[BBC_Goons]

Caste comes from the Portuguese word "castas", the caste system is widespread in Europe.

The hierarchy in Europe is

Clergy, Nobility, Landowners, Merchants, Tradesmen, Peasants, People working with sewage, carcasses etc...

The fact that the Church had a monopoly on god gave rise to the rigid hierarchies. The king was the representative of god and was conferred powers through the church.

When the colonialists set foot in India, they were faced with a problem there were too many gods & no central authority. The modern hierarchies and pyramids that you are presented with is an oversimplification and invention of the British to centralize their control.

Many European carry their family profession in their surname, this is often understood as caste in modern India.