Kshatriya is one of the four varnas of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra.
Shudra or Shoodra is one of the four varnas of the Hindu varna system and social order in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like employees.
Varṇa, in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology is epitomized in texts like Manusmriti, which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or Dharma.
The Bhonsle are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system.
Shambuka is a character in some editions of the Ramayana. Some say that the character and his story are an interpolation which is not found in the original Valmiki Ramayana but in a later addition called Uttara Kanda.
Kayastha or Kayasth denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally located—the Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus of Maharashtra, the Bengali Kayasthas of Bengal and Karanas of Odisha. All of them were traditionally considered "writing castes", who had historically served the ruling powers as administrators, ministers and record-keepers.
Reddy is a caste that originated in India, predominantly settled in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are classified as a forward caste.
Who Were the Shudras? is a history book published by Indian social reformer and polymath B. R. Ambedkar in 1946. The book discusses the origin of the Shudra Varna. Ambedkar dedicated the book to Jyotirao Phule (1827–1890).
The caste system in Kerala differed from that found in the rest of India. While the Indian caste system generally divided the four-fold Varna division of the society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, in Kerala, there existed only two varnas: Brahmins and Shudras, out of these four, while others were classified as Avarna. The Malayali Brahmins formed the priestly class. Brahmins labeled all other castes as "Sat-sudra", "Shudra" and "Avarna" based on their origin and ritual rank. The exception to this were Kings in Kerala like of Travancore and Cochin, who were ritually promoted to the status of Kshatriya by means of the Hiranyagarbha ceremony.
The caste system in Goa consists of various Jātis or sub-castes found among Hindus belonging to the four varnas, as well as those outside of them. A variation of the traditional Hindu caste system was also retained by the Goan Catholic community.
Newar caste system is the system by which Newārs, the historical inhabitants of Kathmandu Valley, are divided into groups on the basis of Vedic varna model and divided according to their hereditary occupations. First introduced at the time of the Licchavis, the Newar caste system assumed its present shape during the medieval Malla period. The Newar caste structure resembles more closely to North India and Madheshis than that of the Khas 'Parbatiyas' in that all four Varna and untouchables are represented. The social structure of Newars is unique as it is the last remaining example of a pre-Islamic North Indic civilisation in which Buddhist elements enjoy equal status with the Brahmanic elements.
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the establishment of the British Raj. It is today the basis of affirmative action programmes in India as enforced through its constitution. The caste system consists of two different concepts, varna and jati, which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system.
Jatav , also known as Jatava/Jatan/ Jatua/Jhusia /Jataau/Jatiya, is an Indian community that are considered to be a subcaste of the Chamar caste, who are classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of positive discrimination.
The Rashtrakuta empire of Manyakheta was a notable Deccan empire that ruled most of the modern-day region of south and central India between the 8th to the 10th centuries. Their regal capital was Manyakheta in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka state, India. The Rashtrakuta society in many ways reflected the emerging religious, political and cultural developments of those times.
Kalita is an ethnic group or a caste of Assamese Hindus belonging to the state of Assam in North East India. Kalita is a forward caste and belongs to General or Unreserved category. Kalita represents a category in the tribe-caste continuum of Assamese society that is placed between the Keot on one side and Ganak and Brahmin on the other. According to historians like S.L.Barua, Kalitas started migrating from North and East India to Assam during the 11th century rule of Dharmapal.
Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development was a paper read by B. R. Ambedkar at an anthropological seminar of Alexander Goldenweiser in New York on 9 May 1916. It was later published in volume XLI of Indian Antiquary in May 1917. In the same year, Ambedkar was awarded a PhD degree by Columbia University on this topic. In 1979, the Education Department of the Government of Maharashtra (Bombay) published this article in the collection of Ambedkar's writings and speeches Volume 1; later, it was translated in many languages.
Baidya or Vaidya is a Bengali Hindu community located in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. A caste (jāti) of Ayurvedic physicians, the Baidyas have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three upper castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal.
Daṇḍa is the Hindu term for punishment. In ancient India, the ruler generally sanctioned punishments but other legal officials could also play a part. Punishments were handed out in response to criminal activity. In the Hindu law tradition, the counterpart to daṇḍa is prāyaścitta. Whereas daṇḍa was primarily sanctioned by the king, prāyaścitta is taken up by a person at his or her own volition. Daṇḍa provides a way for an offender to correct any violations of dharma he or she may have committed. Daṇḍa functions as the ruler's tool to protect the system of life stages and castes. Daṇḍa is part of vyavahāra, which was also a responsibility afforded to the king.
Bengali Kayastha, is a Bengali Hindu caste originated from the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, and is one of the main subgroups of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of scribes, administrators, ministers and record-keepers; the Kayasthas in Bengal, along with Brahmins and Baidyas, are regarded among the three traditional higher castes that comprise the "upper layer of Hindu society." During the British Raj, the Bhadraloks of Bengal were drawn primarily, but not exclusively, from these three castes, who continue to maintain a collective hegemony in West Bengal.
Landless is a 2018 Punjabi documentary film by Randeep Maddoke, a photographer and photojournalist from Punjab, India. This documentary film accounts the problems faced by Dalits and caste-based discrimination in their daily life. It recounts the story of the people who have faced abomination like social boycott, communal attacks by Jatts in Punjab. The project records the recent disturbances in the state.
