The caste system in India has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in the history of India, especially during the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. The discriminatory practices of the caste system are prohibited in India's current constitution. However, in practice, caste still exert a dominant force in modern Indian society and its diaspora; discussion about caste is often met with self-censorship. The caste system consists of two different concepts, varna and jati, which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system.
The caste system as it exists today is thought to be the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial government in India. The British Raj furthered this development, making rigid caste organisation a central mechanism of administration. Between 1860 and 1920, the British incorporated the Indian caste system into their system of governance, granting administrative jobs and senior appointments only to Christians and people belonging to certain castes.
Social unrest during the 1920s led to a change in this policy. Caste was no longer used by the colonial authority to functionally organize civil society. This reflected changes in administrative practices, understandings of expertise, and the rise of new European scholarly institutions. After the 1920s, the colonial administration began a policy of affirmative action by reserving a certain percentage of government jobs for the lower castes. In 1948, negative discrimination on the basis of caste was banned by law and further enshrined in the Indian constitution in 1950; however, the system continues to be practiced in parts of India. There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, each related to a specific occupation. India after achieving independence in 1947 enacted many affirmative action policies, such as reservation, for uplifting historically marginalized groups as enforced through its constitution.
Caste-based differences have also been practised in other regions and religions in the Indian subcontinent, like Nepalese Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. It has been challenged by many reformist Hindu movements, Sikhism, Christianity, and present-day Indian Buddhism. With Indian influences, the caste system is also practiced in Bali.
Definitions and concepts
Varna, jāti and caste
Varna
Varna, meaning type, order, colour, or class are a framework for grouping people into classes, first used in Vedic Indian society. It is referred to frequently in the ancient Indian texts. There are four classes: the Brahmins (priestly people), the Kshatriyas (rulers, administrators and warriors; also called Rajanyas), the Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, tradesmen and farmers), and the Shudras (labouring classes). The varna categorisation implicitly includes a fifth element, those deemed to be entirely outside its scope, such as tribal people and the untouchables (Dalits).
Jati
In ancient texts, Jati, meaning birth, is mentioned less often and clearly distinguished from varna. There are four varnas but thousands of jatis. The jatis are complex social groups that lack universally applicable definition or characteristic and have been more flexible and diverse than was previously often assumed.
Certain scholars of caste have considered jati to have its basis in religion, assuming that the sacred elements of life in India envelop the secular aspects; for example, the anthropologist Louis Dumont described the ritual rankings that exist within the jati system as being based on the concepts of religious purity and pollution. This view has been disputed by other scholars who believe it to be a secular social phenomenon driven by the necessities of economics, politics, and at times geography. Jeaneane Fowler says that although some people consider jati to be occupational segregation, in reality, the jati framework does not preclude or prevent a member of one caste from working in another occupation. A feature of jatis has been endogamy, in Susan Bayly's words, that "both in the past and for many though not all Indians in more modern times, those born into a given caste would normally expect to find marriage partner" within his or her jati.
Jatis have existed in India among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and tribal people, and there is no clear linear order among them.
Caste
The term caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning "race, lineage, breed" and, originally, "'pure or unmixed (stock or breed)". Originally not an Indian word, it is now widely used in English and in Indian languages, closely translated to varna and jati.