Caste in India: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Caste in India:

A Historical and Political ApproachSlide2

What Is CASTE?

Common ModelSlide3

Caste and Other Hierarchical Ideas/Practices

Caste refers to ideologies and practices that

justify INEQUALITY

In

that respect caste is no

different

from

other such ideologies practices across the world that do the same

Think

of RACE and GENDER: Both underpinned by ideologies and practices whose ultimate aim is to justify inequality

For

one example, see, Gerald D.

Berreman

, an American scholar of India, “Caste in India and the United States” in the American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Sep., 1960), pp. 120-127

http://

www.jstor.org/stable/2773155

Slide4

Specifics

While comparable, there are some specific features of caste we need to understand. Three striking and specific features

are:

Caste has

come to be recognized as being closely

tied to RELIGIOUS ideas (Hinduism)

Caste

has a VERY long history, the earliest vocabulary associated with

“caste”

ideologies can be seen in the VEDAS, circa. 1500-1000 BCE

Over

time has developed a SYSTEMATIC

form

, and practiced by many non-Hindu groups too.

T

he

“

systemicity

” of the “caste system” has

been

greatly

exaggerated thoughSlide5

What IS Caste?

A hierarchical

system of ideas

(called

varna) about

organization of society

At various times in history these ideas have shaped the exercise of power and empowered some groups and disempowered others

Caste has been linked to occupational groups (called

jatis

)

Jatis

often ranked by

varna

, but

the

same

jati

in different places and at different times could be associated with different

varna

categories (no “

systemicity

”)

Because of links with occupation,

jati-varna

, closely linked with ECONOMIC power

Jatis

practice endogamy (marry within

jati

), commensality (eat together), and share ritual occasions. As a result

jati

is closely connected with kin networks

Jati

was and often is

much more

of a lived social unit, NOT VARNA

If we MUST call caste a “system,” then it is better described as the “

varna-jati

system”

It is a system that has seen corporate (collective) but not individually-based mobility

The

jati-varna

system justifies and tries to perpetuate inequality

Allows for marginalization of some social groups, especially those seen as outside of caste, or “outcaste”Slide6

An A-historical history

Because of its connections with religion, Western scholars (starting with European “Orientalists” of the 17th and 18th centuries) want to understand caste only through TEXTS, and perceive it as a singular SYSTEM. That is the origin of the notion of THE CASTE SYSTEM

●

Like many other forms of knowledge, this idea was made part of “universal knowledge” via

colonialism

●

The word itself reflects this. When the Portuguese first came to India in the 16th century, they saw in the local hierarchies, something similar to hierarchies with which they were more familiar

●

That

great source (!),

Wikipedia

, tells us, “

Casta

is an Iberian word

…

meaning "lineage", "breed" or "race." It is derived from the older Latin word

castus

, "chaste," implying that the lineage has been kept pure.

Casta

gave rise to the English word caste during the Early Modern Period

”Slide7

Historical Approach

Caste

has been:

● Always

as much about POWER as anything else, and reflected configurations of POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL and CULTURAL of a particular time

● Because

configurations of power CHANGE, so has “caste”. Unlike what high school social studies books (or lazy searches of the internet) might say, caste has ALWAYS been changing. It is VERY FAR FROM AN UNCHANGING “SYSTEM”

● This

is why it is important

to always relate caste to a HISTORICAL CONTEXT and focus on a

history

rather

than a

sociology

of caste Slide8

Origins in Pre Modern India

● In

the Early Rig Vedic Era ~ 1500 BCE we come across the word “VARNA”

● The

people who use this term are mostly recently arrived immigrants who were cattle herders, nomads, who lived in relatively egalitarian lineage

groups

● “

Varna” in their language (Sanskrit) means “color” and “classification

”

● Varna

is used hierarchically, but only to distinguish between themselves, “Arya” (the noble ones) and the “

Dasa

” (the servile, the people they had overcome)

