Did British colonial powers invent the Indian caste system?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Did British colonial powers invent the Indian caste system?
Position‹2 of 5›: No, British colonial powers did not invent the Indian caste system
Argument: The caste system is present in Hinduism

The caste system is visible in Hindu society prior to the arrival of the British in India.

The argument

The Indian caste system can be traced back 2,500 years, long before the British arrived in India. The caste system is a uniquely Indian phenomenon that has been in place in parts of the country for over two millennia. Caste is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the founding texts of multiple Indian religions. It is also visible in texts dating as far back as 1700 BC. The text describes the division of Purusha into four castes “for the protection of the whole creation”. The Brahmins were created from the mouth, while the Sudras were born from the feet.

Premises

[P1]The Indian caste system can be traced back over 2,500 years, long before the British arrived, and is mentioned in the Rigveda and texts dating to around 1700 BC. [P2] Those founding texts describe dividing Purusha into four castes — Brahmins from the mouth, Sudras from the feet — making caste a uniquely Indian, pre-colonial phenomenon. [C] Therefore, because the caste system is present in Hinduism's ancient texts, British colonial powers did not invent it.

Counter-arguments

There is evidence to suggest that the addition of the caste system in the Rigveda was made retroactively only after the scriptures were translated into English. The caste system that was present in the “Hindu” religion before the colonial era was likely a variant of “Brahmanism”, rather than a fully-fledged social hierarchy.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The texts were amended when the documents were translated into English.