Grade 11

SOCIOLOGY
PROJECT
hdfc school,pune

riddhika bohra
Is caste system still
rigid in India?
lets find out!
 INTRODUCTION

01 WHAT IS CASTE SYSTEM?, HISTORICAL

BACKGOUND, CASTE SYSTEM POST
INDEPENDENCE.

MAIN CONTENT

CONTENTS 02 FUTURE OF INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM,

GRAPHS RELATED TO INDIAN CASTE
SYSTEM, FIELD WORK AND ITS REPORT.

CONCLUSION

03 PROJECT CONCLUSION,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my sociology
teacher "Mrs. Aarti bhujbal" who gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic- Is caste system still rigid in India? , which
also helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about so
many new things. I am really thankful to her. Without her guidance and
persistent help this project would not have been possible.

RIDDHIKA BOHRA
XI HUMANITIES

HYPOTHESIS
IS CASTE SYSTEM STILL RIGID IN INDIA EVEN TODAY?
what is caste system?
A caste system is a class structure that is
determined by birth. Loosely, it means that in
some societies, the opportunities you have
access to depend on the family you
happened to be born into. India's caste
system is perhaps the world's longest
surviving social hierarchy. A defining feature

of Hinduism, caste encompasses a complex
ordering of social groups on the basis of
ritual purity. A person is considered a
member of the caste into which he or she is
born and remains within that caste until
death, although the particular ranking of that
caste may vary among regions and over time.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
HISTORY OF CASTE SYSTEM IN INDIA!

Castes seem to have originated more than 2,000 years ago. Under this system, which is associated
with Hinduism, people were categorized by their occupations.
Although originally caste depended upon a person's work, it soon became hereditary. Each person was born into an
unalterable social status. The four primary castes are Brahmin, the priests; Kshatriya, warriors and nobility; Vaisya,
farmers, traders, and artisans; and Shudra, tenant farmers and servants. Some people were born outside of (and below) the
caste system; they were called "untouchables" or Dalits—"the crushed ones."

Early written evidence about the caste system appears in the Vedas, Sanskrit-language texts that date from as early as 1500 BCE.
The Vedas form the basis of Hindu scripture. The "Rigveda," however, which dates from around 1700–1100 BCE, rarely mentions
caste distinctions and is taken as evidence that social mobility was common in its time.The "Bhagavad Gita," which dates from
around 200 BCE–200 CE, emphasizes the importance of caste. In addition, the Laws of Manu or Manusmriti, from the same era,
defines the rights and duties of the four different castes or varnas. Thus, it seems that the Hindu caste system began to solidify
sometime between 1000 and 200 BCE.
During the six centuries of Islamic domination (roughly 1150–1750), the caste system evolved
considerably. For example, Brahmins began to rely on farming for their income, since the Muslim
kings did not give rich gifts to Hindu temples. This farming practice was considered justified so long
as Shudras did the actual physical labour.

When the British Raj began to take power in India in 1757, they exploited the caste system as a
means of social control. The British allied themselves with the Brahmin caste, restoring some of its
privileges that had been repealed by the Muslim rulers.However, many Indian customs
concerning the lower castes seemed discriminatory to the British, so these were outlawed.

Curiously, non-Hindu populations in India sometimes organized themselves into castes as

well. After the introduction of Islam in the subcontinent, for example, Muslims were divided
into classes such as the Sayed, Sheikh, Mughal, Pathan, and Qureshi.
 Due to various factors such as modern education,
industrialization, urbanization, Indian Constitution etc. Indian
society is experiencing different changes in the caste system.

Highlight 1
At first, the relative position of different castes in the hierarchy is difficult
to pinpoint. In the past, each caste had its own fixed position in the
changes in hierarchy and accordingly they followed their own way of life. But now
the low caste people by following the way of life of the high caste
people are trying to change their position.
caste system
post-independence Highlight 2
Secondly, there is decline in the supremacy of Brahmins. Brahmins were
considered as the representatives of supreme power and they were given
utmost importance in the society. All other categories, including the railing
group were paying respect to the Brahmins. But, now the situation has been
changed. Even in rural India, the dominant caste is getting high respect and if a
dominant caste is from a lower caste group, it has power to command over
Brahmins.
Highlight 3
Thirdly, there is growing dissociation between caste and hereditary occupation. No longer one can deduce a person’s
caste by looking at his occupation. A person who is working in a salon may not be a barber. It is because of decline in the
institute of caste panchayat. Caste panchayat was regulating the behavior of the caste people with regard to their
occupation. But now it has lost its power.

