Chapter Notes

Caste and the Caste System

In India, society isn't just a collection of individuals; it's made up of interconnected communities and classes. Three of the most central social institutions that sustain and regulate these communities are caste, tribe, and family. This chapter explores how these institutions have continued and changed over time.

The institution of caste has been a part of Indian history for thousands of years, but it also exists in a different form in the present day. Understanding the relationship between the caste of the past and the caste of the present is key to understanding Indian society.

Caste in the Past

Caste is an institution uniquely associated with the Indian subcontinent. While similar social structures have existed elsewhere, the specific form found in India is unique. Though it began within Hindu society, it has also spread to other major communities like Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs.

The English word 'caste' comes from the Portuguese word casta, meaning 'pure breed'. In Indian languages, two distinct terms describe this system: varna and jati.

• Varna: Literally meaning 'colour', this is a four-part division of society into brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. This system excludes a significant group of people, sometimes called the panchamas (the fifth category), which included 'outcastes', foreigners, slaves, and conquered peoples.
• Jati: This is a more general term for species or kinds of anything. In daily life, jati is the word most commonly used to refer to the specific institution of caste.

The relationship between varna and jati is often understood as a broad, all-India framework (varna) with more complex, regional, and local sub-classifications (jati). While the four-varna system is common across India, the jati hierarchy and its thousands of sub-castes vary from region to region.

The varna system is roughly three thousand years old, but it has changed significantly over time.

• Late Vedic Period (approx. 900-500 BC): The system was primarily a varna system with only four divisions. It was not very rigid, was not determined by birth, and movement between categories was quite common.
• Post-Vedic Period: It was only after this period that caste became the rigid, birth-based institution we are more familiar with.

Defining Features of Caste (from ancient texts):

• Determined by Birth: A person is born into their parents' caste and cannot change it, leave it, or choose not to join it.
• Strict Marriage Rules: Castes are endogamous, meaning marriage is restricted to members within the same caste group.
• Rules on Food and Food-Sharing: There are strict prescriptions about what kinds of food can be eaten and with whom one can share a meal.
• Hierarchy of Rank and Status: The system arranges all castes in a ladder-like hierarchy, from highest to lowest. Every person has a caste, and every caste has a specific place in this hierarchy.
• Segmental Organisation: Castes are divided into sub-castes, which can also have their own sub-castes.
• Traditional Link to Occupation: Occupations were hereditary, passed down from generation to generation. A person could only practice the occupation of their caste, and other castes were barred from entering that occupation.

Core Principles of the Caste System:

The caste system is built on two main principles: difference and separation, and wholism and hierarchy.

1. Difference and Separation: Each caste is seen as distinct and must be kept separate from others. This is enforced through rules about marriage, food, and social interaction to prevent mixing.
2. Wholism and Hierarchy: Castes do not exist in isolation but as part of a larger social whole. This whole is hierarchical, not equal. Each caste has a specific rank based on the distinction between 'purity' and 'pollution'.
   • Castes considered ritually pure have high status.
   • Castes considered impure have low status.
   • Historically, economic and military power were closely linked to high caste status, and those defeated in wars were often given low caste status.

Finally, castes were seen as complementary and non-competing. Each had a specific role in the social division of labour, which, in principle, allowed for no mobility.

Colonialism and Caste

The modern form of caste was strongly shaped during the colonial period (roughly 1800 to 1947). Some scholars even argue that caste as we know it today is more a product of colonialism than of ancient Indian tradition.

The British administrators, in their effort to govern India efficiently, began to study and document the 'customs and manners' of various castes and tribes.

• The Census: The most significant colonial intervention was the census, which began in the 1860s and became a regular ten-yearly exercise from 1881.

  • The 1901 Census, directed by Herbert Risley, was particularly impactful. It aimed to officially record the social hierarchy of castes, ranking them in order of social precedence.
  • This act of counting and ranking changed the institution itself. Castes sent petitions to the Census Commissioner, using historical and scriptural evidence to claim a higher rank.
  • Before this, caste identities were more fluid. The census made them more rigid and gave them a new life.

