Over time, society continues to grow and become more complex. Today, it is more complex than ever. In my experience, the world is immensely fast-paced and it is easy to get caught in the moment with so much going around, and all the tasks that need to get done. However, as a sociology student I have realized the importance of pausing and looking around myself. This includes temporally, situationally, and location. The reason is that to gain a better understanding of my own biography, it is crucial to look at the ‘bigger picture.’ This is the epitome of the sociological imagination, which allows people to better comprehend the social forces at work both at micro-and-macro levels. In turn, one can form an unbiased explanation of their own life.
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When I connect this to how my grandparents and their generation were living in India, it makes sense how systemic racism had its influence not only in the United States, but globally it seems. Looking closer, this is around the mid-20th century and onwards because much of my family’s history preceding this time is vague and not available from other family members. Location wise it is both in Punjabi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Going back to segregation, this is the result of India’s caste system. Although I am not aware of every caste, I have learned from a relative from the same generation as my grandparents that it is much like a hierarchical pyramid on the ‘first layer’. For instance, the ‘Brahmin priests’ are at the top – and they embody the Indians with the fairest skin and highest socio-economic status. Following them are the ‘Kshatriya’ warrior caste, which is what my family belongs to – historically speaking. There are more castes, but the crucial point here is that at the bottom of this hierarchy are those considered the ‘out of caste’ and predominantly had darker skin tones. These are people of low socio-economic status due to their occupations that involve being cleaners and
When I connect this to how my grandparents and their generation were living in India, it makes sense how systemic racism had its influence not only in the United States, but globally it seems. Looking closer, this is around the mid-20th century and onwards because much of my family’s history preceding this time is vague and not available from other family members. Location wise it is both in Punjabi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Going back to segregation, this is the result of India’s caste system. Although I am not aware of every caste, I have learned from a relative from the same generation as my grandparents that it is much like a hierarchical pyramid on the ‘first layer’. For instance, the ‘Brahmin priests’ are at the top – and they embody the Indians with the fairest skin and highest socio-economic status. Following them are the ‘Kshatriya’ warrior caste, which is what my family belongs to – historically speaking. There are more castes, but the crucial point here is that at the bottom of this hierarchy are those considered the ‘out of caste’ and predominantly had darker skin tones. These are people of low socio-economic status due to their occupations that involve being cleaners and