Name: ________________________________ Period: __________

Caste System in Ancient India

Directions: While you read the article, use a variety of annotation skills – written and
symbols – to understand the caste system. Then, use the information to complete the
organizer and questions.

Around 1500 BC, a group of nomadic warriors people of other castes believed that they would
known as Aryans began to settle in northern be rewarded in their next life.
India. Their skill on horseback allowed the Aryans
to conquer the native people and to expand The Kshatriyas (kuh-shuh-tree-yuhs) were the
south into the subcontinent. The Aryans brought warriors who also ran the government and made
with them their beliefs, customs, and writing everyday decisions for the civilization. Their
system – Sanskrit. decisions could be overruled by the Brahmin
though. Like the Brahmins, they could learn the
The Aryans wrote songs and stories about their Vedas, but they could not teach the holy texts.
gods. The stories were called the Vedas. The Since the Kshatriyas were responsible for
Vedas were handed down by word of mouth for defending the civilization, they underwent
hundreds of years until about 500 BC when the extensive military training. They were experts in
Aryans developed their writing system. The archery, swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand
influence of these stories is why this period of combat.
Indian history lasting from about 1500 BC to 322
BC is known as the Vedic Age. This is when the The Vaishyas were skilled farmers, craftsmen,
Aryans began to impose a rigid social structure in and merchants. They were expected to tend
Ancient India. This system is called the caste cattle, farm or trade. They could only learn, but
system. not teach the Vedas.

Caste members lived, ate, married, and worked The Shudras (shoo-dras) were the lowest of the
with their own group. A person born into one four varnas. This was the majority of the
caste rarely changed castes or mixed with population. People in this caste were slaves,
members from other castes. There were some servants, and unskilled workers. They received
Indian people who did have the opportunity to little informal education and were often the
join higher castes, but this was pretty rare. The poorest of the castes. Also, they were not
caste system was deeply embedded in the Hindu allowed to learn the Vedas, unlike the other three
religion. The Vedas identify four varnas, or caste castes.
groupings, based on religious status.
Though Shudras were the lowest of the four
At the top of the caste system were the Brahmin. varnas, they were still better off than the so-
These were the priests and they held a called outcastes or untouchables. As the name
tremendous amount of power over everybody. suggests, these people did not belong to any of
There were the only ones who could both study the four castes. Foreigners, lawbreakers, and
and teach the Vedas, the holy text. They were people suffering from contagious diseases made
also the only ones who could perform sacrifices up the “untouchables” group because they were
of food to the gods and other religious regarded as unsuitable for personal relations with
ceremonies. Because of their authority, people of people in the caste system. The “untouchables”
other castes often gave them generous had jobs that involved “polluting activities” such
donations. By giving Brahmins valuable goods, as sweeping the streets, collecting garbage,
cleaning toilets, and digging graves. They were
Name: ________________________________ Period: __________
not allowed to live villages, but had to build their
huts on the outskirts. If someone in the caste
system was touched by an untouchable or even
had the shadow of one fall on him, that person
had to go through certain religious ceremonies to
get rid of the “pollution.” The outcastes were not
allowed to drink from the public well, could not
enter temples, and were not allowed to study.
This group of people in India suffered the worst
fate.

The caste system became less rigid as the Indian

people were exposed to outside ideas. Many
untouchables left their strict social structure by
converting to Islam, Buddhism or Christianity.
Today, this group calls themselves the Dalits, a
term that can be translated as “oppressed.” The
Indian government has provided the Dalit with
specific employment privileges and granted them
special representation in the Indian Parliament.
However, the Dalit continue to have fewer
educational and employment opportunities than
others.

Discrimination based on the caste system,

especially toward the Dalit, has been forbidden
by the Indian Constitution since 1950, but many
of India’s 160 million Dalit continue to live in
poverty. Indian people with family names
associated with the Dalit often face
discrimination. Despite Dalit poverty and
discrimination, the Indian people elected a Dalit
to the presidency in recent history. K.R.
Narayanan served in that position from 1997 to
2002.
Name: ________________________________ Period: __________

Ancient India Caste System

1. Use the Caste System article to fill in the following information for each caste:
-Types of jobs and people that made up the caste
-Responsibilities of the caste
-Any restrictions placed on the caste (what they could not do)

2. Despite some negative stereotypes that developed in the caste system, what are some benefits this
social structure could have had for Ancient Indian civilization? _____________________________________
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3. How has the caste system impacted modern India? What issues still need to be addressed regarding
social equality? ____________________________________________________________________________
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