question_answer

What are the reasons for the great change in the caste system?

Answer:

Partly due to the efforts of political leaders and social reformers like Jotiba Phula Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar etc. and partly due to other socio-economic changes castes and caste system in modern India have undergone great changes.

(i) With the economic development, large scale urbanisation, growth of literacy and education, occupational mobility and the weakening of the position of landlords in the villages, the old notions of caste hierarchy are breaking down.

(ii) Now, most of the times, in urban areas it does not matter much who is walking along next to us on a street or eating at the next table in a restaurant.

(iii) The Constitution of India also prohibits any caste based discrimination and lays down the foundations of policies to reverse the injustices of the caste system.

In spite of these changes yet caste has not disappeared from contemporary India. Some of the older aspects of caste have persisted.