This refers to the article “Caste system: an indigenous invention in South India?” (Science & Technology, Jan. 10).
Caste is a means of dividing society into classes based on rituals, ‘purity’ and ‘pollution.’ The caste system is not a natural outcome; it is the deliberate creation of some sections to subjugate others for their own benefits and protection. Living in groups is a human tendency and it is natural. Those who live in groups do not necessarily practise the caste system. There is a difference between the caste system and group living.
Right-wing extremists deliberately use misleading arguments to show that the caste system was not invented by “Aryans.”
M. Sendhur,
Kollidam
