The caste system in India dates back to around 1000 BC and still affects the lives of millions of people not only in India but also across South Asia. Determining this system of social strata for 3000 years of changing economic and social environments is a puzzling idea. The Hindu conception of social order is that people are different and that different people fit into different aspects of society. Social order or class according to Varna is the framework of moral duties based on the personal characteristics of individuals and not necessarily birth (Pruthi, 2004). Varna is the term used to refer to the four groups that make up traditional Hindu society. This essay will describe the main social and economic features of the caste system in India and how it fits within the ontological framework of Hinduism (Philosophy 312). Hindu society as a whole is divided into various small groups called castes, each of which is well developed. social groups. Caste membership is determined by birth and children are automatically part of the caste to which their parents belong. Each caste group has its own privileges and rules which are adopted by new generations and passed on to the next ones. Membership in a caste is an immutable and indisputable fact by which the position of men and women in the social structure is entirely determined. Even though a person's status, occupation, education and wealth may change, membership in that particular caste will remain the same. As this is generally a lifetime membership, there is virtually no social flexibility, but a low caste may, within a generation or two, rise in the hierarchy. It is after gaining in economics and...... middle of paper...... and this is increasingly identified as Hinduism as such" (Deshpande 2010, p9) In conclusion, There are different theories on how the Indian caste system came to be. The social and economic characteristics of the caste differ significantly from each other. The upper class enjoys a stabilized income to sustain their lives, but the lower the caste, the less financial stability they have. The idea of ​​reincarnation and karma comes from the Hindu religion and is believed to influence the way individuals think and feel about each other. As mentioned above, the law of Karma states that the current state of your soul is based on bad decisions made in a past life and based on your own actions. This is also related to the belief in reincarnation where the religious or philosophical concept that the spirit after death is reborn and begins a new life.