Fluid Caste? Book Claim Contested: Flexibility Was Allowed Only to Brahmins, Say Scholars

Basant Kumar Mohanty | 01 May 2025 | The Telegraph

A new social science textbook released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has made the contentious claim that the caste system was initially flexible and gave stability to India’s social structure.

The book, Exploring Society India and Beyond, for Class VII students says that Brahmins at times picked up trading and other occupations not conforming to their traditional role.

Academics have questioned the source of these findings and the claim that the caste system was flexible during the ancient period. They said that though flexibility was allowed to Brahmins during periods of distress, the lower strata never enjoyed any such leeway to move upward or take up professions considered the sole preserve of Brahmins….

Click here to read the complete article

IAFN would like to draw attention to credible, academic scholarship that has looked at the fluidity of the caste system in early India. However, the lack of nuance in the textbook could lead to an assertion that this flexibility did away with hierarchy and subsequently polarise the classroom.