ABSTRACT
T h e subject of caste is one of the least understood in the West, and much ignorant criticism has been written about it. Even among Indians themselves different explanations have been given which have tended only to obscure its meaning. Yet just as the joint family system and the village community are both typically characteristic of India from earliest times, so caste has been a part of Indian civilization for more than three thousand years. It is obvious, therefore, that it must originally have served some useful purpose which brought benefit to the com munity as a whole; otherwise it would never have possessed such a remarkable survival value.
