Hansen/Curtis, 1/e, Ch



World History in Today's World: The Modern Caste System and its Ancient Antecedents

This activity corresponds to the "World History in Today's World: The Modern Caste System and its Ancient Antecedents." feature in your textbook. Once you have answered the Comprehension questions, submit your answers and move on to the subsequent questions included in the Analysis and Outside Sources sections. Each section is designed to build upon the one before it, taking you progressively deeper into the subject you are studying. After you have answered all of the questions, you will have the option of emailing your responses to your instructor.

Introduction

Hierarchical social systems often develop to preserve the power of those at the top of the hierarchy. Consider the history of the Indian caste system. Some historians propose that as Indo-European migrants came to dominate northern India, they found themselves a minority ruling an indigenous Dravidian-speaking majority. Despite the superior military technology that enabled the Indo-Europeans to control their new home, the Dravidian majority threatened to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. To address this threat, the Indo-Europeans established the early form of the caste system. The Indo-Europeans quite possibly reserved the upper two varna—Brahmins and warriors—mainly for themselves and placed most of their Dravidian subjects into the lower two varna. The Indo-Europeans' Vedic religion reinforced these divisions by representing the system as not a man-made construct but a manifestation of the divine order. Over the centuries, this system closed the divide between the Indo-European minority and Dravidian majority, creating a common culture in northern India, defined by Indo-European religion and languages. Over still more centuries, this system continued to develop, spreading throughout the region and generating further social subdivisions that still shape modern South Asian society. The questions and links below will help you to understand further the history of this complex social system.

Comprehension

1. How would most South Asians response to the questions, "What is your caste?"

2. Where does the caste system exert the most influence? In what ways?

3. Why have jati developed in social groups with strong identities?

Analysis

1. Return to "The Changes after 1000 B.C.E." in Chapter 3 of your textbook. Reread the excerpt from the Vedic "Hymn of the Primeval Man." How might the Buddha and his followers have envisioned differently the division of the "primeval man" and its consequences for humanity?

2. Reread "The Life of the Buddha" in Chapter 3 of your textbook. To what varna did the Buddha probably belong? What influence might his varna origin have had on the reception of his ideas?

3. Reread "The Teachings of the Buddha" in Chapter 3 of your textbook. In what respect(s) did Buddhism work within, rather than challenge, the traditional social system?

Outside Sources

1. Dating from about 1500 B.C.E., the Laws of Manu are one of the earliest and most important sources of information about early Vedic culture. The Laws address a broad range of topics, including the social structure. Go to and read the excerpts from the Laws. What do they tell you about how the Aryans viewed that varna?

2. You can find a generous selection of Vedic hymns at . Scroll down to and read "The Sacrifice of Primal man," an excerpt of which you read in your text. What was the primal man and what else resulted from the division of his body?

3. The great Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi had a complicated view of the modern caste system. (He was born into the Vaisya or merchant caste.) Go to for samples of Gandhi's comments on caste. Read a few of the selections from the early, middle, and late years of Gandhi's career. How did Gandhi initially view the function and value of caste? How did his views change?

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