ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Caste System of India: a Very Rudimentary Summary The Non-Hindus in Caste System Religiously anyone who does not belong to the four Varnas is an outcast and untouchable. It means, all foreigners and non-Hindus are all supposed to be untouchables. But in reality neither all foreigners nor non-Hindus were treated as untouchables. Foreigners and non-Hindus were treated differently in different parts of India.

Some of the foreigners adopted Hinduism and integrated in the upper level of the Hindu hierarchy. The Rajputs of Rajasthan belong to the Kshatria Varna (warrior castes). The Rajputs, more than any other Indian Jat, represent the warrior castes of India. Almost any Indian community which claims to be a warrior community, claims a Rajput ancestry.

But it is believed that many foreign invaders of ancient India, like Scythians; Huns; Greeks and others, who adopted Hinduism, integrated in the Rajput community and acquired a Kshatria status. The Konkanash Brahmans of west India are also believed to have non- Indian descent. According to a Hindu legend, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Parsuram, found on the Konkan beach some dead bodies which were washed to the shore. In order to cremate them Parsuram gathered them on a pyre.

These dead bodies woke up on pyre, probably because they were not dead in the first place but were only unconscious. Parsuram converted these people to Hinduism and made them Brahmans. There are other theories about the origins of these Konkanash Brahmans. Many of these Brahmans have gray-green eyes. Some claim them to be Vikings or of other European origin. In the Konkan coast there is Jewish community called Bene Israel. Some claim that these Jews are from the 'Lost Tribes'.

These Jews who arrived in India after their ship-wrecked near the Konkan coast claim that they and the Konkanash Brahmans are descendants of the survivals from the same ship. And in their version, it was not an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who converted the Konkanash Brahmans but a local Brahman. Anyway these Jews do not have gray-green eyes like the Konkanash Brahmans. Different religion followers got different status in different parts of India.

The Jews of west India (called Bene Israel) had a different status from Jews of south India (Cochini Jews). In general the Bene Israel had low status.