Caste .in . .

Contempo rary India

I..; ···· ·· - ········· ···· .. ... ,

-< ( • • ·- - . . . . . . . . .. .. •i

...
f'
ELEANOR ZELLIOT
\ .

. · C_aste
. . 1s @
. one o f th e most .
pervasive a~ d controvers1a
. . I_as ec-ts o f 1·c
11e
~ - ~ 1s oun in all ·r eligions in India, me ucling-althQugh ..,
n?_:!a1Icti~1_1td ~y su tpture-Christiiihl[f:rrrtl"SiKh1SilL:Dnly hiLaQ
p·e oples are totally outside the system. t 1s a form· of graded' ifil(D
eq'u ahty wiu1 a {a°.rie_c(J2JcI:ili~~-Lh.is;rarchy ,vherever it ex1sls. hr
. ~.-...-.c-.....
,p. ~ .. • •

some form, It has been a factor 1n Indian soCiety for at least 2,500
_· years. . _ .
~ ¼,!1e origin of caste in terms · of the classic ·texts has been de-·
L½cribed 111 the lit Li 6rluEtion of this volu1ne in terms of the . pictur-
esql1e image of the Rrimeval 1nc}n creating oy sacrifice the four var-
~ u:& '
nas: Brahmins fro ·_ _ - atri a from his arn1s Vaish~
f~om his thighs, and S~us.Jrd!§j:£Qm-;,tt~~ t;_h.,, he word varna itself ~
riieans "color" or "covering," a~.? this has led to a ~-':iz.1 tb_
!;.£5t2P
caste that has become one_otihe most ·c;ontroversial of the many
tlieon<;s s~•rrouf!.sf~n~rt::;::rneJY~W~ l~~anlnfegi-afp¥t'o[.the@
...... co""!~S~Lgf ~arnas.hr:m~dhar?1!'..~~...~~~;h1;~.,.!•p_e,e_r _v~rna;,. were _
- g1veo an 1n1uat10n ntual.-\-Vfl-1il1- made tl~e,1~_;t.he,;~,~orn." Nu-
,;~~fy,'Mi~e-iwrce:oo?,i1!;a3:~~;;y~a-~9,00i,as~~~~9~ilf~~~~~~!l per--(])
__ ~!;ie o~'tast~~.as a iv6ole....,.... . ------
. ~ .. : ~he law boo!': t?at ~ere created in the first centuries of the corn- _ _~
6
_~ vYrn o'n era vastly comphcated the whole notion of cast~. Privileges, 'lW 0
1

C\
~43
 I
-t

~ -I I C: o ~T o I Po R .. , RY 1-f 1~ n t · , s >,

c to eac h va r n a l o co ntro l .
1)l111ishrn e nts. and obl ig r1 ti q ns we re spe cifi
bel't<iviul, (6 :tleai ,mh cas te re lati o ns, ancfro 'iha'Ke ·c1e~ :rr-tlie scare o r-
ed.~ n
156rtty aric lpo fl utio 11 o n wh ic h the hi e rar chy was basere are · ma ny
wer e gen era ll y assign e d a to tally Sl,!9,-PD
Ji.-U:!l~-"'XQI~. Th
sym bol ic boo k of Bra hm .in
,,_ suc h iaw boo ks, but th e bes t kno wn, the
e boo k of the "fi.rst ma n," _M anu ,
/ ~ aut hor ity, js th~ ~awS: of_ ~~~n.!!, tp
V -cre ated som e 3:'089 .xe.wk~S$-
the cha rac ter a nd the
Ma n u is par ticul arly harsh and stri ct on
wo me n as well. He· wri tes
idea l be h avi or of Shu dra s and ofte n of
.only one acti vity to a Shu -
· mµ <::h advice like this : .. the Lor d ass ign ed
. C . ·hud~is~"";;; ·wo1ilen )
~ dY.;, se rvin the hig h e r var nas ..,..:· : l .·
V " were'ntJl allo .. __...._.wed to re cite t 1e Vect7s~
----'__.
T~~ restric tion ren. 1ove U-
~

.-,· dfas and wo m e n fro m wh at was see n

as ·the hea rt of Hin du ort ho-
~~r ren dou s pun ish me nts
.f' dox y and f.ro~1 the prie sth ood . The mo st .
~re fou n d _i~1--~ ~om me n_tary
o? Ma nu, pro bab ly _dat-
-'
~~o n Er~ . If a Shu dra int ~nt Jon : - 1 ~
~ _.
l, ing f~o m tl~e e arly year~ o ~Cq1 the Ved a to 1ne1nory;-:his ear s _ 4 .-.-
._
( ~ aJly h~te ns so tha t __ he·· ma y com mit .
· If he utte1~s a wo rd of the . -
0; sJw uld be·fill e d .wi.th mo lten I~ad and lac.
If he mas ters the Ve d~ his
\T("<i_a, his to ngu e sho uld b~ cut in _two.
178 ) . .The res tric.t i~n s .__.
booy--·shq_ t:ild . be:ctr't·- t-o -p{~ ces · .(Du tt 1968,
aus teri ties for a reli gio _1,1,s --
were also app lied to the ·p erf orm anc e of
the Ram aya n_a. . . . · .. .-
pur pos e, as we will ~ee late r in the story of
(5) Th e classic texts also off ere d an exp lan atio
IJif
n for one 's bir th .in a .
cicktrin e of_!~!T~~.fl.9 ]~l i0.u iJ ~_so 02_e cas tes7
'fs~- .
c~r tah i taste.
~ e opl ebel~ ·gTi;"g to tGe
e}cplamec11rf 1h e"G"allt i1na: Su tra_this ~
diff ere nt clas ses ·ana. ·orde_rs . of1ife -'\ vn ~ stea dfa stly dev ote d to
of the ir dee ds afte r dea th;
tl1e La\~S pro per to the m enj oy the fruits
, "tak_e bir th aga in in a pro s-
and they,_wit h the res idu e of tho se fruits·
uis hed family, wit h a
per ous reg ion , a hig h cas te, and a dis ting
rnin g, and virt uou s con·- ·
· han dso me _bod y, lon g life, dee p Vedic lea
inte llig enc e" (Ol ive lle
duct, and wit h gre at ,-vealth, hap pin ess , and
to the m" are dif fer ent
~999, -97). An d, -0£ ~ourse, the "Laws pro per
for _.each var na or _cast~. Duey a stroi1g and is loa ded word in Ind ia,
but it -mu st be add ed tha t bel ief in kar
ma is not totally uni ver sal.
non exi ste nt, Shudras
-A~d though the privileges for Shudras are
hm ins . It mu st be sai d
are alJowed mo re free dor n tha n are the Bra
n1a~1y and det aile d.
tha t the req uir em ent s of Br~ h1n inh ood are
are es-
The ma le Bra hm -
in is the -sac rifi cer , and --sacrifice and rit1 ial
.. ,(...
 C. \ s-,- r. , :"" Co :"° T E ;\, P o •~ .·\ R , , I :-.: n J.-\ :.q 5

se ntial. it is believe d, for Lhe mainlen ance of tl~e order of the uni-
verse . To do this, the Brah1n in must ~e pure, and h e most p1~otect
his purity with great lho_roughn~ ss ,rnd also safegua rd the purity of_
his wife.
The duties of a Shudra ar·e given in one source as thes e: uHe
sho·u'i~l make ancestr al offeri.ngs; S\1pport his depend ents; he faith- ·,..
ful to his wife; serve the upper· classes; seek his liveliho od from
them; use their discard ed shoes·, umbrell as, · clothes and mats and
the like;. ancl eat- their leftover s." But Chapte r 1 o of the Gautam a
SJ-'t:tr~ ends· with ti1~. ~~~rp{·is·i·~-g ..stateme n t, "IfArya ns-- do·_1h.t iJobs ..o.f·..·
i11on-Aryans and vice versa, they become equal" (Olivell e 1999, 56) •
.,. ,. "Aryans " here refe1~s to· the word the Vedic upper c~asses called
/:· themsel ves; it means_"-pur~" o,r. "·n oble" and ~ndicat es the three
"twice-b orn" varnas. · .
· ·. ~ The classical .Ia,v codes ~.f an~ient .Iridia ofte.n seem humor ous i~
their pedantr y. ab.out tfie .pun~sn me-ntof slri":'" Fc:fr1"rurante;_d1er_e _a~e
· .
~ -X::-~-..-,...,.. .&.-wrrc·~c-,.::t,..,. ta, ~-
various penanc es,. for misdeed ~, and ll11s one involve s the Shudra :
~row, ~:m~l e,,~ n~~?. ,:k: .• ~:!<~~a _g_?:_~-s~~,~':~~a :~~~se, ·Bhasa.
.0<a rat and ~dog-·-the ·· ·
vulture , ·frog-·--c omro.Q.n:,:. mongo ose~er
-~~
"-----:;. . . .-.........£it~-. -.s- _ .+.ePL r . .,~-..-.< ~~._...~..
,"t.'- __.

