The caste system in India is a complex structure of different social classes in the Hindu religion. Caste system in India has a history that dates back to the ancient past when people used to believe that people were born into a particular social status based on their experiences in past lives and good deeds can actually reincarnate one into a higher social strata in the next life. The Indian caste system has gone places with the changes that has taken place in the society. Education has been hugely instrumental in bringing a change in the mindset though a large section of a society, mostly the older generation is still under the curse of this social ostracism.

Rural India is still under the shackles of the caste system, where still one`s caste influences their food habits, their clothing and even their occupation. The dalits or "untouchables" are people of customarily poor households who may be peasants, laborers, or servants doing menial jobs and also certain `unclean` jobs like disposing of the dead. Urban areas today have been modified quite a great deal, though it is not so obvious here, many of higher social ladder often hark back to this primitive idea of social problem.

History of the development of caste system:
The development of the caste system in India never seems to be having any universally accepted history as such. Though there is a general speculative belief that the earliest settlers to this land, the Indo-Aryans might have actually established the caste system, gradually placing them in the higher ladder of the society. There is a whole lot of controversy regarding the theory of the Indo-Aryan migration. The Hindu scriptures can also be taken into consideration in this regard, which has some passages that can be interpreted to sanction the caste system. This also indicates that the caste system is not an indispensable part of the Hindu religion. The Vedas or the most ancient `shruti` texts emphasise very less on the caste system, same is maintained in a hymn from the Rig Veda. Later scriptures like Bhagvad Gita and Manusmriti propounds four Varnas, to be God`s creation. There is a general idea believed by scholars that may be in the initial phases the caste system was a bit flexible. Migration from one caste to the other was possible by switchin jobs. Various passages from Manusmriti and other scriptures emphasise that the "Indian caste system was originally non-heriditary. Therefore we can get an impression how the caste system developed in the later stages into a rigid complex structure from a flexible one in the earlier Vedic age.

Varna and Jati:
Ancient hindu scriptures have the citations of four `varnas` or colour, which is the basic social class in the caste system in India. Bhagvadgita says that varnas are decided on the grounds of Guna which is the amalgamation of the five elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth, and Karma which is the concept of action. The works of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras are different, in harmony with the three powers of their born nature. Four varnas that are mentioned by other shastras are the Brahmins destined as teachers, scholars and priests , the Kshatriyas- kings and warriors , the Vaishyas were the trading class and the Shudras were agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups. These are further classified into `jatis`. Another group excluded from the main society was called Parjanya or Antyaja. This is the group of former "untouchables" (now called Dalits) who were considered either the lower section of Shudras or beyond the caste system altogether.

Varna and jati are both different concepts. Varna actually unifies the Hindu sub communiuties or jatis into the four groups. Jati or community is an endogamous group where the members marry within themselves. Then there is a further division of the subcommunities into exogampous groups in terms of `gotras`. There are exactly thousands of subcastes or `jatis` in India, often with particular ecological ranges and a governmental or corporate structure. jatis are the way in which caste is embodied for most practical purposes. A question about the proper varna to which a particular jati belongs can be raised though very infrequently. It is possible to rank the jatis in relation to eachother.

Caste and Social status:
India is a multicultural, multilingual country which adopts a liberal attitude towards its diverse religious practices. One can find the prevalence of the caste system more in Hinduism than any other religion. Caste system in India has a history and when we trace it we find how caste has evolved through the ages. Caste and social status has always been quite confusing, as in the case of the British era, we find that they tried to equalize the caste system in India with the class system. Castes are the divisions into which a certain section of the community belongs, which also enjoys social status accordingly. What we mean by social status is the prestige or the honor that is being attached to one`s position in the society. An individual might acquire more power and privilege due to a characteristic; this puts him among the privileged group of the people who enjoy high status. In India, however the caste system was not this rigid as it turned out to be after the british era, the Dalits or as they are refrerred as `untouchables` has the lowest status in the varna system. Since they worked in unhealthy situations they were actually the outcastes of the society even till date to certain extent. Even among the Dalits there were the distinctions of high and low, and conflicts often took place. Brahmins were the priestly class, the protector of religion , and they enjoyed much prestige and advantages in comparison to the Kshatriyas who held the political power. Therefore caste and social status were inter related. A higher caste individual was always looked with awe and reverence, though the person be economically unstable there was always an aura of upper caste which instilled pride in him and reverence in others.

British Impact:
Some scholars are of the view that the caste system in India was never so rigid until the British interfered in the caste related issues in India. They almost equated caste with the class system that exist in their country and in the process tampered with the long established caste system. Ever since the arrival of British in India, the caste system had been their fascination. Caste was seen as an indicator of occupation, social standing, and intellectual ability. Hence the British wanted to include it in the census, which was needed to serve the purpose of giving the government the information it needed in order to make best possible use of the people under its administration. Moreover, it becomes obvious that British conceptions of racial purity were interwoven with these judgments of people based on caste when reactions to censuses are examined. The British policies of Divide and rule were again a step towards breaking up of the unity in which caste played an important role. The listing of the population into rigid categories during the 10 year census led to the stiffening of caste identities.

Caste system in India is a complex system of several distinctions, which have divided the society into the high and low strata. Lot of measures at present have been taken up by the government for the upliftment of the backward castes who do not have a social standing. There are disputes and complications regarding the caste system in India, which also takes the shape of a sensitive issue. From the ancient times till the present day caste system has gone through a vast shift from how it was considered by the people and its rigidity. Still India is not free from the shackles of the caste system, which does nothing but hampers a healthy development of the nation and the state.