India's contemporary caste system can be traced back to the ancient concept of "chatur varna," which classified the population into four distinct classes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The division was primarily determined by people's occupations and the color of their skin.
In due course of time, the caste system in India became extremely hierarchical and rigid encouraging high caste people to exploit the low cast people. Unfortunately, even today, the Indian cast system is intensely hierarchical resulting in several social and economic problems.
Four major castes according to varna are briefly described as under:
1.Brahmans :
- Brahmins hold the highest position in the varna hierarchy.
- The main castes within the Brahmin varna include priests, teachers, custodians of social ritual practices, and arbiters of correct social and moral behavior.
- Brahmins are known for their prominent land-owning and money-lending activities.
2. Kshatriyas :
- Kshatriyas hold the second position in the varna ranking, following the Brahmans.
- Traditionally, Kshatriyas were considered powerful castes and played a significant role as warriors and defenders of the society.
- Over time, the role of Kshatriyas in defense has diminished, and land ownership has become a prominent aspect of their social position.
3. Vaishyas :
- Vaishyas belong to a high ritual varna in the Indian caste system, but they rank below Kshatriyas.
- The primary occupations of Vaishyas are farming and retail trade.
- Vaishyas are considered an important part of the economic structure of traditional Indian society.
- Although Vaishyas were traditionally involved in agriculture, over time they have also become involved in other fields like finance and business.
- Historically, Vaishyas have been known to be wealthy and influential members of society.
4. Shudras :
- Shudras belong to the lowest class in the varna ranking system.
- They are primarily involved in agricultural activities, including cultivation.
- Shudras also engage in various artisan services, such as carpentry, metal work, and basket weaving..
Distributional Pattern of Schedules Castes
1.Population in term of Numbers-
A. Maximum Population :
- Uttar Pradesh had the largest number Scheduled Caste people in 2011. This was followed by West Bengal
- These two states account for nearly one-third (31.3 per cent) of the Schedules Caste population of the country
- Other states with large size of the Scheduled Caste population are Bihar (17 million). Tamil Nadu (14.4 million), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (13.8 million), Maharashtra (13.2 million). Rajasthan (12.2 million), Madhya Pradesh (11.3 million), Karnataka (10.4 million), Punjab (8.8 million) and Odisha (7.2 million).
B. Minimum Population :
- States with low concentration of scheduled castes population are Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya and Goa.
- Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli also have low concentration of Scheduled Castes.
C. Zero Population :
- No Scheduled Castes have been reported in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
It is clear from the above description that the highest concentration of Scheduled Caste is found in the alluvial plains of north India because they find ready employment as agricultural labourers.
2. Population in term of Percentage-
A. Maximum Population:
- Punjab with 31.94 per cent tops the list. Followed by Himachal Pradesh (25.19%), West Bengal (23.51%) and Uttar Pradesh (20.69%).
B. Minimum Population :
- These are in descending order, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh. Rajasthan, Tripura, Karnataka, Odisha, NCT of Delhi, Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
- Scheduled Castes are negligibly small in Mizoram,
C. Zero Population
- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Tribal population
The tribes are thenative people of the land who are believed to be the earliest settlers in the Indian Peninsula. They are generally called adivasis, implying original inhabitants.
Distribution of Scheduled Tribes
State Level Patterns :
1.In terms of Percentage:
A. Zero Tribal population:
- Punjab and Haryana, and the union territories of Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry,
B. Maximum Population:
- Mizoram & Lakshadweep
The other States/Union Territories with predominantly Scheduled Tribes population are:
- Nagaland , Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh Manipur, Chhattisgarh and Tripura also have substantial proportion of population as Scheduled Tribes.
- Among the 15 major states, Chhattisgarh has the largest proportion of Scheduled Tribe population of 30.62 per cent followed by Jharkhand 26.21 per cent.
- Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir and Goa are the other four major States in which more than 10 per cent of the population belong to Scheduled Tribes.
2. In terms of numbers
A.Maximum Population
- Madhya pradesh>Maharashtra>Odisha>Rajasthan
B.Zero Population-
- Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.
