The caste system often gets a beating, mainly for not being understood or for purposefully misinterpreted. Based on cultural understanding, the caste system in its original form was a functional division of labor in society, categorized into four basic horizontal tiers. The system simplified consisted of Shudras who were responsible for performing hands-on jobs, the Vaishyas were traders and businesspeople, the Kshatriyas took on roles as protectors and administrators, and the Brahmins served as educators and spiritual leaders.
This system was intended to facilitate transmitting skills and knowledge across generations. There was obviously no system or standardized framework for formal education, nor did institutions exist. Today, we have structures, processes, and degrees in place for engineering, medicine, architecture, the arts, and agriculture. Instead, in ancient times, skills were passed down within families. The family thus served as the unit for imparting education, which was directly connected with earning a living. For example, a carpenter’s son would, by default, learn carpentry from a young age. This in-built system had no issues with suppression or oppression, nor was a carpenter more or less ‘useful’ than the one who fought and governed. This education system in ancient times ensured that expertise in various crafts and professions could be preserved and honed and that future generation(s) would carry on their crafts, educating their young.
Purpose of Caste
Initially, caste was based on responsibility and aptitude, not necessarily birth, though the skills were passed on from generation to generation within the family systems. Shudras focused on their hands-on survival and worshipped their regional Devis and Devatas, as did the Vaishyas, who took responsibility for themselves, their family, and the immediate community. Kshatriyas bore the responsibility for the entire community or even their country. On the other hand, Brahmins were seen as having an “unlimited sense of responsibility,” overseeing education and spiritual matters. However, the non-dharmic forces who took over the dharmic lands soon vilified the existing system, and cracks began to emerge due to the system turning vertical from horizontal.
The system became problematic when caste was framed as rigid and determined more by birth than by an individual’s abilities or skills. This induced inflexibility was framed as religious, regressive, and not “with” the times. Also, vilifying Brahmins by falsely equating them with corrupt priests as practiced and perceived by Catholics and later Protestants in the West did not help the caste case. Over time, these shifts in roles within ancient Indian society led to exploitation and also discrimination, further deepening the cracks in the utterly misunderstood system. I claim reforms have failed as there have been no proper or implementable solutions to solve the caste ‘problem,’ and the vacuum gets filled with anti-caste rhetoric rather than solutions. The unbalanced and stuck victim-perpetrator narrative does not go beyond the politics-media realm; the people seem to continue to practice it, and this is evident by categories such as Christian Dalits and lower caste Muslims and related voting patterns in the Indian subcontinent.
The caste system, which once served as a means of skill transmission, has little relevance in modern society due to the availability of formal education and training institutions. However, most citizens are on board with government measures to ensure caste representation in the form of affirmative action within the educational system. This observation means that even while people seem to bash and even abolish caste, it continues to serve as a crucial identity that people want to be preserved and even protected despite the consistent negative reframing by imperialists, academics, and politicians. Also, it should be noted that large masses in the Indian subcontinent find the caste identity relevant regarding voting and marriage (more on this will be covered in subsequent posts).
Making Obsolete
Even though systematic efforts have been made to vilify and erase caste from the Indian subcontinent, even those who have converted out of Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism and its off-shoot spiritual paths (Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism) adhere to and are proud of their caste identities, practiced by caste-relevant marriages. To truly make the caste system obsolete, we could establish educational systems based on aptitude rather than birth.
However, society as a whole would never agree to such an overhaul as caste identities are deeply embedded in not just the Kula Devis and Devatas, who protect the caste familial bloodlines, but also in last names, which can be occupation-specific and geographic locations, which are often part of one’s names and identities of the continent and the diaspora. These names are more than just labels—they are identity markers in India and among the global diasporas. Caste has become so deeply woven into personal and community life that it is hard to imagine people letting go of it. With these cultural markers tied to status, history, and pride, moving beyond the caste system feels like an uphill battle. Sweeping change and policy overhaul would likely face strong resistance, as caste identities are deeply ingrained in the Bharatiya mind, irrespective of religion. Erasing caste has not and will not work; understanding its original purpose and non-discriminatory attributes is much needed.
Horizontal, not Vertical
One way to eliminate the stigma related to the caste narratives is to return to the roots and examine the horizontal categories that constitute caste. These categories can be understood as parts of a whole that existed for the smooth functioning of a society. Many texts compare this to the Purusha, the body, where the hands, feet, mouth, and head all have roles. Reframing caste as a vertical hierarchy and then maligning it is where much of contemporary society is stuck. Disparaging Brahmins might be an academic pastime, but it makes little sense to paint these pundits and teachers as the bane of all evil while glorifying the so-called lower castes. It is interesting to note that vilification has not made much difference in abolishing caste as a social practice, regardless of innumerable modernity and educational reforms in post-independence India.
Despite significant efforts at reform, including constitutional safeguards, legal measures, and educational programs since India’s independence, caste as a social reality remains deeply entrenched. This suggests that merely vilifying one group or attempting to abolish caste through top-down reforms has had limited success. Even after decades of reforms, the persistence of caste-based identities and practices implies that the issue is more nuanced and generally accepted than the often polarizing contemporary academic and media discourse acknowledges.
Returning to the roots of the caste system and understanding it as a functional division of education and labor might allow for a realistic worldview. It could help shift the conversation from blame and vilification to a constructive examination of society’s progress. Ironically, the pandemic has created opportunities for hands-on arts, crafts, and other types of technological apprenticeships, which very much behave and operate like caste groups. In essence, the caste system was a pragmatic method for organizing society and transmitting skills in ancient India. However, it became problematic over time. Despite educational and social reforms, all modern reforms have yet to overturn or abolish the practice. Caste is more than social capital and is here to stay. It is in society’s best interest to understand the intent and reflect upon why it has been impossible to eradicate. As an educator, I thoroughly respect caste as society’s first classroom. Much knowledge would have been lost without the well-preserved lineages and bloodlines who painstakingly care to protect generational Indigenous knowledge.
Further Reading:
Altekar, A. S. (2009). Education in ancient India. Gyan Publishing House.
Ghosh, S. C. (1995). Bentinck, Macaulay and the introduction of English education in India. History of Education, 24(1), 17–24.
Mookerji, R. K. (1947). Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
Sharma, R. N., & Sharma, R. K. (2004). History of Education in India. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors.
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