Caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution.[1][2] Its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of India's Hindu society into rigid social groups, with roots in India's ancient history and persisting until today. However, the economic significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization and affirmative action programs. A subject of much scholarship by sociologists and anthropologists, the Hindu caste system is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study of caste-like social divisions existing outside Hinduism and India.
According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide.[3][4]
Contents
1 Etymology 2 Caste system of India 3 Caste in rest of South Asia 3.1 Nepal 3.2 Pakistan 3.3 Sri Lanka 4 Caste-like stratification outside South Asia 4.1 South-east Asia 4.1.1 Myanmar 4.1.2 Indonesia 4.2 East Asia 4.2.1 Japan 4.3 West Asia 4.3.1 Yemen 4.4 Africa 4.4.1 West Africa 4.4.2 Central Africa 4.4.3 East Africa 4.5 Europe 4.5.1 France and Spain 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Secondary sources 8 Scholarly tertiary sources 9 Further reading 10 External links
Etymology
The English word "caste" derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, which the Oxford English Dictionary quotes John Minsheu's Spanish dictionary (1599) to mean, "race, lineage, or breed."[5] When the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a "clan or lineage." However, it was the Portuguese who employed casta in the primary
According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide.[3][4]
Contents
1 Etymology 2 Caste system of India 3 Caste in rest of South Asia 3.1 Nepal 3.2 Pakistan 3.3 Sri Lanka 4 Caste-like stratification outside South Asia 4.1 South-east Asia 4.1.1 Myanmar 4.1.2 Indonesia 4.2 East Asia 4.2.1 Japan 4.3 West Asia 4.3.1 Yemen 4.4 Africa 4.4.1 West Africa 4.4.2 Central Africa 4.4.3 East Africa 4.5 Europe 4.5.1 France and Spain 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Secondary sources 8 Scholarly tertiary sources 9 Further reading 10 External links
Etymology
The English word "caste" derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, which the Oxford English Dictionary quotes John Minsheu's Spanish dictionary (1599) to mean, "race, lineage, or breed."[5] When the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a "clan or lineage." However, it was the Portuguese who employed casta in the primary