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The Indian caste system is the traditional hereditary social system of India, in which social classes are defined by a number of hierarchical endogamous groups. A caste is generally divided into exogamous groups based on the same gotras (गोत्र), and defined by the mutual interaction among its members. The two most common of these relationships are:

  • "Roti" (bread): dining together.
  • "Beti" (daughter): intermarrying together.
In the past, individuals faced excommunication from their caste (hence becoming an ‘outcaste’) if they committed certain unpardonable offences; thus they were denied the privilege of socially interacting with members of their former caste.

There are presently several thousand castes, and tribes in India, for example Agarwal, Bhavsar, Chamar, Jat, Kapu Caste, Nair, Konkanasth, Mahar, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP), Reddy, Arora, Maratha, Saraswat Brahmins, Mudaliar, Barnwal castes.

A tribe in India either exclusively populates a region or dominates all other groups. A caste however exists within a complex society interacting with many other castes with specialized functions. In many cases, a community can either be called a caste or a tribe.

Caste divisions

Some castes are based on occupation. For example, goldsmiths, carpenters, and barbers each form separate sub-castes. Often, a sub-caste with a significant number of members will be divided into further subcastes. This further division may be due to:
  • Geographical separation: For example, there are purabia (eastern) and pachchaia (western) sections of some castes.
  • Variation in standards of conduct: For example, disagreements over the permissibility of widow marriages have caused some castes to subdivide.
However, there have also been several recorded cases in which the merging of subcastes has occurred. At one time, there was considerable interest in the relative ranking of castes, with several views on how rankings could be achieved:
  1. Public reputation of castes in a region
  2. Wealth and influence
  3. Food relationship: For example, members of a sub-caste will accept water-based (kachcha) food prepared only by members of their own sub-caste or by a Brahmin. A consequence of this third rule was that Brahmins were often employed as cooks. The rule was often not applicable if the food items were dry (e.g., roasted grains) or fried in oil or ghee (pakka).

Varna and Caste

Varna, literally meaning "kind" or "type", is a term often used in connection with the caste system, with varnas often mistakenly referred to as "castes" in English. Classical Indian legal texts of the Dharmashastra, most notably that by Manu, identified four varnas in Indian society. These were, as mentioned earlier, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra, with the former untouchables (Dalit) being considered either a lower section of Shudra, or outside of the caste system altogether. Theoretically, according to the Manusmriti, every caste belongs to one of the four varnas. However, the division of Indian society into four castes was a generalization rarely held in practice. Consequently, there have been many disputes about the varna of many castes, such as castes being considered Kshatriya by some scholars, while described as Shudra by others. While texts such as the Manusmriti attempted to rationalize ambiguous castes by placing them in varna-sankaras (i.e. mixed varna), the fact remains that Indian society was, and is, composed of numerous geographically diversified but endogamous groups. With many occupational groups practicing endogamy within a particular region, as well as numerous sub-divisions within the four main castes, a more complex system of subcastes and jatis becomes evident. Unlike the varna system of Brahmins, which requires spiritual purity in order to ascend, a jati is able to move up or down the social hierarchy based on the aspirations of its members. Marriages are usually arranged within one's own sub-caste; however, they may occur between two affiliated sub-castes, or two sub-castes that are in the same region, and are as such termed intercaste marriages. Over time, this grew more and more rigid, until every aspect was determined by birth, with various "justifications" as described below.

To simplify the perspective, often people use the classification based on Four varnas, given in Manusmriti and other dharma-shastras: The Brahmins (Teachers, Scholars and Priests), The Khshtriyas (Kings and warriors), the Vaishyas (Traders, Landowners and some Artisan groups), and Shudras (Agriculturists, Service providers, and some Artisan groups). There was another group, which was excluded from the main society, for various reasons, which was called Parjanya or Antyaja; these were the people called untouchables. The varnas (rather than Jatis), was used after the 1902 Census by the British, for consolidation of demographical data into manageable proportions. However no commonly agreed approach for classifying the castes into the four varnas exists, sometimes a caste may claim to be a Brahmin, but others may regard it to be a Vaishya.

Modern status of the caste system

The caste system was first exposed to the modern Western world during the Portuguese occupation and rule of sections of India. Indeed, the word 'caste' in this context is derived from the Portuguese, casta. Later, other European empires, including the British, occupied parts of the subcontinent. The anthropologist Herbert Risley's The Tribes and Castes of Bengal, published in 1892, was one of the first works on the caste system in India written by a Western scholar. Independent India officially documented castes and subcastes, primarily to determine those deserving reservation (positive discrimination in education) through the census. The Indian reservation system differs from American affirmative action in that it relies entirely on quotas, while the US does not. The government lists consist of:
  1. Scheduled castes (SC): Generally consisting of former "untouchables" (the term "Dalit" is now preferred by activists). For example, the Delhi state has 49 castes listed as SC (http://www.delhigovt.nic.in/dept/district/anx25.pdf).
  1. Scheduled tribes (ST): Generally consisting of village tribals.
  2. Other backward classes (OBC): Generally consisting of cultivators, pastoralists, artisans, etc. For example, Delhi places 53 castes in this group (http://www.delhigovt.nic.in/dept/district/anx24.pdf).
Some Indian states are dominated by caste-based politics. Sometimes converts to other religions, such as Christianity or Islam, retain their caste identity, often due to the economic benefits it carries, and also to retain their ties with the community for social reasons. This practice, however, is often frowned upon by members of the same sub-caste.