Religious composition
- India is the birthplace of four major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
- Hinduism is the most dominant religion in India, and the term "Hindustan" refers to the land of the Hindus.
- Along with the indigenous religions, India has also embraced other world religions such as Christianity and Islam.
- Christianity has a long history in India, with Syrian Christians arriving on the West Coast in the first century of the Christian Era.
- Islam was introduced to the West Coast of India by Arab traders even before the Muslim conquest.
- India has provided sanctuary to persecuted communities such as Jews and Zoroastrians (Parsis).
- Sikhism emerged as a distinct religion in India around five centuries ago.
The Hindus
- The Hindus are the preponderant majority in most of the states and union territories of India.
- The Hindus of India account for about 12 per cent of the world population ranking below those professing Christianity and about equal with the followers of Islam, but much above other religions.
- However, the percentage of Hindus to total population of India is decreasing gradually. It came down from 83.4 per cent in 1961 to 80.5 per cent in 2001.
- This is largely because of comparatively lower growth rate of the Hindus and partly due to conversion of Hindus into other religious faiths.
Maximum Population(Percentage wiese)-
- Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, OdishaDadra and Nagar Haveli , Madhya Pradesh etc.
Minimum Population(Percentage wiese)
- However, the Hindus are in minority in certain states and union territory of Lakshadweep.
- They are outnumbered by the Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir and Lakshadweep, by Sikhs in Punjab, by Christians in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and almost equalled by unspecified religions and persuasions in Arunachal Pradesh
- States and Union territories having Hindus less than 10 per cent of their total population are Nagaland (7.7%). Mizoram (3.6%) and Lakshadweep (3.7%).
Maximum Population(Number wise)
- Uttar Pradesh>Maharashtra >Bihar> Andhra Pradesh etc.
The Muslims
- The Muslims constitute the second largest religious community and the largest minority community of India.
Maximum Population(Number wise)
- Uttar Pradesh > West Bengal > Bihar>Maharashtra
Maximum Population(Percentage wise)
- Lakshadweep had the highest percentage of 95.5 per cent
- Among the states, Jammu and Kashmir had the highest percentage of Muslims. Assam has about 31 per cent of its population consisting of Muslims. In West Bengal, the Muslims account for 25.2 per cent of the total population.
- Kerala has 24.7 per cent of its population comprised by the Muslim
The Christians
- The Christians form the third largest religious community in India.
- The north-eastern states are predominantly inhabited by Christians.
- Christians constitute 90.0 per cent of the total population in Nagaland, followed by Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur.
- Christians are in large proportion in Goa and Kerala also
In absolute figures-
- Kerala has the largest number of Christians, amounting to about one-fourth of the total Christian population of India.
- After Kerala the important states with Christian population are Tamil Nadu , Arunachal Pradesh ,Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh
The Sikhs
- Sikhs constituted just 1.7 per cent of the total population of India in 1941. Their percentage increased to 1.9 in 1951 as a result of large scale migration of the Sikhs from Pakistan to India following partition of the country in 1947. Thereafter, the percentage of the Sikhs to total population of India has been increasing steadily
- They constituted 1.7 per cent of the total population in 2011.
- It is estimated that 75.9 per cent of the total Sikhs of the country live in Punjab alone.
- Minor pockets of the Sikh concentration are found in the Tarai region of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh etc.
Buddhists
- India's Buddhists constitute only 0.7 per cent of the total population of the country.
- The Buddhists are largely found in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and the Ladakh District of Jammu and Kashmir.
- They are also found to a lesser extent in Mizoram, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh
- The concentration of Buddhists in the northern part of India is mainly because it is near here that the Buddhism originated and spread over the Himalayas.
- Maximum population Maharashtra followed by Arunachal Pradesh
The Jains
- They constitute 0.4 % of Indian Population
- Maharashtra ,Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat,and Uttar Pradesh ,are important states.
The Parsis
- About 90 per cent of this community is concentrated in the city of Mumbai and the southern coastal Gujarat, around Surat.