---
title: "Purity and Pollution in the Caste System | Model Diplomat"
description: "Purity and pollution ranks Hindu castes by inherited cleanliness, a key concept for UPSC candidates studying Indian society and social hierarchies."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/purity-and-pollution"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Purity and pollution is the ritual principle ranking Hindu castes by inherited cleanliness, placing Brahmins at the apex and untouchable groups at the base.
- How does purity and pollution differ from economic class?
- What is the difference between permanent and temporary pollution?
- How did Louis Dumont and M. N. Srinivas theorise the concept?
- What legal protections address practices based on purity and pollution?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Purity and pollution is the ritual principle ranking Hindu castes by inherited cleanliness, placing Brahmins at the apex and untouchable groups at the base.

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In 2018 the Supreme Court of India struck down the Sabarimala temple's bar on women of menstruating age, a restriction rooted in the purity-pollution doctrine of temporary ritual impurity.

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