The major factors in Sanskritization were:

• Fluidity of political system with bardic caste having the special privilege of legitimization of the origin of different castes and Varnas

• Position of the dominant caste

• Pilgrimage

• Migration of values and beliefs from great tradition to little tradition

• Secular factors in determining the position of caste (in addition to pollution and purity)

• Migration to new areas

• Bhakti movement that established the idea of equality before God and thus the idea of equality among different groups and castes

After independence of the country, the issue of social mobility became more complex and cases of Sanskritization, de-Sanskritization as well as re-Sanskritization (Singh, 1974) were observed. Due to the policy of positive discrimination adopted by the Indian government an increasing number of groups have now laid claim to backward status rather than high status. Some of them claim a backward status in state matters and a forward status in society.