Caste in India: The Facts and the System c7.s1: Introductory

c7.s1.1

THE past history of caste is only intelligible in the light of present conditions, as we shall shortly see, for I am anxious to face two problems with which we are confronted, namely, what was the early condition of the Hindu castes in historic times? and what are the beginnings of the institution, if these can be traced back through those obscurities which envelop all origins?