Overview of the Caste System in India

Evolution and Impact of the Caste System in India

Abstract

The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of caste. Originates in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. 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 that exist today, is the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial regime in India. The collapse of the Mughal era saw the rise of powerful men who involved themselves with kings, priests and ascetics, affirming the regal and martial form of the caste ideal, and it also reshaped many apparently casteless social groups into differentiated caste communities.