Caste system in modern India

 

Caste system in modern India

Castes and Tribes: In modern India the term caste is used for Jati and also for Varna. The term, caste was used by the British who ruled India until 1947. They used two terms to describe Indian communities. Castes and Tribes. The term caste was used for Jatis and also for Varnas. Tribes were those communities who lived deep in jungles, forests and mountains far away from the main population.

High Caste and Lower Classes: The castes, which were the best of the Indian society, were classified as high castes. The other communities were classified as lower castes or lower classes. The lower classes were listed in three categories. The first category is called Scheduled Castes. This category includes in it communities who were untouchables. In modern India, untouchability exists at a very low extent. The untouchables call themselves

Dalit, meaning depressed. Until the late 1980s they were called Harijan, meaning children of God. This title was given to them by Mahatma Gandhi who wanted the society to accept untouchables within them.

The second category is Scheduled Tribes: This category includes in it those communities who did not accept the caste system and preferred to reside deep in the jungles, forests and mountains of India, away from the main population. The Scheduled Tribes are also called

Adivasi, meaning aboriginals

The third category is called sometimes Other Backward Classes or Backward Classes. 

This category includes in it castes who belong to Sudra Varna and also former untouchables who converted from Hinduism to other religions.