Q.Although this text speaks of factual events and situations of misery it transforms these situations with an almost poetical prose into a literary experience. How does it do so? Here are some literary devices:

• Hyperbole is a way of speaking or writing that makes something sound better or more exciting than it really is. For example: Garbage to them is gold.
• A Metaphor, as you may know, compares two things or ideas that are not very similar. A metaphor describes a thing in terms of a single quality or feature of some other thing; we can say that a metaphor “transfers” a quality of one thing to another. For example: The road was a ribbon of light.
• Simile is a word or phrase that compares one thing with another using the words “like” or “as”. For example: As white as snow.
  Carefully read the following phrases and sentences taken from the text. Can you identify the literary device in each example?

1. Saheb-e-Alam which means the lord of the universe is directly in contrast to what Saheb is in reality.
2. Drowned in an air of desolation.
3. Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically.
4. For the children it is wrapped in wonder; for the elders it is a means of survival.
5. As her hands move mechanically like the tongs of a machine, I wonder if she knows the sanctity of the bangles she helps make.
6. She still has bangles on her wrist, but not light in her eyes.
7. Few airplanes fly over Firozabad.
8. Web of poverty.
9. Scrounging for gold.
10. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art.
11. The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over his shoulders.

Let’s start with something you already know. Think about the last time you were in a group — maybe a class project, a sports team, or even your own family. You probably noticed that some people had more say in decisions, or were listened to more carefully, while others had to work harder just to be heard. That difference in power and respect is what we call oppression — when one group is systematically kept down by another.

Now, in Indian society, two of the oldest and most powerful systems that create this kind of inequality are caste and class. They are not the same thing, but they often work together, making oppression deeper and harder to escape.

Everyday Intuition: Two Ladders, One Wall

Imagine society as a tall building with many floors. Class is like the floor you are born on based on your family’s money, education, and job. If your parents are doctors or engineers, you start on a higher floor. If they are daily-wage labourers, you start near the ground. You can sometimes take the stairs up — get a degree, a better job — but it takes effort and luck.

Caste is different. It is like a wall that runs through every floor. Even if you manage to climb to a higher floor, the wall decides which rooms you are allowed into. You might have the same money as someone from a “higher” caste, but you still face closed doors — in marriages, in temples, in neighbourhoods, sometimes even in schools or jobs. Caste is inherited at birth and, for centuries, was backed by religious and legal rules. You cannot change your caste by working harder.

So caste and class oppression means that a person can be pushed down both by their economic position (class) and by their social identity (caste). The two systems reinforce each other.

What the NCERT Textbook Says

The NCERT Sociology textbook for Class XII (Indian Society) explains this clearly. It says that caste is a hierarchical system where your birth determines your social status, occupation, and whom you can marry. It was traditionally linked to the varna system (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Dalits — formerly called “untouchables”). Even though the Constitution abolished “untouchability” in 1950, caste continues to shape everyday life.

Class, on the other hand, is based on economic factors — income, wealth, occupation, education. It is more fluid than caste; you can move up or down in class over your lifetime.

The key point the NCERT makes is that caste and class overlap. Most Dalits and Adivasis are also poor — they belong to the lower classes. Most upper-caste families are also wealthy or middle-class. This is not a coincidence. Centuries of exclusion from land ownership, education, and respected jobs have kept lower castes trapped in poverty. So when we talk about oppression, we are talking about a double burden: a Dalit labourer faces discrimination because of caste and exploitation because of class.

How They Work Together: A Few Examples

• Jobs and Occupations: For centuries, lower castes were forced into “unclean” work — manual scavenging, leatherwork, sweeping. Even today, these jobs are the lowest paid and least respected. Class oppression keeps wages low; caste oppression makes sure no one from a “higher” caste will do that work, trapping generations in the same cycle.
• Education: A Dalit child may go to the same government school as an upper-caste child, but teachers may ignore them, seat them separately, or assign them cleaning duties. This is caste oppression inside a class-based institution. The child’s family may also be too poor to afford private tuition — that is class oppression.
• Violence and Social Boycott: In many villages, if a Dalit family tries to assert their rights — like drawing water from the common well or walking through the upper-caste street — they face beatings, boycotts, or even murder. This is not about money; it is about caste honour. Class alone cannot explain this brutality. …