explain the caste and class system in india?

Answer 1

The people who took over as the most powerful culture in India after the Indus Valley people were the Aryans from the east.

The caste is separated into four levels. The Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras. The Outcasts or Untouchables, is the fifth group that does not fit into the caste at all.

The rules as to where people belonged were very strict. People were born into a caste and that was where they and their families stayed. People cannot marry out of their caste (Brahmins cannot marry Kshatriyas, for example). They also had to do work appropriate for their caste.

The Brahmins consist of priests and religious teachers and could read sacred texts of the society - the Vedas.

The Kshatriyas consist of kings, great landlords, warriors and soldiers. Rulers came from this caste, though it is not the most important caste. This is because Brahmins are seen as 'holy men' who were not worldly enough to make good rulers.

The Vaishyas consist of merchants, craftsmen and farmers. The Shudras consist of servants who were people who had non-Aryan ancestors who had lived in the Indus Valley before the Aryan invasion.

The outcasts did the worst jobs of all like butchery, street cleaning and so on. They lived in special places in the town or village and were supposed to keep well away from people with caste.

As well as having the worst living conditions, the outcasts were not protected by the laws of India. They were seen as non-people.

Answer 2

Caste and class system in India is one of myths perpetuated in a sur-real manner. The four classes as per Manu are all but eroding due to the modern way of life and the remnants of it exist in rural India. The post independence political compulsions have given a new meaning to the caste. The conjecture that all 'upper' caste people are light skinned and those of 'backward' are dark is not accurate as there are many the other way too. Right now the groups who are focussing on the caste system are the politicians who reckon the society in terms of vote of each caste, the community leaders who try to assert their social identity and the resultant economic gains. Globalization has a good impact on India that the vestiges of caste system are fast disappearing. The various classes of people are the politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists who are super rich, next come the upper middle class who have achieved economic stability and affluence by their education and skills, the middle class who are the largest in number among the educated who are basically in service and administrative sectors and then the agriculture sector (which has both rich land lords and landless labourers who are in the lower rung of economic class structure). The castes are roughly uniformly divided among the classes too. That means the affluence and social standing depends on the social,political and economic strength rather than their caste alone. Thus a rich politician of backward classes stands a lot higher than a poor worker belonging to the so called Upper caste. It is a very complex dynamics operating which defies accurate understanding to a superficial study of it or what is represented in the media. A structured research in the field will give a more reliable and accurate understanding. By and large in the day to day life, people of various castes live cordially with each other.

Answer 3

Class System In India

Answer 4

Once again, I came here to see what is the most appropriate explanation. Most people are answering as if the original Hindu folks who instituted this system had good intentions. They are pretending too much. I have to say as it is: Originally, the people who spoke Sanskrit, (let us call them Sanskritans) came into India through the North western portion. These people were of Iranian / Russian / central Asian descent. That is why this language is similar to English / German etc. When they came into India, the indigenous people obviously fought but lost. The Sanskritans were pale in color and the indigenous people were of different color. That is why this system is called Varna system (Varna means color). Obviously victors have a way of imposing their religion, laws and generally impose their will. If the victors take away the land of the masses, the masses can be silenced and subdued. The interesting thing is that thing is everything has to come by birth. This had gone on for several centuries and millenniums. Only the last century found some liberation. I commend the British and a lot of modern day Indians for reforms. Since the society is so much fragmented, it will take a long time to make the invisible boundary lines to vanish. I am happy to say that it is vanishing but unhappy to say that the speed is not one may want to see. Finally, let me earn the hatred of Sanskritans and say that Bagawat Gita, Bramanism, Vedas are ruinous things, backward looking, very caste and race oriented, extremely deleterious to human rights. There is simply nothing for Indians to be proud of. I am not a Muslim or Christian but a free thinker of South Indian origin in the middle of the caste hierarchy. Every time I place a comment of this kind, I do tender apologies for the people who were oppressed by the caste not only by Brahmins but even modestly upper class. I express remorse for the sins of my forefathers and foremothers.

Answer 5

Upper caste are rich people and I believe lighter in skin. Lower caste is poor people usually very dark in skin. The whole thing is just one big ball of stupidity.