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Hinduism Assignment Mel Irons 1) Describe the caste system as it has traditionally existed in Indian society. The caste system traditionally divided the entire Indian population into a strict system of hereditary groups of people. Consisting of mainly four main castes and a fifth group outside of the caste, the system governed the lives of Indians with an iron hand and strict law and for the majority of the Indian population made life very difficult. The …

…The Aryan priest-lawmakers created the four hereditary caste groups still existing today, placing their individual caste group alongside the title of the earthly gods. Next came the Kshatriyas, then the Vaisyas and the Sudras. Outside of these were the untouchables, or Harijans. Occasionally, people were expelled from the groups they were born into and became a part of the Untouchables. The caste system, created by the priests, was made a part of Hindu religious law.