The Varnashram System

The Varnashram system is the ancient Hindu social system evolved over thousands of years. It consists of four varnas – brahmanas (priests, teachers, and intellectuals), kshatriyas (police, army, and administration), vaishyas (farmers, merchants, and business people), shudras (artisans and workers) and four ashrams – student life, household life, retirement, and renunciation.

Varna system has been the most controversial aspect of Hinduism. While critics of Hinduism can find no fault with Hindu philosophy and universal humanism, the Varnashram system is one aspect of Hinduism, which such motivated critics exploit to put it down. They equate modern caste system with the ancient Varnashram system, and inequities amongst various castes provide an easy handle to malign Hinduism. But are the castes same as the Varnas? There are thousands of castes but there are only four Varnas. The present caste system is not what was prescribed in the scriptures as the Varnashram system. But, instead of delving into that distinction, let’s try to understand the Varnasystem.

While times have changed, the social structures and practices have also changed. When we look back at our past, we try to judge those societies with modern standards and with a value system we have imported from alien cultures. In the eyes of a modernist the Varnashram system is the most hated social system because he tries to judge the ancient with his own colored glasses of western modernity. Our perception is mostly governed by what others say about our culture and religion and not by our own understanding of what it was and the context in which it operated. In our criticism we tend to focus on parts without trying to comprehend the whole picture and how the system was designed to address the challenges of those times.

Therefore, we need to see things in totality. I have come across the following description of Varnashram system as given in the Srimad Bhagvatam. I am sharing it with my readers as I think they will find it interesting and useful in forming a more informed opinion about the Varnashram system. This will also be useful in understanding how our society was organised in olden days, why it was organised that way and whether there are certain aspects of this system which have relevance even today?

SB 11.17.10: In the beginning, in Satya-yuga, there is only one social class, called haḿsa, to which all human beings belong. In that age all people are unalloyed devotees of the Lord from birth, and thus learned scholars call this first age Kṛta-yuga, or the age in which all religious duties are perfectly fulfilled.

SB 11.17.11: In Satya-yuga the undivided Veda is expressed by the syllable oḿ, and I am the only object of mental activities. I become manifest as the four-legged bull of religion, and thus the inhabitants of Satya-yuga, fixed in austerity and free from all sins, worship Me as Lord Haḿsa.

SB 11.17.12: O greatly fortunate one, at the beginning of Tretā-yuga Vedic knowledge appeared from My heart, which is the abode of the air of life, in three divisions — as Ṛg, Sāma and Yajur. Then from that knowledge I appeared as threefold sacrifice.

SB 11.17.13: In Tretā-yuga the four social orders were manifested from the universal form of the Personality of Godhead. The brāhmaṇas appeared from the Lord's face, the kṣatriyas from the Lord's arms, the vaiśyas from the Lord's thighs and the śūdras from the legs of that mighty form. Each social division was recognized by its particular duties and behavior.

SB 11.17.14: The married order of life appeared from the loins of My universal form, and the celibate students came from My heart. The forest-dwelling retired order of life appeared from My chest, and the renounced order of life was situated within the head of My universal form.

SB 11.17.15:The various occupational and social divisions of human society appeared according to inferior and superior natures manifest in the situation of the individual's birth.

SB 11.17.16: Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, cleanliness, satisfaction, tolerance, simple straightforwardness, devotion to Me, mercy and truthfulness are the natural qualities of the brāhmaṇas.

SB 11.17.17: Dynamic power, bodily strength, determination, heroism, tolerance, generosity, great endeavor, steadiness, devotion to the brāhmaṇas and leadership are the natural qualities of the kṣatriyas.

SB 11.17.18: Faith in Vedic civilization, dedication to charity, freedom from hypocrisy, service to the brāhmaṇas and perpetually desiring to accumulate more money are the natural qualities of the vaiśyas.

SB 11.17.19: Service without duplicity to the brāhmaṇas, cows, demigods and other worshipable personalities, and complete satisfaction with whatever income is obtained in such service, are the natural qualities of śūdras.

SB 11.17.20: Dirtiness, dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger and hankering constitute the nature of those in the lowest position outside the varṇāśrama system.

SB 11.17.21: Nonviolence, truthfulness, honesty, desire for the happiness and welfare of all others and freedom from lust, anger and greed constitute duties for all members of society.

