Saturday, August 29, 2009
Group E Researcher
Researcher: Your job is to find some background information related to an important idea in the reading. Search through available references such as library books, reference books such as the encyclopedia, magazines. You might even interview someone who knows about your topic. Find some websites on the Internet so that you can do your investigation online. Share an interesting tidbit related to your reading.Please respond to each others' Research entry.
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In India, the caste system originally was not supposed to lead to certain occupations or social status. The system was supposed to be flexible. Because British society was divided into classes, the colonizers tried to use the caste system in India as a way of dividing Indians into social classes. They made the caste system more rigid during their rule, and encouraged priviledges granted to the higher castes. This was evident in the book by the treatment of servants in Vidya's parents's house opposed to her father's family's house.
ReplyDeleteI found information on four main varnas, or castes. The Brahmins, which Vidya's family was, were usually priests, scholars, and teachers. There is another caste made up of kings and soldiers. Yet another caste was made of farmers and traders, and the fourth was made up of artisans and service providers.
I found this information on Wikipedia, using "Indian Caste System" as my search term.
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