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Caste System In Ancient India

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Caste System In Ancient India
The Indian Caste System first originated in Ancient India and while it has undergone changes throughout different empires, it is still present in modern day society. The caste systems were hereditary social classes that had four different Varnas, or classifications. The Varna that a person was in depended on their parents and controlled their entire lives. While the Varnas kept order throughout India, they also created discrimination and cruelty which is still evident in India today. When the Aryans conquered India in 1750 BC, they infused their culture into the existing one. One of the prominent ideas they brought was the caste system. The Aryans had lighter skin than the other middle easterners, and they believed that they were more …show more content…
However, it had some major negatives such as the discrimination and cruelty the Untouchables experienced. The order that the caste system created prevented crime from occurring as frequently because everyone was focused on doing their job and fulfilling their dharma. The division of labor also helped make society efficient because everyone was very focused on completing the task that had been assigned to it. The Untouchables were often beaten up by some of the Varnas such as the Kshatriya and weren’t considered to be worthy of attention. Discrimination often meant that the Untouchables would have to clean sewers or other disgusting jobs regardless of any special talents they might have solely because they were “untouchable”. People would run from them when they saw them in the streets and they were not treated as humans because of the jobs they did and their status in society. To summarize, the Indian Caste system was created when the Aryans conquered India in 1750 BC. It consisted of four Varnas and the Untouchables. It kept order throughout India and provided a division of labor, but it also caused discrimination and abuse because of social

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