Archaeological evidence indicates that civilization emerged in the Indus Valley around 3300
BCE. Over two millenniums, the inhabitants of this northwestern region of the Indian
subcontinent developed into a prosperous civilization with a distinct cultural style. However,
around 1500 BCE, a new culture, the Aryans, entered India through the Khyber Pass, and
began integrating themselves into the social framework of the Indus Valley civilization.
The origin of the Aryan people is subject to continuous scholarly debate; however, two theories
prevail. Traditionally, it has been thought that the Aryans emerged in the Caucasus region and
migrated westward into Europe and eastward into India. Another theory, the Cultural Diffusion
Hypothesis, states that the Aryans originated in the Indus Valley.
The Aryans furnished civilization in the Indian subcontinent with many impressive cultural and
religious contributions and shaped Indian society for thousands of years with the creation of the
caste system.
Society
According to traditional theories, the Indian caste system has its origins in the advent of the
Aryans in the Indus Valley. Thus, this social stratification system was the product of the Aryan
people’s will to separate themselves from, and subjugate, the local populations.
Initially, this new society, which included Aryans and non-Aryans, was hierarchically divided into
four varnas (i.e. castes). In fact, these four original varnas could be better categorized in two
groups: Aryans and Non-Aryans. Nevertheless, the four varnas, from the top down, were: the
Brahmins—Aryans (priests, scholars, and philosophers); the Kshatriyas—Aryans (rulers and
warriors); the Vaishyas—Aryans (farmers, traders, merchants, and craftsmen); and the lowest
caste, the Shudras—non-Aryans (laborers, peasants, and servants for the other castes).
Each varna was divided into jatis (i.e. sub-castes), which identified the individual’s occupation
and imposed marriage restrictions. Marriage was only possible between members of the same
jati (or two that were very close).
Both varnas and jatis determined a person’s purity level. Members of higher varnas or jatis had
higher purity levels, and if contaminated (even by touch) by members of lower social groups,
they would have to undergo extensive cleansing rites.
Jews believe in individual and collective participation in an eternal dialogue with God through tradition, rituals, prayers and ethical actions. Christianity generally believes in a Triune God, one person of whom became human. Judaism emphasizes the Oneness of God and rejects the Christian concept of God in human form.
Southerners promises to protect civil and political rights of blacks weren't exactly kept and the end of federal intrusion in southern affairs caused international disenfranchisement for black voters.
the South pretty much could govern themselves. This resulted in sharecropping and labor contracts for poor African Americans.