SB 11.17.22: The twice-born member of society achieves second birth through the sequence of purificatory ceremonies culminating in Gāyatrī initiation. Being summoned by the spiritual master, he should reside within the guru's āśrama and with a self-controlled mind carefully study the Vedic literature.

SB 11.17.23: The brahmacārī should regularly dress with a belt of straw and deerskin garments. He should wear matted hair, carry a rod and waterpot and be decorated with akṣa beads and a sacred thread. Carrying pure kuśa grass in his hand, he should never accept a luxurious or sensuous sitting place. He should not unnecessarily polish his teeth, nor should he bleach and iron his clothes.

SB 11.17.24: A brahmacārī should always remain silent while bathing, eating, attending sacrificial performances, chanting japa or passing stool and urine. He should not cut his nails and hair, including the armpit and pubic hair.

SB 11.17.25: One observing the vow of celibate brahmacārī life should never pass semen. If the semen by chance spills out by itself, the brahmacārī should immediately take bath in water, control his breath by prāṇāyāma and chant the Gāyatrī mantra.

SB 11.17.26: Purified and fixed in consciousness, the brahmacārī should worship the fire-god, sun, ācārya, cows, brāhmaṇas, guru, elderly respectable persons and demigods. He should perform such worship at sunrise and sunset, without speaking but by silently chanting or murmuring the appropriate mantras.

SB 11.17.27: One should know the ācārya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods.

SB 11.17.28: In the morning and evening one should collect foodstuffs and other articles and deliver them to the spiritual master. Then, being self-controlled, one should accept for oneself that which is allotted by the ācārya.

SB 11.17.29: While engaged in serving the spiritual master one should remain as a humble servant, and thus when the guru is walking the servant should humbly walk behind. When the guru lies down to sleep, the servant should also lie down nearby, and when the guru has awakened, the servant should sit near him, massaging his lotus feet and rendering other, similar services. When the guru is sitting down on his āsana, the servant should stand nearby with folded hands, awaiting the guru's order. In this way one should always worship the spiritual master.

SB 11.17.30: Until the student has completed his Vedic education he should remain engaged in the āśrama of the spiritual master, should remain completely free of material sense gratification and should not break his vow of celibacy [brahmacarya].

SB 11.17.31: If the brahmacārī student desires to ascend to the Maharloka or Brahmaloka planets, then he should completely surrender his activities to the spiritual master and, observing the powerful vow of perpetual celibacy, dedicate himself to superior Vedic studies.

SB 11.17.32: Thus enlightened in Vedic knowledge by service to the spiritual master, freed from all sins and duality, one should worship Me as the Supersoul, as I appear within fire, the spiritual master, one's own self and all living entities.

SB 11.17.33: Those who are not married — sannyāsīs, vānaprasthas and brahmacārīs — should never associate with women by glancing, touching, conversing, joking or sporting. Neither should they ever associate with any living entity engaged in sexual activities.

SB 11.17.34-35: My dear Uddhava, general cleanliness, washing the hands, bathing, performing religious services at sunrise, noon and sunset, worshiping Me, visiting holy places, chanting japa, avoiding that which is untouchable, uneatable or not to be discussed, and remembering My existence within all living entities as the Supersoul — these principles should be followed by all members of society through regulation of the mind, words and body.

SB 11.17.36: A brāhmaṇa observing the great vow of celibacy becomes brilliant like fire and by serious austerity burns to ashes the propensity to perform material activities. Free from the contamination of material desire, he becomes My devotee.

SB 11.17.37: A brahmacārī who has completed his Vedic education and desires to enter household life should offer proper remuneration to the spiritual master, bathe, cut his hair, put on proper clothes, and so on. Then, taking permission from the guru, he should go back to his home.

SB 11.17.38: A brahmacārī desiring to fulfill his material desires should live at home with his family, and a householder who is eager to purify his consciousness should enter the forest, whereas a purified brāhmaṇa should accept the renounced order of life. One who is not surrendered to Me should move progressively from one āśrama to another, never acting otherwise.

SB 11.17.39: One who desires to establish family life should marry a wife of his own caste, who is beyond reproach and younger in age. If one desires to accept many wives he must marry them after the first marriage, and each wife should be of a successively lower caste.

