Was the caste system in India during the postclassical era fundamentally a rigid social system or a flexible one? be able to defend your position

the caste system did not seem that strict to the Hindu people. In the beginning, some historians believe that the Indian caste system was not a necessarily a rigid system. Citizens were not born into their caste, but given the honor of being in their caste; they had to accept the position they were in because this determined how they would be reborn into their next life. It makes sense that some people see the caste system as a mistreatment of the lower classes. There is a lot of debate on this topic. There is some evidence that skin color played a large role in the early caste system, but it seems that during the postclassical era, there was some belief that people could move up the caste ladder with things like hard work, adopting new rituals, and relocation.