,r~nanc e :for kiH:i·ng .ii.A~' af~.thes@:is.. th~~-same~-as .£or killing a Sudra"_

(Olivell e 1999, 36). And the ti~e~ in which impurit y does not exist .-
are varied: in battle; when the country is invaded or when the town ··
or village is on fire, or on public roads that are purifie d "by the rays .
of the s·un and the moon and by ·t he wind." . ·
In these law books, which probabl y were 1iever· the code of any
specific kingdo m, the formati on of new groups is explain ed by un-
equal sexual alliance s, the worst being the prog~n y of a lower-c aste
man and a higher- caste woman . Th . m~ that stands for the low- .
e~,t o! t?e low,. ch~nda:a, mea~s the p;o~ucG>E:~-~:~E.~~~~!!-~!!_da V~
B~~hm1n woman .1:1e T5~s1s Ior_all th~s 1s iheTcle a or-puri ty and pol-
lut1on, the .Bral'im1n being the purest, the Shudra the carrier of
R9Ht,1tiOf1:-;-Ihe idea of an Untoucl .1able caste even less pure than
the -~_hudra is not in th~ Vedas or the law books, which list only four
varnas. _ _
• What are we to make of these ancient texts? They clearly were
never mor~ tha_n hcuona l iaw;rne as -tfiafwe re an -:rae'il lor some or-
~hodox ]i-alim lo;dQm inatecf s2~uI_ ffie.y~ do. .hav~_ecfloel"'M1ne
n:oc_lern .perio& of the Hindu holy 1nen saidrece~t1yt1~at the
9ne
•·-
 li fe of a cow "·ns mo re impor r;-inL Lim n Lh e life of ap L' n~.ouc habJe, a
\ - - -
St;lte l1TNfJ.J•"Sw.'.w1.fyer1iicizecl;;ll o,;cl· Jncri,1. ., . -
T11~ 1·c isnohGwric C\'i (knce Lhat suc h pun is hments as d ec reed
for th e Shucl ra p ursu in g re li g io u s privile g e we re carri ed out. How-
e ver, Va lm ik i's S~nskrit Ra m aya na, whi c h dates · roughly _fro m th e
same period as th e ~aws of Manu, t~Jls th e hasi.~ story of Ram a a n d
includes this p assage : about the punishment of a Shudra ·w ho p ra c-
ti ced disci plines th at were th e dom a in of Lhe Brahmin :

.Q.n e d ay Ra ma saw an asceticp_~_tf9.tm.i.ri g". ~u~teriLies beside a ta nk ,

c'.(~vith h is h e ad down~vards and his legs up,var·d ·.· ~am·a-asked him why
,, h e was pe rforming such rites, and to which caste _h~ belonged . Th e
aS<:e tic, whuse name was Shambuka, said that he was a Shudra, and
,~ent through such austerities that he might reach the celestials
with his body.. On hearing this, Rama cut off his· head, upon which
Indra Ao-ni and the other celestials, showered down flowers, and
J .::, • • .

---pra ised him for having "performed Lhis "god-I_ike_W<?rk.'~ cy~lrn iki
l 896, 13 2) . ·

· T~e _e pisode, however, is not in the most · poptilar v~rsion o_f the
Ramayana, the Ramcharitmanas (the lake of the story of.Rama),.-by
Tulsidas, ,-vhich is in . Hindi and is the basis for the enactment
.
of. the.
story _in the _popular Ram Lila dramas. But the Shambuka story is
·wdl known to low castes, who identify with the mistreated Sham-
buka. It must also be added that the \1~llain of the northern versions
of Rama's story, Ravana, who was a Brah1nin and an evil man, prac-
ticed austerities to gain power. It was his abducti?n of Sita, Rama's
wife, however, that brought Rama to war against him, and Ran1a's
killing of this Brahmin was not a sin. In the popular mind there is
another story, ~hat of a tribal woman ·,vh9 :tasted berries to see if
they were sweet ·before offering: them t<i ·Rama, who ate them will--·
ingly in spite of pollution rules!·
The ·varna· system itself is still an image of human organization
that is the subject of belief, disbelief, and much comment. It re-
~eived sanction in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna, speaking to Arjuna
as his charioteer-0n the verge of battle, tells him that he created the
four var~1as according to ma11kind's various quaiities (IV: 13 ) and _.
that each varna _should ~o its duty, Arjuna's duty as a Kshatriya be-
 ( ·.,,\ -s·,-,_.. ' ". C:o ~ T L\ I POR.-\R Y J :'\"O I..\ '.LJ ,

i ng to figh L Ga·n~lhi.'s. cl ~~;oLion LO th e GiJ-a may be the reaso1~ fo~ his

belief in th e van,~ system, ,vhich he sa w as simila r to th e {our fin -
gers of a hand -all equai and necess ary. The varna system is also re-
fl ec ted today in the ce i ernon y of initia tion for Brahm ins~ Ksh_a-
·
triyas, and Vaishyas that <=:n~ble~ them, as the twice- born, to beg~n ·
the study of the Vedas and often .symb olizes super ior status . But, m
gener al,-va rna is not nearly as impo' rtant as jati, the small er endog a-
mous unit that may for the most part be fitted into the varna system
but that seems to have had a differ ent origin and certai nly has
g_~iiier: _rel~v~ nce to societ y today. There · are--p erhap s· 4,000 .j4.tis,
~nd they form the basic unit of the ·caste system . ·

Varna andJa t_i ·.

··{vThe varna system does not work even -~.- a

. : · · ·. over n 1a
.rot:
h outlin e of caste all
. rue, every w ere t ere are Beahm -ins 3and Un l"l--0
··
tQ_uc 1a es (a gro11?. n~t .mei1tioned ·in tl?e classi c t_exts) , soldie rs - --
1;·;nt5~·r;;;~~ ;s~'a rdsa11s ·ancr raoorers. But
ana ruTerS : 'm e~A Shu- - the .

dras, proba bly even as the Jaw books were being comp iled, were far
·
more than servan ts. As the Vaishyas began to specia lize in tradin g
and busin ess, the land came into the hands of Shudr as, and land is
the wealt h of those who live in India 's villag es. The "twic e-bor n
. -
castes " are proba bly no more than 1·5 perce nt off7thh'.e:".~_p~o~p~t""ll'"9a~tro,.;,.n,
and the g1~eat n~ orily~f peopl eare Shudra;, Untou~hables, Trib-
als, Musli 1ns, Sikhs , Jains, Chris tians, ·and Btrdd hists, with the Shu-
dras by far the larges t group amon g these . More over, in the west
~ ce~tr al a~1cl s~th ern p~~ts of In?ia-~ _the~~ar~-,.,~~-..~ '~ a~riya 9:'or
_
V Vais xas· a 1ougn so 1ers an rnerc ants O ex1s , . ate··cfassed
as Sln 1dtas..b~os@...fur--wholir·:v.arna'J~ nfean ingfu j: Th-e division in ·
theso lTdra mt"•Mafiarasfffra'is~Bfahrriin, Shuc ka:--anci''tJn'tollcna'6Te.
In the Il(?rt hern part otTna1a, ifie-\1aishyai·1;~;~·-6~;? ~~;~ ;t· ~'the
peop le," as the original Sansk rit ,vord indic ;t~d, but merc hants ;
and t~e Shud ras are peasa n~, farmers, artisa ns, rnusicians, paint ers,
ironm onge rs, tailors, golds mith s-tha t is, anyo ne who works with
his o! her hands . The Shud ra today has the advan tage of n·u mber s
as wdl as the possibility of wealt h ~rom land and in today's India of-
ten holds politi cal power. - ·· ·
'J IN ( : o \: 1 O 11 ' u IU I{ Y I I 1~ I) I · I s ;\ 1

t1:"),J;i ~
re -~ " 11 i I () r rn SI C is I h ~..i:! l i a!.'(~ I-~ c.~?!11 _;:I
ll: ~ I""'!
j "ti,iJ.!i,,I 11cl j a • . .
)II")° be groupccl ro11 ghly, , ·t i )' ro 11 ghly,· an lO lh ~ var na ..sc h em (: , a< ::---....
I(•~srimtnnmrth :-1\·jatl is ll5'lmtiyttmml 1i'iO"ii riii1 giT.i gc area a ll <l is
ddi 11cd by c·11 dng~_!lY-·(rn:n rii gc; ~j-~-hi11 t1,e-grdt~1'6o<l p r·acticcs
e €0
:u 1cl cliilng 10~e~!}.~:, ei1~?n-::~ytl·1~: .:~9.;~~!:!9.~~~:g;_~°:11e\~~-1_<~~
1,y -occupati o11 . It ,s th e ba~ ,c for m 0Ts~c1 a l o rgamzal1on, an d. large r
Cti.~tees ~ire drvfded inlo many j a ti s in e·ach area. It is \VeJJ to observe
th at the word caste, whid1 cove.r s both varna a nd j a ti, is from th e
w1iliHf,l'S of tl~c Po nuguese, who e nle red lhe west coasl of Indi a in
1 ✓1 9~. T hey described the g roups th ey observed as castas, m eaning
S}~~;c ics or breeds, tribes·, ·tace·s~: da'i-1s, or lineages .(Marriott and In- .......... -..-... · · ,( r,
'~l<> n 1985 1 34 8) . T here is no word in -the Indian la!1guages as inclu-
/ ~ivc as -".caste:" Varna. and jati are ·th e words used for the English
,. . v.ro rdcrute. ·
T he division ofhun_la~i.ty int_o j a li; in India will be· clearer:_rt we
•.. ' look ~ t ' the' cas-te structure' o( o~ e l anguag_,e a~ a before we COflsicler
~he theories cf' -·origin andth.e contemporary nature o(the syste~ :·.· · . .... ·.· ·.. ·_·
. . '

,· , ". . •. _._.· ·. . . . ... : ,. '!fie Jatis ~i Maharashtra

. .

