Question

Origin and composition of indian society

Answer 1

Indian society is very old, complex, plural and it has a long history. It is composed of different religious groups, racial groups and groups having cultural differences. In the long span of Indian history various groups from” different parts of the world entered into India with their own socio-cultural and racial features. The best example is Indus valley civilization.
In the later stage the Indo-Aryans came and they had interaction with earlier inhabitants of the land. They had their own socio-cultural pattern of living. They considered themselves as superior. They developed norms and customs for different social groups with their own category and for the outsiders. That was the phase when Varna’s originated.
The Indo-Aryans were divided into different groups: Brahmins (Priests), Kshyatriyas (Kings and warriors) Vaishyas (trade and commerce) Sudras (Servicing group/those who serve these three categories). It is believed that sudras were outside of the Indo-Aryan group. Perhaps this category emerged due to the union of Indo—Aryans and the inhabitants of the land.
There was also another category, which is the fifth category of the society. Their status was different in the society and they were allotted polluting occupations.

Gradually, two things happened:
(a) Each Varna has been divided into a number of Jatis or castes with hierarchy
(b) From time to time new types of Jatis were added into the system.

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