What role does the doctrine of Karma play in the Hindu social system?

The doctrine of Karma is one of the fundamental pillars of Hindu thought; however, examining the implications of this belief reveals grave moral and social dimensions. A consequence of the belief in Karma is that the weak, the poor, the disabled, and the destitute are seen as deserving of the misery and wretchedness they endure.

In the Hindu perspective, this desert is attributed to evil deeds committed by these individuals in their previous lives, making the practice of injustice, tyranny, and classism against them permissible—even a part of the predestined Karmic punishment imposed upon them.

This is clearly manifested in the treatment of classes such as the Shudra or the Dalit; where the powerful and wealthy exercise their alleged right to enslavement and oppression, viewing it as the execution of a cosmic justice that rewards or punishes each individual according to their past record, thereby entrenching a caste system devoid of the most basic meanings of mercy and human justice.