Kautilya, also called Chanakya, in chapter 11 sukta (verse) 13 of his Chanakya Niti specifically mentions that the Brahmins who get involved in the worldly chores like animal husbandry, farming and other jobs to garner money are in fact called Vaishyas.
लौकिके कर्मणि रतः पशूनां परिपालकः ।
वाणिज्यकृषिकर्मा यः स विप्रो वैश्य उच्यते ॥ 13 ॥
laukike karmani rataha pasuunaam paripaalakaha
vaaniijya krsi kartaa yaha saha vipro vaisya ucyate
In another sukta he describes the attributes of a Brahamin.
प्रस्तावसदृशं वाक्यं प्रभावसदृशं प्रियम् ।
आत्मशक्तिसमं कोपं यो जानाति स पण्डित: ।।
One who speaks to the point, in reference to the context and at the right time, behaves politely and fairly in accordance with his credibility, expresses anger in accordance with his authority, take him surely for a pundit (Brahamin).
Social mobility from one class or caste to another was quite prevalent in later Vedic and even post-Vedic times, but over the centuries the system (confined mostly to upper Gangetic plains and around), ossified into a rigid Caste system. But that is passé. The rigidity of the caste system, loosened after Independence and continues to dissipate, only to vanish in the coming years.
A study of the gotras will show that the word gotra comes from the Sanskrit word Gau, meaning cow plus trahi, a shed or stable. Translated literally, gotra means ‘cowshed’ or ‘cow pen’ but the term over the centuries grew to connote paternal lineage, clan or a group. Panini, the great Sanskrit grammarian and linguist equated the word gotra with ‘progeny’. Indeed most gotras are common across Brahamins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Dalits/shudras implying that all of them hailed from same original family but rather got entrapped in rigid casteism.
Today, the Brahamins constitute about 5% of the total Hindu population in the country. Traditionally, male Brahamins performed priestly services, but in the post-Independence era very many of them have ventured into jobs traditionally attributed to the Kshtriyas and the Vaishyas. Indeed, occupational surveys of Brahamin families done in the mid 20th century found that less than 10 per cent of adult male Brahamins actually worked as priests or Vedic teachers.
Nevertheless their bond with studies, now modern studies, remains intact — and this has helped them remain on the top of the social ladder.
The following is the list of state-wise percentage distribution of Brahamins in India.
Somebody posted the following question on Quora, the online question-answer site: “Why are all major colleges in India (IITs, IIMs) dominated by Agrawals, Guptas, Brahamins, Jains, with so few Rajputs, Muslims and Dalits?”
There were eight answers to it and the best one, by some Mr Ajay Joshi, who studied in IIM Ahemdabad was on the top.
Mr Ajay Joshi wrote:
“This is a direct outcome of India’s caste system, a tradition which is, at least, 2000 years old. Under the caste system, some communities were encouraged to learn (Brahamins), others were allowed (Kshatriya/Vaishya) and still others were prohibited (Shudra/Dalit):
“Brahamins were traditionally associated with learning……originally with religious learning but later on with ANY learning. Even in the first half of the 20th century it was unusual to see anyone but Brahamins in higher education. Though their numbers in higher education has not fallen, the percentage has come down due to the Vaishya community taking greater interest in higher education. This decline is more visible in IIT/IIM where entrance is usually preceded by expensive “coaching” which many Brahamins cannot afford. (Emphasis mine)
Kshatriya (Rajput): The warrior class. Though learning was not traditionally prohibited for them, they chose to remain away from it for reasons best known to them. Maybe they saw learning as “too timid” a lifestyle (especially true for UP/MP/ Raj/ Gujarat). The preferred profession was/is armed forces /para military forces. This attitude is changing now, but very very slowly.
Vaishya (Agrawal/Jain/ Gupta/ Bansal). This community has been the most pragmatic in taking the advantage of higher education. Traditionally the business/trading community, they realised they could do better in business with higher education. They also have the resources to afford “coaching”. In fact while 50 years ago it was unusual to see them in IIT/ IIM, as of now they dominate the scene.
Dalits (Including SC and OBC): Learning was traditionally prohibited for them…… so they have a major handicap. In addition, as a result of centuries of denial of learning, they were/are not economically strong (85% of the BPL population of India comes from this category….that’s 240 million people, more than the combined population of UK, Germany, France) . Few get past the high-school stage, still fewer can afford “coaching”, so to see them in IIT/ IIM is rare, despite the reservation benefits. However, due to the govt’s reservation policy, there is significant impact at lower levels of govt.
Muslims: A very large part of the Muslims in India are converts from SC/OBC. Many of the social conditions of the SC/OBC continue to apply to Muslims: for example poverty and not having a tradition of learning. In addition, in my opinion, the leadership of Muslims has always been with their clergy who have failed to address the education issue adequately. Except a few pockets, the Muslims of India do not even have a middle-class segment.
In my own IIM Ahemdabad class in early 80s the break-up was (approximately)
Muslim : Less than 2 % (2 out of 150)
Dalit : Less than 4 % (5 out of 150)
Rajput: Less than 3% (3 out of 150)
Vaishya: about 10%
Other: (Kayastha/ Khatri/ OBC/ Sikh/ Christian/ Parsi/Sindhi etc) : about 15 %
Brahmin: 65%
I am guessing that as of now, the percentage of Rajput and Muslim remains the same. Marginal increase in Dalit. Other would have gone up due to OBC reservations. Significant increase in Vaishya and significant decrease in Brahmin.”
Despite the passage of time and a paradigm shift in the socio-economic structure of the Indian society the traditional association between the Brahamins and the priestly duties still remains strong. What baffles me is the fact that despite having just 5% presence in the Indian society, the Brahamins have, for centuries, tenaciously held their supremacy over the Indian society. How this was made possible by them can be gauged by the kind of education set up this country developed, nurtured and maintained for centuries. The focal point, the nucleus of this system was the local, poor village priest — and his rigid, immutable ethos.