b.

Caste Hierarchy
The social structure of Indian society is characterised by a unique social institution called the
‘caste’.It is a rigid form of stratification with very limited or no vertical social mobility. Caste
is based on ascribe i.e. birth and membership is compulsory and not a matter of choice.
According to S V Ketkar, the word caste is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. It emerge from
the Spanish word ‘casta’ meaning ‘lineage or race’. The Spaniard were the first to use it, but in
India it was the Portuguese who first used the term. They used this term to denote the Indian
institution that was intended to maintain the purity of blood.
Varna means four-fold division of Hindu society. The word Varna is means ‘colour’. But it has
actually nothing to do with the colour of the skin. It originated during the Vedic period. The
Varna system divided the society into four groups;
i. Brahmans (priests)
ii. Kshatriyas (warriors)
iii. Vaishyas (merchants)
iv. Shudras (servants)
It is believed that the four Varna’s originated from the four different parts of Prajapathi
Brahman or Supreme Being. Accordingly, the Brahmans emerged from the mouth. Hence their
task is to serve the society as teachers, priests, etc. The Kshatriyas from the arms, which stand
for strength, valour and heroism. So their task is to serve society as warriors, kings, protectors,
etc. The Vaishays from the thigh. The thigh is located near the stomach, hence their duty is to
provide food and look after the economy of the society. The Shudras emerged from the feet of
the Creator and thus their duty is to serve others just as their feet serve the other parts of the
body. The upper three Varna’s are called ‘dwijas’ or ‘twice-born’ and males belonging to that
group have to undergo a ritual called ‘upanayana’ and are entitled to wear a sacred thread. The
Shudras are not given that privilege.
Varna system was originally devised to have harmony and cooperation between people. They
do not interfere in each other’s Varna as it is already assigned to them by their creator. Thus,
they don’t have the right to complain.
Caste is another name for the over 3000 jatis in India. In practise, caste system operates in the
form of jati system. The Jatis come under the Varna system. But not all jatis come under varna.
For example, the untouchables or Dalit’s only belong to the jati group and not the varna.
Definition:
According to Sir Herbert Risley, Caste is a collection of families, bearing a common name,
claiming a common descent from a mythical ancestor, human and divine, professing to follow
the same hereditary calling and regarded by those who are competent to give an opinion or
forming a single homogenous community.
According to C H Cooley, when a class is somewhat strictly hereditary, we may call it a caste.
Characteristics of caste system:
The caste system is highly complex in nature. The following are the features of caste system;
i. A segmental division of society: Caste are groups with a well-defined boundary of their
own. Status of an individual is determine by his birth i.e. ascribed. Each caste has its own
custom, rituals, practices, etc.
ii. Hierarchical division of society: There is a sense of highness and lowness, superiority and
inferiority in a caste system. The Brahmins are placed at the top of the hierarchy and are
regarded pure and supreme. It is followed by the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The Shudras are
placed in the lowest hierarchy.
iii. Restrictions on food habits: This system has imposed certain restrictions on the food habits
of its members. Taking the example of the Brahmins. They only accept pukka food (food
cooked with ghee) from the lower castes and accept kachcha food (food cooked with water) at
the hands of no other castes but his own. As a matter of rule and practices, no one from the
upper caste would accept kachcha food prepared by a man of inferior caste. And any kind of
food prepared by the Brahmins is acceptable to all. Besides, there are some restrictions
regarding food habits. The Brahmins do not take garlic, onion, cabbage, meat, etc. Inter-dining
is also prohibited.
iv. Restrictions on social relations: It is believed that a touch of a lower caste (untouchables)
would pollute or defile a man of higher caste. Even their shadow is considered to be enough to
pollute the. This practice made the lower caste people to be segregated completely from the
upper caste.
v. Civil and religious disabilities: Lower caste people suffered certain civil, social and
religious disabilities. In some cases, the impure caste are made to live on the outskirts of the
village or city. They are not allowed to draw water from the public wells. Hotels, schools,
temples, theatres and any other public places restricts the lower caste from entering.
On the other hand, all the privileges lie in the hands of the upper caste especially the Brahmins,
because they are considered pure. Chanting the vedic mantras was a good privilege of the
Brahmins. In fact, the upper caste enjoy all the social, political, legal and religious privileges.
vi. Restrictions on occupational choice: Some occupations are considered to be superior and
sacred while some are considered inferior. Occupations are almost hereditary. Weaving, shoe-
making, sweeping, washing clothes, etc. were considered inferior jobs and they were practise
by people from the lower caste. Priesthood, warriors are considered superior.
vii. Restrictions on marriage: Caste is an endogamous group. Accordingly, an individual has
to marry a person within his or her own caste. Inter- caste marriage was strictly prohibited,
where a person cannot marry outside his group. The main reason is to maintain the purity of
blood.
Changes in the caste system:
Caste system has undergone lots of changes especially with the British rule in India. Caste was
a rigid system where a person’s status is based on ascribed (by birth). As a result of British rule
it somehow became flexible. Some of the factors that led to the changes in the caste system are
as follows;
a) Declining hold of caste Panchayats: The British have introduced the uniform legal system
where all the matters relating to theft, marriage, assault, etc. were brought before the British
courts. Before this, all these matters were brought before the caste panchayats. This system of
social control were actually in the hands of upper caste. As a matter of fact, whatever matters
bought before the panchayat, especially the matter between the upper and the lower caste, it
was actually the upper caste members who will always win the favour. But with the British
introducing uniform laws, even the lowest caste were slowly able to get justice.
b) Influence of social legislation: With this, the British has implemented many social
legislations to do away with the evil practices like sati, dowry, child marriage, prohibition of
widow remarriage etc. which was very common in the Indian society. Some of the legislations
like;
 The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1860 (which declares child marriage as unlawful)
 The Special Marriage Act of 1872 (which legalised inter-caste and inter-religious
marriage)
 The Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1876 (which gave legal permission for widows
to remarry)
These and many other socio-legal measures of the British government gave a severe blow to
the tight hold of the caste system.
c) Impact of Social Reform Movements: Alongside the British, there are also some Indian
who launch reform movements to stop this caste system and its inequalities. Some of the
movements include the Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Parthana Samaj,
Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission etc. who condemn the practices of idol worship, human and
animal sacrifices, encourage inter-dining, inter- marriage, remarriage of widows, etc. It tried to
remodel the Hindu society on the basis of Vedic ideals (where the system was actually form
for cooperation and harmony by division of labour).
d) Spread of English education and influence of Western ideas: Spread of English education
exposed the Indians for the first time to the western world. Western ideas such as liberty,
equality and fraternity, democracy, secularism, etc. broadens the minds of the Indians and
created an awareness that the caste system is actually affecting the people by prohibiting to
come out of their social miseries. Increasing influence of science and technology added greater
strength to the growing awareness of the masses.
e) Influence of industrialisation: This has affected the socio-economic conditions. The British
brought modern machineries and introduced factory system. New industries, occupation,
employment opportunities, salary based service system were established. It provided countless
ways of earning livelihood. As a result, large number of people moving to the towns to get
themselves engage with new occupations started breaking down with many of the caste norms.
Taboos against food and accepting food from lower caste weaken. Crowded trains and buses
brought people from all the caste together.
f) Impact of urbanisation: The growth of city life with its migratory population brought about
changes in the rigidity of the caste system. As Srinivas has pointed out, the non-Brahmins
refused to show the same respect to the Brahmins which they use to show earlier.
Thus, the British rule started in India has brought tremendous changes in the caste system in
India. In reality, all these measure took by the British Government was purely based for
administrative purpose and they don’t have any desire to reduce the rigidity of caste system.
But in the long run, it has affected the system in many ways which brought positive changes in
the society.

