What are the 7 castes in India?

Although there are 4 main castes, the system is divided into thousands of sub-castes, further dividing the people of India.
...
Here is the Breakdown of the Four Main Castes:
  • Brahmins: The highest and most esteemed caste. ...
  • Kshatriyas: The second caste. ...
  • Waishyas: The third caste. ...
  • Shudras: The fourth caste.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on setfreealliance.org


What are the seven castes in India?

Here are six of the most significant:
  • Brahmins. The highest of all the castes, and traditionally priests or teachers, Brahmins make up a small part of the Indian population. ...
  • Kshatriyas. Meaning “protector[s] of the gentle people,” Kshatriyas were traditionally the military class. ...
  • Vaishyas. ...
  • Shudras. ...
  • Adivasi. ...
  • Dalits.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on prospectmagazine.co.uk


What are the 5 castes of India?

Indian society was divided into five castes:
  • Brahmins: the priestly caste. After their religious role decreased they became the caste of officialdom.
  • Kshatriya: warrior caste. ...
  • Vaisya: the commoner caste. ...
  • Sudras: represented the great bulk of the Indian population. ...
  • Untouchables: descendants of slaves or prisoners.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on historycentral.com


How many castes were there in India?

The main castes were further divided into about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on their specific occupation.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bbc.com


Which caste is most in India?

As of 2019, Other Backward Class (OBC) constituted the largest part of the Indian population accounting for more than 40 percent. On the other hand, Schedule Tribes formed less than ten percent of the population. How prosperous is India's caste-based society?
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on statista.com


The Caste System in India



Which is the oldest caste in India?

Vedic varnas

The varnas originated in Vedic society (c. 1500–500 BCE). The first three groups, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya, have parallels with other Indo-European societies, while the addition of the Shudras is probably a Brahmanical invention from northern India.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Which caste is most educated in India?

Jains have the highest percentage of literates above 7 years of age among India's religious communities. Jains also have the highest percentage of educated members who are graduates and above.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on timesofindia.indiatimes.com


Is Brahmin a high caste?

A Brahmin is a member of the highest caste or varna in Hinduism. The Brahmins are the caste from which Hindu priests are drawn, and are responsible for teaching and maintaining sacred knowledge.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thoughtco.com


Can you move up in the caste system?

The only way to move to a higher caste in the next life is to strictly obey the rules of one's current caste. The caste system is still prevalent in India, but has relaxed somewhat. Arranged marriages within a caste still occur, but occasionally people now marry outside their caste.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on daviesskyschools.org


Which is the second highest caste?

Kshatriya, also spelled Kshattriya or Ksatriya, second highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally the military or ruling class.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on britannica.com


What caste is Brahmin?

Brahmin (/ˈbrɑːmɪn/; Sanskrit: ब्राह्मण, romanized: brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (acharya or guru).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


What comes after general caste?

Indians are divided into four broad categories in official statistics — Scheduled Caste (SC), scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), and General Category (GC), which includes the 'upper' castes.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theprint.in


Is Kshatriya a higher caste?

Kshatriya is the second Varna within the social hierarchy. The Brahmin and the Kshatriya make up the upper castes, 20 percent of India's population is within this category. The Kshatriya constitutes the ruling and military elite, the warriors.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on scholarblogs.emory.edu


Which caste is general category?

The Government of India defines General Caste as the caste that does not come under SC, ST or OBC. They are socially, economically and educationally advanced.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gktoday.in


Who were known as Dalits?

untouchable, also called Dalit, officially Scheduled Caste, formerly Harijan, in traditional Indian society, the former name for any member of a wide range of low-caste Hindu groups and any person outside the caste system.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on britannica.com


Can a person change caste?

Changing a Caste

Caste change can be achieved legally only when someone has been adopted. And if a child (born in an inter-caste marriage) when attains the age of 21 chooses to vote for another caste of the father or mother in specific circumstances.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on vakilsearch.com


What is wrong with the caste system?

EVILS OF THE CASTE SYSTEM

First, there is discrimination against the Sudras which is characterized by the dehumanizing practice of untouchability. A lower caste person cannot come near or touch a higher caste person let alone touch food or other items of consumption.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on humanrights.iowa.gov


Can you marry up in the caste system?

Although marriage within one's own caste is strongly preferred, women are occasionally allowed to marry men of higher caste, with their children assuming their father's status. This practice gives rise to a rigidly stratified population in which women have slight upward mobility but men none.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nytimes.com


Are Brahmins rich or poor?

Lastly, both the categories also register one of the highest poverty levels. Alternatively, and perhaps not surprisingly, Brahmins, Thakurs and other Hindu general castes have higher wealth accumulation, lower poverty and lesser exclusion from formal financial services than Dalits.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thewire.in


Who is real Brahmin?

A TRUE Brahmin is one who has acquired brahminhood not by birth but through his noble actions. He who has gained Supreme Self-knowledge is a Brahmin. Vedas and Epics proclaim that there is no caste differentiation in the Brahminic State.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on newindianexpress.com


Are Sharma Brahmins?

Sharma is a Brahmin Hindu surname in India and Nepal.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Which religion is most uneducated in India?

Muslims have the highest number of illiterates — nearly 43 percent of their population — while Jains have the highest number of literates among India's religious communities with over 86 percent of them educated.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thehindu.com


Which religion is richest in India?

Jains are the wealthiest religious community in India. Delhi and Punjab are the richest states. Bihar is the poorest. These are the findings of the fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), recently released by the ministry of health and family welfare.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on newsbytesapp.com


Which is the single largest caste in India?

Answer: Explanation:he Yadavs are one of India's largest 'Other Backward Classes,' a government term that covers most of India's Sudra castes.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on brainly.in
Next question
Can shrews make you sick?