This thesis presents a study of the origin and development of the caste system in India.

The village has been the significant social unit on the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. To maintain its integrity it has developed a set of interlocking structures, some of which are unique to the subcontinent, which are very resistant to change. The Indian national government passed legislation which provided for the formation of new structures of political allocation without providing the basis of support for changing the other related structures existing within the village. This thesis attempts to show why this particular change, advocated by the state and national governments, failed. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate