SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

THE ORIGIN OF CASTE

The caste system of India is a system of division of labour and land control, that may have
developed in the early kingdoms of northern India. Harold Gold in the module, cast, and class: A
comparative view of a parallel in the development of the Indian division of labour, embodied in
the caste system, with developments in divisions of labour in other ambient states. There was
development in divisions of labour in other ancient states. What makes the Indian caste system
unique is the feature of closed endogamous descent groups as the social unit for occupational
specialization. This feature has no parallel examples in other societies. Louis Dumont has tried to
explain the development of cloned endogamous descent groups based on the principle of purity
and pollution.

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The Indian Archeologist S. C. Malik has argued that the Indus civilization was not a State but a
set of chiefdoms. Such chiefdoms may have become regionally specialized in the production of
commodities, each chief serving as the center to redistribute network. Malik sees castes as possibly
having developed out of chiefdoms. It is not unusual for an aristocracy, the chiefly stratum to close
rank and become endogamous. Such segmental endogamy might have spread to occupational
specialists of lower rank within the chiefdom.

EVIDENCE OF EARLY SOCIAL CLASSES

Castes also might have developed out of social classes. This is suggested by the difference in house
types in the Indus cities. Some houses were small two-room affairs, while others were large two-
storey. Occupational specializations are suggested by the evidence of trade, including commerce
by seagoing vessels. Artifacts point to the presence of craftsmen making beads, seals bricks, etc.,
and also work on copper, silver, gold, bronze, stone, shell, and bone. There were occupational
specialists in Harappan society, but nothing is known of the social organization of which
specialists. Were they closed and endogamous descent groups like the later jatis?

Piggot, an archeologist, has suggested that the conservatism of Harappan culture, its uniformity
over centuries and hundreds of miles, must have been maintained through religious sanctions.
Fairservis suggests that this was an earlier version of the later Hindu concept of dharma (religious
defined duty-every role in society had its dharma). The Harppan specialists likely held some
ideology that justifies the worthiness of their trade and that Harappan culture was integrated by
some stabilizing shared values.

WERE THERE PURITY-POLLUTION CONCEPTS IN THE INDUS CIVILIZATION?

Shower baths were a regular feature of Indus homes, and one of the major finds at Mohenjodaro
is a large bathing ghat, similar in structure to those used by Hindus. The showers, the bathing ghat,
and the elaborate system of underground drainage are not found elsewhere in the ancient world
and suggest that the Indus people were preoccupied with cleanliness and bathing. It has also been
suggested that this was an early form of the Hindu purity pollution complex.

HINDU GODS AT INDUS SITES

Various images unearthed in the archeological excavations appear to be similar to those of later
Hinduism. Huge stone phalli with rings look similar to the 'Lingam’ and 'Yoni' by which the great
Hindu god, Shiva was often worshipped. A seal found at Mohenjodaro showing a horned figure
with three faces sitting in the “lotus-position” of the Hindu holy man may be an early form of the
Hindu god Shiva and has been dubbed a 'proto-Shiva'. Female figures of clay may be the early
mother goddesses, which were widely worshipped later by Hindus. Since neither Shiva nor the
mother-goddesses appear in the Aryan religious works, cultural historians believe such Hindu gods
may have originated in the Indus valley culture. It is hard to prove that social institutions such as
caste, or basic cultural concepts like dharma, were similarly transmitted.

VEDIC SOCIETY AND CULTURE

THE ARYANS [1500-500 B.C.]

Aryans were uncivilized, as they did not live in cities and did not have writing. As warriors,
however, they used superior weaponry and swift horse-drawn chariots. Over the centuries they
moved gradually across the North Indian plain- conquering the indigenous people. Clearing the
ground as they went with their slash and burn agriculture. The chief or Raja became more powerful
as did the Brahmins who performed for him complicated sacrificial rites with sophisticated poetry
preserved in a highly self-conscious oral tradition. This religious poetry was called the Vedas. It
is from the Vedas that our knowledge of the Aryans is largely derived. The hymns are addressed
to a group of nature deities on behalf of the warriors and their priests. By the late Vedic period
[1000-1500 B.C | the Aryan had established little kingdoms across the Gangetic plain and tribal
organizations based on Kinship had given way to territorial political units.

CULTURES COMBINED-HINDUISM

The working together of the Aryan culture and culture of the Indigenous people conquered
produced Hinduism and the caste system with the Brahma at its apex as a priest. Both Hinduism
and the caste system had been established by the pre-Christian era and had spread from northern
India to the southern part of the peninsula-absorbing and eventually winning over such
sophisticated competitors of Buddhism and Jainism. Thus the historical process was one of the
progress Hinduization of tribes. Those tribes closer to centers of Aryan rule were integrated into
the Hindu social order first: those further distant were integrated later: resistors who were
unwilling to conform to Hinduism and caste, withdrew to economically marginal areas. The most
remote tribes, such as those in the northeastern mountains, withstood Hinduization more
successfully than those in the peninsula.

As early as the eighth century B. C. Hindu thought had separated worldly power from other worldly
power. Since then, the two realms have been in the hands of the different specialists -worldly
power in the hands of the Kind and the priest. In the Hindu ideology, the ritual power of the
Brahmin priest was more important than the secular power of the king, who was expected to protest
and depend upon the priest. Indeed, it was the duty of the king [Raja] to protect the populace, to
ensure conformity to the class system of the time, and to wage war always under the guidance of
his Brahmin [ Priestly] preceptor. The king was carrying out the religious law [dharma] that was
in the keeping of the Brahmin priest.

Any aristocracy must have an ideology justifying its superior standing, as well as the lesser
standings of other lower classes in a system of stratification. Such an ideology must rest upon ideas
held generally by the members of the society. In other words, the high rank of the elite must be
acceptable to the novelette in terms of values to which they are committed.

An extensive religious literature of great antiquity supports the pre-eminence of the Brahmin. The
charter for the social classes in ancient India is found in the tenth manila (circle) of the holy text,
the Rig Veda. This charter awards the highest rank to the Brahmin priest. The passage concerns
the sacrifice of a superman whose mouth became the Brahmin priest, whose two arms formed the
Kshatriya warrior, whose two thighs formed the Vaishya landowners and merchants, and from
whose feet were born the shudra artisans and servants.

These four classes, called varnas, seem to have existed in the Aryan society in ancient northern
India. The members of the three higher varnas were probably mostly Aryans, while the Shudras
were probably mostly darker-skinned, conquered peoples. Later, there developed a so-called "fifth'
varna who were untouchables. It is generally agreed by scholars of ancient India that the varnas of
Aryan society were functional groupings rather than closed endogamous birth-descent groups.
That is, the original varnas were not jatis for castes, as there is evidence that people could and did
change their varna identity. Furthermore, marriages between patrons of different varnas took place
and were allowed.

The fixate of caste membership came about later. Possibly with the development and acceptance
of the Hindu pollution complex of belief in reincarnation. One saw one's character in a previous
life. If one was reborn an untouchable, one had been more sinful than if one who was reborn a
Brahmin.

The highest three varnas - the priests, kshatriya, and the cultivators (later merchants) were called
the 'twice-born' referring to the sacred thread ceremony at the start of a boy's religious studies, like
many adolescent initiation rites throughout the world. The ceremony was imaged as a second birth,
presumably, a boy was equivalent in status to Shudra (a member of the servant varna, the lowest
varna) until his sacred thread ceremony. Shudra and untouchable boys were not allowed to study
or even to hear the sacred texts. In fact, one of the justifications for prohibition until thirty years
ago was they might overhear Brahmins chanting Sanskrit religious verses.

THE VARNA JATI RELATIONSHIP

What is the relationship between the varna and jatis and caste? There is some historical evidence
of transitional social segments, part-jati, part-varna. The existence in northern India of classes
which have the shape of the varnas, but also some of the characteristics of jatis are indicated in the
observation of Megasthenes (the ambassador from the Greek colony of Bactria -located in present-
day Afghanistan), sent to the Court of Chandra Gupta Maurya in his capital, Pataliputra (presently
Patna, Bihar). Megasthenes reported that the population of the earliest great Hindu empire the
Mauryan, was divided into seven endogamous: craft - exclusive classes:

1. Philosophers who offered sacrifices and performed rituals.

2. Husbandmen, who made up the largest proportion of the population.
3. Shepherds and hunters.
4. Workers at trades, vendors, laborers.
5. Fighting men.
6. Inspectors, and
7. Councilors and assessors of the king.

