How Caste, a word of Spanish origin, redefined Indian social order during British rule

India Today

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One word that still thrives in India and continues to challenge society is caste. The word originated in Spain and was later used by Portuguese, and it was the British who institutionalised it within the Indian system.Caste, derived from casta, is now deeply linked with India's ancient social structure, the varna system, in which esoteric individuals based on the work performed and, by extension, their place in society.advertisementAs per the Rig Veda, the varna system divided society into four main groups: Brahmins, the learned class; Kshatriyas, the rulers and warriors; Vaishyas, the merchants and landowners; and Shudras, those who did manual labour. Outside this structure were those considered 'untouchables.'
The first official Indian census was conducted in 1871, well before independence. It recorded over 2,500 castes. These caste listings included all professions -- for example, Sonar, a term for goldsmiths, was listed as a backward class.By the 1931 census, the number of recorded castes had risen to over 3,000. This was the last time a caste-based census was held -- pre- or post-independence.Even though caste -- a word not native to Indian soil -- became the most defining social construct of the land, shaping society for over two centuries, how did this happen? What changed and divided Indian society so deeply that it is now difficult to separate from it?advertisementWas Indian society fragile from the beginning, or did it evolve over time, with the differentiation of work and social categories outlined in the varna system becoming more rigid? These are the questions scholars and academics have long sought to answer.
Specimen of various described castes(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
VARNA, JATI, AND CASTEThe varna system, as mentioned in the Rig Veda, is thousands of years old and outlines how society and work were structured. Though there were four main varnas, epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana offer examples of how these identities could shift.Vishwamitra, born a Kshatriya, was later revered as a Rishi due to his conduct. The story of Eklavya is often cited -- denied training by Dronacharya due to his varna, Eklavya's father, Hiranyadhanu, nonetheless served in King Jarasandha's army, showing that lower-caste individuals were not excluded from warfare or learning.In Indian texts, jati -- meaning birth -- is often mentioned less often than varna, but the concept is more complex. While varna divided society into four broad categories, jatis represented thousands of lineage- or occupation-based groups.advertisementThese groups, though endogamous (a practice of marrying or mating within a specific group, such as a caste, ethnic group, religious group), varied across regions.Louis Dumont, a French anthropologist, linked jatis to religious purity and pollution, but others argue their origins are more secular, rooted in economics, politics, and geography.Although jatis are often associated with jobs, they have not strictly limited occupational roles. Genetic studies suggest jatis practiced endogamy since the Gupta period, possibly earlier.Jatis are not exclusive to Hindus -- they are found among Muslims, Christians, and tribal populations, without one single hierarchical order.The English word caste, now so commonly used in the Indian context, did not originate here. It came by way of Portugal. When the Portuguese first made landfall in India in the year 1498, they applied word 'casta' -- a term used for lineage or stock -- to describe the many birth-bound communities they observed.The English language took this word in by 1613, and it stayed.Historian Sumit Guha, in his account Beyond Caste, writes of how Portuguese became a seafaring tongue, spoken in distant corners of Asia. Through this language, the West began to make sense of Indian life or tried to.advertisementIn time, the British would carry out that task further. Guha notes that 'casta' spoke first of blood -- of purity in animals, then people which derived from the concept of purity of blood, limpieza de sangre.It imagined that a community's worth could be preserved by guarding the bloodline, especially through the modesty of its women.
Dr Ambedkar with the leaders of 'Scheduled Caste Federation'. Scheduled Caste Federation Conference, Nagpur (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Anthropologist Morton Klass reminds us that there is no true match for the word caste in any Indian tongue. The Iberians, shaped by their own worldviews and prejudices, used casta to rank peoples they met -- first in Asia, then in the Americas.As the Brisitsh engaged more with Indian society, they began to see it through their own lens.To them, India's jatis seemed like ordered groups, made to preserve ancestry. This view suited the world they came from -- a world where bloodlines and hierarchies mattered greatly.advertisementThat Portugal and Spain were deep in the trade of enslaved people only made such ideas more rigid.British historian Charles Boxer once observed that the beliefs the Iberians carried -- whether by sea, cross, or sword -- did not fade quickly. For many years, race and rank walked hand in hand. The echoes, perhaps, still ring.THE CASTE CENSUS AND ORIGIN OF NEW JATISWhen the British arrived in India, they stepped into a land full of rich traditions, local customs, and complex social networks. After centuries of invasions and changes in power, Indian society had become layered and diverse -- very different from what the ancient texts once described.Each community had its own way of life, and it was unlike anything the British had dealt with before.To make sense of this diversity and to rule more efficiently, the British started recording details about the people. This led to the first complete census of India in 1871. It wasn't just about counting people -- it was about sorting them into groups based on caste, religion, occupation, and other categories.Historians like Sumit Guha believe that this was the first major step in giving caste a rigid and official place in Indian society.advertisementThe census didn't just reflect what society looked like; it shaped how people came to see themselves and each other.British also recorded each individual's caste, religion, occupation, and age. These accounts went on until 1941 and had one major impact -- Britishers began defining how people came to be viewed in society.What was fluid and dynamic began to become fixed on paper.
Specimen of caste in India (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
One sociologist, Michael Mann, has stated that these censuses were more of what the British required to govern rather than what the Indians lived.The British rarely knew how things actually operated here, so they relied on older religious writings and counsel from higher-caste leaders -- particularly Brahmins -- to determine how to document Indian society.The British realised that if everyone could be put into tidy compartments, it would be possible to manage such a large nation. But not always.A Brahmin in Bengal, for instance, was more like other Bengal castes than like Brahmins elsewhere -- so the concept of one definite 'Brahmin' identity didn't quite work.The Brahmin identity was there before the British, but it wasn't always rigid or codified.People were allowed to shift between roles, and there was openness for change. But once the British began inserting caste into official documents, it started to become more fixed and less accessible to change.That's why some authors think that the British didn't only document caste -- they assisted in forming what it was. Others think caste existed naturally but concur that the British made it more rigid in human minds.So let's pose the big question: did the British have a hand in establishing India's caste system, or did they reformulate it to suit their means of domination? That's something historians still debate nowadays.Must Watch