Jati: The Caste System in India | Asia Society Skip to main content

Unsupported Browser Detected.
It seems the web browser you're using doesn't support some of the features of this site. For the best experience, we recommend using a modern browser that supports the features of this website. We recommend Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge

  • Chinese Language Learning
    • Mandarin Jumpstart
    • National Chinese Language Conference
    • Teaching Resources Hub
    • Language Learning Supporters
  • Global Education
    • About Global Competence
    • Global Competency Resources
    • Teaching for Global Understanding
    • Thought Leadership
  • Discover Asia
  • About
    • About
    • Results and Opportunities
    • News and Events
Search
Education
  • Chinese Language Learning
    • Mandarin Jumpstart
    • National Chinese Language Conference
    • Teaching Resources Hub
    • Language Learning Supporters
  • Global Education
    • About Global Competence
    • Global Competency Resources
    • Teaching for Global Understanding
    • Thought Leadership
  • Discover Asia
  • About
    • About
    • Results and Opportunities
    • News and Events

Jati: The Caste System in India

The Indian Caste system

Travelers to India have commented on caste for more than two thousand years. In Indian society the group comes first, unlike our own society that gives so much importance to the individual personality. After a person’s family, the caste commands an individual’s major loyalty. Indians still often identify themselves by the community they belong to and caste is still a factor in marriage selection. In addition, caste has allowed countless groups that have migrated into India to find a place and to play an important role.

The caste system, as it actually works in India is called jati. The term jati appears in almost all Indian languages and is related to the idea of lineage or kinship group. There are perhaps more than 3000 jatis in India and there is no one all-Indian system of ranking them in order of status. Yet in each local area jati ranking exists and is very much related to purity and pollution. Each jati has some unique job, but not everyone in the jati performs it. Thus there are barbers who do not shave, carpenters who do not build, and Brahmins who do not act as priests. A jati is identified in a local setting by whom its members will accept food and water from and to which jatis its members will give food and water. People will try to marry their sons and daughters to members of their same jati and will give their major loyalty to their jati. A jati will usually be organized into a biradari (a brotherhood), and this organization carries out the business and oversees the working of the jati and has the power to exclude an offender from the jati.

The jati system is not static in which all groups stay in the same position. There is mobility in the system and jatis have changed their position over the centuries of Indian history. However, the jati moves up the social scale as a group and not as individuals. A jati can improve its position in the class system by advancing economically and emulating social groups with money and power. At the same time, a jati can also move up in the caste hierarchy. Mobility in the caste system has been termed “Sanskritization” by the scholar M.N. Srinivas. To gain position in this process, a lower jati copies the habits and behavior patterns of the dominant jati in the area. This may mean a lower jati will change its name to one of a higher jati, adopt vegetarianism, observe more orthodox religious practices, build a temple, and treat its women in a more conservative way. The type of emulation will depend on the habits of the dominant jati being copied. If the jati can gain acceptance for its new name, new history, and new status, it will then marry its daughters to members of the jati in which it is seeking to gain membership. In due time the new position on the social scale will be solidified and accepted by other jatis. This practice is not totally unlike that of immigrant groups coming to America and copying the habits of the WASPs who were in control. In your own community you could probably identify the most prestigious group of people and observe other members of the community copying their behavior in ways such as sending their children to dancing classes and summer camps, and putting braces on their teeth.

The Indian Constitution has outlawed the practice of Untouchability and the Indian Government has established special quotas in schools and Parliament to aid the lowest jatis. Caste discrimination is not permitted in gaining employment and access to educational and other opportunities. But this does not mean that caste is illegal or has faded away. Caste groups as political pressure groups work very well in a democratic system. Caste may provide psychological support that people seem to need. Economists and political scientists are finding that caste is no real barrier to economic development or political democracy.

Authors: Donald Johnson, Jean Johnson.

