 During the colonial period, caste was defined as a religious system and was divorced from political powers.This made it possible for the colonial rulers to portray India as a society characterised by spiritual harmony in contrast to the former Indian states which they criticised as "despotic and epiphenomenal", with the colonial powers providing the necessary "benevolent, paternalistic rule by a more 'advanced' nation".Assumptions about the caste system in Indian society, along with its nature, evolved during British rule.