Caste << kast >> is a social class to which a person belongs by birth. Within a caste, most people may share an occupation, belong to the same religious sect (group), or have the same level of wealth. The term caste is most often applied to the closed groups into which the people of India are divided. This article discusses India’s caste system.
There are as many as 3,000 castes, or jatis, in India. Each caste has its own customs and rituals. To maintain ritual purity, members of each caste neither marry nor dine with members of other castes.
Castes may have existed in India before the arrival of Aryans from central Asia about 1500 B.C. Eventually, Aryan religious leaders and scholars called Brahmans developed a system for ranking the castes. It consisted of four ranked categories called varnas (colors).
The top varna was white and was occupied by Brahmans. The next varna was red and consisted of Kshatriyas—that is, rulers, nobles, and warriors. Then came the yellow varna. People in this category engaged in banking and other kinds of business and were known as Vaisyas. The black varna was next, and it included Sudras—artisans and laborers.
Besides the four varnas developed by the Brahmans, there was also a fifth category. People of the castes in this category were sometimes called panchamas (fifths) or outcastes. Today, panchamas are also known as untouchables. About a fifth of India’s people belong to untouchable castes.
India’s actual caste system has rarely matched the one outlined above. Through the centuries, the system has become increasingly elaborate. Many attempts to eliminate the caste system have been unsuccessful. India’s 1950 Constitution outlaws untouchability and grants equal status to all peoples. However, caste prejudice, especially in rural areas, remains an important factor interfering with India’s social integration and economic progress. Urbanization (the growth of cities and towns) and democratic government has also led to changes in the caste system.
See also Gandhi, Mohandas K.; Hinduism; India (Social structure).
