Beginning in ancient India, the caste system was originally centered around varna, with Brahmins (priests) and, to a lesser extent, Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors) serving as the elite classes, followed by Vaishyas (traders and merchants) and finally Shudras (labourers).
Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Isabel Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more.
Caste systems are any ranked, hereditary, endogamous occupational groups that constitute traditional societies in certain regions of the world, particularly among Hindus in India.
An introduction to the basic elements of the caste system of India
Yahoo: India’s caste system is controversial and discriminatory. So why is it being included in the next census?
India’s caste system is controversial and discriminatory. So why is it being included in the next census?
Fox News: How India's caste system works, and why it's generating US controversy
Chicago Sun-Times: Caste-away: India's caste system may be impossible to dismantle, but Yashica Dutt wants to try
Caste-away: India's caste system may be impossible to dismantle, but Yashica Dutt wants to try
The Columbian: What is India’s caste system? Is it contentious in U.S.?
Seattle Times: India’s engineers have thrived in the tech industry. So has its caste system.
India’s engineers have thrived in the tech industry. So has its caste system.
For generations of Indians, the ancient code of social stratification known as the caste system has defined how people earn a living and whom they marry. Despite reform efforts, deep-rooted prejudices ...
The Hill: What is India’s caste system? Is it contentious in U.S.?