●

It

is hardly a “system” of any sort thoughSlide9

Changing Varna

By the Late Rig Vedic Era ~1000 BCE the word “

varna

”

was used

to distinguish people WITHIN the ARYA group as well

● With

the

Purusa

Hymn

we get both the idea of a fixed hierarchy AND a mythological justification for that hierarchy

● The

hymn divides

people

into four categories

Brahmins

(priests); Kshatriya or

Rajanya

(warriors/lords of land); Vaisya or Vis (commoners), and Sudras (the servile ones)

● This

happens as the Arya people are transitioning from nomadic to settled life. They have greater material surpluses and hence also emerging

inequalities

● But

,

varna

categories are still fluid. The son of a Brahmin could be Kshatriya, etc.

By

ca. 800 BCE – 400 CE as polities (states/empires) and economies (greater division of labor) becomes more complex, we note references to JATIs (probably best described as occupational categories) Slide10

Challenges to Varna

Between 600 and 400 BCE there were a number of challenges to the

varna

ideology and Brahmin superiority

A significant challenge from heterodox sects such as Buddhism whose teachings made

varna

hierarchies irrelevant to their followers

Kings and emperors embraced heterodoxies, including perhaps the greatest emperor of ancient India,

Ashoka

Brahmins were marginalized, as was the importance of

varna

Though this was followed by a period of reassertion of

Brahminical

power, challenges continued, most vividly by hugely popular devotional movements of the 15

th

and 16

th

centuriesSlide11

Consolidation of Varna ca 500 CE

ca. 500 CE though, Brahmin orthodoxy made a come back, and Buddhism was (often violently) virtually exterminated from India

The

same era sees the emergence of PRESCRIPTIVE texts, called

dharmashastras

(e.g. the

Manusmriti

) that

claimed

varna

was central

to the organization of society

These texts also reconfigured the ideology of

varna

to relate it to ideas of PURITY and

POLLUTION

They also reinforce the idea of

VARNASHRAM DHARMA

, that it is the spiritual and moral duty of each

varna

to fulfill its given role in society (Kshatriyas to fight/rule, Sudras to serve)

Those who refuse to acknowledge this, or violate

varna

prescriptions deemed to be OUTSIDE the

varna

system, or Out-caste

The same prescriptive texts also reinforce PATRIARCHY and reinforce the subordinate positions of women of all

varna

to men of their familiesSlide12

Varna and Political Power

From the very beginning

varna

and political power closely linked

Upstart kings patronized Brahmins, who fabricated genealogies to represent these rulers as true Kshatriyas

Gupta rulers, under whose patronage many of the

dharmashastra

s

were compiled, were of Vaisya origin

Varna ideology also useful for absorbing many waves of migrants and conquerors. Some historians believe that 6

th

Century Hun invasion’s leaders given Kshatriya status, and rank and file lower

varna

status

Indian encounter with a young and vibrant Islam in the 8

th

to 11

th

centuries was the first one where new rulers did not accept the hierarchal ideology

But

varna

remained a component of political power at local levels, well into the 18

th

Century

However,

varna

was, till this time, recognized as closely connected to POLITICAL and not RITUAL power/status. Many examples of Shudra kings Slide13

Colonial Construction of “Caste System”

British rule had a profound impact on how we understand caste today

British administrators and scholars (called Orientalists) represented “caste” as fundamentally different from other hierarchical ideas

Understood caste only from

Brahmanical

TEXTUAL

sources (

dharmashastras

), and therefore as Hindu

religious

ideas and not power

Allowed for the “othering” of the colonized, making them exotic, different, and most important, in need of Western, enlightened, rule

Policies and Laws based on this idea, Census and Elections e.g., reinforced this idea of caste, made it a LIVED reality for Indians

