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In India, the caste system developed and is prevalent since ancient times and it remains as a great thorn in the growth of Mother India. Caste in Indian society refers to a social group where membership is largely decided by birth. This caste system became fixed and hereditary with the emergence of Hinduism and its beliefs of pollution and rebirth. The Laws of Manu (Manusmitri), refer to the impurity and servility of the outcastes, while affirming the dominance and total impunity of upper castes. The origin of caste system could be the functional groupings, called varnas, which have their origins in the Aryan society. Scheduled Castes was first coined by the Simon Commission and used it in the Government of India Act-1935 to refer to certain castes. Social change may be defined as the process which is discernible in the alteration of the structure and functioning of a particular social system. The nature and pace of social change are not uniform in each age or period in the same society. There is no inherent law in social change according to which it assume definite forms. It is difficult to make any prediction about the exact forms of social change.

Caste System, Democracy, social change, untouchable, varnas