. In th e .west central: state of Maharashtra, the threefold. division of

caste holds: !}rahmins, Shudras , Untouchabl ~.s,.....:rhe dominant
Bra hmin caste (but only in the . mo.dern period) is the_gJ1i~Eava·n
Bra hm-ifl~·e -n~e-6'hit/1avan-tan mean from the pyre" or pur=e i~

"pm e 111 h;![t." An ~Ilernate name is Konkanastha, which rneans

th_ey came from the ~{onJ.~.!L<;Q~§J...QJ).J.~rabia n Sea, an area just
be tow the_ modern city of Bornbay' or Mumb i. Their myth is that
tl~e god_.~!!~~-~~~..c~~~.~-t q~J ~}~ ...c..as,te...from..thy_ bo . 1es . hip-
wrcc~~-!~!.1?.E~1..P,_~-~~!;~~-o~.-~~~J?Y~~-'-~~~~~:.~~~? _life and taught
Bra hm1n ntes. The physical appearance of many of ~e. .. cas te 1nv1tes · · - h
t

--- . . .
sp eculation. Were they originally Turks Iranians E ··
Cr~e ~~~_Jews, Berbers, from further i1orth i~ India or,,vhgyat;tM1ans,
h ·1· , . any
ave aqm me noses and/or blue, green or gray e
Th Ch' , - yes.
e tlpavans began their migration from ti I .
the late seventeenth centurv at the . . . l~ coasta area in
k · . -, mvnauon of King Shah
as ed Balaji Vishvanath Bhat (a Ch't B .. . u, w 110
1
prime minister of the Maralh~ . P;;an rahmin) to serve as
. . empire. 1at post within a few years
 ~1ll o wccl the Bt.1hm in to beco m e th e chief I ulc r o f th e em pire .
;i

B r:thrn in doi ng Ksha tr iy;1 \\'Ork ! Th e C hirp;w ;u1 s n ever se rved

ZlS

pi-ics ls bu t <lid fl ock to Vara n asi lo be c om e St\ n.c;krif sc h_o lars. The y
a lso early o n took adva n tage of th e nriti sh nc<.::<l fo r En g lish s peak-
ers a nd becam e cl erks, admin i sLrc1tors , la\vye rs, schol ars, and teac h-
.
. ers, a nd in th e nin etee nth ce ntu ry th ey e n tered the politi cal wo rld
T h e bes t-known n a m es of tvfa ratha h is tory after the Britis h took
ove r th e area in 18 18 are C hitpa va n : a mong them , ~faha dco
.
Govin d Ra nade, Gopa l Krish n a Go khal e, a nd Bal Ga n ghad ar Tilak
~ -c·e ntly Chitp ava ns have ente red high- te ch busi n ess; .m any have
, 1\ 1i g ra ted to Engla nd, the Unite d States , or to intern a tional organ i-
,,. • za tions in Switz erland (Marr iott and Inden 1985, 348-356; ·z elliot
1.992 ' 68-71 ) .-
. - · The priestly" Brah.r uins in the .:tvfarathi-speaking area were and are
-· De~h astha Brahm ins, whose name mean s they come from the De~h ,
.·
. or th~ -~nla_nd· porti~ n of the mode rn state of Maha ~asht ra, but they
. -also · are 1oun~f in . ton tempo rary Ka.rna taka;· .the state jtjst to the
south . They served as v{llage accou ntant s as well as perfo rming th e'
.. pr~_~_stly duti~s 9f._,;1 -~:ah min . Their divisi on· ~_nt<?•Ri~~di ~nd Ya-
··
th e
-- jtirve di"Br ahmir is w~o ·e at toget her but do not interm arry, arid
furth er divis~on of the Rigvedis into follow ers of the. god Shiva and ·
follow ers of the god Vishn u, indica tes some t~ing of ·the comp lica-
tion of a single jati branc h. There are a numb ~r_. of <?.~l.ie.r . smalle 1~
Brah min jatis, but the total perce ntage of Brahm ins in the 1Iara thi-
speak ing. area is no n1ore .than 4 perce nt.
The larges t group ing of castes in the state are the fvlara thas, who
form abou t 50 perce nt of ~he popu lation in ~faha rashtr a and have
lent their name to the huge territo ry that was cente red in the area
in the seven teenth and eight eenth centu ries the Mara tha en1pire,
1

The previo usly allied . but separ ate caste the Kunb is, are now
1

grou ped as Maral has. They a~e lando wner s. Canners, cultiv ators.
and soldi~ rs, and becau·s e India is still largel y n1ral they have great
1

-polit ical powe r in the India n de111ocracy. After a tvlah arash trian
_
Brah min assass inated ~iaha tma Gand hi in 1948. Bralu nin powe r
· decli ned, and Mara thas domi nated politi cs in the state until very
.recen tly, when political group s suppo rting the idea of Hind utva al-
lowed some Br:'hm ins to reent er politi cs. Thro ugho ut prem oden1
and mode rn lustor y, the Mara thas have been chief tains and war-
 wh e n th e cas tes are · ·a ssign ed hi e rarc hi cal pl ;ices
, a nd th e i\'fa n gs .- .... :· _·.· .
Th e n ~ is no · · ·
ro pe mak ers and mu sicia ns, who ra nk be low oth ers.
hum a n .w~s te
Mar athi- spea kirig Bha n gi ca.ia e, so th e re mov e rs of
t, Raj asth a n , p r
and scav enge rs a re gen erally ·m igrants from Gt~ ara
do no t ge·n er-
th e Hind i-sp eaki ng area s. Alth ough lower cas tes nmv
rt to use a re~
ally claim a hi g her va rna statu s, ther e is an effo
selve s by. th e
spec table nam e . Cha m bhar s now pref er to call them
y weJl in _the
Sans kriti zed nam e Chamarka rs and have s~tcceeded fairl
er. Man gs, who
m()q.e.rir .,XQTl.cl beca use of thei r business base .in leath
· not ,n1an-
r n,q,v~caH ·them:s.eive s .hy.the } ,anskritic word J\;fatangs,. havei nk ben efit
ern econ o·
p .., to turn thei r trad ition al wor k in-to a mod
,.a~ed i-
• and are only now begi nnin g an awa keni ng of.se lf-re spec t and amb
. .
are land less agri cul-
.. .-~ tion . The grea t majo rity of Un~ ouch able castes
tural labo rers.
dup lica ted in
The cdm plex.i ty of the Mah aras htria n sc·e ~e can be
cast es invo lved .
every area i!'l Indi a, ofte n wjth grea ter num bers of
ty castes. Som e
·. Man y villa ges-_in the. nort h co.n tain as :man y as twen
to the l\lfa rath a ·
state s have dom inan t agri cµlt ural castes simi lar
An< lhra Prad esh
caste , such as the Jats in the ·Pun jab and Ha.r yana .
mos t state s do
·has a cast e that rese mbl es the Mah ars, the Malas, but
in the nort h, and
.·not. .Cha mar s dom inat e the ·unto t~~·h a~le grou ps
ngis , man y of
' leat her- wor king cast es are foun d .eve rywh ere. Bha
in the nort h. ·
\.vhom pref er to be calle d Valmikis, are omn ipre sent
t be con side red
The struct_ure of cast e in each lang uage area 1nus
nts in .that area .
sepa rate ly if one is to und erst and the caste mov e1ne
Maj ority ; BSP ) in
The rise of the Bah ujan Sam aj _P arty (Party of the
ible due .to the
Utta r Prad esh, for inst ance , mus t be seen . as poss
Guj arat , the mer -
larg e base of the part y in the Cha mar caste . In
er than the Bra h-
cha nt cast es, both Hin du an_d Jain , dom inat e rath
ts par exce llen ce
min s. In Tam il. Nad u, the Che tt(ya rs a~e mer chan
.
but are con side red Shu dras i'n. ~e caste ~ier arch y
leav es one with
. This sket ch ofja tis in Mah aras htra and else whe re
e. Clea rly the
n1an y que stio ns abo ut · _the ·varn a theo ry of cast
Mar atha s are not ."ser vant s of all," and just as clea
_rly not all Brah~
les fit into the
min castes are priestly. And how do the Unt ouc hab
the Aryan tribes
four fold varna theory? Clearly they do not. Perhaps
bro ugh t ,_v ith the!11 into Ind ia a loose class syst em
qf Bra hmi n
mop· citiz ens,
prie sts, Kshatriya warriors and · ki~·gs~ and co1n
 ,,-., Co:-:TF. '.\IP O R .\ RY Hi:,; nL· t s ,\ I
- .)-

\/;1is hyas, a system of three grou ps fo und in class ical Greece . Shu-
dras n1 ,1y have emerg ed ou t of e ith er un s u ccessfu l A r ya ns or n a tive
inhabi ta n ts wh o c ou ld no t acijus t to A r ya n d o minati on . T h ere we re
also tri bal groups o utside the sys te m. It _w o uld a lso se em th at Ind ia
in t he firs t _r_n ill enn ium BCE posses se d so ine-·so r.t of exclusi o n th e-
ory th at m a.d e e ndoga mous g.roup s p ·1~evalen t~'. and those group s
we re fit into the varna schem e; howev er awkwardly, by the Brahm in
lawgiv ers, whose theore tical works indica te a rigid system tha_t p rob-
abl y neve1· e xisted.