. Colonial education taught this

notion of caste

to generations of Indians

Caste reified. Even created entities such as “criminal” and “martial” castes

Patriarchy was reinforced, largely on account of believing “

dharmashastras

” to be “religious laws” governing a “religious” people

Overall, created a much greater FIXITY in ideas and practices around

varna-jatiSlide14

Colonialism and the language of rights

Paradoxically, colonialism also created a limited space for the articulation of “rights” by lower caste groups

Attempts at creating a “systematic” ordering of all

jatis

into the same

varna

led to thousands of petitioning challenging colonial ordering

Some

jatis

claimed

higher

varna

status based on the “purity” of their customs, that often also included the greater seclusion of and restrictions upon women of these

jatis

Others such as

Jyotiba

Phule’s

SATYASHODHAK SAMAJ attacked the very foundation of the hierarchical principle of caste

This encourages creation

of SUPRA LOCAL identities

based on colonial understanding of Varna-

Jati

but VERY DIFFERENT from the much more localized sense of identity that had earlier been the case

Urbanization and new occupations also undermined the traditional economic basis of

jati

rankingsSlide15

Caste and Nationalism

Most nationalists were upper caste men, and imagined the nation in those terms

Most secular/liberal Nationalists, ALL Hindu nationalists, even many Communist leaders were Brahmin men

Their vision WAS challenged, in the 19

th

century by leaders like

Jyotiba

Phule

, and in the 20

th

by a variety of anti-Brahmin movements, many committed to smashing of the caste system all together

Gandhi and

Ambedkar

represent this division most starkly

Gandhi initially accepts VARNASHRAM DHARMA as a harmonious system of interdependence. But criticized the practice of UNTOUCHABILITY, termed untouchables “

Harijans

” or “Children of God”

Ambedkar

found Gandhi and elite nationalists’ representations to be patronizing. Wanted to smash the caste system rather than reform it. Organized untouchables politically, and termed them Dalit (the broken or oppressed)Slide16

Caste at Independence

Constitution 1950

Single most far reaching and revolutionary change, equality of all citizens

Ambedkar

played important role in shaping the draft

Affirmative action policies (reservations) for

Dalits

, to compensate for historically enforced deprivation

Liberal

Cringe/ Modernization

As products of colonialism, most liberals, including Nehru, were embarrassed about caste, and wished to avoid foregrounding what they saw as a sign of backwardness

As upper caste men themselves, they never faced the inequities of caste discrimination

Hoped that caste would simply disappear with modernization, though electoral politics demanded the inclusion of lower caste groups in the political process

Ambedkar

and Nehru

Some commonalities in approach, both committed to social justice and creating a level playing field for all Indians

But

Ambedkar

was very clear that caste needed to be tackled head-on rather than ignored in the hope it would disappear

Disagreement over Hindu Code Bill. But even legislation passed piecemeal, a huge step, allow for

intercaste

marriage, divorce, and equal rights for wives, sisters and daughters of a Hindu family

Ambedkar

remained disappointed and signaled this through a public renunciation of Hinduism and conversion to Buddhism shortly before his death in 1956

Hindu Right

Leadership entirely upper caste Brahmins

Did NOT support affirmative action for

Dalits

Opposed Hindu Code BillSlide17

Caste and Class (Economic Power)

Overlap between class and

caste. Caste often determined:

Access to land

Access to education

Access to valued skills or commodities

When

jatis

with traditional lower

varna

status had these, they could and did exercise power, and some sought higher

v

arna

status

E.g. Marathas in the 18

th

C western India,

Nadars

of southern India in the early 20

th

C

Could also link the later rise of

middle peasants and OBC

to their increased economic power

Dalits

(along with tribal groups), remained excluded from significant economic gains in the colonial era; they were labor, very rarely landowners and often confined to the most degrading and servile occupations. This was one reason why affirmative action programs were initiated only for

Dalits

in 1950Slide18

Caste and Politics in Independent India

Success of

Nehruvian

era premised on the “Congress System” where an English-speaking upper caste elite acted as

patrons

of locally powerful “backward caste”

clients

(

Sheth

, 112; Yadav, 12-14)