Functions or Merits of caste system:

(i) It provides an individual a fixed social status.
(ii) It enables members belonging to the same caste, a sense of oneness and maintains unity
among themselves.
(iii) It distributes the dynamics of division of labour.
(iv) It helps maintain racial purity. As it prohibits inter-caste marriage they were able to
maintain the purity of blood.

Demerits of caste system:

(i) This system created untouchability.
(ii) It hampers the progress of the society. Since the system is based on rigidity they don’t
welcome any changes in the system.
(iii) Besides the lower caste, women are not treated equally. They are not allowed equal
participation in religious, political activities etc. Women belonging to the lower caste also face
more discrimination as a women and as a lower caste.
Thus, caste system has given privileges to the higher caste. It often denied opportunities to the
really deserving members of the lower caste. The talents of the lower caste were unnecessarily
suppress by this system. In this way, it brought social and material losses to the society.
However, the caste system has undergone lots of changes and its importance is degrading
especially in the urban areas. In the cities, people from different caste started living together,
spread of education, uniform laws, growth of occupations etc. With more importance given to
education and abilities, even people of low caste started changing their occupations which in
fact leads to better income and raises the standard of living. Today society has become more
of class based (rich or poor) rather than caste based.

Casteism:
According to R N Sharma, casteism is a blind group loyalty towards one’s own caste or sub-
caste, which does not care for the interest of other caste and seeks to realised the social,
economic, political and other interest of its own group. It is a situation where member of one
caste exploit the members of other caste for their own vested interest in the name of superiority
and inferiority.