend and he won the award for being an influential role model for youngsters in the field of business and new business start up projects. as you can tell this is a highly prestigious award. when he went on stage my grandads friend asked who this young guy was as he looked very familiar. my grandad tried to explain it to him but he wouldnt understand. in the end (after 5 minutes) my grandad says “He’s Yaqoob Nai’s grandson”!! WTF!
is that what its come to? someones actions and credentials are overshadowed by their familys caste or clan?
there are tonss of castes:
Jatt
Raaje
Gujjar
Vense
Rajpoot
Kasai
Nai
halvai
Mughal
Malik
Kamyaar
Darzi
Chaudhry
Mauchi
and many many more.
umm maybe because yaqoob nai is probably named yaqoob nai? obviously he didn’t mean it in a negative way, he’s not deliberately pointing out his caste, he probably just knows the guy as yaqoob nai. plus he’s your granddad, grandparents have a different style of talking and this was how they used to refer to each other back then.
what i saying is that in one persons eyes, this youngman who was awarded this prolific award was recognised not by his status or what he done, but by the caste of his grandad. THAT’s my point.
yaar this conversation isnot degrading or insulting in any way. this sounds like an old buddy meet-up conversation. in pakistan a lot of ppl refer to each other by their work for eg hameed doodh wala, sarfaraz welding wala etc etc.
as far as i know darzi, halwai, mochi nayi etc are not exactly castes rather they are the work these people. these type of work goes on from generation to generation in their families. if someone says we are halwai or mochi that doesnot mean they belong to a caste rather it means thats its their “khandani” work
all us close friends (theres about 15 of us) consist of Gujjar, Jatt, Mochi, Behns, Raaje, Malik and one Kamyaar.
we get on like a house on fire but our elders hate each others guts! its sooooooooo funny.
Your concern is valid. There is a caste issue … sure. But the conversation you posted does not reflect a caste issue. Its more.. someone is associated or remembered by the profession they or their family was in. Nothing wrong with it.
Caste issue is a totally different subject. Nai .. or doodh wala is not a caste.. Jatt, Butt, Rajput etc are.
Lol .. I think the elder generations, especially from pakistan just has this way of explaining. I dont think people as such do get embarassed by that .. Like my parents often refer to some people in the village as Noor muchen or sughar tarkaani .. I dont think it is to put them lower, but to clarify who they are talking about ..
About your list below … Chaudhary is not a caste, but a suffix which Jatt and Gujjars add before their name. The same with Raja and Rajpoot, Rajpoot is the caste, while Raja is the suffix.
I dont think that is completely right. A muchi, nayi, halwai is not just doing their khandaani work, it is their caste. You will never see a syed/rajpoot/gujjar/malik doing muchi work (shoes) in Pakistan. In Pakistan the “khandani” work is based upon their caste.
Chaudhary is not a caste, it is a suffix you add infront of your name (well male add to their name) and yes Gujjars add Chaudhary to their name.
Gujjar and Jatts are classified as same “caste-level” though they dont like each other, both castes are found in Punjab.
Some famous Gujjars in Pakistan are:
Chadhary Rehmat Ali (Choudhry Rahmat Ali - Wikipedia)
Chaudhary Fazal Ilahi former President of Pakistan
Chaudhary Qamar Zaman Kaira federal minister for information
In contemporary times yes its just used as part of the name. It’s just that I’ve seen so many gujjars who say they are rajput, and well Chaudrys and rajputs are like on opposite end of things… so that confused me.