While Meghastenes never mentioned the varnas of the ancient relics texts, the seven classes do
correspond to the four varnas. The philosophers are the Brahmins, husbandmen are the Vaishyas,
workers at trades are the Shudras, and fighting men are Kshatriyas. Plus the trebles (shepherds and
hunters), and two categories of royal bureaucrats (the secret police equivalent to the inspectors,
and the king's cabinet. Administrators, and tax agents being the councilors and assessors)

Such an interpretation may or may not be completely correct. However, such characteristics of
endogamy and craft exclusiveness, involving a prohibition on changing occupation (except for a
special dispensation for the philosophers) are features characteristic of the caste systems. The fact
that these two features were noteworthy in Indian society at so early a time as the third century
B.C. is significant.

There is early evidence of occupational specialization and also untouchability. Buddhist Pali
scriptures written centuries before Christ refer to separate villages of Brahmins, potters, hunters,
and robbers. In cities, there were separate sections for different occupational groups, many of
which were organized into guilds. There is relatively sparse mention of the jatis in ancient Hindu
and Buddhist religious writing. Although some named groups appear to be jatis, these were mostly
low-ranking or untouchable groups, believed to be descendants of the offspring of inter-varna
marriages. In ancient texts, discussion of the social categories used in the society of the time is in
terms of varnas. In what century did the jatis finally prevail as endogamous craft-exclusive,
socially separated, but economically and ritually-interdependent groups? is something scholars
disagree with. Dumont believes that Indian society was already organized in jatis by the third
century A. D. when the writers of the law books were discoursing on varnas. Basham on the other
hand believes there was no evidence for such social units as the jatis until the ninth century A. D.
He points out that during the Gupta dynasty, when one kingdom spread over much of northern
India, there were inter-varna marriages; craft exclusiveness was often ignored; Brahmins accepted
food from anyone considered to be Aryan (presumably in the three varnas). According to Basham,
these are all indications that the rigid closures of the caste system had not yet been established

Ancient Hindu law books suggest that Jatis, ( closed endogamous descent - groups, usually with
an occupational specialization) developed out of inter-varna marriages. Ancient kings were
directed by the law books to prevent the inter-varna marriage, but evidently, it did occur. The
relative standing of the offspring of such marriages depended upon the combination of the varnas
of the parents. Thus, the child of a man of higher varna and women of lower varna (a hypergamous
marriage) had a status midway between that of both parents. The exception was held to be impure.
The child of Brahmin mother and a lower varna father, on the other hand, was a Chandala, or an
untouchable.

Historians of ancient India generally reject his theory of inter-varna marriage as the explanation
for the development of the jatis. Possibly the varna ideals contributed to the idea of occupational
specialization. But jatis seem to have developed as an immigrating group, tribal groups, or groups
with a newly developed craft that was integrated into a single social system. Each, as a closed
segment, was ranked in a local complement of jatis or castes. As Dumont said, Hindus 'will assign
a monk, wherein the west, would approve or exclude.’ Irawati Karve has also emphasized the caste
system as a social device for integrating varying in-migrating tribal or ethnic groups.

Concern with the impurities of human organic life and the impurities of caste seems to have
developed together. The law of Manu, which dates at least to the third century A.D. refers to
impurity from outcasted persons, as well as from birth, death, and menstruation. The Chinese
Buddhist pilgrim. Fa-Hien reported that during his visit to Buddha's homeland in northern India,
in the fourth century A.D. most people were vegetarians and that meat-eating was reserved to low
castes and untouchables. He refers to pollution as an approach, that is, pollution from coming close
to an untouchable or an outcast. During these early times, leather workers (today many
untouchables are leather workers) were already disliked, as evidenced by their being heavily
tasked. The Chandalas, an early untouchable group had to prepare the dead for cremation. They
were considered inauspicious for others and lived on other people's refuse. In one of the Buddhist
Jataka tales, a 'Brahmin' eats food from a ‘Chandala’ and goes off into the forest to die, because
such internal pollution could not be expunged.

In Jan Breman's study of the caste system of two villages in southern Gujarat, it becomes evident
how a tribal group gradually becomes a caste, in this case, that of the 'Dublas' an untouchable caste.
These tribal people become agricultural laborers for the land controlling Anavil Brahmins. Besides
doing work in the fields, they also did other kinds of ‘filthy’ work that only untouchables would
do. Their willingness to do so is presumably accounted for by the absence in their tribal culture of
the pollution complex of Hinduism. Once settled in Hindu villages, however, they are treated as
Untouchables because of the pollution attitudes of their Hindu patrons and neighbors.

J.A. Baines suggested that as Brahmins settled in a region, a system of land servitude developed,
in which the indigenous tribal people became the servants of the Brahmins, who were not allowed
by religious proscription to put his hand to the slough. Thus, the caste system seems to have come
about as a multiplicity of ethnic groups accepted hierarchical ordering. Social isolation, and
inbreeding sanctioned by the belief that ritual pollution would result from inter-caste sexual
relations. Integration into a ranked series of strata was the price that a group had to pay to settle in
an agricultural village. Historical sociologist Barrington Moore said:

“Thus, caste was and indeed remains tremendously persistent and tremendously flexible. In its concrete
manifestation, a huge mass of locally coordinated social cells that tolerate novelty by generating another
cell.”

Marriot and Indian concur about the caste process of ordering a multiplicity of groups by raking.
They also suggest as above, that this process is more usual in small-scale societies than in large-
scale ones.

Caste systems are comparatively rare among large-scale moral systems in making the
differentiation an interrelation of corporate groups into manor concerns: but in this, they are at one
with a large a diverse category of small-scale societies.

CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF THE CASTE SYSTEM

The Indian caste system includes the following components:

1. Caste as a system operates only within a limited locality, single village or a few linked
villages
2. A village or local population is composed of a series of mutually exclusive castes, usually
numbering anywhere from a handful to a score or more.
3. A dominant caste or a dominant family or a set of families typically has preponderant
political and economic power over everyone else in the locality. Dominance is rooted in
monopolistic control over arable land and physical forces.
4. Each caste has an occupational specialty. And offers this to other castes in exchange for
food, products, or services. Especially important is the food grain provided by the land
controlling dominant caste or families to the landfills servant, artisan, and mendicant
castes. This exchange of food, goods, and services is a ritual system. It functions so that
the higher caste remains pure while the lower castes absorb pollution for them.
5. Castes within a local caste system tend to be mutually ranked according to their respective
degrees of pollution in this ritual system.
6. Efforts to improve caste rank in this local caste hierarchy are made by middle and lower
castes, especially using discarding polluting customs and emulation the customs of the
higher purer castes. (Sanskritisation)
7. Political power is monopolized by the dominant caste family or families, or occasionally
by a pair of competing dominant castes. Non-dominant castes tend to support their patrons
within the dominant segment. Such support may be important if factions are contending
for power within the dominant segment.
8. Disputes may be settled either by councils within a caste segment or by one or more elders
of the dominant caste or family.
9. The caste segment itself is an endogamous descent group. The local contingent of a caste
is usually composed of Kinsmen. Ideally related unilineal, though often actually related
cognatic. (Patrilineal descent refers to a line of males related through father-son links.
Going back to a common male ancestor. Matrilineal descent refers to a line of mother-child
links, going back to a common female ancestor. Cognatic descent refers to a line, related
through either male or female links. Going back to common ancestors.
10. Each caste segment tends to live in its quarter. Universally, untouchables live in isolation
from those of purer caste. Either in a separate hamlet or on the outskirts of the village.
THE DOMINANT CASTE

Rarely in Indian history was most of the Indian Sub-continent united under a single ruler. Perhaps
only a half dozen times from the Mauryan Empire until the British. Unification in the nine to the
tenth century of about two-thirds of the peninsula did such singular rule occur. Thus, India was
united under one ruler for only a few hundred years during three millennia.

The usual situation was, rule by a plethora of petty rulers contending with each other in the various
regions of the subcontinent. Several scholars have emphasized the irrelevance of a supreme
Government in the village or local society. The supreme ruler needed grain from the villages to
support his army, and so the government was an agency demanding its share of the harvest. Even
under the Mughal Empire and under the British, the central government intruded into village life
almost entirely for revenue collection. Both empires left local rule in the hands of dominant castes
or dominant class, and to the local caste councils.