Highlight 4
Fourthly, there is improvement in the socio-economic conditions of lower caste people. They are protected by the
different policies of the government. They have given importance in the political field as well. They get equal power with
other caste categories in expressing their decision in nation building.

Highlight 5
Fifthly, there is a change in the caste identity. People are no more identified according to their caste identity or ascriptive
status; rather they are identified according to achieved status. Educational qualification, occupational position, income etc.
are the bases of identification of the individual.

Highlight 6

Sixthly, now Indian society is more tolerant of inter-caste marriage. The number of inter-caste
marriages is increasing day by day. Nowadays, caste barriers are being crossed, particularly by
the urbanised and educated group of each caste.
There were many steps taken post-independence, as well as just before independence in order to curb the unjust acts
prevalent in the society due to the caste system. These movements mainly aimed to increase the socio-economic
conditions of the lower castes.

After the independence, the lower castes were granted reservations in order to bring an end to the discrimination going
on since centuries. “They have been promised special programs (such as health care legal assistance, allotment of
land, scholarships, loans, and grants) and are legally protected against discrimination (such as debt, forced labour, and
untouchability)”. There were three main categories of people who were eligible for reservations in government jobs,
government enterprises, state run institutions etc. based on the population of that category in their area. The first group
is the Scheduled Caste. People of this category were the untouchables in the caste system. They were not included in
the four varnas of the caste system. The next category of people are the scheduled tribes, these were the people who
did not form a part of the caste system. They did not reside with the ordinary citizens in societies, but in dense jungles.
They are also referred to as Adivasis. The last category of the people are the OBCs, or the Other Backward Castes.
This category of people includes the Shudras of the Indian Caste System.

Relationships between different castes of people has become a lot less rigid today. People of different caste are seen
eating together at restaurants, watching movies together in the same hall, studying together in the same class and
working together in the same company. The biggest change that came across after independence till today was the
change in occupational pursuits among men. People have been seen leaving their caste-based, age old occupation
such as weaving or washing clothes, and shifting to newer occupations because of education and globalisation. Wealth
is more equally distributed in villages than before due to reservations and other such government policies. The idea of
pollution by a mere touch of a scheduled caste has almost abolished. However, ideas of equality and abolishing of
caste is limited to the public places, inside houses caste system is seen a prevalent practice during marriages and
other such functions. Endogamy is still very much prevalent in the Indian society.
 \THAT CASTE IS SOMETHING
EVIL AND IT SHOULD BE
ABOLISHED

3 stands
about the THAT THE CASTE SYSTEM HAS
DEGENERATED AND EFFORTS SHOULD
BE MADE TO REINSTATE THE

future of
TRADITIONAL FOUR ORDERS. THE
GREATEST EXPONENT OF THIS
THOUGHT WAS MAHATMA GANDHI

Indian
(YOUNG INDIA, 1919:479-88)

caste
THAT THE CASTE SYSTEM
SHOULD BE CONTINUED BUT IT
SHOULD BE REIN­
STATED UNDER

system
TOTALLY DIFFERENT
CONDITIONS
 survey / questionnaire
field work

https://dbo82jgjvwr.typeform.com/to/Yy2hoNqi
 survey/questionnaire
report
https://dbo82jgjvwr.typeform.com/report/Yy2hoNqi/tS
CGmbrXJWy1fy0Q
 Project
conclusion
The caste system will
continue to be a reality in the
years and decades to come.
There can be changes seen
but caste still remain
influential , it has weakened
though. it may become less
rigid in near future because of
economical, social,
educational progress etc.

Resource
Page
Use these elements in your Canva
Presentation. Happy designing!
Don't forget to delete this page
before presenting.
https://youtu.be/P8idvu5zJ8c
https://youtu.be/HyCQDIwHlXY
https://youtu.be/d6caB1p-mkI
https://youtu.be/MAeZtAmrtss
https://youtu.be/Z0KK8-FjhuA
https://www.bbc.com/news
/world-asia-india-35650616t
https://asiasociety.org/education
/jati-caste-system-india
 term 1+ TERM 2

THANK
Y O
U

guided by- Mrs. Aarti Bhujbal