Jati is translated as ‘caste’ in English. Caste actually comes from Portuguese. It means ‘pure breed’. Jati shows a social arrangement of people based on birth. Varna is another word that means Jati. Both these words ‘Jati’ and ‘Varna’ are often used as synonyms. But actually there are some differences between them. Varna is a Sanskrit word. It means color. The ‘Varna’ system originated during the Veda period. At that time the people were divided into four groups – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra. This 4-class division is called Varna, in these 4 groups, a good number of people were not included.

They were excluded from the 4-Varna system. They included those ostracised from the Jati, foreigners, slaves and the people of the defeated nations. These people who were excluded from the 4-Varna system were called ‘Panchamar’ or ‘the fifth group’. Jati is a common name to indicate a group. In this, even inanimate things, plants, animals and persons were included. Thus Jati is simply an institution and S does not mean Varna.