Caste in India: The Facts and the System c6.s2.21

c6.s2.21

The pivot of this hierarchy is the recognized superiority of the Brahmanic caste and of its numerous branches. Some writers have gone so far as to say that the place assigned to each caste depends essentially on its relation to the Brahmanic caste, on the marks of consideration or disdain which it receives from the latter.¹ In spite of the relative disrepute into which a number of their castes have fallen the Brahmans hold a dominant position almost everywhere.² Their religious ascendancy has assured a high degree of authority to sects which, to a great extent, are founded on religious precepts and prejudices. It is very rarely that their superiority has been disputed.³ Often, however, the struggle among less favoured classes to emulate them has been obstinate and violent. All the castes, even the most despised, are animated by vanity and by a passion to be exclusive, which has strangely embittered these quarrels. Every means, from trickery and corruption to open force, is brought into play by the various groups in order to confirm or acquire such prerogatives as will raise them in public esteem.⁴