Caste System in India

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The Indian caste system is the traditional organisation of South Asian, particularly Hindu, society into a hierarchy of hereditary groups called castes or jatis. In broad outline, marriage occurs only within caste (endogamy), caste is fixed by birth, and each caste is associated with a traditional occupation, such as weaving or barbering. Hindu religious principles underlay the caste hierarchy and limit the ways that castes can interact. The caste system is connected to the Hindu concept of the four varnas, which order and rank humanity by innate spiritual purity. The highest varna is the Brahmins, or priests. Next comes the Kshatriyas, the warriors, and then the Vaishyas, the merchants. The lowest varna is the Shudras, consisting of labourers, artisans and servants who do work that is ritually unclean. Contact between varnas, and particularly the sharing of food and water, must be limited to avoid pollution of higher, purer individuals by lower, more unclean ones. In practice, the caste system consists of thousands of jatis, generally of a local or regional nature. Each has its own history, customs, and claimed descent from one of the four varnas. Members of a jati may have many different professions, although commonly they will be related in status and nature to the jati's traditional occupation.[1] Wealth and power generally rise with caste status, but individuals may be rich or poor. Subgroups within a jati may practice hypergamy or exogamy. There is no official or universal ranking that determines the caste hierarchy. Precedence depends on the local community's estimation of a jati's secular importance and ritual purity, and is therefore somewhat fluid. A jati can increase its status by growing in size, wealth and power, by avoiding low or unclean work, and by adopting priestly ways, such as vegetarianism and teetotalism, a process called
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