SB 11.17.40: All twice-born men — brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas — must perform sacrifice, study the Vedic literature and give charity. Only the brāhmaṇas, however, accept charity, teach the Vedic knowledge and perform sacrifice on behalf of others.

SB 11.17.41: A brāhmaṇa who considers that accepting charity from others will destroy his austerity, spiritual influence and fame should maintain himself by the other two brahminical occupations, namely teaching Vedic knowledge and performing sacrifice. If the brāhmaṇa considers that those two occupations also compromise his spiritual position, then he should collect rejected grains in agricultural fields and live without any dependence on others.

SB 11.17.42: The body of a brāhmaṇa is not intended to enjoy insignificant material sense gratification; rather, by accepting difficult austerities in his life, a brāhmaṇa will enjoy unlimited happiness after death.

SB 11.17.43: A brāhmaṇa householder should remain satisfied in mind by gleaning rejected grains from agricultural fields and marketplaces. Keeping himself free of personal desire, he should practice magnanimous religious principles, with consciousness absorbed in Me. In this way a brāhmaṇa may stay at home as a householder without very much attachment and thus achieve liberation.

SB 11.17.44: Just as a ship rescues those who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, I very quickly rescue from all calamities those persons who uplift brāhmaṇas and devotees suffering in a poverty-stricken condition.

SB 11.17.45: Just as the chief bull elephant protects all other elephants in his herd and defends himself as well, similarly, a fearless king, just like a father, must save all of the citizens from difficulty and also protect himself.

SB 11.17.46: An earthly king who protects himself and all citizens by removing all sins from his kingdom will certainly enjoy with Lord Indra in airplanes as brilliant as the sun.

SB 11.17.47: If a brāhmaṇa cannot support himself through his regular duties and is thus suffering, he may adopt the occupation of a merchant and overcome his destitute condition by buying and selling material things. If he continues to suffer extreme poverty even as a merchant, then he may adopt the occupation of a kṣatriya, taking sword in hand. But he cannot in any circumstances become like a dog, accepting an ordinary master.

SB 11.17.48: A king or other member of the royal order who cannot maintain himself by his normal occupation may act as a vaiśya, may live by hunting or may act as a brāhmaṇa by teaching others Vedic knowledge. But he may not under any circumstances adopt the profession of a śūdra.

SB 11.17.49: A vaiśya, or mercantile man, who cannot maintain himself may adopt the occupation of a śūdra, snd a śūdra who cannot find a master can engage in simple activities like making baskets and mats of straw. However, all members of society who have adopted inferior occupations in emergency situations must give up those substitute occupations when the difficulties have passed.

SB 11.17.50: One in the gṛhastha order of life should daily worship the sages by Vedic study, the forefathers by offering the mantra svadhā, the demigods by chanting svāhā, all living entities by offering shares of one's meals, and human beings by offering grains and water. Thus considering the demigods, sages, forefathers, living entities and human beings to be manifestations of My potency, one should daily perform these five sacrifices.

SB 11.17.51: A householder should comfortably maintain his dependents either with money that comes of its own accord or with that gathered by honest execution of one's duties. According to one's means, one should perform sacrifices and other religious ceremonies.

SB 11.17.52: A householder taking care of many dependent family members should not become materially attached to them, nor should he become mentally unbalanced, considering himself to be the lord. An intelligent householder should see that all possible future happiness, just like that which he has already experienced, is temporary.

SB 11.17.53: The association of children, wife, relatives and friends is just like the brief meeting of travelers. With each change of body one is separated from all such associates, just as one loses the objects one possesses in a dream when the dream is over.

SB 11.17.54: Deeply considering the actual situation, a liberated soul should live at home just like a guest, without any sense of proprietorship or false ego. In this way he will not be bound or entangled by domestic affairs.

SB 11.17.55: A householder devotee who worships Me by execution of his family duties may remain at home, go to a holy place or, if he has a responsible son, take sannyāsa.

SB 11.17.56: But a householder whose mind is attached to his home and who is thus disturbed by ardent desires to enjoy his money and children, who is lusty after women, who is possessed of a miserly mentality and who unintelligently thinks, "Everything is mine and I am everything," is certainly bound in illusion.

