The Indian caste system was based on what?
1 Answer
Its based off of Hindu belief of Karma and the castes, but also skin color became a part of it.
Explanation:
The Hindu religion believes that everybody has a purpose in their life, this calling is called Dharma. When you fullfill that Dharma you get good Karma that helps reincarnate you to the next life. The caste system is based off of these different stages of life, according to who's the closest to achieving Moksha aka becoming one with the universe again fully. The top classes are those closer to achieving Moksha while the lower classes are those who are considered more "unclean" than those higher classes because they have Bad Karma because they have strayed from Dharma.
What this has to do with skin color is that when they began the caste systems originally those of the wealthier people had lighter skin because they didn't have to work outside as much as those whom are poorer. Like any society, those who are richer have a bigger say in government and in this case their religion. This led the wealthy to consider them selves a higher class and poorer people lower class. This happened to create a physical separation between classes although they are based on the amount of good Karma you have.
Hope this wasn't too confusing and that it helped!
