India is an Asian country with a population of approximately 1.1 billion people. Of this total, about 75% are followers of the Hindu religion. India's main religion directly interferes in social structure, since Hinduism divides society into castes.
The division of society into castes is determined by heredity. Castes are defined according to the social position that certain Hindu families occupy. Factor that establishes a type of social “hierarchy” marked by privileges and duties.
At first there were only four types of castes in India, which were: brahmins (composed of priests), xatrias (formed by the military), vaixias (consisting of farmers and merchants) and the lowest, the sudras (people who should serve the castes superiors).
People who were not part of either caste were called outcasts or untouchables. Excluded people who had the task of carrying out the most deplorable jobs, those rejected by individuals who belonged to one of the castes.
Currently, there are around 3,000 different castes in India. The proliferation of the number of castes is mainly due to population growth and also to the dynamism and diversity of productive activities, promoted by the economic growth that the country has been experiencing in the last years old.
This system's main feature is social segregation, determining the role of people within Indian society.
Such segregation results in social inequality, which is explained by the fact that an individual cannot ascend to a higher caste.
According to the Indian government, the caste system no longer exists in the country. Although the government does not admit it, the truth is that this system is present in society, directly interfering with the quality of life of the Indian population.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "The caste system in India"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/o-sistema-castas-na-india.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
