Section Article

Changing Nature of Caste System in Contemporary India
Author(s): Abhay Singh

Abstract
The caste system has historically been one of the most defining features of Indian society shaping social relations economic opportunities political power and cultural practices for centuries. Rooted in ancient social stratification caste functioned as a rigid hereditary and hierarchical system that governed every aspect of individual and collective life. However contemporary India has witnessed significant transformations in the nature functioning and relevance of caste due to modernization constitutional democracy urbanization education economic liberalization social movements and globalization. This research paper critically examines the changing nature of the caste system in contemporary India by analyzing its transition from a rigid social hierarchy to a more flexible negotiated and context-dependent structure. The study explores how caste has shifted from ritual status to political identity from occupational immobility to economic diversification and from social exclusion to claims-based mobilization. While caste-based discrimination and inequalities persist particularly in rural areas and among marginalized communities the paper argues that caste today operates in new forms through electoral politics affirmative action identity assertion and digital spaces. By drawing upon sociological theories constitutional frameworks empirical studies and contemporary debates this paper highlights both continuity and change in caste dynamics. The analysis demonstrates that caste has neither disappeared nor remained unchanged rather it has been reconstituted to adapt to modern socio-economic and political realities. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for nuanced understanding and policy interventions that address both traditional and emerging forms of caste inequality in India.