Hindu Tribes and Castes

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The Classic Indian Epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and the Puranas, refer to diverse kinds of beings, describing them as superhuman or subhuman and other worldly extraterrestrials came to inhabit the living world. Many of these tribes have a strong historical basis, while the supernatural and fantastic aspects are considered literary speculation. These groups include Gandharva, Yaksha, Kinnara, Kimpurusha, Rakshasa, Naga, Suparna, Vanara, Vidyadhara, Valakhilyas, Pisacha, Rudra, Aditya, Danava, Marut, Nivatakavacha, Daitya, Kalakeyas and Vasus. Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a lifestyle which often includes an occupation, status in a hierarchy, customary social interaction, and exclusion. It is an extreme evolution of a system of legally-entrenched social classes, also endogamous and hereditary, such as that of feudal Europe. Although caste systems exist in various regions, its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into rigid social groups, with roots in India's ancient history and persisting until today;it is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study of caste-like social divisions existing outside India. In biology, the term is applied to role stratification in social animals like ants and termites, though the analogy is imperfect as these also involve extremely stratified reproduction. Nomads are known as a group of communities who travel from place to place for their livelihood. Some are salt traders, fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, actors, story tellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattooists, grindstone makers, or basket makers. All told, anthropologists have identified about 8 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 1 million people-around 1.2 percent of the country's billion-plus population.

Jayant Ram is Professor of History and Anthropology at reputed University. As a social activist, he was deeply involved in the social movement and did a research study on the movement. He writes regularly both for national journals and magazine publications.

The Classic Indian Epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and the Puranas, refer to diverse kinds of beings, describing them as superhuman or subhuman and other worldly extraterrestrials came to inhabit the living world. Many of these tribes have a strong historical basis, while the supernatural and fantastic aspects are considered literary speculation. These groups include Gandharva, Yaksha, Kinnara, Kimpurusha, Rakshasa, Naga, Suparna, Vanara, Vidyadhara, Valakhilyas, Pisacha, Rudra, Aditya, Danava, Marut, Nivatakavacha, Daitya, Kalakeyas and Vasus. Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a lifestyle which often includes an occupation, status in a hierarchy, customary social interaction, and exclusion. It is an extreme evolution of a system of legally-entrenched social classes, also endogamous and hereditary, such as that of feudal Europe. Although caste systems exist in various regions, its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into rigid social groups, with roots in India's ancient history and persisting until today;it is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study of caste-like social divisions existing outside India. In biology, the term is applied to role stratification in social animals like ants and termites, though the analogy is imperfect as these also involve extremely stratified reproduction. Nomads are known as a group of communities who travel from place to place for their livelihood. Some are salt traders, fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, actors, story tellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattooists, grindstone makers, or basket makers. All told, anthropologists have identified about 8 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 1 million people-around 1.2 percent of the country's billion-plus population.

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