• Welfare for 'Depressed Classes': The colonial administration also took an interest in the welfare of downtrodden castes. The Government of India Act of 1935 gave legal recognition to 'schedules' (lists) of castes and tribes that needed special treatment. This is the origin of the terms 'Scheduled Tribes' and 'Scheduled Castes'. The Scheduled Castes included those at the bottom of the hierarchy who suffered severe discrimination, including all 'untouchable' castes.

Caste in the Present

After independence in 1947, the new Indian state had a contradictory approach to caste.

• State Policy: The Constitution officially committed to the abolition of caste. However, the state was unwilling to push for radical reforms that would challenge the economic inequality underpinning the caste system. It largely adopted a 'caste-blind' policy (except for reservations for SCs and STs), assuming this would automatically weaken caste privileges. This meant well-educated upper castes and ill-educated lower castes had to compete on "equal" terms.

• Economic Change and Urbanisation: Modern industry created new jobs without caste rules. In cities, it became harder to maintain strict patterns of caste segregation. Educated Indians, influenced by liberal ideas, began to abandon extreme caste practices.

However, caste proved to be very resilient.

• In the Workplace: Recruitment for factory jobs in cities like Mumbai and Kolkata often followed caste and kinship lines.
• In the Cultural Sphere: The practice of endogamy (marrying within one's caste) remained largely unchanged. Even today, most marriages occur within caste boundaries.

Caste and Politics: Politics in independent India has been deeply shaped by caste. Since the 1980s, explicitly caste-based political parties have emerged. Caste loyalties became crucial for winning elections, though the situation grew more complex as different parties began using similar 'caste calculus'.

To understand these changes, sociologists like M. N. Srinivas introduced key concepts:

• Sanskritisation: A process where members of a lower or middle caste try to raise their social status by adopting the rituals and social practices of a higher caste.
• Dominant Caste: Refers to castes that became powerful after Independence. These were often intermediate castes that gained land rights from post-independence land reforms. With large populations (giving them political power through voting) and newfound economic power, they became dominant in rural areas.

Caste: 'Invisible' vs. 'Visible'

A paradoxical change has occurred in modern India regarding the visibility of caste.

• For Upper Castes: For the urban middle and upper classes, who benefited most from post-colonial development policies, caste has become 'invisible'. Their inherited economic and educational resources allowed them to take full advantage of opportunities in subsidised education and public sector jobs. For later generations, this accumulated capital is enough to ensure success, making it seem as though caste no longer plays a role in their public lives.
• For Lower Castes: For the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward castes, the opposite is true. Caste has become hyper-visible. Lacking inherited capital, they face discrimination and must rely on their caste identity as a collective asset. State policies like reservation are a lifeline, but using this lifeline makes their caste the primary, and often only, aspect of their identity that society recognises.

Tribal Communities

The term 'tribe' is used for communities that are among the oldest inhabitants of the subcontinent. Historically, tribes have been defined by what they were not:

• They did not practice a religion with a written text.
• They did not have a state or a formal political structure.
• They did not have sharp class divisions.

Classifications of Tribal Societies

Tribes can be classified based on 'permanent' and 'acquired' traits.

Permanent Traits

These include region, language, physical features, and habitat.

• Region: About 85% of the tribal population lives in 'middle India' (from Gujarat and Rajasthan to West Bengal and Odisha). Over 11% live in the North Eastern states, which have the highest concentration of tribal populations.
• Language: Tribal languages fall into four categories. Two (Indo-Aryan and Dravidian) are shared with the rest of the Indian population. The other two (Austric and Tibeto-Burman) are spoken almost exclusively by tribals.
• Physical Characteristics: Tribes are classified under Negrito, Australoid, Mongoloid, Dravidian, and Aryan categories.
• Size: Tribal communities vary greatly in size, from the Gonds and Bhils (numbering in the millions) to Andamanese islanders (less than a hundred). As of the 2011 Census, the tribal population is 8.6% of India's total population, or about 104 million people.

