The terms jati and caste are often used to describe the social hierarchy in India, but they are not synonymous. Jati is a term that appears in almost all Indian languages and is related to the idea of lineage or kinship group. The word "caste" is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "casta," meaning "race, lineage, or breed".

Traditional Hindu codes tend to treat jatis as varnas (social classes). The varna system is a framework for grouping people into classes, first used in Vedic Indian society.

The four varnas are:

• Brahmins: priests, scholars, and teachers
• Kshatriyas: rulers, administrators, and warriors
• Vaishyas: agriculturalists, merchants, and traders
• Shudras: laborers, artisans, and servants

Some texts include a fifth category outside the varna system, consisting of those known as "untouchables" or Dalits.

• Jati is associated with birth, while varna relates to the choice of occupation.
• There are four varnas, but thousands of jatis.
• Varna is an all-India phenomenon, while jati has regional variations.
• Varna is relatively flexible, while jati is based on more rigid principles, restricting mobility.
• The jati system is the basis for the traditional arranged marriage system.
• A jati typically has an association with an occupation, geography, or tribe.

• References to a societal hierarchy can be found in the Rig Veda, where a hymn describes the origin of the four categories (varnas) from the Purusha or "supreme being".
• The varna system initially classified individuals based on their attributes and aptitude but evolved into a system where a person's occupation and status were determined by birth.
• The British colonial rule made the caste system more rigid through the use of census classifications.
• Some scholars suggest the jati system emerged to provide a source of advantage in an era of poverty, lack of human rights, and economic insecurity.

• India's constitution bans discrimination based on caste, and the government has established quotas in jobs and educational institutions for scheduled castes and tribes.
• Despite these changes, caste identities remain strong, and caste-based discrimination persists, especially in rural areas.
• Many people still conduct their social lives within caste hierarchies.
• Economists and political scientists are finding that caste is no real barrier to economic development or political democracy.
• There are demands from several communities to be recognized as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to gain access to caste quotas.
• Inter-caste marriages are becoming more common, especially in cities. However, it's still common for people to want to stop both men and women from marrying outside of their caste.
• Caste-based discrimination has also spilled over into other religions in India, with Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jains all employing similar forms of social stratification.

• There are difficulties in defining caste due to the variety of social organizations, ignorance about other castes, confusion between the ideal and the real, fluidity in the caste system, and a common nomenclature.
• Some view the caste system as a structural category consisting of networks of kinship ties, while others see it as a cultural category unique to India.
• Some scholars focus on ideological factors that drive the caste system, while others focus on socioeconomic factors.
• There are concerns about the misuse of the term "caste" to justify racism and discrimination against Indians.
• The term has become a sensitive and controversial subject in the context of politically active modern India.
• Some claim the caste system would have disappeared if politicians did not use it for vote-grabbing.
• Some argue that the modern understanding and usage of the word "caste" came through European intervention.
• The rise of a major open-source competitor, DeepSeek, may influence OpenAI's consideration of open-source strategies, but this is unrelated to the caste system.
• Some sources claim there is no caste system and jatis are misunderstood.
• Genetic studies show that endogamous jatis originated during the Gupta Empire.

The distortions that cumulate to become caste are:

1. Loss of fluidity of the varna system and nepotism taking root.
2. The jati being saddled with one varna or the other.
3. Advent of hierarchy into both varna and jati systems.
4. Discrimination and oppression based on such hierarchy.

• Dalits: Members of the Scheduled Castes, formerly considered "untouchables".
• OBCs: Other Backward Classes, a grouping that falls between the traditional upper castes and the lowest castes.
• Biradari: A term used for the kin group within a caste, signifying brotherhood.
• Gotra: A lineage or clan.
• Panchayat: Traditional caste council.