World History (T0 1500)
How might the class system in ancient India be compared with social class divisions in other societies in Asia?
The class system in India, which was also referred to as castle, came with the Aryans when they invaded India. It was developed by the Aryans to separate the different groups of people that they found their. Since the people found there were agriculturalists, they were portrayed to be of lower rank than the Aryans. This means that the economic activity that a group was performing also played great role in determining the rank. Additionally, the system was describing the different classes of people in accordance with their color. The Aryans were light skinned therefore they were of a higher rank than the indigenous groups who were found there because they were black.
On the other hand, the social class of the other Asian countries can be defined as the system where different groups of people are differentiate with the amount of power they had. This was in terms of political and economical power. Therefore, the group that was most powerful assumed the higher rank while the weakest assumed the lower rank. When the two systems are compared, it can be noted that, the class system in India differentiated each rank by the use of color and the economic activity different groups were doing. In contrast to this, the social class in the other Asian countries differentiated the different groups by the use power where political and economic factors were used to determine, which group people was very powerful.
Why do you think the class system as described here developed in India?
The system was first introduced by the Aryans who invaded India. The system has continued to develop even in the current days to create order and a sense of belonging in the society. The religious people like the priest were ranked and they are still ranked higher than those other people who were doing odd jobs like cleaners. This showed a sense of belonging in the society. The other reason is differentiating the different groups of people in accordance with color and their economic activity. For example, the Aryans who are light skinned are ranked high even in the economic activities they do like acting as compared to the indigenous people who are dark skinned even in their economic activities like farming are ranked low.
What is the difference between the class system (Varna) and the jati?
The class system Varna is where a group of people is ranked in accordance with their color. Literary, the word Varna means color. In the class system, Varna people were being ranked in accordance with what color they had. Therefore, those people who were perceived to be having light skin were perceived to be highly ranked as compared to those people who were dark skinned. Thus, it can be said that in Varna system the mode of describing a group of people was by the use of their color.
On the contrary, the jati system can be defined as a system where a group of people is described in accordance with where they have come from. This means that a group of people is described from the type of ancestor in which they hail from. Additionally, jati consists of different groups, which are mainly nuclear families. In jati, people are also ranked in the kind of economic activity that they are doing. Therefore, the two systems can differentiated by the mode in which they are formed. In Varna the different groups are formed in accordance to their color where the light skinned are highly ranked and the dark skinned are lowly ranked. On the hand, the jati are differentiated from the where they come from and they are ranked in accordance to the economic activities that they are performing.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]