Major Caste Groups

These are the major caste groups in India, listed in the order of population, based on 1891 census data.
Caste-groupExamplePopulation %
Cultivators Kapu,Maratha, Maali,Jat Lodha20%
Village MenialsChamar, Dosadh, maharDomba13%
Military/RulingBhavsar, Khatri, Kurmi,Maratha, Rajput, Raju, Naidu, Nair, Tarkhan12%
ArtisansTarkhan,Lohar,shimpi, sali, Sunar, Julaha12%
PastoralAhir, Gadaria, Dhangar7%
Forest tribesSanthal, thakar, Gond, Bhil7%
ProfessionalsNambudri, Bhat, Kayasth6%
ServicesNai, Dhobi, Kandoi6%
TradersAgrawal, Arora, Balija, Barnwal5%
LaborersMusahar, Bagdi, Bawari3%
FishersKahar, Mallah3%
Other professionalsVaidya, Mirasi, Bhand2%
VagrantsWaddar, Nat, Beldar1%

There have been many attempts to group castes by assigning them to one of the four varna; however, the assignments vary depending on who is making the assignments. Megasthenes, an ancient Greek sent by Seleucus I as ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's court in India classified people of India into seven classes: philosophers, peasants, herdsmen, craftsmen and traders, soldiers, government officials and councillors.

Theories about the origins of the system

The histories of many of the castes are available in form of an oral tradition. Many of these were recorded in the past few centuries. With the archaeological findings in the last one and half centuries, it is now possible to trace the emergence on several of the specific castes to 11-12th century or even a few centuries earlier. For example, Babb has attempted to trace the history of several castes in Rajasthan in his "Archemies of Violence", based largely on narratives recorded in the past few centuries. Prior to the avaialability of archaeological evidence, the histories of individual castes are often speculative.

According to the Aryan invasion theory,which is now discredited, the caste system began with the arrival of the Aryans in India. The Aryans are said to have arrived in India around 1500 BC. The Indo-Aryans, according to this theory, arrived in India from Central Asia. These Aryan invaders, a primarily light-skinned people, were contemptuous of their newly-conquered subjects, who were darker skinned. Before the Aryans, there were other communities in India of other origins (see Indus Valley Civilization). Some of the most important of these are the Dravidian, the Mongol, the Austroloid and Tibeto-Burmese tribals. The Dravidians were the largest community in India, and are by some scholars identified as the bearers of the Indus Valley Civilization. It was fully developed by 800 BC. [This isa highly controversial subject whose earliset proponents were European Sanskritists and Hindu supremacists.Now the trend seems to have reversed with the marxist radicals joining the AIT bandwagon and hindu moderates and other neutral historians endorsing the view of indegenous origin of so called Aryans.] The Aryans organized among themselves in three groups. The others were designated as Dravidians. In this theory, the different Jats (sub-castes) who professed different occupations were integrated in different Varnas according to their occupation. Most of the communities that were in India before the arrival of the Aryans were integrated in the Sudra Varna or were made outcast depending on the professions of these communities. Communities who professed non-polluting jobs were integrated in Sudras Varna. And communities who professed polluting professions were made outcasts or untouchables. Untouchables were not only disallowed to touch the high caste people but they also had to stand at a certain distance from the high castes.

However, it must be noted that, some Indian historians have downplayed the cultural significance of the Aryan Invasion. The latest research into this theory shows clearly that there never was any invasion, in fact, the proof is now widely accept by all major authorities that Aryan is indigenous to India and there never was any invasion. The theory was first created to undermine the historical significance of India and its cultural and religious heritage by the British, and subsequently the west.*

Criticism of the Caste System

There has been strong criticism India's caste system discriminates of the caste system existing in India. Some activists consider that the caste system is a form of racial discrimination.An Untouchable Subject? The participants of the United Nations Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in March 2001, condemned the discrimination due to the caste system, and stated that caste as a basis for the segregation and oppression of peoples in terms of their descent and occupation is a form of apartheid.Final Declaration of the Global Conference Against Racism and Caste-based Discrimination