Additional Background Reading on Asia

  • China's world cup fans
    article

    China’s World Cup 'Craze'

    Why were there so many Chinese fans in the bleachers at this year's FIFA World Cup, when the Chinese team wasn’t even on the field? Student Jerry Tian gives us his perspective.
  • A mural of Kim Il Sung in the foreground (Anne Hilton)

    North Korea: Looking Beyond the Stereotypes

    We've compiled resources to help you cut through the stereotypes surrounding North Korea and more deeply examine the country, its people, and the complexities of its politics and nuclear program.
  • Tsinghua University, East Gate

    China's Education System: The Oldest in the World

    It may sound incredible, but China’s formal education system—the oldest in the world—was established nearly two millennia ago.
  • October 9 is the only national holiday dedicated to a writing system.

    The World's Most Incredible Alphabet

    Hint: It was invented to fit a language that previously used a borrowed writing system.
  • Folio from a Ashtasahashirika Prajnaparamita Manuscript

    Visualize the World

    Museum resources and educational resources that help students develop visual literacy and a better understanding of the world.
  • Tang Dynasty copy of 新婦地黃湯帖 by Wang Xianzhi (Taito Ward Calligraphy Museum). Image is in the public domain.

    Revelations from the Brush

    A case for practicing calligraphy from one learner's perspective.
  • A painting that has traces of the three teachings (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

    The Three Teachings

    How Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism complement one another. Read on to learn about the "fourth teaching."
  • A Tibetan mantra inscribed in rocks at Zanskar, India. Photographer unknown.

    Math, Science, and Technology in India

    A tour de force essay written by Dr. Roddham Narasimha.
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson. (Etching by Sam W. Rowse, 1878)
    article

    Indian Influences on Western Literature

    Includes case studies on Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Herman Hesse, and The Beatles. A must-read!
  • Sarkhej Roza (Tomb & Mosque Of Ahmad Khattu Ganj Bakhsh) in India.

    Islamic Belief Made Visual

    On Islam and the use of geometric patterns.

Pagination

  • Current page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • Next page Next
  • Last page Last

Related Content

  • Grads: Get 'Globally Competent,' Get a Job

    Whether you are 8, 18 or 28, it's clear: global competence can open up new job opportunities for you.
  • Global Competence for Chinese Language Teachers

    Using pandas and dumplings in your classroom? Think again.
  • Education in a Post-9/11 America

    How a fateful day a decade ago changed the American education system.
  • Math, Science, and Technology in India

    A tour de force essay written by Dr. Roddham Narasimha.
  • article

    Indian Influences on Western Literature

    Includes case studies on Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Herman Hesse, and The Beatles. A must-read!
About
  • Mission & History
  • Our People
  • Become a Member
  • Career Opportunities
  • Corporate Involvement
visit us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
global network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, D.C.
resources
  • Arts
  • Asia Society Magazine
  • ChinaFile
  • Current Affairs
  • Education
  • For Kids
  • Policy
  • Video
shop
  • AsiaStore
initiatives
  • Arts & Museum Summit
  • Asia 21 Next Generation Fellows
  • Asia Arts Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Game Changer Awards
  • Asia Society Museum: The Asia Arts & Museum Network
  • Asia Society Policy Institute
  • Asian Women Empowered
  • Center on U.S.-China Relations
  • Coal + Ice
  • Creative Voices of Muslim Asia
  • Global Cities Education Network
  • Global Talent Initiatives
  • U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit
  • U.S.-China Dialogue
  • U.S.-China Museum Summit
Connect
Email Signup For the media
Asia Society logo
©2023 Asia Society | Privacy Statement | Accessibility | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Contact

Asia Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with any government.
The views expressed by Asia Society staff, fellows, experts, report authors, program speakers, board members, and other affiliates are solely their own. Learn more.

 

 

  • Visit Us
  • Hong Kong
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Global Network
  • Australia
  • France
  • India
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Northern California
  • Philippines
  • Southern California
  • Switzerland
  • Washington, DC