Preview

Caste system in India

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
360 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Caste system in India
At present caste system is discouraged in India, its root was very strong in ancient India. The ancient Aryans started the system. They divided the society into four castes such as Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Shudra. This division was made on the basis of the work which the Aryans did.

Economists term it as division of labour. At that time society needed the work of all these castes. There was interference of one caste in another. The Brahma worshipped Gods and Goddesses. The Kshatriyas were guard the entire community against enemies. They acted as soldiers. The Vaisyas did the trade and commerce. The Shudras were allotted the duty of serving the above three castes.

The purpose of dividing the society into four castes was to remove chaos and indiscipline from it. When all the castes did their respective works, harmony was established in society. But this harmony did not last long. The caste system became very rigid in later period. The feeling of inferiority and superiority arose. The people belonging to high caste hated the people of low caste.

Gradually, one caste was again divided into sub-castes. Today, much social tension is created due to the ugly feeling of caste system.

The caste system established social order. All castes were found in a village. So the people of one village did not need to go to another village to fulfill their wants. The Brahmins or Kshatriyas did not do the trade and commerce. Thus there was no dispute regarding trade. But gradually, the Brahmins imposed their superiority on other castes. The Kshatriyas also did the works of trade and commerce. The Shudras were neglected and treated as untouchables. They were also exploited by other castes. Thus the social order was affected.

M.K.Gandhi fought against the caste system in India. He called the low caste people as Harijans or the Children of God. The democratic Government in India has taken many steps to improve the condition of the low caste people. There is provision

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    When the Aryan's migrated to the Harrapan society bringing important and useful resources such as horses, chariots, iron, and the Sanskrit language they begin to slowly overpower the Dravidians currently settled there. Since the Aryan's were the more people they decided they needed a system to help keep social classes in their rightful order. So they created the caste system. Although the development of the 1800 subcastes and the mobility in a caste changed in 500CE, the purpose of the caste system remained the same in South Asia from 1000BCE to 500CE.…

    • 678 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were two parts to the caste system: The Caste as Varna and the Caste as Jati. The function of the Caste system was that it was very local and so it focused loyalties on a restricted territory. It made empire building very difficult and the caste was like a substitute for the state. The caste provided some social security and support for widows, orphans etc. The caste was a means to accommodate the migrants and invaders. Last but not least the caste made it easier for the wealthy and powerful to exploit the poor. The caste system which used birth to place people into their sectors of the sacred hierarchy was closely tied to the Hindu religion. This system remained an integral part of Indian society for…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    world hitory exam notes

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    -The social class system that came to be known as the caste system was established in India by…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 3 review

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Caste System developed in India by a separation of the people due to the social hierarchy and the economical differences between them. Depending on their caste, the people were treated differently even though they lived side by side each other. The Caste system being developed allowed the “conquers” and the “conquered” to live in harmony.…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aryans were an important role in Indian politics and social structure. Aryans’ brought the Varnas which was an early version of the caste system. The Aryans put themselves as the upper class to make them powerful over the native Indians. Later in history, Chandragupta Mauryan gained power along the Ganges River and created the first dynasty which was the Mauryan Dynasty. Chandragupta’s way of ruling made him rely on ruler’s personal and military power. His grandson Ashoka, governed two provinces. He extended the land to the southern tip by fighting which showed that he was blood thirsty. Later, the Guptas came and developed a tax system and made the caste system in a way that various races could live with each other without conflict. The caste system in India was the social pyramid and consists of priests (brahman); warriors and rulers (kshatriyas); skilled traders, merchants and minor officials (vaisyas); unskilled workers (sudras) and the untouchables (pariah). This system made Indians really rigid and stay in their place. In India, they also didn’t have any slaves since those jobs were mostly done by the…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mesopotamia Social System

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Caste system is a way to categorize people in society by their ethnicity and job status. This was also hereditary and would pass from generation to generation. The caste system, though it shares the classes that many ancient civilizations followed, did not necessarily influence them at all. Some theorize that if that were the case others would have a more defined class system rather than based on wealth and status, which most of them did. Rather some historians theorize these caste came from a war and fighting with the Dravidians, the dominate group in that area.(aqrobatiq, 2015) How ever the system formed it stuck, with almost impossible odds against someone to change their caste in life. The Caste system formed out of the natural self organization that humans do when lacking a bureaucratic system in place like Egypt and Mesopotamia, The levels of the Caste system from top to bottom…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Classical India had a very complex system of hierarchy known as the caste system. The caste system developed during the Vedic and Epic ages and became steadily more complex as a way of dividing people into social classes. The caste system was racially based, so a person was born into a caste, or jati, with no way of changing his or her status individually. Whole jatis could raise their social standing, but violating rules…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hinduism Study Guide

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * Caste system- divides people into separate social groups that have varying rights, responsibilities, professions, and statuses…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trace the origins of the caste system, making sure to include a discussion of varna and jati. Caste developed gradually as Aryans established settlements all throughout India with a growing social complexity. They had to refine social distinctions. After 1000 BCE, Aryans recognized four main varnas: priests (Brahmins), warriors and aristocrats (kshatriyas), cultivators,…

    • 773 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Notes

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    ·Caste System- The Aryan system of social classes in India and one of the cornerstones of Hinduism in…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap Ikat

    • 267 Words
    • 1 Page

    The ancient Indian people has a caste system goes like this Brahmin (Priest), Chetri Kshatriya, (Ruler & Warrior) Vaishya, (Merchant, Trader, and Artisan) Shudra, (Farmer and Laborer) and Untouchables. This caste system has been used throughout their whole history and will never change. With such a consistent system that is why they have last as long as they did.…

    • 267 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The caste system is divided based on hereditary groups and is endogamous; you cannot marry into another caste group. Despite the laws passed to prevent…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hindu Caste System

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout thousands of years in the Hindu religion, a person’s social class was determined immediately after they are born. This organisation was then later known as the Caste System. Caste members lived, married, and worked within their selected group. A person born into one caste was not allowed to change castes or associate with other members of a different caste. Rules and expectations were set for each caste, each caste had a clear and distinct role within the community. It does not allow for upward mobility in society the Caste System is made up of four different castes; the highest among Hindu society were the Brahmins or priests, for the members of this caste it is essential that they keep themselves pure since they handle…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Caste System In India

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    From a perspective of someone who lived in India for three years, the caste system in…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism Paper

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hinduism does not have a set orthodoxy, but there are several main beliefs that share a commonality among the different sects. The caste system is one of the oldest principles of Hinduism, an aspect as much religious as it is social. According to Hindu teaching, there are four basic social classes, or castes. Each social order has its own rules and obligation for living. The select few are the Brahman, or priest caste. Second are the warriors and rulers, the Kshatriyas. Third are the Vaisyas, or merchants and farmers. Finally, the fourth caste is the Shudras, or laborers. Existing outside of the caste system are the untouchables, the outcasts of society. One does not get choose to enter his or her caste, rather, that is decided according to what family the person is born into.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays