Caste Stratification

There was a time when caste was not designated by birth. Social assignment was according to tendencies and talents a person developed over time and through choice and predilection. People were then grouped according to a path that had been personally preferred and selected. However, that era is far in the past and the hierarchy of caste has long since been determined by a person’s family pedigree.

Caste protocol was codified as law in Nepal in the Muluki Ain of 1854. Although this law has been repealed, it still influences behavior and is the basis for prejudice and discrimination on the basis of  social order. Caste and ethnicity determines one's standing and powers within the social order.
The view that a person’s circumstances are pre-determined and ineluctable is cited as an impediment to development. In other words, because of a belief in pre-destiny, people might be more inclined to accept unfavorable circumstances rather than strive to improve them.

With regard to Hindu beliefs about reincarnation and caste, an individual who aspires to rebirth in a higher caste must live a proper life according to the social prescription of his or her present caste.