The Theor ies of Caste

r:sfi- 1:here are .many theories of th.e origin of caste, nCme of which_ i r_e,. a -
l;:,Y _to taH)' satisfactory. O ne 1s tfie "'"ra:c--e-·the-ory;""'vhfclrdditteTe rrtiatcs
in Inc w ~en _
M :ace of "Aryans" _from : t at o _e_p_e..up o livt;_ 1a

. • ~ 1_ -ryans ente:re d~(Risley -igoS f T_h_fs _theo ·ry~··omv- sets -J\ryan_·

. . ag~i"n s t Dravid ian, . a na m e used .for the ' langua ges a~d p~~ple s of
_ ... .-,· tl1~ -~~ur ;s_t~te~ -of s_o ~•t~ India. Anoth er 'is ~.!?,~~~~-~:1~~ ~llutio n @
te
-·- --~---··.· . · -.:.-.tl1eo ry,·.,,ri th the necess ity of the p .ri"e's'r=Jy--caste to malnta 1n aosolu
. a
" pu 1ity amh1,i e,._c;~t_:~~ o-~ .<?f _group it t the._ho.~tom.-,~liB,..i6~ i;hi'd all
p ollutio n .. This the<?ry was best elabor ated. by Q_~1__rpo 1_1J in his H omo
-fiii!NJ:rc1iuus" bl.it also .-i n .a ~trang-;-'w';y .,has been pres ~nt-ed by the
t'frrttn:l-diabJe · leader .~n1 schola r B. R. Am_b edkar; ·"v.ho he lei .that
the Brahm in polluti <?n and -p1.1rity ideas, which insiste d on 1nar-
riage ·wit~in the group , were then copie d by other castes , each
forn1i ng an endog amous group that was then ranked hierar chical ly
accord ing to degree s of pollut ion (Amb edkar 1979). Some schol-
ars hold that castes were forme d when tribal grOl,.t ps entere d main-
strea~ society, _clan becon1ing class or ~aste based on access to eco-
nomic resources. Other s see it as an elabor ation of certai n ideas of
taboo. Recently, caste devel opme nt has been linked to patria rchy
(Jaiswa] 1 998).
~ Earl , s~'1qla ru~l.1 !!S~..!~J--a«~~-9PJ'"'~-J~~l~Jc!t} ~_~9Q'~2..~.;.E~.~~. :.. ._!.he
~ ~a~~ -~~~~,: .-~~~~-----~-•:,., !IJ. 9.:.. .\.1.f.9P,eslo. P~PP -~-cpmt•)X:-~!! Q~?n-
. fl1c:;~~.: ~~~~~~rk=sk!1Jned 1.~~-~~~~1n..~ . ~f._i_h~ _Ian~. -~~~f ,icon9 ueJ :<l·,,.
This theory was 1n part base~ on the fact, discovered by Willia m -
· Jones in _the eig-ht~enth century, that Sanskrit, the langu age of the
 o f ;1
Ve d as. was i·e l,ned ~lose ly to G reek. ;rnd Lat in , form in g pan
·and . ·
hug e Indo -E n ro pea 11 lan g u tlge fa mil y. ~ 1bs..£ _~1~ ~ ~-c h
ca r e fui r eadin g of th e texts, h owe \'cr, indi ca te th,,t th e race
·1.fie-o ry . ,.
do es,roTi rcrtd-1:rp-:-T fre ..Ai-ya n s -- ( rem e·m be-r,~th e wor<l si rnpf
y-·m ea ns

"pure " orunobl-;,') d.i.tl..nol com e as a n in va din g ~ r~_c _b_ut pr~babJy ~

n iu m
tt ickle d in-to India ove r a p enod ol years in-tl1 c seconcfrniT fen
~C E7°adJJ?.Ji ~~u1e !IJa11gf1ag e~~ d ~tlielr..~wir.s~~oJit. jn~~~(~ti~
j)Je in·
n ot
hlabit ants with whom ·th ev mixe d . Sa nskr it conta-ins eJem e nts
~---19) - , •
'
-
foun d in the Greek and Rom an alpha bets, such as retrof l ex conso
,
.. --:· q~-~ --f\1~4 .iU.~ dear that Aryan s could be enem ies of each other
be-
,ii1d the group seen as those alrea dy in Ind ia:; ''D.-a.'shyas ;"-cou ld
was
.. i_ come part of the. rulin g·eJite. Most schol ars now hold that there
in Jater
~·_: a~1 ·e arly_mix of all gr~t• ps. "R. S. Shar ma has show n th~t
and
· .V edic ·time s .sudras -coris titute d a small servi le class of defea ted
labou r"
· di~p-(?ssessed ·Aryans and non-A ryans ·emp loyed in dome sti~
. ·.(Ja~~wa{_i-998, 70).
it shril.i°ld be noted that Indo-Ebropeari (Aryai1 f.'and Drav idian
~
.
·are both t_e rms of langu age, ·not r_a ce_. But to_day there is consi
der- · '-~- 2 C)
.beli_tf_in th"e race'if-ieor y- ~ amon g~ . ir)~ry pe opie. 1~ iie of .._l.>JV~ ·
--- ..·· -· ~.~ble______..u ---
.... ..,...,.._,,._...:._.=.. --
~ ...,l.. , _ . , . ____

ArQ.Q .~ ,Is~r's j p,Sist~!W..e thf1LeJlj,!}djans,z....were of one ra_c e.~a ny_Un-

c:;:;; ... "" ...-.· - ~- ,•,y.-.---, -·",_;,,,-,·,-..1a1 ... .....,....._,.... ~
. -=--. . . .... • .... ~,. ··-

~ ,dis- .
,..':!,!t

touch able group s beheve)h~ Y.......'Y.~r~~9~n.c e..:~:Lp rds of.th e Earth

~ J>~?seg~~ "'w§~2~!~~~~~~ ns fE-~ q~~r e~ Ih~ia :·Bt~t wher e did Un-
they
touch a bl es come from? Amb edkar , tbe.1r chief .lead er, thou ght
when
had been Budd hists, co~ c!!ltl"~""~cL!9 ~liJ~utside the villag e
u1'
H1nclu1s111 becam e totall y domi nant, proba bly in the fourt h centt
the
C'I!::-jha-i'rg75' )~'Ci-emes"'fl~s-tlie-0qi altliQ11gh he too finds that
~ en~f Unto ~c~a ~l.e ca~-~es l:d . ~~ a ,~~l_i? ~i_erarc Jiical sys- ~
tern 1n tlrelo urm centu r . I he classi c texts 1_nent1011 'a: low~~
1
orn ~
Cfian aaia w ose work was in crem ation groun ds and as vill~
gttftFd. and· thineems~.:o·belh7 p~~-t0 typ--;; ~tth~-u~;~~;~hable, ~~~t .~
tlre-idea·ofgroup'f ivitlilowe'r"st~t~i''ii-iin th~ Shudra is a later devel- )
~
opm ent (Jha 1975, 14-3 1; Zelli ot 198~, .. 169-171°). The term
avarn a, witho ut varna, was used, or· ancli.ama, the "fifth ," ancn ater-
.
'--' Unto ucha ble
as ns ·.ya not to be touch ed"), an t 1ose considered
were not only crem ation grou nd work ers-a s was the proto type
Cha ndal a-bu t also the removers of huma n waste and those who
............. ~ ..~ · - - - ••\_~• &"'If •• • , .~.- ,,. ... ..--•· •r.~. • • ._ • ~ • ' "' - .. - . ·• • ~ •·- • • ,._ .,

-
work ed with leather. The name of the Unto ucha ble caste of drum
'

