Breaking down the question

The question is a direct request for the defining features of the caste system, and the most authoritative enumeration is G.S. Ghurye's classic list of six characteristics. The examiner wants a systematic, feature-by-feature account rather than a diffuse discussion of caste in general.

Caste is a system of ranked, closed and hereditary groups whose interrelations are governed by ritual notions of purity and pollution. The task is to identify each structural feature clearly and to show how the features together constitute a coherent system. Key elements to unpack:

  • The segmental division of society into distinct, membership-by-birth groups.
  • The hierarchy of ranked statuses ordered by purity and pollution.
  • The associated restrictions — on food, marriage and social intercourse — and the link between caste and hereditary occupation.

How to approach it

Begin by defining caste as a hereditary, endogamous and hierarchically ranked group, and state that Ghurye's six features remain the standard framework. Then present the features in an organised sequence rather than a random list.

Cover the segmental division of society; the hierarchy of groups; restrictions on feeding and social intercourse governed by purity and pollution; civil and religious disabilities and privileges attaching to different castes; the lack of unrestricted choice of occupation; and restrictions on marriage through endogamy. Where useful, deepen the analysis with Louis Dumont's argument that the underlying principle is the opposition of the pure and the impure, which makes hierarchy the encompassing value. Conclude by noting how these features interlock into a system, and point the reader to the fuller discussion of the features of caste system. Keep the treatment structured and precise.

Model answer

The caste system is a form of social stratification unique in its rigidity, in which membership is fixed by birth and social relations are ordered by ritual status. G.S. Ghurye's six-fold characterisation remains the most widely used framework for describing its features, and it can be read alongside Louis Dumont's argument that the whole edifice rests on a single principle — the opposition of purity and pollution.

The first feature is the segmental division of society. Society is divided into a large number of castes and sub-castes, each a well-defined group with membership determined by birth. A person is born into a caste and cannot ordinarily leave it, so the boundaries between groups are closed and permanent.

The second is hierarchy. Castes are not merely different but ranked, arranged in a graded order of superiority and inferiority. The Brahmin traditionally occupies the summit and the so-called untouchable groups the base, with the whole order justified by ritual status rather than wealth or power alone.

The third feature comprises restrictions on feeding and social intercourse. Elaborate rules govern from whom one may accept cooked food and water and with whom one may dine. These commensal restrictions express and reinforce the ideas of purity and pollution that underlie the hierarchy, since contact with lower castes is held to defile the higher.

The fourth is the existence of civil and religious disabilities and privileges attaching to different sections. Lower castes were historically excluded from temples, wells and certain public spaces, while higher castes enjoyed ritual and social privileges. Rights and disabilities were thus distributed by birth.

The fifth feature is the lack of unrestricted choice of occupation. Each caste was traditionally associated with a hereditary calling, and members were expected to follow the occupation of their group. Occupation was ascribed rather than achieved, binding economic role to ritual status.

The sixth is restriction on marriage through the rule of endogamy. Marriage must take place within one's own caste or sub-caste, and this endogamy is often regarded as the very essence of caste, since it perpetuates the closed and hereditary character of the group across generations.

Dumont's analysis draws these features together by arguing that caste is governed by the single opposition of the pure and the impure. Hierarchy, commensal rules and endogamy are all expressions of this ritual principle, which encompasses and subordinates considerations of power and wealth. On this reading the features are not a mere list but the surface manifestations of one underlying logic.

Taken together, these features constitute caste as a system rather than a set of separate customs. Segmentation, hierarchy, commensal and marital closure, hereditary occupation and differential rights reinforce one another to produce a durable order of ascribed inequality — an order that constitutional and economic change has weakened but not dissolved.

Examiner's perspective

Examiners reward candidates who present a clear, structured enumeration of features, and Ghurye's six characteristics provide the safest scaffolding. Precision matters — endogamy, hierarchy and the purity–pollution basis of commensal restrictions must be stated accurately rather than gestured at.

Weak scripts offer a vague description of caste or a disorganised jumble of points. Strong scripts organise the features logically, illustrate them briefly, and add analytical depth by invoking Dumont's purity–pollution principle to show that the features form a coherent system. A concluding remark on how the features interlock, and on their partial persistence today, lifts the answer into the higher band.