SB 11.17.57: "O my poor elderly parents, and my wife with a mere infant in her arms, and my other young children! Without me they have absolutely no one to protect them and will suffer unbearably. How can my poor relatives possibly live without me?"

SB 11.17.58: Thus, because of his foolish mentality, a householder whose heart is overwhelmed by family attachment is never satisfied. Constantly meditating on his relatives, he dies and enters into the darkness of ignorance.

Source: http://vedabase.net/sb/11/17/en

The Caste System and the Way Forward

Caste has been the most intriguing aspect of Indian Civilization.  In a society where every living being is perceived as some kind of manifestation of God, how come a person belonging to a low caste would get branded as untouchable? We worship cows, we worship monkeys, we worship birds, we worship trees and yet we condemn a man just because he belongs to a caste which is perceived to be unclean.

Through my observations at various sites across various forms of social media, I have realized that despite so much scientific and economic progress there are people who have a high degree of caste consciousness. People from the higher castes enjoy a sense of superiority whereas those from the lower castes blame their caste status for all the problems being faced by them. Further, the print media and audio-visual media is also filled with stories of caste based prejudices. In politics also caste has become a very significant factor.

My Personal Experience                         

From my personal association with a village in UP, I have a firsthand experience of the caste based society. I must admit that the caste divisions do exist. But the whole picture is a great deal different from what is painted by the media. Though my experience is dated as I did not have many opportunities to observe the village life after nineteen-eighties, yet I believe the situation is unlikely to be much different even now. From whatever I have observed, I can say that inter-caste relations in villages are much more harmonious than what we get to read in newspapers. There are not many incidents relating to caste based conflicts. Mostly conflicts occur due to the disputes relating to property. Castes in villages are interdependent. As the village economy is largely dependent on the goods and services produced locally, every caste has some vital role in the whole scheme. Though there are no inter-caste marriages, yet people of various castes are tied in informal relationships. From my childhood I can recall that every child had to address the elders with a specific respectable relationship oriented word like Chacha, Tau, Dada, Mama etc., irrespective of the caste to which he belonged. These relationships were carried forward from one generation to the next.

Thus the situation as presented in various types of media is much different than what I have experienced in my childhood. May be the situation has changed for the worse or may be with so much politicization, the institution of caste has become much more prone to exploitation. I get concerned with stories of caste based violence and discrimination and often wonder what we can do to alleviate such tensions. To comprehend the whole picture, it is necessary to analyse the theory and practice of the caste system. To enlighten myself in this regard, I have tried to study the institution of caste from various web based resources.

The Findings

The findings are as under: 

•  Caste is neither unique to Hindu religion nor to India; caste systems have been observed in other parts of the world, for example, in the Muslim community of Yemen, Christian colonies of Spain, and Japan. 

• Many scholars believe that the modern Jatis represent ancient tribal and occupational affiliations that have evolved and specialised over time.

• The most ancient scriptures—the Shruti texts, or Vedas, place very little importance on the caste system, mentioning caste only sparingly and descriptively (i.e., not prescriptive).

•  The only verse in the Rigveda which mentions all four varnas is 10.90, the Purushasūkta.

• A hymn from the Rig Veda seems to indicate that one's caste is not necessarily determined by that of one's family.

•  In the Vedic period, there also seems to have been no discrimination against the Shudras on the issue of hearing the sacred words of the Vedas and fully participating in all religious rituals, something which became progressively restricted in the later times.

• The Gita says that one's varna is to be understood from one's personal qualities and one's karma (work), not one's birth. 

•  The Indian society honoured people for their achievements irrespective of their caste. For instance, Valmiki, once a low-caste robber, became a great sage and author of the epic Ramayana. Veda Vyasa, another respected sage and author of the monumental epic, the Mahabharata, was the son of a fisher-woman.

• The Manu Smriti, which codified the caste system, belongs to a class of books that are geared towards ethics, morals, and social conduct - not spirituality or religion.

• The view of the caste system as "static and unchanging" has been disputed by many scholars.

• Some scholars believe that the relative ranking of other castes was fluid or differed from one place to another prior to the arrival of the British.

• The distinctions, particularly between the Brahmans and the other castes, were in theory sharper, but in practice it now appears that social restrictions were not so rigid.