.
mers (andof cours e the drum had a lealh er ~~1rface, leat.herwork
 Co~n.. " ro ,u 'KY l I 1:--. n l · 1 c.; , ,

being cons jdercd high ly poll11t ing) in lhc soulh . the Par.t}~ n. has
come in to Engli sh as "pa r iah " to mean 50111eo ne (o r"a dog) df -
spised a nd rej ected l>y othe rs. .
~~ No o'.te.. h ~JS p~ov.id c~ a ~1 c~~1;}'~'~':_~>:~~-1-~.z_ c.:xp~.i ~~~~-rl~:...:-.a~te ~ys-
V te ~ as n ~ x •s ts Jn Ind ia to day . 1 he cl,L')s1c al tfieory fon r-r.d •n the
Laws of Ma nu clearl)' was nc v~r based on actua l obscrvt1-tion , nor
were lhe harsh punish m e n.Ls recom mende d for crossi ng caste
boun~ laries probab ly ever enforc ed _by any s pecif~,e kingd om , but
the theory should be noted: Unsuit able marria ges betwe en caste
gr9ups produ ced new · and inferio r cast~s. The theory proba bly
€~olved to protec f th~•i>u rity ofop~ r-das- s wome n , but it may be re-
. '~pons ible for one of the basic rules of each jati-e hdoga m y, mar-
... riage only within the group .
-··

The Nature of Caste

k;\dl Two books have caused much relliink in of the natµre of caste and
(~ i 1sto_!Y. e m ·ost t orough (an<'.l coiltto ve·r sial) the_o r.y ?f _-~ __._-
caste pubJi·s h ed recentl y is that of Louis Dumo nt, who-s~ Ho~o H1.er.q -
,archicus:_The Caste Syste'fl!, and Its lmplic~tions was first ·publis hed 1n ~
.""'Fi'iifffi .1.n 1966. As .~he title indicat es, Qum_o nt ~~~~ _the caste system
· as totally hierarc hical, with the conce ~ of .. P.~Ii,!Y and eollut ion de-
~ J g e p ~ce -~ J• ✓~:.~~~te-_!? the h~~f~~~~i';-..Cr.it}.~ 3 £Et1m on t ~
hmre-accUsed'1iiiii of see1no- caste froTI? a Brah1 nioica · , ,iew,
of~-· --•·- 1sl0ric al tors, of settii1g aside the king-B rahmi n in-
.. . . -... ..~"'•1ato.--~
~ ~ ......, r~,.._,. ,,..~_.,...,. ., ,. ..
teraction with the power ·of lhe king at times domin ant, of leavin g
~little or no room .. : for agenc y . in {his] stru<:t nral unive rse >I.
(Parish 1996, 7 , of not recoun izin the links betwe~n econg mic .@
arid politic al powe.r an caste,., ~ .~.Yt!!theless, he has caused much re.:
thuil1ng of the impor tance of polluting factor s and the nature of
hierarc hy today.
Amon g those whose · theori es challenge or contra st Dumo nt are
Declan Quis; ~ (1993) , who argues for tensio n betwe e'i~ the forces of
7<'.mgship and the forces of kin~hip, which, con1b ined, cre~te order in
society. He builds his theory , with some criticis1n, on o~e of the earli-
est of schola rly theorie s, that of A. ~J. Hocar t (1950). Dumo nt and
1
some of his cri~cs, as well as
n~ajor scholars of Indian society, includ -

. .
 1:--D JA .'.l;j5
c. , sTE , ::-: Co~ TDf P ( ) R .-\R\"

-I 11\JJ.lU
· G . \ ·\,. GI u11Te, 1,\',.S... • - -· 9..u~......_,.
~i\J-<l.!J). T. N h cl a •.
;_,.__1\._:..~-
and___And
n ,.,_,,.._ --:-re - - i ll e,
- -Bete
rng 1
~e_:r_!~ ~- G ;!p _l:~5.,. :~-~_:.i:'! S
. ~ 1
~~t- ~ c~tlz_~~ ( 993) . ~ \
are represented well i1_:..~ ~asles of _W,J
Ano~-J rc au sin g quit e a bit of cur_
r ent d1scuss1 q~1 JS
1
.!vfind: Colo nialism and the klall ing..£fj\fg<J.'!!7!
:..f!!!!JS!..l,20 01), by N :_ho~as
a so SIC ers -m gs 1p as a . ac tor th
at cha ll eng esahy ..
ff s. If S C011

arsy--c1 omrnat1011..'bf ~-=mliifGls',' -~hu_f -~tiit'i 1gs--t

.§:'t!1e·- -r~ ~12:~ cer-
od clt_1e to
~t y -tl~a t· c·aste bec; in e far mor e rio-id in_th e coJomal pen
,subj~5=,~~..,I he argu~
the ritish n~ecl to cate gox.i.ze and. con trol .thei..r, - . ...
inen i that tl~e British solidified caste stru ctur e m
their-a ttem pt t9 tm-
.1'+1-~ HSUS.J )~.gJ JJJ. IO
.
~
. ~

dgls tand (and rule) Ind i a · is· compelling..

"
• •• - " I •

[.,th e ~~;>,!.~J-o_f · ·
iB.71, sq_2,!2,.lli,t~.fL~D:SL~ rL~ nge_d_Jn..hi ~rar.chjcal __orde
ranking wou ld app eal ·
"th e vanous areas. Castes dissatisfied with thei r

.
_ ./ ·fa the Census bur eau ,jus t as in e~rJier days a caste that f<=:lt
had _bee n challenged would appeal ·to the loca
i~·r_ights
l ruler. Mo st ~~-~or~ -
at late in "!JJ)/
m-
tant, th astes and 'Irif!!.s olumes began to app ear som ewh
surve s o(a ll th~ ·_._ · ·- ·
the nine een t 1 century. hese were mon ume ntal
gov ern men t_stICh .as ·
castes in a language area_o_r a -uni t oft e nt1s
F the province .of'.I~ombay, which included an area
from Sin d in · the ·
th. Tl{e·--,-\~Qi-k of.de: •_·· ·_-·--.· ..:
nor th to part of_Mysore (Karnataka) in the sou
p scn bing all the castes and tribes of Bombay was
disc usse d in i 885
sup erin ten qe.n t of
and -the pro ject -ent rust ed to R. E. Ent hov en,
ect was I-L I-I. fils-
ethn ogr aph y. Am ong thos e dete rmi ning the proj
r ley, whosM ,IJB/21LP/l ndia C,1908~ pres ente d a
com pr~ hen si ve cate go= 6[;-
p rization of Ind ian- peo ples in.to seven races and
racial com bi-nati ons .
il the · orig in of
The Castes and Tribes volu mes disc usse d in deta
and reli gio n; birt h,
caste; racial influence; infl uen ce of occ upa tion
s units; and ~o on for
mar riag e, and dea th cere mon ies; end oga mou
did not ran k cast es in
¢ac h of thou sand s of castes. 'Alt hou gh they
fhe cast e was Brah-
eac h ~~ea, _tbe.y_m.ade_very clea r whe ther or not
,r min . or.a ·.tr~b.e (ou_tside the caste system and ofte
n not Hin dtt. ), and
foo d exc han ge and
thei r rela tio~ ship to oth er caste.son the basis of
wer e rep rint ed in the
the taki ng of ,~ater. Ele ven of the stud ies
eria l ii1 the ..Castes
i 970s by Cosmo Pub lica tion s in D'elhi. The mat
pub lica tion of the
and Tribes volumes 's eem s co be the basis for a n·ew
that iden tifie d loca ted
"Pe ople s of Ind ia/' a pro ject beg un in 1985 ' .the 6oo'
as bee n add ed by
and stud ied 4,635 com1nunitie's. Mu ch.h
.

2 is on Sch edu led

sch olar s who par tici pate d in th_e series. Vol ume
Cas tes {t~1e word for UntouchabJes in commo
n use since the British

I
 1

go\'ern1n e n1 prep:wed a sc hedu le-or list-of castes deser~vi ng spe•

ci;d pfaccs in gove rnm e nt jobs a'n d p o lit ic al s 11~t1<:Lures 111 ! 935 )
~ (Si ngh 1993). T he.,9tt1§.H!!fS ~,ere r.1 Jso pr? d_11ccd ~ - ~!<:.~~~<:~_:~.ee-
@ riod · th ese d elin ehlcd cas te stru cLUre as well as geo logy, hi story, and C
s~:~rnTiliveafso Fee_;; reprTnte<l 1;~the current eraJ:h.e.~BJjJ.ish
c·Grta~!:!Y. 9.!.~~,L:\ ;r½al½ _,cas,te/ .but -tpe-y •most_proba~Jr soli-di~ed
the ~al,uc.e...oLLh,e,y,.a,rious-castes and made the hierarchKal structure
.__~
more rigid . . _
~ A. L . Basham 's monumental The l1!P.nde1:..11JaLJVas.lndi,a -C 1 954L
~ / used as a te.xt lo r .ma_1~y -~nt:~-~~-• 99rycoursesiTi- In·dtan history,
A
stfesses the development of caste through thousands of years.., with-::- ·_· ~

