The caste system in India served as a central mechanism of administration in the 1800s.
 The reality of colonial India was, Gandhi noted, that there was no significant disparity between the economic condition and earnings of members of different castes, whether it was a Brahmin or an artisan or a farmer of low caste
The origin of caste system of modern form, in the Bengal region of India, may be traceable to this period, states Richard Eaton

