How did social customs of India-especially family patriarchy and catste-and classical hinduism mesh?

Question

Also,How did the practices and beliefs reinforce each other?

Answer 1

Religion and the social classes were very closely linked to each other in India.

4000 years ago, the Aryans came to India from the north, and they defeated the indigenous population, the Dravids, and turned them into their slaves. Since the Aryans had fairer skin than the Dravids, it was easy to tell the difference between them. And while the Aryans became the higher castes (priests, aristocrats and even the middle class [merchants, craftsmen and farmers]), the Dravids had to become the lower catses (servants to the others).

With time, people started justifying these injustices with religion. The Hindus believe in reincarnation, and they also believed that good people ended up in a high caste in the next life, while bad people ended up in a low caste in the next life. So basically, everybody had gotten the life, that they had deserved considering their previous life. And everybody should just be satisfied and live as sinfree as possible, so they might get a better life the next time. And because it had to do with the religion, it wasn't until the 1950s, that people really started questioning the injustices.