A dominant caste may dominate a set of contiguous or closely related villages. Sometimes a single
clan of dominant caste controls several villages in an area so that a petty State or clandom exists.
A branch of the clan resides in each village and the superiority of a clan- head overall in the village
is recognized. M. G. Pradhan has described a clan territory of this type in Western Uttar Pradesh

However, a dominant caste is not organized on any higher level than that of a clandom, or in the
past, a petty State. Thus there did not develop in India a national aristocracy recognizing its
common class interests. Dominance and rule were highly fragmented. This fragmentation of Indian
society meant that there was no organization of the myriad dominant castes into one dominant
caste or a few intra-communicating communities or classes.

The prohibition on marriage across caste lines effectively insulted one dominant caste from
another. Local leaders with peasant following fought Mughal emperors locally and often
effectively but the fragmented efforts meant a gradual disintegration of the Mughul empire with
no adequately-organized power to take its place. Contrast this situation with the situation in feudal
Europe or feudal Japan where local ruling lords or gentry did organize together against a Central
ruler with the ultimate effect of furthering both political and economic modernization only
recently, through the auspices of Central and State legislation and the pan Indian Community
Development program have men, the dominant castes been taking on the role of the rural
agricultural modernizes And only within the past century, as a result of improved transportation
and communication have castes begin to organize into larger-scale regional association-caste
associations.

To describe the caste system as it exists in India today it is necessary to understand that the system,
as it operates in most villages is an inheritance from a period when a marital caste protected other
castes. When there was continual warfare between rulers or clans as they struggled for territory,
tributed, and supporters. In such a situation, a local social structure developed which centered
around the dominant caste or dominant family, or families.

M. N. Srinivas first introduced the concept of the ‘dominant caste’. In the Mysore village, he
described the peasant ‘okkalingas’, composed nearly half of the population, made up of nineteen
jati groups. The okkalingas were the biggest landowners: they dominated all other castes
economically and politically, as well as numerically. However, they had only middle rank ritually
and were surpassed in purity by both Brahmins and Linagayats.

Gough, Srinivas, and others have emphasized the importance of the dominant caste in settling
disputes between persons who are both their own and of other jatis. The power of the dominant
caste is supported by villagers from seeking justice from area Government officials, courts, or
police located outside the village. The reliance on the village is justified supposedly by an ideal of
preserving the village's reputation for harmony and virtue. Members of the dominant caste,
particularly those from wealthy or powerful families, are the representatives of the village in
dealings with Government officials and other prestigious outsiders. Elected self-governing local
councils (Panchayats) have been established all over India since Independence in 1947. And
wherever a dominant caste has sufficient numbers, it has usually been able to occupy several
positions on the elected village council.

OTHER PATTERNS OF VILLAGE ORGANIZATION:

Besides rule by a dominant caste, there ate other patterns of village organization. A village or set
of villages were controlled by a single individual or family, this was the usual pattern in the
princely states until recent years. A maharaja granted jagirs, rights to receive a proportion of the
crops produced by tenant cultivators. In return, the jagirdars were expected to support the maharaja
personally and to supply him with such facilities as a tribute and a certain number of equipped
troops. Brij Raj Chauhan's Rajasthan village is a study of jagirdari village Shamirpet. It is the
former princely State of Hyderabad, studied by S. C. Duble. Jagirdari rights have now been
abolished and the land in such villages is owned by the dominant caste which was previously the
tenants of the jagirdars. Even as tenants, such land-controlling castes had been dominant locally.

Since India became independent of British rule in 1947, there have been various land reform
measures that have terminated the land rights, particularly of absentee landlords. In most villages,
the dominant caste has lost little land, and in some cases, it has increased its landholding by
acquiring the rights of the absent landlords.

In villages or regions with dominant castes, it is usually only a portion of the families or lineage's
which hold the decisive politico-economic power, Where a dominant caste does not have a
numerical preponderance over all other jati-groups or where the caste lacks decisive economic
control. Its political power depends upon support from other jatis. For example, in a village in
Central Gujarat studied by Adrian Mayer, the dominant Rajput group was supported by four ‘allied
castes’ with whom the Rajput were willing to dine and to treat as their equals.

The Rajput's right to dominance, however, was derived from their occupancy of three hereditary
headships. Until recently, the headmen were closely associated with the maharaja for whom they
collected revenue and performed other duties. With positive dependence reforms, the maharaja has
lost his rights, so the Rajputs now are a dominant caste who may or may not hold many hereditary
offices of leadership or responsibility. With a village or region, it is not uncommon for two to be
'rivals’ for dominance.

FACTIONS WITHIN THE DOMINANT CASTE

Dominant castes typically are divided internally into various rival factions which contend with
each other for power, property, influence, and prestige. The form of fictionalization within a village
depends largely upon the pattern of land distribution, Land control in the hands of one man can
lead to a situation of a single powerful headman to whom everyone else is subordinate. If land
control is widely dispersed among members of a large dominant jati, then factions tend to be
"vertical" between segments of the dominant jati, joined by their respective dependents from
another jati, joined by their respective dependent from other jatis.
Interact factionalism is unusual and is probably recent. It tends to take place when a dominant jati
is small. And there is another Jati present which is sizable. Although ranking the ability of the
latter to compete has emerged with the establishment of universal franchises and democratic
elections in 1952, as well as certain laws protecting lower castes. Officials Police and courts
willing to enforce such laws are essential if the lower caste contenders are to succeed.

RITUAL ASPECTS OF CASTE

The caste system is a religiously sanctioned system of social stratification. The ancient Hindu
religious scriptures regarded the caste system as of divine origin, as can be seen from pursh Sukta
in Rigveda. Religion being intimately associated with the origin and sustenance of the caste
system, it is natural that rituals play an important role in the caste-based organization of society.
As stated earlier one of the basis of the ranking of castes in the hierarchy is their relative degree of
purity of pollution. The caste groups with different levels of purity or pollution have to perform
different religious rituals. Thus, the function of ritual is to signify the purity level of a particular
caste. For e.g the religious ritual of the Upanayana ceremony is preserved for the twice-born caste
and thus separates the twice-born caste, there is a differentiation of rituals to differentiated caste
status e.g. reading and teaching of Vedas and performing the sacrificial ritual is permitted only to
the Brahmin. Further, each caste has an occupational specialty and therefore their cultures and way
of life also differ, so also their mode of religious celebration. Thus, different castes worship
different deities and perform different rituals. All these factors contribute to maintaining the
distinctive identity of different caste groups. For example, agricultural castes performed different
rituals than artisan castes. Thus rituals serve as one of the criteria for distinguishing one caste from
the other. Further, rituals also play an important role in inter-caste interaction. Each caste has a
certain purity level which is often disturbed in the course of interaction with other castes especially
those with inferior purity levels. Here comes the role of purificatory rituals which are frequently
resorted to restoring the original purity level. Thus all inter-caste interaction is mediated by
religious rituals.

Ritual stringency also varies by caste. Scriptural addicts direct the ‘twice-born’, to perform more
sacraments and those more austere than the sacraments performed by the people of the Shudra
category. However, as S.C. Dube has reported in actual practice, villagers of the highest jati do
commonly devote more time, wealth, and energy to ritual observance than do those of lower rank.
For e.g, the death of a person in the family causes pollution for the members of the family and thus
purificatory rituals have to be performed which includes self-imposed isolation of the group from
the rest of the society and performances of various rituals during this period of isolation. Now the
period of isolation and stringency of rituals varies from caste to caste. The Brahmins are supposed
to observe this practice for the longest period because they being the purest caste suffer the greatest
pollution. As we go down the caste hierarchy the period of isolation and stringency of rituals
observed tends to decline.

A further explanation of the religious basis of caste was found in the work of Hocar who viewed
caste as a system organized for the performance of sacrificial rituals. The ordering of the varnas
was conditioned by their role in such rituals The kingpins of these rituals were the Kshatriyas, who
organized them to propitiate the supernatural powers to achieve success, freedom from premature
death and the diseases which cause it, and the renewal of vigorous life in the next birth. The king
in particular bore the expenses for the sacrificial offerings, the Brahmins performed the rituals,
and the Vaishyas, as farmers, were required to support the king and the priesthood through their
land and cattle. These three varnas by virtue of being vehicles of the immoral gods had to avoid
coming into contempt with death and that which caused death in the form of decay and disease.
The handling of death and decay was assigned to the Shudras. Whose specialization in polluting
tasks excluded them from involvement in the sacrificial rites.

