India

David Garcia
World History
Indian Caste System
Though it may be true that all humans are created equally, no one can deny that not everyone lives equal lives. Gradation has been presentin the world of man since the dawn of civilization. The words greater than, and less than are engraved in the human psyche and they have a great influence in societal order. Every society known to manhas had some sort of system of social stratification embedded in it. Whether it is based on economic status, religious position, race, or a combination of all of these, these systems all serve thesame purpose, to make clear distinctions between classes to allow for a more functional society. The Indian caste system is a prime example of a system of social stratification.
Although its originsare somewhat doubtful, it is said that the Aryan migrants that migrated to the region of the Indus valley from the west devised the Indian caste system. These light skinned foreigners created a systemof Varnas, a word meaning color, giving birth to the suspicion that the caste system was initially ordered by color. The system consisted of four Varnas, the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas,and the Shudras. The Brahmins were the priests, and those with the most favorable position in the system. The Brahmins were revered by the Aryans for their knowledge of the Vedic texts, their wisdom,and their righteousness. At the second level of the Indian caste system were the Kshatriyas. The Kshatriyas were composed of warriors, aristocrats, law enforcers, administrators and warriors. The thirdlevel of the Indian caste system was the Vaishyas, the merchants, livestock raisers, traders, bankers, and artisans. The fourth level of the system consisted of the Shudras. The Shudras were peasants,laborers, servants, and serfs. In other words, this level was composed of all of people who did not own any land and in some form or another, had to serve a person of higher caste to make a living....