Acquired Traits

These classifications are based on livelihood and the degree of assimilation into Hindu society.

• Livelihood: Tribes are categorized as fishermen, food gatherers, hunters, shifting cultivators, peasants, and industrial workers.
• Assimilation into Hindu Society: This is the most dominant classification. It considers the extent to which tribes have been absorbed into mainstream Hindu society and their attitude towards it (whether they are positively inclined or resist it).

Tribe - The Career of a Concept

In the 1960s, scholars debated whether tribes were just one end of a continuum with caste-based society or a completely different type of community.

• Continuum Argument: Supporters argued tribes were simply less hierarchical and had a more community-based sense of ownership than caste society.
• Distinction Argument: Opponents argued tribes were fundamentally different because they lacked the concept of purity and pollution, which is central to the caste system.

By the 1970s, these definitions were found to be flawed. Many so-called 'tribes' are very large (Santhals, Gonds), practice settled agriculture (Mundas), or are not isolated. The idea of tribes as "pristine" or pure societies untouched by civilization is a myth.

National Development versus Tribal Development

The policies of the Indian state towards tribes have been shaped by the goals of 'national development', especially during the Nehruvian era. This involved building large dams, factories, and mines.

• Disproportionate Cost: Since tribal areas are rich in minerals and forests, tribal communities have paid a disproportionate price for this development. They have been dispossessed of their lands for mining projects and hydroelectric plants that benefit the mainstream population.
• Loss of Forests: The systematic exploitation of forests, which began in British times and continued after independence, has been a major blow to tribal communities who depended on them.
• In-migration: Development has led to a heavy influx of non-tribals into tribal areas (e.g., Jharkhand, Tripura). This threatens to overwhelm tribal cultures and communities.

Tribal Identity Today

Modern tribal identities are not based on ancient characteristics but are formed through their interaction with mainstream society. Since this interaction has often been on unfavorable terms, many tribal identities are now centered on ideas of resistance and opposition.

Key developments in the formation of modern tribal identity include:

• Political Successes: The achievement of statehood for Jharkhand and Chattisgarh after long struggles is a major success. However, problems persist, such as special laws in the North-East that limit civil liberties.
• Emergence of a Middle Class: Education and reservation policies have helped create an educated, urbanised, professional middle class within tribal communities.
• Assertion of Identity: This new middle class is a key force behind the rise in assertions of tribal identity. They articulate demands for control over resources (land, forests), preservation of culture, and a share in the benefits of modern development.

The two main issues driving tribal movements are:

1. Control over economic resources like land and forests.
2. Matters of ethnic-cultural identity.

Family and Kinship

The family is a fundamental social institution. It can be a place of great warmth and care, but also one of conflict and injustice. The structure of a family is not fixed; it changes in response to broader social, political, and economic shifts.

Nuclear and Extended Family

Discussions on the family in India often focus on two main types:

• Nuclear Family: Consists of one set of parents and their children.
• Extended Family: Often called the 'joint family', it includes more than one couple and often spans more than two generations living together.

While the extended family is often seen as typical of India, it has never been the dominant form. It was always confined to certain sections and regions of society.

The Diverse Forms of the Family

Family structures are incredibly diverse across different societies. They can be categorised based on rules of residence, inheritance, and authority.

• Rule of Residence:

  • Matrilocal: A newly married couple lives with the woman's parents.
  • Patrilocal: A newly married couple lives with the man's parents.

• Rule of Inheritance:

  • Matrilineal: Property is passed down from mother to daughter.
  • Patrilineal: Property is passed down from father to son.

• Structure of Authority:

  • Patriarchy: A family structure where men exercise authority and dominance.
  • Matriarchy: A structure where women play a similarly dominant role.