The differences between the varnas have also been attributed to certain qualities or gunners by the
same texts which expound the varna scheme. As stated by Bose, the differences among the varnas
are due to differences in the proportions of the three Gunas of stave [purity], rajas [valor], and
tamas [darkness]. While sattva is associated with Brahmins, ranked ambiguously below the two
others, but there is no precise answer as to how sattva and rajas were evaluated in relation to one
another the texts accord precedence to sattva. Presumably, because they were written by Brahmins,
however, it is difficult to assess how the two qualities were evaluated in real life.

The concept of purity is one of the persistent themes in normative literature. Opposing to it is that
of impurity. These concepts have even been used to arrange the varnas, not in a linear order but in
a series of binary oppositions. Accordingly, the Brahmin varna is pure compared to the members
of the other varnas, who are impure. However, the Brahmin and Kshatriya together are pure in
relation to the Vaishya and Shudra. Finally, the entire twice-born, comprising the Brahmins
Kshatriya and Vaishya, is pure relation to the Shudra.

The opposition between the pure and the impure has been regarded by Dumont as the fundamental
principle underlying the Hindu caste system. This principle is implicit in three predominant
features of the caste system which were systematically spelled out by Bougle and later endorsed
by Dumont. Accordingly to Boulge, the caste system comprises a series of hereditary groups (the
socially relevant jatis) characterized by

1. hierarchy or gradations according to ritual status

2. mutual repulsion implying rules governing contact, ensuring their separation, and
3. division of labour and consequent interdependence.

Dumont shows that the opposition between the pure and the impure is implicit in all the three
attributes, in the hierarchy because the pure and impure must be kept separate, and in the division
of labour because pure and impure occupations have to be segregated. Following this, the caste
system is viewed as a whole (which) is founded on the necessary and hierarchical coexistence of
the two opposites (the pure and the impure). This represents a viewpoint of caste according to
which both the pure and the impure have their rightful place in the system and each has its
privileges and coexists with the other.

One way of assigning a rank to castes in terms of their relative purity of impurity is to study their
attributes (covering their general way of life, which includes crucial elements such as diet and
occupation) and accordingly order them in relation to one another. The attributes of purity include
features such as wearing the sacred thread, the veneration of the cow, vegetarianism, the rituals,
and proscribing widow marriage. Pollution is associated with human emissions. Death Desecration
of the cow and consumption of meat and alcohol, to mention the principle elements.

A matter which merits explanation is how some human beings could be evaluated as so impure
that the rest of society was constrained to regard them as Untouchable. Dumont basing himself on
the Dharmashastras and jatakas states that the impurity of the chandala is equated with the
temporary impurity that the caste Hindu experiences during certain organic processes. For
instance, the laws of Manu require a Brahmin to purify himself by bathing when he has touched a
Chandala, a menstruating woman, an outcast, a woman who has just given birth, a corpse.
Elsewhere in these texts, the impurity of Chadala is placed on the same footing as that of domestic
pigs, poultry, and dog (animais that live on the refuse and filth picked up in the village and its
surroundings). In the same spirit, the Chandala is relegated to the cremation grounds and expected
to live on men's refuse. The jataka reflect a much more stringent notion of impurity with reference
to Chandela, for it is suggested that even their sight could be contaminating. Following this,
Dumont has argued that the attribution of permanent impurity to the Untouchables is a
consequence of their involvement in occupations that possess the same impure qualities. It is
specialization in impure tasks, in practice or in theory, which leads to the attribution of a massive
and permanent impurity to some categories of people. Thus castes which specialize in occupations
involving, for instance, scavenging, lifting carcasses, removing hides, tanning, and aiding in
childbirth are liable to be evaluated as Untouchables.

The Puruda Varnnar of Tamil Nadu provides a striking example of the extremes to which the
evaluation of groups as impure could be carried owing to the ironies of their occupation. The
members of this caste specialized in washing the clothes of untouchables And their pollution as
washerwoman was thus compounded. This made them practically unstable. For they were forced
to live a nocturnal existence, working between midnight and daybreak and as expressed colorfully
by Hutton, scuttling home at the false dawn like the badger or hyena. So great was their dread of
revealing themselves during the day that it took a tremendous amount of persuasion to make them
come out for an interview. Finally, they appeared with their whole bodies shaking and trembling.

The population attributed to the untouchables finds one of its most definite expressions in the
territorial segregation of their dwellings in village communities. Traditionally, no high caste would
enter the untouchable streets. The concept was expressed in a systematized manner. Kerala where
the physical distance to be observed by various castes was governed by elaborate rules. The focal
point of the rules were the Nambudri Brahmins, in relation to whom the various other castes has
to maintain distances which varied according to their status in the hierarchy, the minimum being
between Nayars and Brahmins and the maximum between the alter and untouchables.

Attempts have also been made to account for the purity of the Brahmins by viewing the caste
hierarchy as a concomitant of the hierarchical ordering of deities in the Hindu pantheon, while all
the deities must be worshipped for the well-being of the society, the highest demand the maximum
degree of ritual purity. The propitiation of the lowest deities entails a high degree of pollution since
blood sacrifice is offered. Hence the highest deities are served by Brahmins who are, in Babb's
view, the purest of men, while the others comprising the pantheon are propitiated by castes which
are placed below the Brahmins in a continuum of purity and pollution. In other works to deal
adequately with the pantheon as a whole, the society must itself consist of a hierarchy of groups
of differing degrees of pollution.

The attributes of purity and pollution discussed above may be used to identify the two broad
externs in the caste hierarchy, the Brahmins and the Untouchables. But the precise determination
of the highest and the lowest among Brahmins and Untouchables respectively is conditioned by
local interpretations of the pollution concept. Thus, while scavenging and beef-eating would make
a caste group untouchable almost anywhere it may still be able to establish its precedence over
some other groups through fine distinctions of behavior. The fact that the empirical referents of
the pollution concept are subject to local interpretations highlights the point that caste hierarchy,
when viewed as a specific phenomenon, is confined to a given local area. Hence, Stevenson was
certain the concept of untouchability as inherently relative conditioned by the fortuitous
juxtaposition of status groups at any time, for a caste may be regarded as untouchable by some of
the twice-born, and not by others; a caste may be untouchables in one district and not by others, a
caste may be untouchable castes with touchable sections. The ambiguity of untouchability.
Therefore, does not lie in the concept as such, but its varying applications according to the territory.

These observations on the distinctions among Untouchables have a more general significance since
the existence of internal gradations is an important feature of caste. The tendency which results in
the hierarchical arrangements of castes in a given locality is often replicated within a caste and
leads to the grading of segments both in the same local community and over a wider territorial
area. A clear expression of such hierarchies of status within a caste is found in the practice of intra-
caste hypergamy of which there are several examples. It was practiced, for instance, by the Rarhi
Brahmins of western and southern Bengal, the Patidars of Central Gujarat, and the Rajputs, also
of Central Gujarat.

The operation of local interpretations of pollution explains various regional differences in the
evaluation and ranking of castes. However, even within a given locality the multiplicity of
attribution criteria and the necessity of evaluating them in relation to one another render it difficult
to grease all the castes in a fixed hierarchical order. Nonetheless, Dumont attempts to show how
these attributes may be used to establish a series of divisions, each more precise than the other,
between superior and inferior castes. For example, the vegetarian caste may be placed above the
non-vegetarians: among the vegetarians, those who prohibit widow-remarriage would be superior
to those who permit it. Similarly, among the non-vegetarians, further dichotomies may be
established between beef-caters and non-beef-caters and among the latter still, further gradations
may be made between those who eat only mutton and the same, who are superior to those who eat
pigs raised by low castes and fed on garbage. Dumont argues that such dichotomies, which
establish distinctions of relative purity and impurity, reaffirm the importance of the hierarchical
principle.