• Movement has always been possible, and especially in the middle regions of the hierarchy. It was always possible for groups born into a lower caste to "rise to a higher position by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism" i.e. adopt the customs of the higher castes.

• There is also precedent of certain Shudra families within the temples of the Shrivaishava sect in South India elevating their caste.·There have been cases of upper caste Hindus warming to the Dalits and Hindu priests, demoted to outcaste ranks.

• Many movements in Hinduism have welcomed Dalits into their fold, the foremost being the Bhakti movements of the medieval period.

• The first mention of the formal varna Indian caste system is in the famous Purush Sukta of the Rigveda, although it is the only mention in the entire body of the Vedas and has been decried as a much later, non-Vedic insertion by numerous Indologists like Max Muller and also by Ambedkar.

• In the Mahabharata, Bhrigu tells Bharadvaja that caste divisions relate to differences in physical attributes of different human beings, reflected in skin colour. Bharadvaja responds not only by pointing to the considerable variations in skin colour within every caste (if different colours indicate different castes, then all castes are mixed castes), but also by the more profound question: ‘We all seem to be affected by desire, anger, fear, sorrow, worry, hunger, and labour; how do we have caste differences then.

• The Bhavishya Purana, (dated to be between 1500 to 2500 years old), decries the caste system- Since members of all the four castes are children of God, they all belong to the same caste. All human beings have the same father, and children of the same father cannot have different castes.

•  Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's court in India classified people of India into seven classes: philosophers, peasants, herdsmen, craftsmen and traders, soldiers, government officials and councilors.

• Fa Xian, a Buddhist pilgrim from China, visited India around 400 AD. Only the lot of the Chandals he found unenviable as outcastes by reason of their degrading work as disposers of dead. But no other section of the population were notably disadvantaged, no other caste distinctions attracted comment from the Chinese pilgrim, and no oppressive caste system drew forth his censure. In this period kings of Shudra and Brahmin origin were as common as those of Kshatriya varna and caste system was not wholly rigid. 

•  Caste, claimed Gandhi, had nothing to do with religion. The discrimination and trauma of castes, argued Gandhi, was the result of custom, the origin of which is unknown.

•  Some sources suggest that the caste system became formally rigid during the British Raj, when the British started to enumerate castes during the ten-year census and meticulously codified the system under their rule.

• The rapid growth of train travel, with coaches packed with passengers from all caste segments of Indian society, suggests that the nature of British stereotypes about caste system in India, prior to 1860s and thereafter through the 1940s, were flawed.

• According to the 1901 Census Report on India, only 8 to 17 percent of Brahmins were involved in a religious occupation, only 8 percent of one Shudra sub-caste commonly assumed to be dedicated to leather work was actually involved in leather work, and less than 50 percent of several sub-castes were involved in their traditional occupations. Rest were involved in occupations such as farming or labour.

• Several reports published between 1995 and 2005 propose that Indian tribal and caste population samples they studied, have similar genetic origins and have received limited gene input from outside India. These studies imply that racial differences may not have influenced caste system in India.

• Numerous other countries have minorities which have been ostracized, discriminated again, denied civil rights, considered impure or shunned due to low social standing in recent human history. Examples include Burakumin in Japan, Jews in certain parts of Europe, Afro-Americans in the United States, Oriental Jews in Israel, Al-Akhdam of Yemen, Baekjeong of Korea, Midgan of Somalia and Osu in Nigeria.

To sum up, caste is a social institution and not a religious one. It has been found to exist also in countries other than India, societies other than the Hindu society. It has roots in unknown social traditions and has evolved over time. Various castes do not have significant racial/genetic differences. In the beginning, caste was flexible and a basis for division of labour. Over the period, the divisions became rigid, may be, owing to the tendency to preserve knowledge and skills by passing these to the next generation in the family and the practice of endogamy. The caste system was not so static and rigid as many think it to be. People have been adopting occupations which may not have been traditionally meant for their caste. Many persons of lower castes were given due recognition and respect for their spiritual and literary achievements. Men and women of different castes travelled together in packed coaches of trains during the British period, implying thereby that the caste system did not prohibit intermingling of castes at the social level. From time to time various social reformers endeavoured to eliminate caste based discrimination.

