Caste in India: The Facts and the System c6.s2.19

c6.s2.19

Similar facts, though on a smaller scale, are found in many parts of the country.² Often rival claims to honours give rise, either as cause or pretext, to these struggles. Trivial enough in our eyes, they inflame those concerned to an extra-ordinary degree. The reason is that the organization of the castes has become the foundation of a veritable hierarchy: each one has its particular rank, defined by tradition or public opinion, and each one maintains it at all costs, or strives to advance itself. This is a trait which is entirely characteristic of the general nature of the institution.