1
• 'ca~~es rising and fallin in the social scale and old castes d ina oiit ..._
.,. an new onesenle~irng(ne ·system~t_he·rfi½tfi', Qf]J~b.it,pallaP &,h-
._... -_ rrnn~ O§~P.-~~O'ne b<;>,.,Q<;,.~ were futJno.".Qo..ib.uoa_s_~pttl_J.~ Arabi~n-
Sea: seems to indLc;~_t~tli~.in.tegration .,.oLa .(o.r~igD gr91,1p_j ny~ the
. _ :· ~~te-systeip_. Certainly other examples from Mahar~htra indicate a
·.. Je~s-:than-rigid system when jt comes _-to \Yarfare .and power. In the
cou~se .of the eighteenth century tl~e Maratha· empire broke into .
five .pieces: three, Nagpur, Gwalior, and Baroc~a. _w ere headed by
.. ·. ilara-th.as, but the Brah_m in Peshwd ·(prime 1:11nister) stfll ruled from
Pune, ·and the important state of Indore w~s -guided by a Holkar of
the Jowly shepherd ~aste of Dh_a nga.rs_. . _. ..
Among the many other theories that challen _e an · eas defini-
. ~~ .... -· ~- . ~-- --- -
-tion . · · , 1y or an a ~~a~!!_gid sys~~!~~X~.!J::12s~ of Clo-
t§) . na ah-ej~r-("Ig'88)~vlio-a rgues for the centrality of a· do1ninant caste
. in any vtHag ' 1eory lfSt .. e,,e· 0 e '. '·-
...___l9_iv~ (2002).

~~~~j~-~1- -~~;:;~~:~;;e_
i~~v.;~(~;o;-~~a~~ni~*~~;_:l:l~t:. 1
~~

· a~~ -:!}~~~~!:.~.~: - ~i1~9n ~in~er C19i~~~l10~1~~that ua-(j)

drtrotial occupaoons could change, and both he and Suza1i'ne and
U©ycl: ·Rudolph ( 196'7)' ha~e pr~duced extensive work on the mod-
. ernizing of the Indian tradition:.
Ther_e)1as been ·some scholarship o~ the structure of caste as it
e.xis~ outsid~ the Indian subcontinent ~est known i eralaB~ ~
~__th~J_g§_g_s a~d__.}97()s, which argued that ·11 t e -

u ~:~nd.caste .in India c~~icTbe·-~ofitabiy'co'~p-a1-ed. I~ a ·

chapter en tided "Berreman Revisited: Caste and ·the Comparat_ive
Met~od," Ursu!a Sharma co~ments that Ber~-ernan 's co1nparisons
 ..11 JHO<:es.scs
l' n co u1 aoc us to t h ink abou l <rcnN ~I inrc, acrio n
~
~

l h roug h whi r h domi n.it inn is ac h iew:d and

rc ~ist; mrc cxp rcssc cr·
Che loH·c,;t
(Sh;u m~ 199,1, 73). Th e cl ea rest c.o rnparison nf thn sc in
strat a in anot her co unLry is Lh a t t o th e BnQ_·-------
'
a
work ers and hu l!:.h..cxs...o1Ja,p_ njf Lrn c 198~ ). Th e
·----.--kurn
Bnra
. ~----
lkum in ,. rh r.- le.;irher
in lead-
t ersl'l ip ofJapa n is in touch now with Indi a's Dali t (ex-U nto
uc hable )

leade rship .
~
---,--✓~-~Y-~:-----T-J.... 1e-=:-an;
: G)-
1
Refo; n~e~ of-~ ~t~- • ~"

ed the
r-" ... · Thro ugho ut the ages, indiv idual s and sects have ch a lleng
ne into the or-
. . rigl_~ fand justi ce of caste. The Budd ha admi tted anyo
bility, as
der of ~onk s, and those monk s did not pract ice unto ucha
haild of a
-indi cated · by a story of a mon k takin g .water from the
aine-d no ~
~han dal~ ,. -~ pollu ung indi~ idual . The J~i n_Ee _Iigi?n ~?i:it
e < litari an, as
· ··· • spec ial socia l mess age .in· its auste re doctr ine but ,vas
jon t at 1as ·
was Budd hism ·. Jaini sm has cont inue d in India as a relig
ajati , cons ide're d·on a
~ -- -.:· ...··-.. . •· -fl?, caste.S ,~itti~n it but is now \'ery muc h Jike
seem
,. - -- · pa~ with Hind u merc hant castes. The Baul singe rs· of Beng al
no inter est
to be with out caste ident ity,.a nd p-ie Nath a_e sthet ics have
thod ox .sect
~ in ca·ste. The Mah anub havs , a fourt eenth -ce·rittfry unor
havs were
in :Mah arash tra, totall y rejec ted caste . Btit the .· Nlah anub
beca use of
pr--
~. .pu~ hed out of the · main strea m of Mah arash trian life
.
their radic al attitu des and are not active as.rc lo.nn eru_ oday
p The_,.J?hi·J osq> hers and poet s of the .bhak ti mov e~n
swep (!brongfr1·n'd~i'rr6iilsouth to ·n·~;:th .in-th~· 1:;~-~odel~n
t.~whic h ~ff
period~...
po-
p:i · ..p1·a'-t_j~ed d1:,v9J,ional -cdig ion :rath er than 'rituaf. Man y \Vete-otlts
10

cir-
ken critic s of caste . They ~dm itted all castes and wom en to their
-
~ -
f
des of sai_n ts and poets . The philo soph er Ram anan da is said
insp ired the Unto ucha ble bha~ ta Ravidas and the Musl
to have
im-H indu
hierar- [p
',' Kabir, both bhak ti poets very..1.~u_c_hi!g~_in~Jbe. W£-l..Qf !=aste
e ,voids:""',:.
,,, chy. f&f)f.='iri his direc t and unor thod ox way put it in .thes

It's a heavy confusion.

Veda , Kora n, holiness, hell, womnn, man..
~ a clay pot shot with .-ir and sperm , • ,
•

r
\~he n the pot falls apart , what do you call it?.

~ -
- - 8
•>,)

N111n "ik ull ! Yo u 'n : rni~sed the

po in t. .
.
Jt's a II on e st.I. •·n ..rt11cl l,o ne ' on e fJl~S,IJJd ~111 (, . ,
(,ne blo od, o ne mc-a L
f rom o11e dro p , a un i\'c rse
.
Wh ose Bra I1mm. vv,T
.
· :, H' ho 's_$1u.iclra? {H ess an -~ . 8£
d Si ng h 19 3, 7
6)
, ·. . l C~g~ nds of Ravic s ma ke
1h e _eoetri an c de ar th at in th e bh akti
-~ .... ~ - ly
._.f :.. :;. .:. .,- ~- ---
ea st on a spir.itua1 pl an e. f-J e sp - ks of
reh g1on the re was eq ua 1 ' ea
th e high born co mi ng w ·hi • . f h· , th an d. thj s is
m in re co gn i uo n o
an - o bservatio n fro m se ve ra I I es so
!s
\\!O f ,bl .
o t 1e r .so ur c ' 1t p ro ba Y 15 tru e.
·~v id ~·h·i~ self pu ts it th is wa . . .·
y: · ·· .... ··
I'

I bel on g to th e Ch am ar cas
te
An d me n· of my cas te sti11 ca
. rry ca rcasses qn
.
· .th e ou tsk irt s of Ba na ras.
Bu t riow, be fo re m e, .
even the Bra hm in chief fall
s prosLra te
Because Ravidas,.Th y' sla ve,
· h~ .ta ke n ref ug e in Thy Na
me . (Upadh y~Y~}_99 _2 _,_.3 2 l-._
.
-
-_--
.. ·- .
··_- ---_·· :_ --· · ____.,._- ·- _·
~ ,

Ot he rs al~o ac kn ow led ge
d th e hi gh pl ac e· Ra vid as
am o ng ~II ~e n. G~n• .Ra md ha d ea rn ed _
as (si xte en th ce ntu ry ) pr ajs
es Ravid as
in this way:

Ravidas the Ch am ar pra ise d

Go d ,
an d every mo me nt san g the
pra ises of the Ol d Go d .
Th ou gh offal len jat i he be ca me ex alt
ed
an d all fo ur ca ste s ca me an
d feJI at his fee t.
(C all ew aer t 1992,_11 )

· ~-... In ·Maharash.tra, th e Un.to

uc ~a bl e po et of th e fo ur te
Ch ok ha me la, an d his family ~n th ce nt ur y,
cd ul d no t en te r _the te m pl e bu t we re
pa rt ·of a circle of de vo tee
s wh o a~ ce pt ed th em as de
a~ d fo ur hu nd re d of th eir vo i1t eq ua ls. ,
po em s ha ve be e~ pr es er ve
ages. Ch ok ha me la ac ce pt ed d th ro ug h th e
his ka rm a, ~vhich ma ke s hi1
a he ro to today's Un to uc ha n no lo ng er
bl es wh o de ny ka rm a as th
of caste, bu t he di d cry ou t e de te nn .in er
ag ~i ns r idea~ of po llu tfo n,
were po llu ted by bi rth an d sa yi ng th at all
. de ath : "O Lo rd , wh o is pu re ?"
.

. (Z ell io t .•
 2
f<;( 'I . t ."T r ' " c:o :,; n :"r oa .,RY f :,; 01 .\ 59

