• In India, there exists a special type of social stratification known as castes.

• Evidence of caste can be found in various parts of the world, such as among the Massia, Polynesians, Burmese, and Americans.

• The most perfect instance of caste is found in India, where the social organization is described as elaborate and intricate.

• The caste system in India is likened to a pagoda, with its heaped-up storeys and vast intricacy.

The Meaning of Caste

• The word ‘caste’ originates from the Spanish word ‘casta’, meaning breed, race, strain, or a complex of hereditary qualities.

• The Portuguese used this term to refer to the classes of people in India known as ‘jati’.

• The English word ‘caste’ is an adaptation of the original term.

Various definitions of caste:

• Risley defines caste as a collection of families or groups with a common name, claiming common descent from a mythical ancestor, following a hereditary calling, and regarded as forming a homogeneous community.

• Lundberg defines caste as a rigid social class into which members are born, with difficult mobility.

• E.A.H. Blunt defines caste as an endogamous group, where membership is hereditary, with social restrictions and a common occupation or origin, forming a homogeneous community.

• H. Cooley says, “A class that is somewhat hereditary can be called a caste.”

• Maclver states that when status is predetermined and people are born to their lot, class becomes the extreme form of caste.

• Henry Maine argues that castes began as occupational divisions and later solidified into the caste system after receiving religious sanction.

• Keltar defines caste as a group with two characteristics: (1) membership is hereditary, and (2) membership is forbidden to outsiders by a social law.

• Martindale and Monochesi define caste as an aggregate of persons with fixed obligations and privileges by birth, supported by religion and usage.

• E.A. Gait defines caste as an endogamous group with a common name, traditional occupation, and descent from the same source, forming a homogeneous community.

• Green describes caste as a system of stratification where mobility in status is ideally not possible.

• Anderson and Parker state that caste is the extreme form of social class organization, where an individual’s position is determined by descent and birth.

• Williams defines caste as a system where an individual’s rank, rights, and obligations are ascribed by birth into a particular group.

• Various thinkers have defined the term ‘caste’, but as Ghurye states, “we do not possess a real general definition of caste.”

• The best way to understand ‘caste’ is by examining the factors underlying the caste system.

• Megasthenes, the Greek traveler in the 3rd century B.C., mentioned two features of the caste system:

  • Intermarriage is not permitted between castes.

  • Profession cannot be changed, except for those of the caste of philosophers, who are permitted to take multiple professions due to their dignity.

• Megasthenes highlights two important aspects of the caste system: no intermarriage and no change of profession.

• However, his statement does not provide a complete understanding of the caste system.

• A more complete idea of caste requires describing additional features of the system.

Segmental Division of Society

• Society is divided into various castes, each with a well-developed life of its own, and membership is determined by birth.

• A person’s status is not determined by wealth but by the traditional importance of the caste they are born into.

• Caste is hereditary; no amount of wealth, penance, or prayer can change a person’s caste status.

• Status is determined by birth, not by vocation.

• Maclver contrasts Eastern and Western civilizations, stating that in Eastern societies, birth determines class and status, whereas in Western societies, wealth also plays a significant role.

• Caste is regulated by caste councils, which govern the conduct of caste members.

• The Panchayat (government body of the caste) typically consists of five members but often includes more; it convenes to make decisions.

• The Panchayat addresses violations of caste taboos, such as prohibiting members from eating, drinking, or smoking with other castes, and forbidding marriage outside the caste.

• It also handles civil and criminal matters within the caste.

• During the British regime, the Panchayat retried cases previously handled by the state in its judicial capacity.

• The chief punishments imposed by the Panchayat included:

  • Fines

  • Feasts for the caste members

  • Corporal punishment

  • Religious expiation, such as taking a bath in holy waters

  • Outcasting

• Caste is described as being a small, self-contained social world, a quasi-sovereign body.

• Members owe moral allegiance to the caste first, rather than to the community as a whole.

• With the introduction of courts of law and the substitution of village panchayats for caste panchayats, the authority of caste councils has weakened.

• Despite this, modern caste still controls and influences the behavior of its members.