India is a modern country coping with a difficult history. For millenia, people have been sorted into the caste system. You can think of the caste system like the house-sorting system in Harry Potter. Instead of four "houses", there are, in Indian society, four castes: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. Just as the students in Harry Potter don't get to pick their "house," neither do the inhabitants of India get to choose which caste they belong to. And instead of a Sorting Hat, the caste of your parents basically determines your caste.
Each "house" in Harry Potter is associated with different strengths. In India, each caste is associated with a deifferent characteristic. The Brahmin caste was traditionally made up of religious intellectuals, so it became a priestly caste. The Kshatriya caste was seen as strategic and protective, so it became associated with kings. The Vaisya caste focused on trade, so it became the "house" of businesspeople. The Sudra caste was seen as strong and loyal, so it became the manual labor class.
As time went on, caste became very strict and restrictive. Even though the caste system has been officially abolished in India, it still affects how people treat each other.