The status of untouchables

The untouchable (or Dalit) in Hindu Society was a person who worked in what were seen as unhealthy, polluting work dealing with the dead bodies and animal carcasses, the collection and disposal of bodily waste, and other jobs that brought him/her into constant contact with what society considered disgusting and even dangerous. These occupations,although they were helpful to the society and improved sanitation, were considered unclean and polluted the individual, and such polluted individuals were considered unfit for physical or social contact with the non-polluted, "purer" sections of Society. Untouchables used to live separately within a subcultural context of their own, outside the inhabitated limits of villages and townships, made pariahs in every sense of the word. No other castes could, or would, interfere with their social life since untouchables were lower in social ranking than even those of the shudra varna. In the past, extreme poverty drove many untouchables to wear clothing off the bodies of the dead that they handled. In their home they ate from broken dishes discarded by others. Untouchables suffered from many social restrictions. They were not allowed temple worship with others, nor water from the same sources. Person of higher castes would not interact with them. Untouchables were not allowed to use the same wells as the other castes as that would "pollute" the water and indirectly the other castes who drank it. If somehow a member of a higher caste came into physical or social contact with an untouchable, the member of the higher caste was defiled, and had to bathe thoroughly to purge her/himself of the impurity. Such contact even included the shadow of an untouchable falling on the member of the higher caste. At the same time, the untouchables developed their own rich folk traditions with a lifestyle that was unhampered by the variety of restrictions on the rest of the society. The inclusion of lower castes into the mainstream was argued for by Mahatma Gandhi who called them "Harijans" (people of God). The term Dalit (downtrodden) is used now as the term Harijan is largely felt patronising. Gandhi's contribution toward the emancipation of the untouchables is controversial. This is usually highlighted by the commentary of his contemporary Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable himself. Ambedkar was deeply suspicious of Gandhi's motivations and frequently saw his activities as deterimental to the cause of upliftment of his people. For instance, Gandhi, a Vaishya, was not against the caste system, but tried hard to bring untouchables into the mainstream of society and get the other castes to discard the practice of untouchability. Gandhi coined the phrase "Harijan" (God's People) for the untouchables. Ambedkar, influenced by liberal thinkers like Voltaire, was interested in the elimination of the caste system untouchability altogether. To him, Gandhi's efforts solved no problems of the untouchables as they would remain at the bottom of the hierarchy. Ambedkar suggested that the evils of the caste system would be elimininated if the upper castes (especially the Brahmins) would change their behaviour and eventually get rid of the caste system altogether.

See also

Notable people

  • Ambedkar, the most prominent Dalit leader of the 20th century.
  • Savitri Devi saw Brahmins as the bearers of Aryan culture to India, and admired the separation they kept between themselves and the Dravidians.
  • Mahatma Gandhi coined Harijan, a euphemistic word for untouchable , literally meaning Sons of God.
  • Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, essential precursor of Dalit political activism; devised a theory that established lowcaste people as the original inhabitants of India having been conquered in the ancient past by barbaric Brahman invaders (an example of the creative inversion of classical Aryan invasion theory)
  • Thanthai Periyar, famous Tamil rationalist fought against the caste practice of Brahmins and Hinduism
  • K. R. Narayanan, India's first and only Dalit President (1997 - 2002)

References

Literature

  • L.A. Babb (2004). Alchemis of Violence, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
  • Jervoise Athelstane Baines (1893). General report on the Census of India, 1891, London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office
  • G.S. Ghurye (1961). Caste, Class and Occupation. Popular Book Depot, Bombay.
  • G.S. Ghurye (1969). Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakashan, Mumbai 1969 (1932)
  • E.A.H. Blunt (1931). The Caste System of Northern India, republished 1964, S. Chand, Delhi.
  • Crooke, William (1896). Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, 4 vols.
  • Russell, R.V. and R.B. Hira Lal (1916). The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, 4 vols., London.
  • Harikrishna Shastri (1871). Brahmanotpatti-martanda (Sanskrit/Hindi).
  • Jwalaprasd Mishra (1914). Jati Bhaskar, (Hindi).
  • Duiker/Spielvogel. The Essential World History Vol I: to 1800. 2nd Edition 2005
  • Ambedkar, B.R. (1946). The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? as reprinted in Volume 7 of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches, published by Government of Maharashtra 1990; Complete Writings
  • Ambedkar, B.R. (1946) Who were the Shudras?.
  • Susan Bayly (2001), Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age, Paperback Edition, Cambridge University Press
  • Louis Dumont. Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications. Complete English edition, revised. 540 p. 1970, 1980 Series: (Nature of Human Society)
  • Christophe Jaffrelot (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes, C. Hurst & Co
  • Kane, Pandurang Vaman: History of Dharmasastra: (ancient and mediaeval, religious and civil law) -- Poona : Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1962-1975
  • Murray Milner, Jr. (1994). Status and Sacredness: A General Theory of Status Relations and an Analysis of Indian Culture, New York: Oxford University Press
  • Ranganayakamma (2001). For the solution of the "Caste" question, Buddha is not enough, Ambedkar is not enough either, Marx is a must, Hyderabad : Sweet Home Publications
  • Alain Danielou (1976). Les Quatre Sens de la Vie, Paris
  • "Combatting Caste" New Internationalist, July 2005,

External links

Caste System by country | Indian culture | Hindu law

Det indiske kastesystemet | Sistema de castas da Índia

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Indian caste system".

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