Social Stratification

Caste system involves the division of society. The caste system can vary from high class groups to low class groups. The society then gives respect to the high class groups and discriminates against the low caste groups. Inequality in in social relationships lead to high levels of poverty among the low caste groups and

The caste system has five parts to it, as you learned in the paragraph before. The highest class, the Brahmins, include rulers and priests. The second class is the Kshatriyas, and the people in that class are the warriors and nobles. The Vaisyas, the third class, are the bankers, merchants, and farmers. The fourth class are the Sudra and the people are artisans and laborers. Last,

He indicated that this system has recently been practiced much in India and reflect on the Hindu religious belief where the caste system is more than two thousand years old. According to the Hindu belief, there are four major types of castes: The “Brahmans” mostly priests and scholars, the “Kshatriyas” warriors, rulers, and large landholders, the “Vaishyas” merchants, farmers, and skilled artisans, the “Shudras” labourers and unskilled artisans, However, there is an additional group called the “Harijans” Sometimes called "untouchables,” they are ranked so low that technically, they are outside the caste system itself.

People are born into the caste of their parents and are not allowed to cross into another one. They are also expected to marry in the same caste. The unequal distribution of money, influence, pain and suffering are seen as a natural consequence for ones previous actions, both in this life and in previous lives. Hindus can be reborn at a higher level through pure acts, good thoughts and devotion. They can also be reborn at a lower level through bad deeds. It is even possible to be reborn as an animal. Arizona State University (2004) lists the five social castes. They are: Brahmins (priests and academics); Kshatriyas (military); Vaishyas (farmers and merchants); Sudras (peasants and servants); and Harijan (outcasts or untouchables).

In India, we can categorize marginalized people based on caste, gender, disabled, minorities (religious, linguistic, regional), etc. Hindu people come under the majority of population, and this religion is a very fragmented religion due to Varna system, because they have adopted the Varna system. According to their occupation, before Uttar Vedik Era, its function was very smooth and there was no concept of untouchability but after this era, it continued practicing. Due to different occupations, there was the existence of caste system in Hindu religion. People can change their religion but caste can’t be changed. Because of this,

The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines inequality as ‘the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and power among and between individuals, households and groups’(1). It goes on to say that ‘the subfield of social stratification has as its main task the description and analysis of inequalities, or the makeup of the stratification system of any given society’.(1) From this one definition, we can already begin to see the strong links that lie between inequalities and social stratification. As we delve deeper into the topics, we can begin to see both the inevitability and the functionality of stratification

Economic stratification is the different rankings in social class are separated in different economic ways. These differences can vary from clothing, cars, perfumes, cigarette brands, etc. There are many ways you can tell what a person stratification is just by the way they look or the things they have. Usually these ranking go from lower class to middle class then the upper class. Each of these classes have very different ways of living and what they do to maintain a certain status.

Firstly, the caste system reflects the inequality of Indian society. Although religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, majority of Indian population follow Hinduism. Therefore, the dominance of Hinduism beliefs is common in India. There is a belief in caste system, as Brood said, “a system of hierarchical social organization”1. Hindu society is divided into four main classes; the priestly class, the warrior and administrator class, the producer class who is farmers and merchants and the servant class. The remaining group of people who is “outcastes” is called “untouchables” or dalit. Brodd recognizes “dalits continue to suffer terrible oppression, especially in rural communities in India”. I still could not imagine how terrible this bottom class suffers until reading Max Bearak article. All sufferings of Rohith Vemula, from the hardships of growing up poor, interactions with society in caste to scholarship revoke and suicide, happened tragically because he was born in a dalit family. This is the

Looking upon Indian society for comparison, it is seen that the primary factor of the caste system is built

Social stratification is defined as a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. For example, There are fundamental principles of stratification:

The caste system is a “complex system of social divisions that pervades life in India” (The Mauryan and Gupta Empires of India). The Hindu people are spread out among four different varnas and there is also a fifth group of Hindu’s called the untouchables. The four different varnas are called the Brahmins, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya and the Sudra. These four castes all have different labels to describe them. The Brahmins are the traditional priest class, the Kshatriya group is the warrior class, the Vaishya’s are the workers and the Sudras serve the three higher classes. The lowest of the low is the untouchables. It is said that they are dirty and poor from birth and they are assigned jobs to benefit the higher varnas. Each varna is divided into jati which are kinship groups with similar roles within the community and Hindu’s traditionally marry within their own

Effects of the Caste System The Hindu caste system plays a major role in how Siddhartha acts throughout the novel. As the novel progresses the readers follow Siddhartha on his journey to achieve Nirvana. While on the journey, Siddhartha is influenced by each level of the system on a mental and physical level.

Caste systems are a fundamental part of Hinduism. The main caste system in place is known as the varna system, which is composed of five different castes. Our textbook says that, “The word varna refers to a system of hierarchical social organization,” which helps to explain the fundamental function of castes. The original four parts of the varna system are outlined in the poem Purusha Sukta, which describes the, “primordial sacrifice of the cosmic man.” The highest class, composed of priests, came from his mouth; the next class were the warriors and kings, which came from his arms; next came the commoner, which came from his thighs; finally, the final and lowest class, the servants, came from his feet. These castes serve as very rigid social groups in which people are generally bound to for the rest of their life (although people hope to be reincarnated into a higher caste in their next life) in which each one has specific duties. The highest caste is charged with conducting the most sacred of matters, including religious rituals and learning about the sacred text of Hinduism. The second highest caste is made up of the kings and warriors who were given the task of ruling and protecting the masses. The second-lowest caste is composed of common, everyday people that includes a plethora of roles, such as students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. The lowest class is made up of all the people who have been charged with forever performing the filthiest, disgusting, and menial

What are the four major castes? What implications does the caste system have for everyday life? How does the caste system relate to Hindu ideas of spiritual life? “The four major castes of Hindu society are; seers ( brahmins ), administrators ( kshatriyas ), artisans or farmers ( vaishyas ), and followers or servants ( shudras)”( Smith 56). Smith writes, religious leaders, teachers, artists, and philosophers are members of the first caste, brahmins, khatriyas, the second caste, first known as warriors are now managers. The tillers of the land, the makers of bricks, and the builders are part of the third caste, vaishyas. The fourth caste is made up of servants, those who will take care of the other castes’ needs (56)”. While I was working in India, summer of 2001 and there at the invitation of the richest family in India and staying at one of their compounds, some of my co-workers and I were playing snooker. A young boy walked into the room where we were playing. He stopped and talked to us for a few minutes before continuing to bed. Accompanied by a man of about twenty years old, the boy’s shudra, who had been the boy’s personal servant for ten or more years. The shudra’s purpose was to protect and serve his charge’s every need. Although there is inequality between castes, Smith denotes.“ within each caste, there is equality, opportunity, and social insurance ( 57)”. Although the text

According to Indianchild.com the India caste system is a hierarchical society. In the Indian caste system, no matter where you live or what religion you are