Functions of the Caste System in Contemporary India
(Northern Arizona University)
As colonization became a worldwide trend of the elite powers of Western Europe prior to the 20th Century, it dramatically impacted the indigenous cultures of many countries forever. One such country was India. Although India had a system of social stratification in place long before British colonization, the British soon altered the modestly fluid caste system that people in India had practiced for many generations. This new caste system was more strict and clearly defined than what existed previously, thus facilitating the British policy of “divide and rule.” Whichever class into which a person was born was the class in which the person would work, marry, and even die. Some Indian people apparently accepted this new system as the only way that society would not disintegrate into chaos, while others saw it as a form of discrimination and oppression. While formally “outlawed” since 1949, the caste system exists in India today. This paper examines the history of the Hindu caste system and how it functions within contemporary Indian society.