Caste System — Structure and Characteristics

2.1 Varna vs. Jati

The distinction between Varna and Jati is foundational:

Dimension	Varna	Jati
Origin	Vedic texts (Rigveda Purushasukta, ~1200 BCE)	Historical, regional development
Number	4 (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra)	~3,000 castes, ~25,000 sub-castes
Basis	Ritual/occupational division	Endogamy, hereditary occupation, birth
Flexibility	Theoretically: by qualities; actually: by birth	Rigid — birth-determined
Food rules	Generalised purity hierarchy	Specific commensality restrictions
Today	Conceptual framework in religious texts	Operative social reality

Outcaste / Untouchable / Dalit: Those outside the Varna system — historically assigned the most "polluting" occupations (scavenging, tanning, cleaning). The term Dalit ("broken/oppressed") emerged from 20th-century political mobilisation, particularly through Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956), who championed Dalit rights, led the drafting of the Constitution, and converted to Buddhism in 1956 with 600,000 followers.

2.2 Characteristics of the Caste System (G.S. Ghurye's Framework, 1932)

G.S. Ghurye (Caste and Race in India, 1932) identified six features:

1. Segmental division — society divided into well-defined groups.
2. Hierarchy — ranking based on purity-pollution (Brahmin at apex, untouchables outside).
3. Restrictions on feeding and social intercourse — commensality rules.
4. Civil and religious disabilities and privileges — some castes banned from temples.
5. Lack of unrestricted choice of occupation — birth determines occupation.
6. Restrictions on marriage (endogamy) — marriage within the caste group.

2.3 Jajmani System

The Jajmani system was the traditional interdependence network linking caste groups in a village:

• Jajman (patron/landowner) receives services.
• Kamin/Praja (service castes — barber, carpenter, potter, washerman, priest) provide hereditary services in exchange for land rights, food, and protection.
• First described academically by William Wiser (The Hindu Jajmani System, 1936).
• Today: Breaking down due to cash economy, urban migration, mechanisation, and legal abolition of bonded labour.

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