200.i)._\-ie b1~c1kti mo,·e ~2,1,l...'.Y~~ • in te rms of:_~~-ri~ l life.;_nd tl~ e oJJ wv-.J~
inner circl e i'nclusive o f a ll castes and of wom e n . I· ro m lh e thu:-- ~
re·eiui~ thr~;1gh th e seve nt~e nlh ce nLUri es, po ct;f7om som e fo_rty
diffe rent castes e m erge d in lh e Mara tn 1-spe aking area . Brahmms
did not dominate, allhou g h two of the most important saints were
Brahmins . Dnyanad eo, who.se· commentary on th_c Bhagava d Gita
(the Dnyaneshwari) is revered by most Maharashtrians, was a Desh-
astha Brahmin , son of a m a n who was outcasted for returning to
family life from a period as a renouncer. Eknath, also a Deshastha
. ~r~l~min, produced th e n e xt most important document,··a ..com· ·•· .. ·.- .-: . . .
-p~ent.ary on lhe· Bhagava ta Purana known as the Eknalhi Bhagaval .
.. ' He ~lso, however, wrote d rama-poems as if he were ari Untouch~1ble
.- _, Mahar, a Kaikai (wandering fortune teller),·_ a prostitut_e , . .a .M~- ·
hanubhav, a pa_ssing Muslim ; allowing each o_f these t_o tell_ of the _
g'Iory of bhakti. Most of the ·other _EOCt-saints 'were 'Sh't1dras, in~lu@ ..
ing ~ most beloved poet of all , Tukaram. . -· · · .. -. . . .- .
The SOllg'S oL all the saints, includTng those- of C~okham,ela, are . . .
sung on the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur, which all the devout · ··._ .
bhaktas, and a good many others, take-.i~rt.an--_~!.Oti_S_U~_l_lyjoyous ·s·pi_rit-: ·· . -- . ·
Each p'o et-saints' paduldias (symbols of footprints) are carried by a
. group of devotees in a dindi, and there are a number of such _d~ndis
in each palkhi, a pro-cession that begins from some saints' birthplace
or place of samadhi (religious death) and winds its way to Pand-
harpur. Untouchables have their own dindis for their own poet-
saints. The pilgrimage seems to breathe equality in the spiritual
realm,-but even here there· are caste divisions. Irawati Karve, a ·chit-
pavan Brahmin scholar, wrote movinglY. of her participation in the
palkhi from Alancli, the place of Dnyanadeo's samadhi. She was lov-
ingly accepted in a dindi of both Brahmins and Marathas, but she
wrote sor('owfuUy of the permanent caste divisions that appeared in
_the cooking of the.iood al?~ _th~ eating arrangements:

orie. ind the same clindi was divided

.Every day I regretted the fact tha~ _
into these two s:ctions. All the people-were clean, and they ate their
food only after taking a bath. Then why this separateness? \Vas all
this walking together, singing together, and reciting .the poetry of the
saints together directed o!11Y towards union in ·the other world while
retaining separateness in this world;>• This quest 1•011 ,.,... • • 1
.. •nS 111 my Inll1C
 :?6o C o \" T E) IP<>R .-\RY Ht \"n t·,s~r

.· 11 . ,· d 1 th~ Brnhmin
all the tim e. In th e same way. I h;~_c! b~come f t tt:11( ~ \\I .
·.· - · · k LI "r hc·1rts As I
gro u p, th e l\fa ratha ,rnmen h ad aho -la ·en me w 1e1 ' .
_ -1 · · d nm, one group and
co uld not bring th e groups toget Iie1 '- Jome , .
now the other, trying LO_construct a bridge-at )east as far as I was
con ce rned. After J had ·taken my ~1eal·with them, I felt that they were
more fri endly. tvI,<!)}X. oLthe1!1 walk~d alongside of me, hdd my hand,
a nd told me many things about their Jife. Toward -the end, the_r
called me 'Tai ," me,:1.ning "Sister." A few of them said, "Mark you, Tai,
· we shall visit you in Pune." And then one young girl said, "But will
y~u behave with us then as you are behaving-- now?'~ .. Jt -~,'.a~. -~ sjm.pl_~.. .-- .
./ f'question, b(1t it :-t'otiche·d me to the quic~. We have been living near
r each other thousands of years, but they ~re still not of us and we are
I

/ not of them. (Karve 1988, 153)

In· Karnataka, the twelflh-century poet B-asava1.~# went beyond

. poetrv and encou)J!ged the par~l)J:§_Q.( .a.Brahm~-A-a~(..Bntouchable
couple to let them marry. C_h~o.s~ g_t4..th...£olk>-wec-l-,-but"t' he ges-
ttw e-hasr em"a1ned~as-=-testiiffonyto his profound 9 e!i~f j n equality.. ·
The ·radical'andcas'te·~ bel1ets··ot Basavaiina,h-;wever, and his fellow -
.· · poet-saints, did -not ·. carry ov~r.. into the .sect that arose Jater from
that early devotion, the Lingayats. They now form a caste with Brah- ·
min ritual specialis~. a!}d ~o longer have an egalitarian attitude ..
These
iii::::'"""'
exal+lpl@s • frorn• the bhakci
•
mc5vetrt-erlCinc1icafe- t11at .
al-
though there clearJ.x wa~q:ualit¥. a·,; :·~r spi#tual.pl~n~ an<l 60me of
the poets, both U ntoJJ. chable a11d .J3J..<1hn:iin,__cond€r.ru1e-d ·caste, no
speqfic s.ooaLol.ov_emenWru::...a.11.-.egalitarian--socie~y -ar-ose · from the
bhaktas ..Jhe names of Chokhamela, Ravidas, Tiruppan Alvar, and
Nandanar, however, can be used to evoke pride among those of
their castes who encourage self-respect or are attempting change.
(;.;(\ ~ In the nin~teenth century in Maharashtra, Jotirao Phule ·
~ (1~27 1890) was a non-Brahpiin reformer from the Mali (gar-
. dener) c~te, an eautator and wnter whose fierce criticism .of Brah-
miuism and efforts to,_$ducate women and Untouchables ·are re-
~embered -~vidly .to~ H~ founded the Sacya Shodak Samaj
( tn~t~-see~•~g society ), which attempted to create ratiomd-h-u-
man1st~c rehgion and in its _day had tremendous effecc The non-
~rah~m move~e•~t itself be~ame political, tended to lose interest
m social equal_1ty .involving the J.owest castes, and in the era of
 . . ( . () .... ·1· L . '\ I p () R .\ R y .· J:,..: I) 1..·\
( : .-\ s TE I > . .. . L - . .

th e Ma rat ha s a nd niidclle-
i
pow e r to
de mo c ra c~· bro ug h t pol itic al
. _ f, ve m en t was be-
c1·
, lev el cas tes.
a Sa m~ •e orm mo ----:-_ - :, __ .---
R:i'\ In the Punjab in I 87 5 the Ary -r& f'3µ Bra h m1n wT10 reJ ec_t e
T,r
'<.JI u ~ by Daya na nd Sai-aswa tf fr8 d-a-n-ci=-Fe lB-r m ect rITn cl·tu1s m
g _ __
e cas
__
te
_
sys· ren r:t: trrc
- 1
;'S1 'tes
=
sec
ia, -ev
·
ive
a a---- =-----· IT?en dan
th tus g1ven cco r ·1-ng -to
baa ed on the lleda.$ , wi th varn·a ·sta
cte r. A lar ge anc l im po rta nt ed uc ati on al sys tem res ult ed , ~u t
ch ara za-
cas tel ess . Ot he r ref orm org an_1
the Ar ya Samaj did no t become .
an d the . Pra rth an ~ _~am .~ -~.f .
tiJ1g _a ~_l:!';~ pt to _d :_st r?y.~h.e . · ~
Sa ma j of Be ng al
. ns the Bra h mo · ·· :_ ·:_
-~~ ba y, pro du ced ref orm ers '<9
bu t las_
J atswal s
f=~ ste system an d no la§ tin
g_universal bro the rho od . S~1v1ra
te .
rds see m to be tru e: ~ ind uis m ha s inf ini te cap aci ty to tol era
• ·w~
d of the olo gy as lon g a
