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India’s caste system is a particularly unique feature of its society. As a dominant principle of social organisation, caste is deeply rooted in both Hindu tradition and religion. Although it has been argued that caste’s influence is slowly on the decline (Weber 1957; as cited by Gerth & Mills 1958, p. 397), its importance can still be seen in all areas of Indian life – socially, politically and economically. These spheres are all influenced by caste to different extents, as the caste system does not uniformly carry out the same role in all areas. A system so heavily ingrained in the culture cannot simply be eroded after a couple of decades (Arunoday 1993, p. 1), and while the system may be lessening in its rigidity, there is evidence that indicates that caste is still a significant force in daily life. There are numerous theories as to why the caste system developed in India. All of these, however, seem to draw to the same conclusion – that caste developed as a means of organizing Hindu social space (Flood 1996, p. 57). A widely accepted explanation for the development of caste in India is the socio-historical theory. This claims that characteristics of caste were present in Indian society as early as 3rd century BC. The system was more rigidly established with the arrival of the fair-skinned Aryans, who used caste (or more specifically, the four classes, or varnas) to keep the dark-skinned indigenous peoples in a state of permanent subordinance (Arunoday 1993, p. 2). There is evidence from 1500 BC of conquerors inter-marrying with non-Aryans. However gradually, the upper sections of the Aryan groups (i.e. priests and warriors) resented this due to their loss of power and privilege. This led to marriage being confined to occupational groups, with a change in ancestral vocation as socially barred, and thus the system was established as it is still distinctly seen today. The influence of caste can be particularly seen in Indian politics. Different regions of India have been influenced politically by caste to different extents. There is a great difference, for example, between South and North India when considering caste’s political influence - South India is seen with more caste-based politics than other regions (Varshney 2000, p. 2). However, there is one universal concept that can be seen throughout India. Although both socially and economically, caste can be seen as a tool of subjugation, politically, lower castes may use their universal franchise as a means of empowerment simply due to sheer numbers (Beteille 1996, Dirks 1997, Kothari 1970, Rudolph & Rudolph 1987 & 1967, Weiner 1997; as cited by Varshney 2000, p.
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