‘Caste’ is a word borrowing from the Portuguese casta, meaning pure breed. The word refers to a broad institutional arrangement that in Indian languages (beginning with the ancient Sanskrit) is referred to by two distinct terms, varna and jati.

The significance of Dalit:
(i) It has become the generally accepted term for referring to the untouchables by the ex-untouchable communities and their leaders.
(ii) In Indian languages, the term Dalit literally means 'downtrodden' and conveys the sense of an oppressed people.

The goods that people buy and use are closely related to their status in society. This relationship is termed as status symbol. Example the brand of cell phone or the model of car (or any other example) that one owns or uses are markers of socio-economic status.

Tribal political institution:

1. These are fairly well developed and function at various tiers, such as village, clan and state level. for example- Khasis had their own council known as 'Durbar Kur' which was presided over by the clan headman.
   
2. Many of the states of north east have been living for decades under special laws that limit the civil liberties of citizens. The citizens of state like Manipur, Nagaland don't have the same rights as other citizens of India because their states have been declared as 'disturbed area'.

1. No doubt India is socially and culturally one of the most diverse countries of the world. With a population of about 1029 million people, these billion-plus people speak about 1,632 different languages and dialects.
2. In terms of religion, about 80.5% of the population are Hindus, who in turn are regionally specific, plural in beliefs and practices, and divided by castes and languages.
3. About 13.4% of the population are Muslims, which makes India the world’s third largest Muslim country after Indonesia and Pakistan.
4. The other major religious communities are Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%) and Jains (0.4%). Because of India’s huge population, these small percentages can also add up to large absolute numbers.