The Caste System Begins

1. What is the caste system, and how did it start in India?
   (Hint: Look at how jatis turned into castes and what rules came up.)

How did the caste system change people’s lives long ago?
(Hint: Think about jobs, marriage, and how groups like Dalits were treated.)

1. Why did the caste system start to change in the 1900s?
   (Hint: Check out cities, laws, and what people thought about castes.)

What were the four big groups called in the early Vedic society?

• Jatis

• Varnas

• Dalits

• Harijans

When did the caste system, with smaller groups called jatis, start to form?

• During the Vedic period

• By the early Common Era, about 2,000 years ago

• In the 1400s with Portuguese visitors

• In the 1900s with British rule

What strict rule applied to jatis over time?

• People could only marry within their own jati

• People could change their jati if they worked hard

• Every jati had to follow the same duties

• Jatis were only for farmers and merchants