Abstract
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World contains and resembles a caste system found in Hindu society. While in Hindu society, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras comprise the caste system, in Huxley’s text, there are Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. With regard to the stratified Hindu society, in Annihilation of Caste, Dr B.R. Ambedkar exposed the viciousness of the caste system and how it stabilized the privilege of those in power to the detriment of the rest. Hence, with Ambedkar’s views regarding caste, the author of this article wishes to understand the caste system in Brave New World and how it is maintained. In other words, the purpose of this article is to investigate how the caste system, as seen in Brave New World, undermines individual reason and, with the fear of excommunication, absence of meaningful relationships, and love for one’s social privilege, maintains a system of graded inequality.
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Provided the scope of the article, the emphasis thoroughly remained on the two primary texts dealt with – Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste. For Huxley’s novel, the 2004 edition by Vintage has been accessed. On the other hand, for Ambedkar’s speech, the 2014 edition by Navayana Publication was used.
Notes
Sanskrit texts that were written down and likewise had authors. Unlike the Smritis, Srutis were utterances transmitted verbally for generations.
Hindu literature pertaining to legends and traditional lore.
Varna means caste and Vyavastha stands for system. In the Varna Vyavastha, the Brahmins would have access to education, the Kshatriyas would be responsible for administrative duties and take part in warfare, the Vaishyas would execute agricultural tasks, and the Shudras would play the role of the servants.
It is a drug that the inhabitants of the world regularly consume to remain conditioned and happy.
Of course, the author intends a political reform that would result in the confiscation of the so-called “Major instruments of social stability” as mentioned in the novel.
Bibliography
Ambedkar, B.R., S. Anand, and A. Roy. 2014. Annihilation of caste: The annotated critical edition. Navayana Publ.
Huxley, A. 2004. Brave New World Aldous Huxley. With an introduction by David Bradshaw. Vintage.
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Sardar, S. Understanding the Caste System and Its Maintenance: Brave New World’s World State and Ambedkar’s Stratified Hindu Society in Annihilation of Caste. Humanist Manag J 9, 115–120 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-024-00170-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-024-00170-2