The Indian caste system has changed in this order:
i. Castes are rigid and inflexible; people are born into a caste and cannot leave it.
ii. A system of social classes based on birth evolved.
iii. Discrimination based on caste is determined to be illegal.
iv. Castes are a prominent part of people's lives, but people may have been able to move around.
Although the caste system in India officially ended in 1950 and the discrimination is illegal, this does not prevent people from being discriminated against by their caste even today. UNICEF estimates that caste discrimination reaches more than 250,000 people worldwide.
Contemporary India can no longer be explained and understood only on the basis of the four main castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Sudras) and the individuals who have no caste, called the Dalits. In contemporary India, Indians do not necessarily occupy the professions designated by the castes. Some Dalits, for example, have managed to rise economically and are consumers. In addition to the economic rise, another way of escaping from caste oppression, in the case of the Dalits, was to convert to religions that do not have the caste system.
