One of the fundamental philosophies of Sikhism which sets it apart from religions like Hinduism is that there is no such thing as 'caste'. It was, and is, widely condemned for its lack of liberty and egality due to its rigorous social structuring. Many Sikhs today believe that the Gurus disliked the caste system, but this in fact may not be the case as will be examined later.

The notion that everyone was born into a certain 'group' which determined how he or she would live their life, seemed alien and unjust to Sikhism's Founding Fathers and as such they proclaimed that everyone was born free and equal, this was one of the major reasons Sikhism gained a following. The message of the Sikh scriptures seems to be unambiguous: 'Let no man be proud because of his caste.'

However, the idea of caste still exists today no matter how hard we try to ignore it, even though this goes directly against the teachings of our Gurus.

No single person or group of people are to blame for the existence of caste today, but contemporary writers have labelled the blame with the older generations of Sikhs, who still wish to uphold the theory of caste, particularly in marriage, and with the class of Jats. The Jats of India today hold more power than any other caste and many want to consolidate their power by not letting non-Jats into positions of authority.

Jats control the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which conducts Sikh affairs in India and has massive financial resources, some think all this power for just one caste may make the gap between Jats and non-Jats bigger. However there is hope as no-one has the power to change the Sikh scriptures. 

Famous Jat warriors like Ranjit Singh gave other Jats powerful positions and according to Patwant Singh in The Sikhs- "It is possible that the Jats' rise to political power under him accounts for their urge to continue to control the levels of power in Punjab" (Page 257)

'Caste' does not exist in any Indian language. The word is a Portuguese one meaning 'group', which was applied to the system in Indian society by travellers. The fact that there was no word for the system shows how deeply rooted caste was in India, it was instead accepted by all from birth and was not questioned.

The traditional system of India has been modified for Sikhs and, unfortunately,Sikhs are as much embroiled in caste as Hindus, even though the rejection of caste is something that should be setting us apart. The classical system (still in use in Hinduism) is called Varna (colour) and is structured as follows-Brahmins- Priests 
Kshatriyas- Warriors 
Vaishyas- Tradesmen 
Shudras- Agriculturist 

Outcastes- 'Untouchables' who were condemned from birth to do filthy tasks. They are placed well away from the other four castes A Hindu hymn describes how the system was worked out from the sacrifice of a primeval man. It says that from the head arose the Brahmins, from the arms came Kshatriyas, from the thighs came the Vaishyas and from the feet came the Shudras.

The classical structure probably comes from Aryan invasions of India at around 1500BC, with the light-coloured Aryans enslaving the darker people. However there is a second system which is seen as more important than the varna system. In Punjabi it has zat, a caste and got, a sub-caste. Therefore each zat contains smaller groups, the got. Everyone belongs to a zat and under that they belong to a got as well. For example someone may be a tarkhan (zat) but also a Ramgarhia (got) which is more specific.

In India the zats are ordered into a hierachy divided into two distinct groups, urban and rural. In the urban model the Khatri caste is near the top, or at the top and in the rural model the Jats (farmers, land workers and peasants) who number around three-quarters of all Sikhs and who were prominent (along with the Khatri caste) in the Nanak-Panth from very early on in Sikhism, proclaim themselves above even Brahmins, even though in the varna model Jats are the lowest of the four castes. 
The Jats view others as below them because they were clients of other castes, but all castes must have co-operated with each other on a day to day basis, for instance who would make the tools for the Jats to use on the field? Probably tarkhans. Who would sell products like clothes to Jats? Khatris and Aroras. Who would consume what the Jats grew? Tarkhans, Khatris, Aroras and others, so it must have been a fully working cycle which made Punjab prosper. They were all good at their own skill and others could not have done what one caste specialized in. 

To the Sikh Gurus it made no difference whether someone was born a brahmin or outcaste, each person had the same chance to escape the wheel of transmigration (re-birth) by meditating on God's name. This is not to say they did not accept the social structure, why for instance were all of the Gurus of the same caste? And why did they marry their children in accordance with the caste guidelines?

What they did preach was equality amongst those who wished to leave the cycle of re-birth. This is evident with the introduction of langar, a free kitchen open to all regardless of caste. The Khalsa initiation makes the same point, the panj piare were from different castes but all drank the same amrit from the same bowl. When karah-prasad is given out in the gurdwara, again there is no distinction made between castes, everyone eats from the same mixture. This all means that on the grounds of the gurdwara caste is irrelevant.

The Gurus were opposed to the hierachy and denounced the system religiously, but socially they seemingly accepted it. Today caste seems much more of an issue in Sikhism than it seemed to the Gurus. Sikhs today feel compelled to uphold the principles of caste which is diluting the religion more and more. Having just a few castes is not an option instead there must be sub-castes to further complicate matters and even then a person's place of origin in India comes into play.

Whether Sikhism needs caste is a question that will remain unanswered. Whether caste and social division has helped Sikhism grow is something we will never know ,but what is clear is that caste does play a seemingly important role amongst Sikhs, although younger generations (in the West) generally see caste divisions as adversly affecting their religion, but they too must comply with the rules as their family instructs them to. Perhaps in a few more generations time we will see more inter-caste marriages where the notion is deemed irrelevant, this may strengthen Sikhism, but sceptics argue that it will ultimately harm Sikhism.

"Sikhs are gradually weakening themselves by creating social distinctions within Sikhism" (Patwant Singh The Sikhs, page 255)

It seems like Sikhism will be stuck with caste in the future, certain groups still see themselves as being above others and that has to be a damaging thing, at the end of the day a Sikh is a Sikh and that is where it should end, we should strain to keep ourselves a close knit ethnic group which sets us apart from others and not put distance amongst ourselves.

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