ALL ABOUT INDIA

THE CASTE STSTEM

For more than 3.000 years

BRAHMA

India has had a caste system wich most people believe came from Brahma, the hindu god of creation.

Brahmins

Kshatriyas

vaishyas

Shudras

Dalits

(outside the caste system)

Each caste is represented by a different part of the body of the Brahma statue.

The system divides the population into four main categories according to social importance and professions.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, came from the Brahmin caste. This is the highest caste for priest and teachers.

Siddhartha Gautama ( the Buddha) was a Kshatriya, the second highest caste. Kshatriyas were warriors and rulers of towns and cities.

Mahatma Gandhi was born to a family of Vaishyas. The caste wich were mainly farmers, merchants and traders.

Chandragupta I, ruler of the Gupta dinasty, was a Shudra-from the lowest caste. Shudras were labourers, without any social and economic rights. However Chandragupta I worked hard and became a Kshatriya.

Ram Nath Kovind was born a Dalit , or Untouchabke, the people who cleaned the streets and the toilets. He came from a poor family and grew up in a poor hut with six brothers and sisters. He didn't even have a bicycle, so he walked 8km to school every day. But, believe it or not, he became President of India in 2017!