INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM

Caste as a system Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy and religion, custom and tradition, marriage and family, morals and manners, food and dress habits, occupations and hobbies. The caste system is believed to have had a divine origin and sanction. It is endlessly supported by rituals and ceremonies. It is a deep-rooted and a long-lasting social institution of India. India is a classical land of the caste. It is here, in India, we find more than 2800 castes and sub-castes with all their peculiarities. Of these, the major caste (previously known as varnas) such as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras (or depressed caste) are found in almost all the states. But none of these castes is numerically dominant in any of the states of India. Caste is defined technically as "each of the hereditary classes of Hindu society, distinguished by relative degrees of ritual purity or pollution and of social status" by wikipedia, sociologists defines caste as "is a social structure in which people belong to such social categories;" Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy and religion, custom and tradition .It is believed to have had a divine origin and sanction. It is deeply rooted social institution in India. There are more than 2800 castes and sub-castes with all their peculiarities Castes are ranked in hierarchical order (originally, the system wasn't to have a hierarchy based on occupation or birth but purely on personality; this has been skewed somehow over time), which determines the behavior of one member of society over another. Even in a modern business setting, where caste isn't openly acknowledged, there may be subtle observances of village or family-style ranking. For instance, a young official may address a senior person, not necessarily his superior, aschachaji, a respectful term for a paternal uncle Each caste has their particular head who is directly related to politics and acts as a prominent one during election period .So till people depending on the caste system there wont be any changes occurred in this. As, The most obvious problem with this system was that under its rigidity, the lower castes were prevented from aspiring to climb higher, and, therefore, economic progress was restricted.Castes still rarely intermarry and are definitely not changeable. In urban India, though, people of all castes meet socially or for business. Discriminating against anyone because of their caste for things like club memberships and so on is against the law.

Understanding of caste
India is one of the most intellectual country ,as people got evolved and are in their starting stage, where people started doing different occupation for their earnings.the most intellectual people haved planed to design the indian system in terms of occupation when some rivalry might have occured between 2 groups of people doing same job.so these so called visionary or intellictual ,people thinking in a broader sense in a futuristic way,that when number of people evolving increases then this rivalry might increase , so to solve this problem they  have designed an whole system based on occupation. the main root of this system is they have divided people into groups and listed out all kinds of ocupation available at that point of time , grouped all those occupations and then  a particular occupation might have been assigned to particular group. as time progress this system was termed as caste system.   conomists term it as division of labour. At that time society needed the work of all these castes. There was interference of one caste in another. The Brahma worshipped Gods and Goddesses. The Kshatriyas were guard the entire community against enemies. They acted as soldiers. The Vaisyas did the trade and commerce. The Shudras were allotted the duty of serving the above three castes. The purpose of dividing the society into four castes was to remove chaos and indiscipline from it. When all the castes did their respective works, harmony was established in society. But this harmony did not last long. The caste system became very rigid in later period. The feeling of inferiority and superiority arose. The people belonging to high caste hated the people of low caste.Gradually, one caste was again divided into sub-castes. 

The positive point in developing caste system in starting stage is , people have realised that for a proper and smooth going of life certain tasks has to be carried on around us, so since all these cant be done by a single person , and then to avoid repatatibility  and clash, the caste syste, was introduced. this caste system was going smooth and made life of people very easy unless people in caste system started making their rules ,but no, problems started when people started understanding the rules in the wrong way and then implimenting in a very wrong way.

like example people who does sanitation , drainage , hair cut were not allowed inside temple. this was the understanding of the rule but the rule may be introduced thinking that these people working in these areas mostly works with the dirt and hence might not be clean and hygeine so maintain the hygeniety of other places these people might be asked not to enter without bathing , but people have taken this rule in other way so seriously and then implimented in wrong way. this gave birth to the divisions of people which was virtually previously into reality and then divided themselves into touchables and untouchables.this dision is the reason for many fights ijn india.

later on as time proceeeds and many other new occupations got added ,so people got migrated to those new ones from the one which is defined for them, this transition slowly decresed this division and then,also  to bring the low order people to higher level concept of  reservations got evolved , which was important at that point of time but not now. 

