What is the significance of India’s caste system?
A caste is a hereditary social class. Despite economic modernization and laws countering discrimination, the caste system remains a source of social identification and hierarchy for most Indian Hindus today. Traditionally, there are four broad categories of castes (varnas), including a category of outcastes, historically called “untouchables” but now commonly referred to as “dalits.” Within these broad categories there are thousands of castes and sub castes, whose relative status varies from region to region. An Indian is born into a caste and cannot move from one caste to another. www.indianchild.