In a well-argued paper, Marriott pointed to certain major difficulties in trying to explain any
particular village hierarchy solely based on attribution criteria. First, a vegetarian caste may
actually rank below a non-vegetarian caste. Secondly, it is not clear how the various attributes of
pollution combine to form an unambiguous hierarchy of values. For example, are the attributes of
diet more important than those of occupation? Among certain occupations, such as butchering
goats cutting hair, and tapping today, which would be the lowest? Thirdly, certain castes may be
ranked differently. Such difficulties led Marriots to propose an interaction theory of caste ranking
based on inter-caste relationships as manifested in the ritualized giving and receiving of food, and
the giving and receiving of ritual services. He considered food transfers more decisive in
establishing rank than the receiving of ritual services, but the two are connected since receiving
ritual services are paid for partly in food. The circulation of food is one significant index of rank
because a caste that receives more of the purer kinds of food than it gives to other caste forums
may be regarded as the recipient of relatively more ritual honor in relation to the others. Following
the same principle, a caste that receives more ritual services from other castes than it gives to them
ranks higher. It is lower if it gives more ritual services than it receives or renders these to lower
castes. While Marriott is in favour of adopting an international approach to caste ranking, his
discussion makes it clear that it cannot replace the attributional theory. It is thus necessary to work
both approaches in ranking castes in a particular local area.
THE DOMAIN OF PROPERTY AND POWER: ANAND CHAKRAVARTI

The interactional approach to caste ranking is especially significant in discussing the role of
economic and political factors in determining the status of a caste. It has been argued that the
acquisition of wealth by a caste can lead to an improvement in its status only if it secures a better
position for itself in the system of ritual interactions. This is made possible by Sanskritization-
implying an improvement in its ritual style of life. A detailed illustration of this process is that the
ranking of caste groups was validated not only by ritual and social usage but also by differential
control over the productive resources (of the village). In these terms, caste was a system of
'cumulative inequalities’ or a 'closed system', whereby the degree to which a given caste possessed
command over property and power corresponded with its ritual status in the local scheme of
ranking while this observation applies more easily to dominant castes whose preponderant control
over material resources acts as a lever for achieving respectability in the ritual sphere. Its
applicability to all castes, especially at the extremes of the hierarchy, is limited. Especially at the
extremes of the hierarchy, is limited. The economic position of Brahmins which may be low in
several areas does not conform to their high ritual status, and the low ritual status of untouchables
tends to persist despite favorable economic circumstances.

The problem of assigning weightage to ritual purity and pollution on the one hand, and secular
elements (which subsume differences between material and political resources) on the other, led
Dumont to remark that this unresolved duality hangs like a millstone around the neck of the
contemporary literature. For Dumont, the resolution of the duality lay in the intrinsic character of
the hierarchical principle, according to which power (the secular domain) is subordinate to ritual
status (the religious domain). This explains, the precedence of the Brahmin over the king at the
macro level of the kingdom and the locally dominant caste on a smaller territorial scale. Once the
hierarchical principle is vindicated by subordinating secular power to religion (embodied by the
Brahmin), it is possible to recognize the importance of the holders of secular power by giving them
precedence over all the others. Accordingly, even though they consume meat and liquor, they take
precedence over vegetarian castes, once the king is made subordinate to the priest, as the very
existence of hierarchy presupposes. It must give him a place after the priest, and before the others.
Unless it is to deny him a place after the priest and before the others; unless it is to deny him his
dignity and the usefulness of the function. Following this argument, the worst form of tyranny was
imposed on the lower castes especially the untouchables, by a dominant caste, which is part of an
overwhelming religious order within which power is allowed free play. Thus, to use Dumont's the
overwhelming religious inferiority of untouchable castes expresses and encompasses their strict
secular dependence on the dominant castes, the lowliest suffer the greatest subjection.

In contrast to this position, whereby caste rank is established by subordinating secular power, in
Bose's writings on caste, the importance of the economy is underscored. The caste system in pre-
British Indian was supported by an economic order in which a particular occupation was tied to a
specific caste. As long as the economic order was undisturbed the hierarchical arrangement castes
remained unaffected even by developments that challenged the very principles underlying this
arrangement. For instance, the spread of Islam during Muslim rule, despite some changes in and
around urban centers, did not affect the hierarchical arrangement in the rural areas because it did
not generate any change in the economy. But with the coming of the British, Bose argues, drastic
changes were brought about in the basic design of traditional Indian society. The economic
changes introduced by the British- which included the introduction of advanced techniques of
manufacture, the growth of caste-free occupations, the expansion of a cash economy, and the
development of new markets-eroded the traditional association between caste and occupation. As
a consequence caste become detached from the economic system and was confined only to the
ceremonial aspects of social life. Thus, persons to whom a superior caste was attributable by birth
could be found in the occupations of inferior castes and vice versa. Quite clearly, according to
Bose, the economy held the key to maintaining or destroying the caste-based distinctions between
high and low.

In conformity with the importance assigned to material factors in ordering inter-caste relations, the
Jajmani system, which is intrinsic to caste, is viewed not as a system of mutual interdependence
in which each (jati) is assigned (its) place and all economic activity is oriented towards the whole
(the village community), but as a system of exploitation. Beidelman for instance views the 'Jajman-
kamin' relationship as an unequal one, the superiority of the former being based on the power
derived from control over land, numerical superiority, and political connections.

A more forceful statement of the importance of the secular domain in explaining caste rank is
found in the work of Gough’s writing about Central Kerala. She says that neither in the present
nor the past can the ritual ranking of castes be understood without reference to the political and
economic systems in which they are embedded. In the erstwhile kingdom of Central Kerela, lower
castes were bound to economically and politically superior castes in relationships of servitude. The
nature of the work performed by various serving castes could be ranked according to the degree of
their onerousness. For instance, the servitude of an Untouchable (cherumen) or pulaya serf of the
lord (or ruler) entailed a much higher degree of onerousness than that of a Nayar non-cultivating
military tenant (Kanakkaran); whereas the serf derived mere daily sustenance from his lord, the
Nair Kanakkaran was vested with the right of management and a claim to the produce of a large
estate subject only to the payment of certain dues to the lord. The jural status of a caste (implying
the possession of the right of various kinds) was also conditioned by its position in the system of
servitude. At the lowest extreme were the Untouchables serfs over whom the Lord had the
complete right of life and death ultimately, and this appears to be Gough's most significant
observation. The judicial hierarchy, provided of a caste in this hierarchy is determined, as
mentioned, by the degree of onerousness of servitude. Accordingly, a village landlord, who might
be n Nambodri Brahmin or a member of an aristocratic Nayar caste, would be ritually superior to
a non-cultivating tenant from a Naynar commoner caste. The latter. In turn, was ritually superior
to a Tiyyan or Irava cultivating tenant, and so on down to the ritually most inferior (cheruman) or
pulaya serf. It is evident from Gough's presentation that ritual precedence in Central Kerala was
significantly affected by inequalities in the politico-economic domain. The same kind of argument,
drawing on field experience from elsewhere has been expressed by others, such as Herreman and
Mencher.

HOW UNIQUE IS CASTE? ANAND CHAKARAVARTI

We have now reached a stage when we may ask whether the nature of inequality, characteristic of
caste is unique to Hindu society, or whether it has parallels among other communities in India and
elsewhere we shall confine our discussion to the Indian Muslims and Negro-White relations in the
southern United States.

In principle, Islam does not uphold social distinction or any form of discrimination based on birth
or occupation. Every Muslim is equal in the eyes of God. And the only criterion of differentiation
is the degree of piety. In practice, however, there is several gradations among Muslims, to which
the term 'Caste' has been loosely applied. The identity of these gradations is maintained through
the practice of endogamy, although, in general, the notion of ritual purity and pollution is not as
elaborate as among the Hindus. Some studies have even suggested that this notion is considerably
weak, so weak that it is not immediately obvious and must be inferred from indirect evidence.
Other factors, such as wealth, style of life, and the prestige attached to one's occupation, play a
more decisive role in determining caste rank. In practice, therefore, status differentiation among
Muslims does not conform to the elaborate pattern of religiously ordered inequality among Hindus.

Broadly, two contrary views have been expressed on the question of applying the term 'caste' to
Negro-white relations in America, the distinction between them depending on whether caste
should be viewed as an ethnographic or a sociological category. As an ethnographic category it is
characteristic of what has been termed a pan-Indian civilization, and of the Hindu in particular. As
a sociological category caste is viewed essentially in structural terms, shorn of its cultural context,
and in this sense applies to any system of stratification of exceptional rigidity. Berreman, a
prominent exponent of the view that caste is a sociological category perceived fundamental
similarities between caste in India and Negro-white relations in America. According to him, those
who distinguished between the two systems have contrasted ideal behavior and attitudes in India
(which sanction inequalities of status and attribute special privileges to each group) with real
behavior attitudes in America, which are marked by dissent, resentment, guilt, and conflict.
Dumont, for example, had stated that the colour bar contradicts the equalitarian ideology of
American society of which is a kind of disease. However, Berreman believes that if cognizance is
taken of the existential realities of the caste in which the oppression of low-status groups, such as
untouchables is a prominent feature, then the system displays the same properties as Negro- White
relations. Berreman has sidetracked the principle issue which requires one to match not the
existential order of Hindu society with its counterpart in the west, but the existential order of Hindu
society with its normative order. From this point of view, the two orders are consistent in Hindu
society, or ‘harmonic' whereas they are disharmonic in the west since they contradict one another.