This elite was for most part uncomfortable with caste identities, and “a very peculiar caste-class linkage was forged in which the upper castes functioned in politics with the self-identity of a class (ruling or “middle”) and the lower castes… with the consciousness of their separate caste identities” (

Sheth

, 112)

Post Nehru, and premised on economic gains made in earlier decades, these lower caste groups no longer willing to be clients

The emergence of regional parties in the 1960s such as DMK in

Tamilnadu

, or the

Bharatiya

Kranti

Dal (BKD) in UP and Bihar, were as much an expression of lower caste assertion as regional interestsSlide19

Political Caste

Changing meanings of

v

arna

linked to power historically and in the presentCaste-based politics today, with labels such as “forward” and “backward” as well as horizontal alliances between different caste-based identities

have virtually nothing to do with ritual status, purity and pollution, etc., but everything to do with modern forms and necessities of electoral politics

This became most apparent at the national level of politics in

the post Mandal era

The older upper class elite (terming itself middle class) resisted what they derisively called the “

Mandalization

” of politics, their opposition had the opposite effect, and “resulted in radical alterations of the social bases of politics in India” (

Sheth

, 113)

OBCs were here to stay, and became a mainstay of Indian politicsSlide20

Dalits

in Post Independence India

Everyday forms of discrimination:

Bama

Faustina’s

Scorn

shows how despite legal equality and reservations, everyday forms of discrimination (and of course economic dependence) excluded, humiliated, and exploited

Dalits

in everyday interactions

Dalits

remain among the poorest, most marginalized and exploited groups in contemporary India

Gender:

Not only did caste values direct gender roles, lower caste women, particularly Dalit women bear the double burden of caste and gender inequality

Education:

Perceived as one avenue of escape for

Dalits

, especially after reservation of seats in government institutions of education

Jobs:

Reservations provided some jobs, but pervasive everyday forms of discrimination made political mobilization necessary

The “Congress System” operates with

Dalits

too in the

Nehruvian

era, though with less success on account of the

Ambedkar

legacy

Breakdown of the Congress system exemplified by the

BAMCEF:

In 1978

Kanshi

Ram forms

the Backward

And

Minority Communities Employees

Federation (BAMCEF) to organize and mobilize the Dalit and Backward Employees in government service

Access

to a degree of economic power and social status leads to the formation of the BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY in 1984. This Dalit political party today led by Ms.

Mayawati

, a Dalit woman, who has already served twice as Chief Minister of India’s largest stateSlide21

Caste and Contemporary Politics

A range of lower caste political mobilizations ended the upper caste hegemony over Indian politics

At best, “national” (aka upper caste) parties had to negotiate directly with lower caste sociopolitical collectivities who were no longer “content with proxy representation by the upper caste, middle class elite, they wanted power for themselves” (

Sheth

, 114)

The BJP tried, initially, to deny the importance of caste in favor of a “Hindu community,” political reality has forced them to address caste by highlighting the OBC-ness of Narendra Modi, or attempts to appropriate

Ambedkar

to their

agenda

At the

same time,

although

OBC and Dalit castes form the majority of the country’s population, structural contradictions

and a history of hierarchical relations prevent

the sort of unity hoped for by

Kanshi

Ram

“Caste” has proven to be both a force for greater political inclusivity, yet also prevented the consolidation of India’s subordinated populationSlide22

Caste Reconsidered

Far from an unchanging “system,” the history of caste is one of incredible change

From Varna to

Jati

, from Vedas through Buddhism to the dharmashastras; from colonial reifications to the formation of

supralocal

identities, to the mobilization along caste lines to challenge elites in power

The history of caste is a history of power, a history of politics

The ideologies and practices related to caste

are

used to suppress, to impoverish, to marginalize

and to dehumanize

At the same time, history also shows how caste can and has been used to challenge status quo, as it has in the short period since independence