Sanskritization
Prof M.N Srinivas introduced the term sanskritization to Indian Sociology. The term refers to a process whereby people of lower castes collectively try to adopt upper caste practices and beliefs to acquire higher status. It indicates a process of cultural mobility that is taking place in the traditional social system of India.M.N Srinivas in his study of the Coorg in Karnataka found that lower castes in order to raise their position in the caste hierarchy adopted some customs and practices of the Brahmins and gave up some of their own which were considered to be impure by the higher castes. For example they gave up meat eating, drinking liquor and animal sacrifice to their deities. They imitiated Brahmins in matters of dress, food and rituals. By this they could claim higher positions in the hierarchy of castes within a generation. The reference group in this process is not always Brahmins but may be the dominant caste of the locality.Sanskritization has occurred usually in groups who have enjoyed political and economic power but were not ranked high in ritual ranking. According to Yogendra Singh the process of sanskritization is an endogenous source of social change .Mackim Marriot observes that sanskritic rites are often added on to non-sanskritic rites without replacing them. Harold Gould writes, often the motive force behind sanskritisation is not of cultural imitation per se but an expression of challenge and revolt against the socioeconomic deprivations.

Caste:in present days
In modern India new tensions were created because of these positive discrimination policies. The high caste communities feel discriminated by the government policy to reserve positions for the Backward Classes. In many cases a large number of high caste members compete for a few places reserved for them. While the Backward Classes members do not have to compete at all because of the large number of reserved places for them compared to the candidates. Sometimes in order to fill the quota, candidates from the lower classes are accepted even though they are not suitable. Sometimes some reserved positions remain unmanned because there were few candidates from the lower classes causing more tension between the castes. Between the lower castes there are also tensions over reservation.In the order of priority for a reserved place of the Backward Classes, candidate from the Scheduled castes is preferred over a candidate from the Scheduled Tribes who is preferred over a candidate from the other Backward Classes. As stated earlier Other Backward Classes are about 50% of India's population but only 27% of the Other Backward Classes are entitled for positive discrimination according to central government policy. Some Other Backward Classes communities are organizing politically to be recognized as Backward Classes entitled for positive discrimination.

Conclusion
The Indian caste system has played a significant role in shaping the occupations and roles as well as values of Indian society. Religion has been the constant push towards this stratification system for centuries, beginning with the Aryans and continuing down a long road of unfortunate discrimination, segregation, violence, and inequality. Hinduism was the backbone of the puritypollution complex, and it was the religion that influenced the daily lives and beliefs of the Indian people. Even after sixty-three years of independence, Indians continue to be in the grip of caste consciousness. Historically, India has been surviving as a nation for millennia with closed groups divided by caste, creed and language . Work was divided and each had his allotted task since birth, and heredity of occupation was a rule that played a big role in the economics of urban and rural life. Mobility of occupation or caste was restricted, and an individual leaving the occupation of his ancestors in order to follow his or her own path was rarely witnessed. It can be seen that caste continues to play an important role in the dynamic of social and political interactions within India. However, the relationship between caste and hereditary occupations has become less significant now, and there are fewer restrictions on social interaction among castes, especially in urban areas . The present Indian society is moving from its closed systems towards a state of change and progression marked by the assertion of the human spirit irrespective of castes and creeds . Numerous movements challenging the injustices associated with the caste system have encouraged individuals in India to be more civil towards other caste members. Many of the lower castes have gained a lot from the partial elimination of the caste system, and India should be applauded for its constant effort to eradicate this system of stratification from its culture. It is, however, important to look at the importance of how caste status has affected the quality of life and social mobility in India today.