> The caste system in India was originally based on profession That is the official political line, but the reality (as always) was much more complex. It als

> The caste system in India was originally based on profession That is the official political line, but the reality (as always) was much more complex. It also had a significant tribal, multi-racial, and multi-cultural bases, all evidenced in scriptures and the cultural, linguistic, and genetic landscape of the Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan, Bangladish, Nepal, and Sri Lanka). In that respect it's nothing unique even to India - the social structures of most of the world were built on the same basis.