CASTE SYSTEM AND TRANSFORMATION

Indian society has undergone a process of rapid transformation after independence. The caste
system is no exception it has also undergone and is still undergoing a process of adaptive change.
Change is particularly, significant in the ritual and economic dimensions of caste
RITUAL ASPECT OP CASTE:

Traditionally, the hierarchy is caste system has had two dimensions viz.. ritual dimension and
secular dimension. Ritual dimension also manifested itself in inter-caste interaction. The caste
hierarchy was also a ritual hierarchy in which different castes were ranked in terms of their ritual
purity status. At the same time, there existed a secular basis for the ranking of castes. Thus the
caste hierarchy was based on the differential distribution of secular attributes like wealth or
ownership of land, access to political power, or numerical strength. To a large extent, there was
overlap between the ritual and secular aspects of caste, for example, majority of the wealth and
ownership of land and political power have largely been concentrated in the hands of twice-born
castes, who also enjoyed a superior ritual status. On the other hand, Shudras and untouchable
castes, who had a low ritual status were also deprived of the secular attributes. Both ritual and
secular dimensions were equally important in the hierarchical ranking of castes.

Thus an attempt to gain mobility in the caste hierarchy needed an improvement in both secular as
well as ritual status. In fact, 'Sanskritization’ was nothing but an attempt to gain a higher ritual
status after having improved one's secular status. Acquisition of higher ritual status served as a
recognition of the improvement in secular status.

However, certain processes of change that had started luring the British rule but acquired
momentum after independence, have brought about changes in the system of ranking of castes.
One such change is in the declining importance of the ritual dimension of caste. The ritual
dimension of caste has declined very significantly in the urban and even in the rural areas the
decline is perceptible. Some of the factors which have contributed to the decline of the ritual
dimension of caste are

1. Increasing secularisation of interpersonal interaction in the day to day life. This change is
quite obvious in urban areas and is gradually spreading to rural areas too.
2. Increasing pre-occupation of people with improving the quality of life has measured in
terms of levels of consumption.
3. The process of economic development involves the growth of capitalistic agriculture and
the expansion of industries and the services sector. This has led to the expansion of
occupation opportunities that are 'ritually neutral’. Recruitment to these new occupations
is based on technical skills acquired through modern education. Also, various avenues have
 come into existence to increase income and acquire wealth. Thus economic success is
becoming a means for status enhancement irrespective of the ritual status. The declining
importance of ritual dimension as a consequence of economic development can be further
verified from the fact that increasingly Sanskritization is losing its appeal as a means of
social mobility.s
4. Most jobs in modern industry and state bureaucracy are new in content and method. And
are viewed as ritually neutral persons of any caste including untouchables and Brahmin.
Thus when persons belonging to different caste with different ritual statuses come together
in modern occupational settings, the inter-personal, inter-action takes place in a secular
idiom. The ritual dimension is ignored. The net result of these changes is that the ritual
dimension of the caste system has lost its importance, especially in the urban area. The
urban public transport, restaurants, factors, and offices are the places where inter-personal
interaction takes place in a purely secular idiom. However, the change in the ritual aspects
of caste in urban areas is by no means total. Beliefs in the ideas of purity and pollution and
caste rituals persist even in the cities, for example, 'clean - caste'. Hindus are not ready to
do the 'filthy’ work of sweepers and few will be ready to defile themselves by working
with raw leather. Thus even today various occupations which are considered pollution are
confined to ritually inferior castes. Although interpersonal interaction outside the home has
become secular inside the home caste rituals and the ideas of purity and pollution are
observed even now.
Even in rural areas, there is a gradual decline of the ritual dimension as has been shown by
numerous studies. In Chanukhera village studied by Prof. Yogendra Singh, it was found
that Brahmins who were at the top of the ritual hierarchy were given importance only on
ritual occasions. Singh says that Kahatriyas would greet the Brahmins first using
respectable expressions: on ritual occasions. They would even touch the feet of Brahmins
priests. But in secular matters such as social gatherings, decision-making processes, etc.
they would expect subordination from the Brahmins which they usually received.
Even in seating arrangements on secular occasions, Brahmin had a lower seat than
Kshatriya. Similarly, Beidelman observes that Senapur and Rampur Bratunins were
subordinated to Jabs and Thwackers who constituted the dominant caste. Only in those
villages where Brahmins also possessed the secular attributes like land ownership, political
 power, etc. did they enjoy the dominant status as can be seen in the case of Havik Brahmins
in Totta Gade village in Mysore. Thus secular attributes are increasingly gaining
importance over the ritual status.
5. Democratic decentralization of power right at the grassroots level has led to increased
participation in the political process and besides economic success, access to political
power has become another means of status enhancement. Further, the policy of protective
discrimination towards the backward castes and increasing politicization has led to
horizontal mobilization as a result of which different castes are keen on preserving their
identity, and are no longer willing to acquire the status of a ritually superior caste.

CHANGE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF CASTE

Traditional Indian society was formed on the basis of the village economy. The economic contest
of interest interaction has been termed the Jajmani system. Each caste had an occupational
specialty, though at times specialized occupation caste did perform multiple occupations.
Agriculture was a caste-free occupation: in which all castes except perhaps the Brahmins and the
land-owning dominant caste, participated. Jajmani system was essentially a system of production
and exchange of goods and services. Jajmani relations were centered around the land-owning
dominant caste. Various occupational caste rendered services to the landowning caste round the
year and in return for those services they were paid in kind at the harvest time. The conditions of
work and the share of each occupational caste in the harvest were governed by customary rules.
One of the considerations which determined the share of occupational caste was its rank in the
local caste hierarchy. Thus, the relations in the local jajmani system were non-market, non-
reciprocal type. The land-owning dominant caste maintained paternalistic ties towards the
occupational caste. The village economy based on the Jajmani system was essentially a subsistence
economy where the production was primarily oriented towards consumption and there was no
attempt to generate surplus for the market. Thus the jajmani system while providing a large
measure of self-sufficiency to the village economy also rendered it a stagnant economy.

However, gradually Indian economy has been changing This process of change started with the
establishment of British rule. The new system of land revenue introduced by the British led to
partial monetization of the rural economy. However, its impact in terms of modernization was nil.
After independence with the help of centralized planning deliberate attempt has been made to
transform the Indian economy. These changes include near total monetization of the economy and
expansion of the market system in rural areas, the capitalist transformation of agriculture,
industrialization, and consequent urbanization of all these changes had a bearing on the economic
function of caste.

Firstly, these changes have led to the breakdown of the Jajmani system, as has been shown by
numerous studies, for example, John Hitchcock's study of Khalapur village in U. P. has shown
how the establishment of sugar factories led to the breakdown of the Jajmani relations. Further,
the capitalist transformation of agriculture and monetisation of the economy has replaced has
traditional Jajmani ties with contractual relations between landowning castes and the landless
castes. Agriculture has now become a commercial activity oriented to generate profit. This has led
to the migration of members of landless castes to urban areas. Thus, caste as a system has broken
down in most of the rural areas, but caste groups have survived and caste awareness remains.

With industrialization, new occupational structures have developed in urban areas. These new
occupations are caste-free occupations. Recruitment to these occupations is based upon technical
skills which can be acquired through modern education only. Thus caste has ceased to be the basis
of recruitment to occupations. Though, some continuities are to be found among the migrant to
urban areas in terms of caste status and new occupation, for example. "pollution" occupations like
scavenging or dealing in leather, etc, are consciously avoided by clean caste Hindus. Thus such
lowly menial occupations continue to be performed by ritually inferior caste. Similarly, in some
of the South Indian towns, it has been found that Brahmins have taken to restaurant Management
because due to their high ritual status food cooked by them is acceptable to all. Continuities can
also be found in the case of other castes like often the business activities in urban areas are in the
hands of persons belonging to Vaishya community, but increasingly, the caste is getting de-linked
from modern occupations.

