Below is a clear, UPSC-ready, Notion-compatible explanation of the idea:

Status Achieved Through Class Position and Its Interaction With Status Groups like Caste in Indian Society

1. Class → Achieved Status

• In modern societies, class (occupation, income, education) allows individuals to achieve social status.
• This status is achievement-based, mobile, and linked to merit, skills, and economic performance.
• Example: A person becoming a doctor, civil servant, CEO, or entrepreneur gains status honour through class mobility.

2. Status Groups → Ascriptive Status

• Status groups (Weber) are communities defined by:
  • honour
  • lifestyle
  • ritual purity
  • cultural closure
• In India, the caste system is the classical form of a status group.
• Status here is ascriptive, inherited at birth, rigid, and community-controlled.

3. The Interaction Between Class (Achieved Status) and Caste (Status Group)

(A) Caste shapes the limits of class-based status mobility

Even if a person gains high class status (wealth, education, position), caste may:

• restrict their full acceptance into high-status networks
• deny them ritual equality
• constrain marriage networks
• limit social honour in traditional settings