What is India's caste system based on?

Answer 1

Indian cast system is purely based on labor classification. Brahman - Research and Study, Kshatriya - Solider, Vysya - Merchants, Sudra - Labor & Agriculture Class. There are two aspects of Caste System.

1. Astrology: The stars speak everything about an individual. Even the profession in which an individual can excel is decided by the birth star. Just browse and check Hindu astrology and you will find the profession that one fits in. It is not the question of how authentic this calculation is, but it was used by the mathematics geniuses of India.

2: Labor force: The intention of caste system was to ensure that their is an unending labor force available to do all kinds of work. If an individual is trained in a particular field from childhood, he will develop exceptional skill set in that field by the time he becomes an adult.

We have to carefully study the caste system to really know its function and construction.

But, no doubt that the most interesting, systematic and highly advanced technique of caste system was (is being) misused. I know, people might argue. But, even democracy, the pole star of human civilization is misused to its best from day one. One cannot say that democracy is an inefficient system. Similarly, Indian cast system is neither crude nor inhuman. It was a master tool for labor classification, which was misused.

The question of untouchables. Do we need to blame caste system for that? No. Indian is a democratic and free nation, but how many Indians really understand what democracy and freedom means. Most of us think, democracy means voting to elect leaders and suffer everyday for electing them. Freedom for us means, doing anything and everything that we want, ignoring the impact of our action. Many, graduates and post graduates don't understand what Indian democracy is all about. Similarly, many people those days and even today don't understand the essence of caste system. We simply say it is bad, unscientific and inhuman, just because we dont see the real meaning of caste system.

The real problem is lack of knowledge. Caste system was misused because only few people tapped the flow of information and manipulated it according to their convenience. Those who knew it, were silent because it didn't harm them at that time. For generations caste system was misused and misinterpreted to control the masses and gain power. Just like today, many of us know the malpractices happening in this democratic country, but we are quiet because most of us have a good life so we dont care about the masses who are suffering.

"Caste system is simply a division of classes based on labor. It is a logical, scientific and advanced means to maintain balance in the society with an unlimited supply of labor force all the time.