As Loyd Rudolph has said, "modernity has entered into Indian character and society, but it has
done so through assimilation, not replacement. Thus, although caste has lost its earlier economic
functions, as a result of modernisation, it continues to survive and it has acquired new forms.
Castes in their new role have acquired the form of associative type of organizations. Thus we find
the growth of caste associations function more like an interest group and try to promote the interest
of their members”. G. N. Ramu based on a study of Kolar Gold Fields has pointed out that these
caste associations perform two types of function: Expressive functions and Instrumental functions.
Expressive functions refer to the sense of social and emotional solidarity that caste associations
can bring among their members. The behavior of individuals tends to be "caste-centric" because
the caste associations provide them a sense of identity and security. The instrumental functions
refer to the interest group-like behaviour of these caste associations whereby they provide various
facilities to their members like hostels, educational institutions, banks, etc.

These facilities help their members to enhance their economic interest, for example, in almost all
states there are caste hostels and educational institutions. In South India, we find the Vysya Bank,
Kaniyara Bank and Co-operative Banking associations established by Chetiyars, a trading caste,
etc. Also, these caste associations try to help their members in gaining benefits from various
developmental programs and policies of the Government. Of late the new phenomena has come
to be seen as number of caste clusters have joined hands to form various organizations to promote
the class interests of its members, some of the recent examples are Bharatiya Kisan Union' led by
Mahendra Singh Tikait and 'Shetkari Sanghathan' led by Sharad Joshi. Vanniyars in Tamil Nadu
has also been agitating for the interests of their members. Thus, the economic functions of the caste
have undergone transformation but the caste as a unit of social organization has survived because
it has successfully adapted itself to new functions. Today caste has taken over functions that are
normally performed by the welfare state.

Indian society has undergone a process of rapid transformation after independence. This
transformation has affected all the important institutions of traditional Indian society. Caste system
has also undergone and is undergoing a process of adaptive change. Chance is particularly,
significant in the ritual and economic dimension of caste.
MOBILITY IN CASTE:

Mobility refers to the movement of individuals or sections of a caste or the caste as a whole along
with the hierarchical ranking of caste. The mobility may involve an improvement in the caste status
of a group: such a type of mobility is called 'upward' mobility. On the other hand, if the caste status
of a group decline this is called 'downward' mobility. Normally mobility involves movement by a
caste or a section of a caste. This is known as inter-caste mobility. However, castes themselves are
not homogeneous groups. They are divided into numerous sub-castes which are again arranged in
hierarchical ranking order. Thus, another caste mobility would involve movement by a sub-caste
from its present low ranking to the position of a high ranking sub-caste. Such type of mobility is
termed intra-caste mobility.

The traditional view about the caste system records it as a 'closed system' of stratification in which
no mobility exists. This view is true to a large extent because the ideology of the caste system
values hierarchy and discourages mobility as can be seen from the "pursh-Sukta myth", "Karma
theory", hereditary groups, and thus no intermixing of caste is permissible. Further, in ancient
times one of the important responsibilities of the king was to prevent "varna - sankara" i. e..
intermixing of castes. All the above-mentioned features project the caste system as a closed system
of stratification. But no system of stratification can be a totally closed system. Even if norms
proscribe mobility, some degree of mobility always exists. This is true with the caste system also.
All through the ages, mobility had been taken place in the caste system through various means
though the extent of mobility varied from time to time.

The system of racking in the caste hierarchy is multidimensional. Caste system is a religiously
ordained system based on the idea of purity and pollution. Thus, one aspect of hierarchy is the
ritual dimension whereby different castes are placed in the ranking order based on their relative
purity or pollution. Another dimension of caste hierarchy is the distribution of wealth especially
the ownership of land. Among the non- landowning caste the nature of the occupation associated
with the caste group also has a bearing on caste status Next, access to political power constitutes
one more dimension of the ranking of castes in the hierarchy. Of late, one more dimension which
has come to be associated with caste hierarchy is access to modern education and modern
occupations. When all these dimensions overlap, Andre Betellle has described it as a case of
'cumulative inequality’. On the other hand, if these dimensions exist separately it is called
'dispersed inequality.

For a caste to acquire mobility, it must change its position along with one or more of these
dimensions. Normally a group improves its position along with the economic or political power
and then tries to consolidate a higher position for itself in the hierarchy by trying to change its
ritual status.

UPWARD CASTE MOBILITY BEFORE THE BRITISH RULES:

The caste in ancient times was a relatively an open system. It was primarily on occupation division
of labour rather than a rigid system of stratification. Thus, inter-caste mobility was quite common.
Even inter-caste marriages took place frequently. According to K. M. Panicker, "since the 5th
century B. C. every known royal family has come from a non-Kshatriya caste". Historians believe
that Maurya's were of shudra origin and Gupta were perhaps the vaishyas, while Sathavahanas
claimed themselves to be Brahmins. The groups belonging to different castes could come to
acquire political power and after successfully capturing political power they could also acquire the
Kshatriyas status whereby new genealogies were created tracing their descent from solar and lunar
dynasties. Thus, since ancient times, the most effective way to rise in the caste system was the
acquisition of territory either through the conquest or if the land had previously been sparsely
populated or empty by simple occupancy. M. N. Srinivas refers to the former method as "mobility
through resort to warfare”.

Since the time of the earliest Indian empire, that of the Mauryans Kingdom, empires, and
principalities rose and fell in various parts of the Indian sub-continent. This rise and fall of
dynasties also involved social mobility for example around 8th century A.D. Rajputs captured
political power in various parts of northern India. Similarly, peasant jatis acquired mobility through
conquest later. Thus the peasant jati that owned much land might have translated its grain tribute
into payment for troops and weapons and might have captured more territory and established a
kingdom. In the ancient Varna system rulers had to be from Kshatriyas. The jati and the caste of
such conquerors partly through the ruler's dependence upon his kinsmen for support likewise rose
to Kshatriyas rank. A very famous example of such type of mobility is found in the case of
'Shivaji’.
Shiviji was the great Maratha conqueror of Central India in the 17th century. The Mughul empire
which had dominated much of India in the 17th century was on the decline by the late 17th century.
Shivaji's father had been a 'jagirdar’ or ‘vassal’ of the Muslim ruler of the Bijapur, a principality
subordinate to the Mughul ruler. Shivaji overthrew the Muslim rule and after his death, the Hindu
Maratha empire extended from the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal. Originally his caste, the
Maratha was considered to be of Shudra Varna. So, Shivaji went through the religious right of
transition into Kshatriyahood. Along with Shivaji's rise in varna status his caste, the Maratha also
came to have Kshatriya rank.

Another such example is provided by the rise of the Reddy Kingdom in the south. Reddy's were
of peasant origin, who could capture the South. Reddy's were of peasant origin, who could capture
political power and consequently, they came to enjoy a high caste status.

In Medieval India, new avenues of mobility came into existence. Due to limited urbanisation and
growth of military and other administrative occupations which were caste-free in nature, mobility
could take place by migrating to the cities where trade and commerce provide opportunities for
acquiring wealth or by joining military or administrative services. Thus various castes have
improved their status by serving the rulers, jatis whose members served either Hindu or non-Hindu
rulers likewise attained higher varna rank. For example, the patidars of Gujarat, another peasant
group of shudra varna, separated Marata descendants of Shivaji, the 'Gaekwads' who ruled Central
Gujarat, gradually, claimed to be an example of the rise in the caste.

SANSKRITIZATION

Numerous other processes of social mobility had been taking place through the ages. One such
important process of social mobility which has been termed “Sanskritization" is the process by
which a low Hindu caste or tribal or other group changes its customs, rituals, ideology, and way
of life in the direction of high and frequently ‘twice-born' caste. Often the twice-born caste forms
the model for emulation to be the locally dominant caste. Lower caste by adopting the culture and
lifestyle of the locally dominant castes the lower caste or the tribal group aims at finally acquiring
the status of the dominant caste.
M N Srinivas called this process Sanskritization because the culture and lifestyle of the 'twice-
born' caste are governed by Sanskritic Hinduism to a large extent. However, the lower caste doesn't
need to emulate only the religious aspects of the lifestyle of the upper caste. More often it is secular
aspects like the conspicuous style of consumption and living of the upper caste such as betel-
chewing wearing of gold ornaments, shoes, and other forms of dresses are emulated.

Normally the adoption of the Sanskritic lifestyle which has been termed as "elite emulation" by O.
M. Lynch is preceded by a certain change in the lower caste. Usually, the lower caste comes to
acquire wealth and abandons its earlier polluting occupation. Sanskritization as a means of social
mobility is at best a very slow method for a jati to raise its status. Normally it's stretched over 2
to 3 generations. Sanskritization has been successful in the case of middle-rank castes especially
if the gap between the present status and the aspired status la not very large. On the other hand, in
the case of a caste placed very low in the hierarchy like Harijans of ex-untouchable castes,
Sanskritization has not been very helpful. Only in a rare case could an ex-untouchable jati improve
its status by sanskritising itself as would be shown from the following examples.

