As is well-known, the English word ‘caste’ is actually a borrowing from the Portuguese casta, meaning pure breed. The word refers to a broad institutional arrangement that in Indian languages (beginning with the ancient Sanskrit) is referred to by two distinct terms, varna and jati. Varna, literally ‘colour’, is the name given to a four-fold division of society into brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra, though this excludes a significant section of the population composed of the ‘outcastes’, foreigners, slaves, conquered peoples and others, sometimes refered to as the panchamas or fifth category. Jati is a generic term referring to species or kinds of anything, ranging from inanimate objects to plants, animals and human beings. Jati is the word most commonly used to refer to the institution of caste in Indian languages, though it is interesting to note that, increasingly, Indian language speakers are beginning to use the English word ‘caste’.

Which of the following statement is incorrect in the context of caste system in India?

In the late Vedic period, movement across social categories was not possible and the divisions were determined by birth.

The correct answer is Option 3: In the late Vedic period, movement across social categories was not possible and the divisions were determined by birth.

The earliest form of the varna system was relatively flexible. Social divisions were neither very rigid nor determined by birth, and movement between categories was possible and fairly common. The rigid, hereditary caste system developed later in the post-Vedic period. Therefore, Option 3 incorrectly describes the late Vedic period and is the incorrect statement.

Other Options:

Option 1 The caste system has been associated with the Indian sub-continent for thousands of years. This is correct because caste is regarded as a long-standing social institution closely associated with the Indian sub-continent.

Option 2 The four-fold varna classification is believed to be roughly three thousand years old. This is correct because scholars generally agree that the varna classification dates back about three millennia.

Option 4 The institution of caste spread to non-Hindu communities such as Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. This is correct because caste-like divisions came to exist among several major non-Hindu communities of the Indian sub-continent as well.

NCERT:  Opinions also differ on the exact age of the caste system. It is generally agreed though, that the four varna classification is roughly three thousand years old. However, the ‘caste system’ stood for different things in different time periods, so that it is misleading to think of the same system continuing for three thousand years. In its earliest phase, in the late Vedic period roughly between 900 — 500 BC, the caste system was really a varna system and consisted of only four major divisions. These divisions were not very elaborate or very rigid, and they were not determined by birth. Movement across the categories seems to have been not only possible but quite common. It is only in the post Vedic period that caste became the rigid institution that is familiar to us from well known definitions.