What is the caste system?

Caste system in India is a social hierarchical classification that has been a feature of Hinduism in India since at least 2000 years. The organising principles of the classification included in the caste system like hierarchy, scale of entitlements and duties, notions of purity and pollution, can be found in the religious texts of Dharmashastra and Bhagawadgita. Caste system and Hinduism are so deeply interconnected that they are also seen as inextricably intertwined with each other. Eminent sociologist M.N. Srinivas defined caste “as a hierarchy of endogamous, usually localized group, having a traditional association with an occupation and a particular position in the local hierarchy of castes.”

The Indian Caste System is considered a closed system of stratification, which means that a person’s social status is obligated to which caste they were born into This limits their interaction and behaviour with people from different social statuses. The caste system uses the cognitive categories of jatis (large-scale endogamous descend groups) and varnas (ranked classification of jatis). There are four hierarchical ranks in the caste system, called varnas. These ranks, in decreasing order of their social status, are: Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Apart from these four varnas, exist varnas that are lower than Shudras hierarchically, called Atishudras- Untouchables, Unapproachables and Unseeables.

A Brahman is a scholar and priest who are at the top of the Caste System. They know the Vedas, and they hold the operations of sacrifice. In modern India, where education and economic competition are dominant, the Brahmans occupy this position.

A Kshatriya is a political ruler or a soldier and is characterized by physical strength. They are said to be bold and alert, and full of discipline and modesty. Kshatriyas, in modern-day, are landowners or follow urban professions.

A Vaishya is a merchant; the duty of Vaishyas was to guarantee the prosperity of the community, through agriculture and trade. The Vaishyas were considered to be weak in comparison with their rulers. Today, Vaishyas constitute traders and merchants.

A Shudra is the lowest in the hierarchy within the varna system. Shudras were described as the giver of grain and ancient texts describe a Shudra's mode of earning as being "by the sickle and ears of corn.” They are peasants and artisans.

Outside these four varnas are the Untouchables or Dalits. The occupations they performed were considered “unclean” and “polluting”. Their jobs included, and are not limited to, manual scavenging, cleaners of drains, garbage collectors, and sweepers of roads. In Hinduism, anything related to dead cattle or cowhides is considered unclean and impure, which the Dalits were in charge of. These ‘untouchable’ outcast communities were forbidden to join in the religious and social life of the community and were confined to such menial tasks. They were forbidden to use public property, and if they entered a temple knowingly, they would be charged with a criminal offence. As Author Arundhati Roy mentions, much of the discrimination against dalits was perfected through certain "unwritten codes, which were much worse than the old Jim Crow laws of the American South.