who can inform me about caste system in India?

Question

my friends who studied in India keep telling that Indians are very caste minded.i'am a hindu but not Indian.i would like to learn more about it though i disapprove this mind set and find it obsolete.but i guess i should know what it's all about before i criticise or disagree. NAMASTE :-)))))))) THX

is this system applicaple to Hindus only?what about others like Muslims, Tamil,Telugu,Marathi and so on?

thank you - you generous intelligent and lovely peolple.
ya ill come visit India soon.
heard that shopping is fantabulous there:0)))

Answer 1

yes, This is only applicable to hindus. Tamil, telugu and marathi arent religions, they can be hindu, christian on muslim..

Answer 2

The cast system is a way to
relate people to each other in a larger social structure. Hindus
are born into the cast system and they cannot change their caste,
or social standing in this lifetime. They must die first and
then when they are reborn they may belong to a higher cast if in
their previous lives they acted good according to their Dharma or
duty in life. Of course if they have not done all the things
that is called for in their Karma or action according to the
present caste, then they stand a chance to reborn into a lower
cast in their future lives. This cast system and the rebirth
cycle is a never ending circle. The only way to ever get off
this circle is if the person renounces all attachments to the
world and becomes a Soynansin or a renouncer. A renouncer may be
set free of the rebirth cycle because since he has given up all
worldly possessions including family and previous identity their
will not be any Karma holding him back upon his death. Therefore
his soul may be released into the universe and be reunited with
the ultimate reality, the Brahmin.

The cast system's structure is much like a piramyd structure
with the few privileged on the top and the many underprivileged
on the bottom. On the top of the cast system there are the
priests or Brahmins, their function in society is the role of
spiritual and sometimes political leadership. In India politics
and religion go hand in hand, unlike in the United States where
the official religion has been Atheism for the last fifty or so
years. Below the brahmins is the warrior class or in hindu the
Kshatriva. The purpose and function of this class is to defend
the country and uphold the law among the citizens. They are an
important part of the country and religion both. Next in the
cast system are the merchants or Vaisay. They are the people who
provide all other casts with food, clothing, furniture and
everything else. The class under the merchants is the workers or
the Sudras. They do all the hard and sometimes dirty work that
needs to be done in a society. These are the four classes in the
cast system, however there is yet another class of people that is
not included in the cast system and they are the untouchables or
the outcasts. They have no cast. These people are the ones who
do the most difficult and dirty work and they enjoy the least
amount of social prestige for it. People in one cast rarely mix
or intermingle with people of the other casts, it is forbidden to
do so for the sake of maintaining cast purity.

Answer 3

You visit India once and see the politician of any political party,only those people can answer your question properly, because they are the experts in handling, creating,exploiting etc the cast related matters in India now a days.
Basically there was no cast system in India. The system was based on the works assigned to the different sections of society based on their capabilities, which is later on labelled as castes. Now it has become a devil , politicians doe snot have that much courage to remove this system.

Answer 4

in ancient india there were four type of people.first was bramhin,2nd was khatriya,3rd was baishya and 4th as sudra.the fourth is called backward caste.bramhin was the lord of society
he has only the right to pray god.khatriya was to fight with eniemis,and baishya was looking the buisness.4th was most of them were illiterate.they are not allowed to go school for education.they will not even to alowed feed together with others.
if any sudra touches a bramhin fellow the moment bramhin take bath.like this way that sudra community has decleard scedulesd caste and those are very poor than this sudra is called scheduled
tribe.this two caste is reserved catagory in indian constitution.in indian costitution 7%
for sceduled tribe and 15% for scheduled caste at present in any employment/competitive exam/govt services etc..a scheduled caste member cannot marry a bramhin girl/khatriya girl/baishya girl.

Answer 5

The Indian caste system has been in use for many years. Still today the values of the caste system are held strongly. It has kept a sense of order, and peace among the people. There are five different levels of the system: Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, and Harijans. Within each of these categories are the actual "castes" or jatis within which people are born, marry, and die. They all have their own place among each other and accept that it is the way to keep society from disintegrating to chaos. This system has worked well for Indian people and still has a major role in modern India.

