DO NOT MISTAKE TECHNIQUE FOR THE GOAL!

VARNA-THE BASIS OF THE CASTE SYSTEM

Most of us are somewhat familiar with the Caste system of India and efforts to either modify it or destroy it in various ways or also to enforce it. The merits of this system, like that of the European Feudal System, have been debated and extolled and discussed by a great many scholars, psychologists, human rights advocates and experts, and politicians as well as historian and anthropologists and while all this is important, we can just touch on what the original intentions of such actually were perhaps. Varna means "COLOR' and this was a way to differentiate and classify and control people on the basis of skin color or, as some claim, RACE. The original classification of the CASTE SYSTEM WAS: BRAHMINS(scholars and priests),KSHATRIYAS(RULERS & WARRIORS),VAISHYAS(FARMERS & MERCHANTS), SHUDRAS(FARMERS & PEASANTS), while a 5th group existed called PANCHAMA-'outsiders' or those outside the caste system.