he caste system in India is a complex structure of different social classes in the Hindu religion. Caste system in India has a history that dates back to the ancient past when people used to believe that people were born into a particular social status based on their experiences in past lives and good deeds can actually reincarnate one into a higher social strata in the next life. The Indian caste system has gone places with the changes that has taken place in the society. Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshatriya and Sudra were the four castes in India.
Posted On : 12/30/2008 5:14:28 AM
Manasi Mathur Reward Points : 10600 Member Since : Thursday, December 20, 2007
The development of the caste system in India never seems to be having any universally accepted history as such. Though there is a general speculative belief that the earliest settlers to this land, the Indo-Aryans might have actually established the caste system, gradually placing them in the higher ladder of the society. There is a whole lot of controversy regarding the theory of the Indo-Aryan migration. The Hindu scriptures can also be taken into consideration in this regard, which has some passages that can be interpreted to sanction the caste system. This also indicates that the caste system is not an indispensable part of the Hindu religion. The Vedas or the most ancient shruti texts emphasise very less on the caste system, same is maintained in a hymn from the Rig Veda. Later scriptures like Bhagvad Gita and Manusmriti propounds four Varnas, to be God s creation. There is a general idea believed by scholars that may be in the initial phases the caste system was a bit flexible. Migration from one caste to the other was possible by switchin jobs. Various passages from Manusmriti and other scriptures emphasise that the Indian caste system was originally non-heriditary. Therefore we can get an impression how the caste system developed in the later stages into a rigid complex structure from a flexible one in the earlier Vedic age.
Posted On : 1/5/2009 12:38:14 AM
Maniam PS [Guru] Reward Points : 133000 Member Since : Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Eventhough it is said that the Indian Caste System has only for divisions viz Brahmin, Vaishya, Kshatriya and Sudra, I believe that the caste system is more complex than that. It is my believe that the cast system is based on the job the various sects did, that is why we have various casts and sub-casts for priests, soldiers, merchants, clerics, farmers, dhobies, barbers, cobblers, undertakers, etc,etc, etc.
Posted On : 5/26/2009 7:11:04 PM
Anil Tewari Reward Points : 17300 Member Since : Friday, April 17, 2009
I am scarcely interested in the origin or history of the caste system in India. However, those who often criticize the caste system assume that this system is based on the principle of inequality, and in order to abolish this system, we must know the reason behind its origin. Once we know the conditions of its origin, we can quite easily abolish it. I often wonder whether the caste system per se is problematic or it is the hierarchy prevalent in it creates problems. Whatever has been the reason behind the origin of this system, many people often see it as an effort to obtain some sort of reconciliation in the society which introduced it. But, it is quite baffling to see a hierarchy accepted in this system. If every segment of our society contributes significantly, why should there be a hierarchy in the segments? What is the rationale behind having higher and lower levels in the society depending on the nature of job? Right from the cleansing to higher learning, every process in our life is significant. Can we regard higher learning as more significant that cleansing? Similarly, no stage of learning is less significant than others in our life and teachers play significant role in this, then why do we discriminate in terms of salaries between the primary teachers and the university teachers? This cannot be maintained unless we are unduly non-serious about certain aspects of our life. Are we ready to accept it? If yes, why if not, why there are discriminations? The search for a plausible answer to these questions may also throw some insight into the matter.
Caste System In India
