The Origin of Caste among The Tamils

Rev S Gnanaprakasar OMI
The Origin of Caste among the Tamils

The Tamil people in general believe that the caste system, which is holding them in firm grip from time immemorial, is an original inheritance of their race and that, as such, it is a sacred thing to be guarded religiously. A little inquiry into the history of its origin, however, will dissipate this false belief and help them to rise above a state of things which most people feel is a terrible incubus on a progressive generation...

In fact, although the callings, practices and usages of the peoples of the different regions were varied, there was no barrier for a man of one tract settling in and intermingling with the people of another territory..
Was the caste system part and parcel of Aryan social life from the beginning? It does not seem so...