What is caste based on?

[jdeepkaur]

Sat Sri Akal!

I am very new to this caste system as my parents never talked about it with us. But lately, I have been quite curious to know about my culture, etc., so this brings me to my question:

If a family has a history of landowning/farming and business construction owning for at least 2-3 generations (e.g, grandparents, great grandparents, etc..), just because their surname is a Tarkhan name. Does that make their caste Tarkhan or is it based on occupation?

It is just for informational purposes, everyone is equal~

Thank you ji!

 

[swarn bains]

when arians came to indeia. they had to fight in order to live in india. Manu made a system by which he divided their people in four classes. braham who will be educated and preach and manage, khatri who will fight, veish who will far to earn to live on shudra who will serve the other three classes. later on it became the caste system ad it continues till now, although the functions have changed but the names remain the same

 

[A_seeker]

when arians came to indeia. they had to fight in order to live in india.

You mean to refer Aryan Invasion Theory(AIT) .Just for the fact , AIT has already been debunked and discredited by modern science. Only Left Historians still cling to it..
Swami Vivekananda was the first person to protest against the false AIT .

Dr Ambedkar in his book "Who were the Shudras" debunks AIT too.

Manu made a system by which he divided their people in four classes

There were many Smritis written which were for different kal,yuga & societies , this particular pinpoint to Manusimirti (thanks to British ) is because of one dimensional understanding of Indic Civilization..

 

[A_seeker]

I am very new to this caste system as my parents never talked about it with us. But lately, I have been quite curious to know about my culture, etc., so this brings me to my question:

Caste is term coined by Britishers and is not same as Varna
This article might be helpful

Why Varna is Not Caste

The Four Varna system reflects a deep ecological and yogic vision of social and universal unity very different from the divisive idea of caste by birth.

www.indiafacts.org.in

 

[jdeepkaur]

Caste is term coined by Britishers and is not same as Varna
This article might be helpful

Why Varna is Not Caste

The Four Varna system reflects a deep ecological and yogic vision of social and universal unity very different from the divisive idea of caste by birth.

www.indiafacts.org.in

Thank you, this is helpful!

 

[JamesMitchell]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

In Sikhism, caste is not recognized, and all individuals are considered equal regardless of their family background or occupation. However, historically, certain occupations were associated with particular castes in Indian society.

Tarkhans were traditionally involved in carpentry and construction work. However, it is important to note that the caste system is not based solely on occupation, but also on birth and social status.

 

[Dalvinder Singh Grewal]

Initially the castes were based on the professions. In India to show their superiority, Brahmins started naming these doing shoe making ad shudder's; those fighting out with enemies were named kshatriyas and those involved in farming were called jats and so on. Manu stamped this division to show Brahmin domination and thus a system of casteism started which divided the society to the benefit of invaders who created dissensions among the people to maintain their rule. When the British came they further utilse this system to their advantage. Even after independence, the political leaders utilised this caste system to garner votes in their favour. However the Gurus, specially Guru Gobind Singh realised the damage done by this caste system. He called the Ranghreta Jiwan Singh who brought Guru Tegh bahadur's body from Delhi as Guru ka beta. This is how he lifted the cast3e barrier. Once on the eve of Vaisakhi, 1699, he declared all equal and made all to sit together in a row and have langar together thereby removing the distinctions between castes. Sikhs thus are not supposed to follow the manu system of casteism but treat all human as equal. However some people under the influence of Brahmanical tradions still try this caste system which is against the Sikh tenets.