Literally "colour", the caste system. The word "caste" itself comes from the Portuguese and Spanish casta meaning "lineage, race or breed". In Sanskrit, the equivalent word is jati meaning "birth".

This system was originally introduced to India by the Aryans who arrived with three loose social divisions: priests, warriors and commoners. This system was a division of labour and not a social hierarchy. Caste was dictated by occupation and intercaste mobility was the norm.

When the Aryans gave up their nomadic pastoral life and settled down as farmers, occupation became more specialised. Society cleaved into two broad divisions of tillers and traders. The priests and warriors, however, were top of the heap as distinct and privileged groups, on account of the prayers and protection that the others required of them.

Over time this system became increasingly rigid. One important factor in this formalisation was the Aryan interaction with the Dasas. The Aryans wanted to maintain their 'racial purity' over the dark-skinned Dasas and tried to exclude them as much as possible from all aspects of social life: intermingling, marriage, education and occupation.

The Rig-Veda Veda divides society into four separate but interdependent castes. According to the Puranas, the Brahmins were born of the mouth of Brahma. They therefore mediated with the gods on behalf of mankind and addressed prayers to the gods.

The Kshatriyas were born of Brahma's arms, and were duty-bound to protect society and wield weapons. The Vaishyas were born of his thighs and attended to trade, commercial activities, and agriculture. The Shudras were born of Brahma's feet and their only purpose was to serve the other three castes. The three upper castes became known as 'svarna jati' or castes of 'good colour' or 'golden colour', an indication of Varna Aryan privilege. And caste itself devolved into a racial differentiation between the conquerors and the conquered, with colour as the most visible distinction.

Apart from the four named castes, there was another category of people called Chandalas. These were the outcastes or untouchables that were considered beyond the pale of the system. They did not live within the village precincts, nor were they allowed to enter the village, except to scavenge and collect night soil.

Members of the first three castes were called dvija or "twice-born". The second birth refers to their initiation into their caste with the thread ceremony Upanayanam

The Hindus believe that the caste one is born into is based on the karma and dharma of one's previous birth Moksha. A good karma and dharma will ensure that one is born into a higher caste in one's next life. As the caste system became more rigid, the lower castes came to be oppressed by the Brahmins mediated with the godson behalf of mankind by performing sacrifices and praying.

Varna the higher castes, who increased their rituals and customs to widen the gap. The system degenerated into a harsh social order where the majority labored for the benefit of a select few. When the Constitution of India was adopted on January 26, 1950, it abolished the caste system and guaranteed equality to all citizens. The Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution ensure equality before law and equal protection by the laws to all persons in the country; they guarantee that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen only on the basis of race or caste and that no citizen shall be restricted in access to places dedicated to the general use of the public; they further ensure that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen with regard to employment or appointment to any state office and that no citizen shall be ineligible for any state office on the grounds only of race or caste. The Constitution also abolished untouchability. Its practice in any form is forbidden and Varnaconsidered a legal offence. The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, further ensures this. And with the spread of education, the centuries-old caste system is inevitably crumbling.