How does the Indian cast system work?
In: Other
Indian here. I’ll try to explain it as best I can.
**Varna** is a 4 part system described in the Vedas. You can think of this as the “OG” divisions of society and you’ll often see these labels referenced in ancient Hindu texts, epics, treaties, etc
– Brahmin (priest)
– Kshatriya (warrior)
– Vaishya (trader)
– Shudra (farmer/laborer)
The important thing to remember is that the real life ranking of castes and their power was extremely variable by location/time period and differed from what we would see in texts (written by Brahmins). As an example, the vast majority of kingdoms across Indian history were created by Kshatriyas or Shudras. Rulers, administrators, land owners, the rich and powerful were not Brahmins or necessarily Kshatriyas either. We have hundreds of ancient inscriptions where Shudra kings proclaim their Varna as the purest, the bravest, etc so clearly caste was not a total determinant of your success.
The thing is, Indians don’t go by Varna. Endogamy and caste politics is not based on these 4 categories. No, there is something a lot more modern and complex called **Jati** which is by far the more relevant societal category or label
Jati roughly translates to a community or clan. There are thousands of Jatis across the subcontinent, and they developed over the past 1500 years or so. Some claim to have descent from an old ruler, some claim to have migrated from elsewhere, the list goes on. When you ask an Indian about their Jati, you are getting much more relevant information about that persons background that applies to socioeconomic status, religion, culture, and more. Also, there is no actual ranking for Jatis. Most Jatis will think of their own group as superior and look down on mixing with other groups, regardless of their overall position in society, it’s just typical tribalism bullshit. But Jati is basically synonymous with caste and is a lot more accurate than classifying people based on Varna.
There is also something called Gotra which means “lineage” technically every Hindu has a Gotra and descends from some ancient Hindu dynasty but it’s more of a niche thing for religious people imo.
It’s worth considering that the caste system in India TODAY is very different from what it used to be 500 years ago vs 2000 years ago vs 4000 years ago. Caste has been illegal since 1947, but for a long time the Indian government used caste divisions to pander to voters and win elections. They also implemented extensive affirmative action based on caste so Indians would always be reminded of it even decades later. I think it’s slowly going away though, fortunately
I hope this was helpful. I probably got some stuff wrong lol
Latest Answers