The Caste System of India
From the earliest works in Sanskrit studies it seems that, those who spoke Aryan dialects in the period of initial colonization of India had already been divided into four main strata/ranks. The caste system has four main classes/castes ordered from the highest rank to the lowest as Brahmins,Kshatriya,Vaishya, and Shudra.
The caste system had rigid rules. Society was divided into strict sections and those belonging to higher castes exploited the lower-caste people. A person born in one caste was doomed to remain in it forever. Thus, there was no freedom of choice for anyone. Initiative and enterprise was suppressed and the progress of the country was severely hampered. People could not marry out of their caste or even eat with people belonging to lower-castes as social mixing was severely restricted.
People remained confined to their own castes and were not exposed to different ideas and ways of thought. Thus, their thinking also became narrow and limited. This also led to separatism. People only thought of the welfare of their own castes and not that of the society as a whole.
In the Hindu religion, Lord Brahma is the creator, who created Brahmins from the mouth, Kshatriyas from both arms, Vaisya from the waist, and Shudra from the feet.
Brahmins are upper echelon of the caste hierarchy. They include a number of landowner, village clerks, accountants, and a small group clergy who perform ceremonial functions in temples.Many can be found working in key government posts.
Kshatriyas the next in the hierarchy include landlords,possibly associated with the former ruling houses , for example, with the Rajput princes in Northern India. The traditional caste occupations are administering the estates and service at various administrative positions and in the army.
Vaishyas include traders,shopkeepers and moneylenders. These castes recognize the superiority of Brahmins. Generally, the traditional occupations of Vaishyas are commerce and banking. They tend to stay aways from physical labor, but are sometimes included in the management of landowners’ households are not directly participation in the cultivation of the land.
Sudras are included in the fourth Varna.There are numerous castes below Sudras who is regarded as less respectable and this includes potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, joiners, wevers, oilers, distillers, bricklayers, barbers, musician, etc. Throughout the history of India, the castes structure proved remarkably stable to changes. This is simply observed in case of Shudras, who even though were intelligent and aspired to study, was left with no scope to do so. They could not even touch a holy book or enter a temple.
The caste system had rigid rules. Society was divided into strict sections and those belonging to higher castes exploited the lower-caste people. A person born in one caste was doomed to remain in it forever. Thus, there was no freedom of choice for anyone. Initiative and enterprise was suppressed and the progress of the country was severely hampered. People could not marry out of their caste or even eat with people belonging to lower-castes as social mixing was severely restricted.
People remained confined to their own castes and were not exposed to different ideas and ways of thought. Thus, their thinking also became narrow and limited. This also led to separatism. People only thought of the welfare of their own castes and not that of the society as a whole.
In the Hindu religion, Lord Brahma is the creator, who created Brahmins from the mouth, Kshatriyas from both arms, Vaisya from the waist, and Shudra from the feet.
Brahmins are upper echelon of the caste hierarchy. They include a number of landowner, village clerks, accountants, and a small group clergy who perform ceremonial functions in temples.Many can be found working in key government posts.
Kshatriyas the next in the hierarchy include landlords,possibly associated with the former ruling houses , for example, with the Rajput princes in Northern India. The traditional caste occupations are administering the estates and service at various administrative positions and in the army.
Vaishyas include traders,shopkeepers and moneylenders. These castes recognize the superiority of Brahmins. Generally, the traditional occupations of Vaishyas are commerce and banking. They tend to stay aways from physical labor, but are sometimes included in the management of landowners’ households are not directly participation in the cultivation of the land.
Sudras are included in the fourth Varna.There are numerous castes below Sudras who is regarded as less respectable and this includes potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, joiners, wevers, oilers, distillers, bricklayers, barbers, musician, etc. Throughout the history of India, the castes structure proved remarkably stable to changes. This is simply observed in case of Shudras, who even though were intelligent and aspired to study, was left with no scope to do so. They could not even touch a holy book or enter a temple.