Caste influences group/community life also. This influence which the caste exerts, can be understood in the following manner. 1. Caste determines the membership of the community. Individual members are born as members of the caste . hence membership of any caste is limited by birth. it thus cannot be increased y strategies. 2. Caste system assigns statues to the individuals. Every caste has a definite status in the caste hierarchy. Individual members born into the caste are likely to obtain the same status. However, the exact status of each caste in the caste hierarchy differs from village to village and region to region. 3. Caste system enables members to maintain unity. Caste is a cohesive group. It is always interested in maintaining its position in the society. Caste unity also helps its members to raise the status of the caste in the hierarchy. 4. Caste "safeguards and transmit culture". Each caste has its own way of life, that it, its own culture. It means t has its own norms, beliefs, values, customs, practices, etc. which it wants to preserve and transmit to the next generation. Caste also plays its role in transmitting the specialised skills, knowledge and behaviour pattern that are very closely associated with the hereditary occupation of the caste. Besides the above mentioned functions the most important function that the caste system was supposed to be playing in the early Indian society was that it "Integrates the Society". It combines various groups, institutions and sub-system into a whole. Its important function was to weld into one community the various components competing groups in it. India has developed a system of caste as a scheme of social adjustments, compares rather favourably with the European system of warring territorial nationalities.