The Religious form of Caste System

In Hinduism there exists four castes arranged in a hierarchy. Anyone who does not belong to one of these castes is an outcast. The religious word for caste is 'Varna'. Each Varna has certain duties and rights. Each Varna members have to work in certain occupation which only that Varna members are allowed. Each Varna has certain type of diet. The highest Varna is of the Brahman. Members of this class are priests and the educated people of the society. The Varna after them in hierarchy is Kshatria. The members of this class are the rulers and aristocrats of the society. After them are the Vaisia. Members of this class are the landlords and businessmen of the society. After them in hierarchy are the Sudra. Members of this class are the peasants and working class of the society who work in non-polluting jobs. The caste hierarchy ends here. Below these castes are the outcasts who are untouchable to the four castes. These untouchables worked in degrading jobs like cleaning, sewage etc.

The first three castes had social and economical rights which the Sudra and the untouchables did not have. The first three castes are also seen as 'twice born'. The intention in these two births is to the natural birth and to the ceremonial entrance to the society at a much later age.

Each Varna and also the untouchables are divided into many communities. These communities are called Jat or Jati (The caste is also used instead of Jat). For example the Brahmans have Jats called Gaur, Kokanastha, Sarasvat, Iyer and others. The outcasts have Jats like Mahar, Dhed, Mala, Madiga and others. The Sudra is the largest Varna and it has the largest number of communities. Each Jat is limited to professions worthy of their Varna. Each Jat is limited to the Varna diet. Each Jat members are allowed to marry only with their Jat members. People are born into their Jat and it cannot be changed.

This is the how the caste system is supposed to be in its religious form. But in reality it is much more complicated and different from its religious form.

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Answer 6

for ur information tamil,telugu and marathi are the language of particular state not the caste.and every state in india has caste related problem.but not so dangerous that u don't want to visit the india.and yes even in muslims and cristians have the diffrent caste.

Answer 7

many above have explained caste system....it typically applies only to hindus.....more in terms of stratification of the society.

the 4 main branches are: Kshtriyas (warriors), Brahmins(religious heads), Vaishyas (business class), Shudra (menial labor class). Each then has its further classification and sub-classification down to levels such as region, town/village, etc.

Traditionally hindus marry within a particular caste they are born into. Also within that, there are strict rules such as, certain surnames(last names) cannot marry amongst each other, there has to be a difference of atleast 7 generations between boy and girl marrying, etc.. The reasons, though appearing religious in nature, have roots more in the science of genetics so that certain characteristics are strengthened over generations and others are diminished (evolution by design if you may like to call it). Hence, one will always hear that people of certain caste can (may) take up only certain professions (though it is not a rule in itself but, over generations and economic opportunities to certain sections, this birth/profession relationship has become a norm).

Anyone who is not born a hindu cannot convert into hinduism (unlike other religions). Hinduism is based completely on your belief in "your" God so, either you believe or you not.

The caste system nevertheless, you will observe in other societies as well (though no one will name it). e.g. in US there are so many menial jobs that only mexicans take up (because americans do not want to do them:-))...so over decades (and maybe couple of centuries) you may see a class of menial workers dominated by certain group and thus, a caste is born.

As for Marathi, Telugu, etc, these are languages of specific states. Kashmir (Kashmiri language), Punjab (Punjabi language), Gujarat (Gujarati language), Maharashtra (Marathi language), Andhra Pradesh (Telugu), Tamilnadu (Tamil) and so on. The caste system cuts across these languages and states.

Muslims, Christians, Parsees fall outside the caste system and hence, the classification does not apply to them (though, if one observes, similar stratification of these sub-groups can also be identified).

This entire question can be a research topic (of course quite controversial one as well).....and hence, cannot be answered in few lines.

Answer 8

The first generation chief of man kind classified foour kinds of
dharmic karmas and those who are engaged in it are known to belong to that class which later came to be known as varnashrama dharma. LORD KRISHNA very clearly states that one does not inherit a particular class by birth. but for the material benefits and the greediness of oour contemporary politicians painted a different color to the issue fanning the emotinoal passions of the gullible public to derive political advantage.the best way to understand the basics one has to mingle with the common public and interact with them without any reservation

Answer 9

I don't know much about it except that ppl in India are born into a certain caste. It doesn't matter if they are hindu or not.

Answer 10

NAMASTE.
Kindly visit India it will give you a life time thrill to know there are more than 1000 systems.