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Reading Practice
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The Caste System

Most modern societies believe that all men
and women deserve equal rights, but this has not

always been the case. For much of the history of
mankind, societies have separated themselves into
5 • different groups, some of which have more power

and privileges than others. In the most extreme
form, these groups become castes. A caste is a social
group that a person is born into. Once in a certain

social caste, a person usually cannot move into a different one. Many ancient societies had caste
10 • systems. The Greeks and the Romans had simple caste systems. In Rome, the higher caste was
called the Patricians* and the lower class was the Plebeians*. Only Patricians could serve in the

army or work in government. Plebeians were basically servants and worked for the Patricians.
Perhaps the most complex caste system in history existed in ancient India. The caste

system in India consisted of five separate castes. Each caste had certain jobs that only they were
15 • allowed to do. They even had separate diets. In fact, one’s caste controlled almost every part of a
person’s life, from where you could live to whom you could marry. Members of the highest caste

in India were the priests and scholars. Members of the lowest caste were called the untouchables.
Untouchables held the lowest jobs in Indian society, such as cleaning the streets and sewers.

Because their jobs were considered dirty, they were not allowed to come into contact with people
20 • of other castes. Untouchables could not even drink out of the village well. The caste system still
exists in some parts of India, especially in the countryside where traditional beliefs are still strong.

In most parts of modern India, however, the caste system is growing less and less important.

Patricians: elite Roman citizens with special status
Plebeians: ordinary people

24 M TOEFL READING