Willem Rowe's study of the Noniyas in Senapur village in eastern U. P. is an illustration of the
success of a middle rung caste in acquiring mobility through Sanskritization after achieving
economic prosperity. Traditionally, the Noniyas' work was making salt and moving earth during
the second half of the nineteenth century and up to the time of the First World war. However, some
of them made money as contractors on government roads bridges, and public works. One of them
founded the Rajput Advancement society to encourage Noniyas to claim to be Chauhan Rajputs.
The organization and its idea spread gradually throughout the areas where Noniyas lived. It
involved initiation with the sacred thread and the writing of literature supporting their claim to
having been the Rajput in the Twelfth century. They claimed to have been scattered some moving
into eastern Uttar Pradesh. In the village of Senapur, where William Rowe studied a local
contingent of Noniyas. He found that they had considerably improved their local caste ranking
over half a century, from holding a rank bordering upon the untouchable category. They had risen
in the village caste hierarchy to a rank of the tenth or eleventh, a position firmly in the upper part
of the Shudra category. In the mid-1950s they were being served by Brahmin priests their goddess
was now vegetarian no longer taking "blood" (animal) sacrifices, and they kept their brides in
purdah (seclusion), all indications of Sanskritization. They even wore the sacred thread, although
their doing so was at first violently opposed by the Thakur dominant caste of Senapur who
considered themselves, to be the Kshatriyas and considered the Noniyas as Shudras. So in the
Noniyas case, their efforts to attain higher caste rank succeeded after their economic status had
greatly improved.

Similarly, Pocook has described the successful advancement in the caste of "Kavnis” a traditional
peasant caste of Gujarat, to the new and more honorific status of the 'Patidars'.

The twice-born caste which acts as a model for emulation also varies from time and place.
According to M. N. Srinivas, during the first 30 years of 20th century census reports showed that
"Kshatriyas” happen to be the most popular model for emulation followed by 'Brahmins’ and
‘Vaishayas'. The study of A. M. Shah and R. G. Schroff reveals that formerly in Gujarat both
Colies and Patidars used to emulate the Rajput style. But with changing social situations and value
scales, now they identify more with the Vaishya model. The main reason being the success of
Vaishyas in acquiring wealth was through business attempts at Sanskritization, which have also
been made by the numerous Harijan jatis. Thus, Chamar leather workers in northern India have
given up working at certain places or retrieving dead animals for jajmans. Balais in Rajasthan have
given up making shoes sometimes, these jatis take to vegetarianism and teetotalism. The means of
Banswara district who were until recently classified as Bhiol tribals have in a big way taken to the
adoption of Rajput names and other elements of the Rajput lifestyle. Similarly, Bhumij in eastern
India and patella in western India are other examples of tribal groups who adopted the Hindu way
of life and got integrated with the caste structure. However, quite often the attempts at
Sanskritization by Harijans and tribals have met with strong resistance from other caste groups,
for example, the shanans of Tamil Nadu who were untouchable toddy tappers adopted the honorific
title to Nadars ( lord of the land) and tried for Kshatriya status but were unsuccessful. Similarly,
when Adi- Dravida in Ramnad in Tamil Nadu tried to sanskritise themselves they met with strong
resistance from Kallars the locally dominant caste. Similarly. O. M. Lynch's study of the Jatti's of
Agra shows that their attempts to acquire the Kshatriya status were scuttled by the joint opposition
of the Thakurs and Brahmins.

F. G. Bailys study of Bissipara in Orissa is one of the rare examples which shows the success of
the untouchables in improving their status through Sanskritization. In Bissipara, the Boads and
Ganjams were two groups of untouchables whose occupation was liquor distillation, however,
after acquiring wealth these Bonds and Ganjams bought land from the Rajputs who were willing
to sell their land and gave up the earlier occupation of liquor distillation. After becoming
agriculturalists they adopted the Kshatriya lifestyle and claimed and Kshatriya status for
themselves which was accepted by both the Brahmins as well as the Kshatriyas.

WESTERNIZATION:

Westernization is a process that refers to the adoption of the western way of life, modern
education, modern occupations. etc. Westernization began only after the establishment of the
British rule and it has been an important avenue of social mobility for the high ranking sanskritic
castes who under the influence of modern secular education introduced by the British under the
second half of the 19th century were exposed to western ideas and also gained access to modern
professions like legal practice, journalism, teaching, civil service, etc. It was this westernized elite
who provided leadership to India's freedom struggle, However, westernization as a process of
mobility had been limited to the urban-based upper castes. The mobility of rural poor people could
not benefit from westernization under British rule.

COLLECTIVE MOBILISATION. POLITICISATION:

Those castes, especially the untouchables, who could not acquire mobility through Sanskritization
or westernization resorted to alternate means like collective mobilization and politicization. An
example of successful social mobility through collective mobilization is that of 'Izhwas' of Kerela
who under the leadership of Guru Shri Narayana organized themselves into the SNDP movement
and demanded the rights for temple entry. They established numerous educational institutions for
their members and rejected the Brahmanical ideology which imposes the stigma of untouchability
on them.

Their success in gaining mobility can be seen by comparing their present position with their earliest
status. They were untouchable toddy-tappers whose women were not permitted to wear upper
garments. Today, they are an influential caste group in Kerala and are well represented in modern
occupations. Other instances of collective mobilization are DMK movement in Tamil Nadu and
mahar movement in Maharashtra, both rejected Sanskritization as an avenue to mobility and
instead through political mobilization aimed at capturing political power. Thus, DMK party came
into existence in Tamil Nadu, the Republican party in Maharashtra and the Jatavs of Agra also
joined the Republican party founded by Ambedkar. Politicization is popular in independent India
as can be seen from the fact that today's Jharkhand tribes are no longer interested in Sanskritization
rather they are competing for political power.

EDUCATION, INDUSTRALISATION AND URBANISATION

In present-day India, numerous new avenues of mobility have come into existence with the spread
of modern education after independence and with the growth of industry and the services sector.
Caste free occupations have come into existence, recruitment to which is based on educational
qualifications, and there is considerable diversification of the occupational structure. In urban
areas. the issues of purity pollution are no longer important at least in social life. All these factors
have contributed to social mobility. However, even now, the impact of these new forces is only
limited. Firstly, India continues to be predominantly rural even today. Secondly, access to modern
education in particularly higher education and the new prestigious occupations remains largely
confined to upper castes only. Even in urban areas, the members of lower caste continue to be
employed in menial and other lowly occupations. One evidence of this phenomenon can be seen
in the T. K. Ooman's study of the professions of doctors in Delhi. The trend witnessed in Ooman's
study is representative of most of the urban centers in India.

INTRA-CASTE MOBILITY

It refers to the mobility of sub-caste within a caste. One of the traditional modes of mobility among
the sub-caste had been through the practice of hypergamy or anuloma. In traditional India, the
wealthy members of twice-born caste often practiced polygyny in which a man normally took his
first wife from the same sub-caste. But the subsequent wives were often taken from a lower sub-
caste or even lower castes. This practice of hypergamy or anuloma could take place in other
situations too, like the poor man from a ritually superior sub-caste. Such alliances were seen as
mutually beneficial. The man gained in terms of wealth while the woman acquired a higher caste
status. Thus, the practice of anuloma contributed to intra-caste mobility. An important example of
this type of mobility is the case of Kuleen Brahmins of Bengal as pointed out by D. N. Mazumder.

Another way by which a sub-caste improved its ritual status was through Sanskritisation. This
could be possible normally if the members of the sub-caste improved their economic status. Having
acquired wealth they claimed the status of a higher sub-caste accepted their claim and started
practicing inter-marriage with them.

Another mode of intra-caste mobility in contemporary India is through education. Education

enables people to gain access to modern occupations some of which carry a high prestige like a
carder in the IAS, a business executive, or a successful career in the legal or medical profession.
Among these urbanized educated sections the marital alliances are based in terms of compatibility
of occupational statuses rather than the principle of sub-caste endogamy. Thus, among the urban
professional middle and upper-middle classes different sub-castes freely inter-marry irrespective
of their ritual status if there exists. compatibility in the occupational statuses.