Chanakya explains the Varna Vyavastha from the Great Vedas

The Positive Contribution

            Is it that the caste system has only negatives associated with it? Or, did it have some positive side also? Indian civilization is the oldest civilization on earth. How did this civilization survive so long? Possibly, because its social structure was much robust than any other civilization.  Also, may be because it could preserve and expand its knowledge-base in a manner, no other civilization could. Thus a stable caste structure helped in passing on the knowledge and skills from one generation to the next. The knowledge was preserved by tradition of ‘Shruti’ (receiving the oral knowledge from the Guru) and ‘Smriti’ (storing the knowledge in memory), which became possible because of the caste structure.  The skills required for making various kinds of handicrafts and other products could be preserved and refined due to the caste based skill specialization and skill inheritance. No wonder, Indian handicrafts and textiles were exported across the seven seas and the Indian economy was the world’s most prosperous economy throughout a major period in the recorded history. 

The Tripod Framework and the Caste System

In my earlier post (The Tripod Framework: A Compass We Need While Sailing On High Seas), I had proposed a ‘Tripod Framework’ for prioritizing life goals. The quality of life is dependent on our achievements in three distinct spheres. The economic sphere deals with production of goods and services which are required for a comfortable physical existence. The spiritual sphere deals with life enriching activities like literature, arts, music, religion etc. The third sphere, namely the socio-political sphere, is about all social and political structures and institutions which are necessary to maintain a peaceful and harmonious environment to facilitate unhindered pursuit of activities in the first two spheres. It is necessary that the society excels in all three spheres for being a vibrant and sustainable civilization.

           
       The caste system addressed the needs of all the three spheres for the society. Thus, Brahmins were required to deal with issues in the spiritual sphere by nurturing a religious, spiritual and philosophical environment to facilitate enrichment of lives through spiritual endeavours. The Kshatriyas were required to focus on the socio-political sphere to devise ways and means for providing internal and external security so that law and order could be maintained.  The other two varnas, namely Vaishyas and Shudras, were required to look after the economic sphere. Shudras were the producers (artisans, farmers etc.) and the service providers (barbers, washer-men, masons and labourers etc). Vaishyas were the financiers and marketers of the goods so produced. Thus the caste system provided a very stable framework for addressing every need of the society.

The Caste based Discrimination as Sunk Costs

            In management and economics there is a concept of ‘Sunk Costs’.  Sunk costs are those costs which were incurred in the past and which cannot be recovered in the present. Thus these costs are irrecoverable and hence sunk. The theory says that the sunk costs, being irrelevant for the present, should not influence the decision making. Though, psychologically it is difficult to ignore the sunk costs. Similarly, conflicts, discrimination or humiliation the Indian society had to undergo due to rigid caste system, is a sunk cost to the society. This sunk cost should not influence our decisions about the kind of future we want to build for ourselves.

The Way Forward

            It is clear that with development of modern means for preservation of knowledge and skills, the caste system has lost its relevance. The caste based divisions are prone to exploitation by forces inimical to the welfare of the society. The opportunistic elements like the politicians have been exploiting the caste divisions for their vested interests. Caste has become an easy tool for segmentation and positioning by the political marketers but with dangerous consequences. However, caste identities are so well entrenched in the society that they cannot be obliterated overnight.  In a society where arranged marriage is the norm, the practice of endogamy cannot be changed so easily. But as society opens up due to migration and education, the caste-boundaries will surely diminish if not vanish altogether.

            It is imperative that we have to transcend the caste boundaries to become one people and one nation. We cannot let the future be the captive of the past. We must forget whatever happened in the past and focus on what we can do now for making our future bright. At various forums on social media, I find people bragging about their caste identities. There is no problem about being proud of what you are as long as it is not intended to denigrate others. When we think of India, it is sum total of all caste/religious groups. When we feel proud of what India has achieved in the past, we must remember that it is a collective achievement of all the castes and groups. Every caste had some special quality and played a special role in enriching this civilization. Some cultivated knowledge, some excelled in bravery and martial arts, some produced world class goods and many others enriched the society by their endeavour to serve quietly. Every caste contributed its bit in helping the civilization survive and flourish. Let’s be proud of each other.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Indian_caste_system