The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.227

v1.c15.227

It is to such mixed marriages that the law-books (cf. Manu, x, 6 ff.) attribute the origin of the castes (*jāti*) strictly so-called. To some extent the theory is undoubtedly correct. Descent is a chief factor, but not the only factor, involved in the formation of caste, the growth of which may still in the twentieth century be traced in the Reports of the decennial Census. Primitive tribes who become Hinduised, communities who are drawn together by the same sectarian beliefs or by the same occupation, all tend to form castes. Tribal connexion, religion, and occupation therefore combine with descent to consolidate social groups and, at the same time, to keep these social groups apart.