· s its cas te str uc tur e rem ain s un -
..',.:· an y kin
· ·..
ha rm ed " (Jaiswal 19 98 , 236). · _ _
c_a g e i!'~' ?._l'.ID_ ~rs _ ~~ e tw ent ieth· century "."e re E. V. Ra~ ffrl:'i
T~ rW .111. E..aJ:pasam1 L /
'· · · ma sam i , B. R. ·- Am _ _____ __
be dk ar, ... ~l'n
,.._\. d Ma
,..._'-"" .... tm a Ga q__g
'-"'' - h.fl
(G eet ha ·
· (18 7 9.:..:.~973) be g~ n .- his-:-Se
lf-Re~pe-E-~M e-v em ent ·in 19 25
·
20 03 ), dec ryi ng ..·c'°oc(~ ,~;ste··;.;;cf :s·ra"hm in ~- ;s a tri ple ch ain of
· (Pa dm ~ Ra o 199 8, 12_ 3 ) an d cre ati ng a pr ou d sen se of
bo nd ag e" -
· "A rya n" no rth . Dr av idi an is a lan
"D rav idi ani sm ," as.op p~ sed to the s
e ter m ~~~ d for the fou r sou th Ind ian lan gu ag es, bu t it ha
gu ag
, ·

be a rac ial .-te rm in the m_ i nd of many. Al tho ug h Ra ma sam i

· co me to Co ng res s
en t som e tim e_ as a me ?1 . ~~r o'f the Ind ~an Na tio na l
sp
an d sup po i·te ·d . Ga nd hi, he eve ntu all y left to bu ild a po liti cal .
pa rty ~ra l
Dr av idi an po liti cal pa rti es, sev
alt ern ati ve tha t cu lm ina ted in ew
wh ich do mi na te Ta mi l Na du tod ay. Ra ma sam i als o kn
of n
~tr on g sta tem en t Th e An nih ila tio
Dr. An 1b edk ar, an d tra nsl ate d his
of Caste int o Tamil. @
~-
co nti nu es to be the mo st imp~
B. R. Am be dk ar (~8_9~ -19 56 ) · ·
Ind ia s Un tou cha ble s hav e kn ow n. Bo rn in the ...
taric I etb ii~ i flg m e
-lp -:_
ing are a, he be cam e, witk=cti-e=he
Ma ha r caste of the }1:arathi-spe~k bia
l~e r of do cto rat es fro m Co lum
o}_ no n-B rah mi n pri nc es, the ho
rsi ty an d Lo nd on an d a bar ris ter . He use d thi s re1 na rka ble ed-
Un iye is-
al, ed uc ati on al, an d ec on ~in ic
uc ati on to spe ak to ev ery politic
ing rep res en tat ion in go ve n1 me nt bo die s an d off ice s for
sue , wi nn d
ch ~b les . He ~l~ o c:e a~e d _a hig he r ed uc ati on al sy ste m an
Un tou i be-
ut1on~_ l i e d ~ ith Ga dh
m~ ny soc ial an d poht1~~l 1ns~1t
pG1hucaf_:!hts an,;I legal pro tec t~o
n we~ {!!)
f
~ - t Raw-ff1K
------- . - - - -..- - --- - -.. - - L ~

t
 i1~11w 1 t:, n I a n tl jlr O.d ~ll l·l·\Jt., t_h ~11T"( ,wnrlhi 's h-c •1-i r f rn J1<·ht1
11ge of l 1e .1rt "
I ~11 th(: p~11 t or !1 igh!'I'- n ,s1y 11 IH _i 1! 11iJ 1111, L.11.~· ht~lr!'\~~~,~~-., ~ I Mc dc c--
l Ora te Wits th,; onJy way I ln t1H1ch_;!!>L<:.s c;c:>uJ d h;,vc; tru
~ po li,Lfr::a l r~p-
t'CS(' nt ,uit m , -c ~1nrlliI opp osed tliis spec ia l sy:-; rc ,n for
Unt n 11 clJ ,1bfes
-i·rr:t 4ia; i u111 0 dea th '' in 103 2, a nd fro111 tl1 al po inl
011 , 1li crc was en-
m ity be twee n Alllh cdk ar a nd th e Indian Na1_io nal Co ngre
ss . Bue in
(h e firs t flush of enthusiasm fo r equal ity as J11dia prog
resse d towa rd
indc pc nd c 11 cc, Amb cdka r was named d 1.ti r of th e draft
in g <: o rn mit•
tee ?f th e Ind ian Cons tit u tion and beca me th e Jaw mini
ster in In- ~
di~''s firs t. i nd cpc n<len t c«bi net. In the -e nd . h e __ rcj-cc
tc~l. lj in d uism L~
aiY<l initi a ted a Buddhis t co nvcrsio~1 move m e nt that
con tin ues t·o- ·
, '~fay.-i£~\"~T ;;i of Dalit JJJj<.l.c.;JJ.1cu1,ss~rtiQ~l..a.·he fs even mor
.... po rtan t ;1ow than he was du r ing his lifetim e·,
.im• e
·
,· gan dhi 's S_l~ IJ~~ .Q_n ~(ls t.C-f)-.C~uded-~ -f~ea t ·<:on1passi:o.i1
.. fo ~ Un- c&o·'\
lott_f hab1es,_wl~om he call e d_"I-Iarijans_:' .p.e 9ple
·crf Go d,-~-.-Aa me ..___,,
·. ·· "" pol1iici"ze d Unto ucha bies li keAniliecfka7°'rej e cted . H,e bro ~t'gh t an
Unto ucha bl e family-into his first ashr~rna an~l -.in ..
his l~t-te.r· yea rs
urge cJ -inte r-cas te marr iage s, but he uph eld the virtu e·
s of th e va rn·a . . .
syste m and devo ~e,c;.lj_i is~eo ergi.e~ J.Q,'.cJ~~~g~-.-01r9 ug
.
high ei;:_cast e s to elim inate .thci _r,:,·prej ' .... ' ' ··- r--:---; ; ' -- ·
®
h~c? i~vi1ic._f11g _t_!le
.
ttdic es crgamst Unto ucha bles .
Gan d.hi him self had gone agai11st the ntles of his j ati
(the l\1od h Ba-
nias, a Vais hya grou p) by goin g over the forb idde n seas
to Eng land
to stud y law and was outc aste d by that caste . He was
alrea dy mar-
ried, how ever , and this is impo rtan t beca use marr iage
_is with in the ·.
caste and som eone outc aste cl cann ot _find a part ner.
Ga ndh i's life ·
was lived in an all-India atmo sphe re, so the outc astin
g mad e little
diffe renc e to him or othe rs and has been large ly
forg otte n. His
quar rel w~th Ambeclkar over sepa rate elec tora tes, howe
ver, is still r e-
mem bere d. ~ .-- ··--- - - - - - - --

-·.~0 . --- ----- ---- - - - -· - - -

- -·., ~ · • r '

Casie in the Co'!!Jemporary Peri od

The lates t effo rt to deal whh all the chan ges of the mod
ern peri od
is the luci dly written and com preh ensi ve - boo k by Susa
n Bayly,
which is base d on history but also includes a stud y of
vario us theo -
riCS, cast e in everyday life, an? "caste wars and thC man date
Jenee" (Bayly 1~9 , 342). It conc lude s with the swea
of vio- .@ 1
ring in of K. R~ -I

& -~
 ..•

Na rayanan in l ()Q7 asJJ1e fi rst D a lit . to

be co m e preside n t o f In di a , •
a i1 eve nt o f histo ri c imp~rta n ce m ad e.·eve n m o re so by h is, acLive
antl co urageou s preside ncy. Th e asce n da ncy _o f Naraya na n may b e
relale d to the political importa n ~_e o f Dalit ca5tCS r\ow,a ncl Lhat i-m -
portan_c e in e le ctoral numb ers is pro bably the m os t impor tant
· . change of the ti1~es, but th e re are other ch anges . ··
(-;y N~w cast~ lusters l1~:~J~~~~!L~;>~Q~_d_both.1,~~~e p re!J1od e ~nd
~ m odeHl;;t>_eri-0,f).&..An example of_ th e modern period am algama tton
. . . ..D-.. . .
. .. ...
i.s .i. ~_.t!1~ ~-?~?rpti on of the lower-c lass peasan t farme r~ known as
_ IS\ITlbis into the large.M aratha caste. Premod er:n-f9. rmatJon s _~an ~ e_
/ ·e presen-ted by the Kayasth:a s:,•g/oups ,vhich entered Mughal service
,•· begin:11ing in the sixteent h century as adminis ti-ator_s, learnin g Per-
sian and relating fo Muslim rule as Brahmi ns~.the ·_ tradit~o~c1:la~- _
ministr atorsi w~re more relucta nt ·to · do. The Kayasth ~s cla~rrie d
Ksha(ri ya status, however, not Brahm in. Anothe r· group ~nown .all
over India as a caste are the Marwar is, people from a t~ad·i.ng ·back- _··_.> _-_
g,::-ound in the a~~a known as Marwar ~n Rajasth an, who ha~,e mi- · .
grated·all ov~r Ir:idia for· trade, money lending , and 0~1siness. They ·
claim Vaishya status. ·...-~:-_-_-.--· ·· -· ·· ··..·_ ....
~Je...r elati.o.oships ~re .m~st-a.p.p ar-e~ ~s...x iUag~~ ,vtiere ij;_)
. o~e,r · _
70 .g;__rcen t of pe?ple_hve. The rn1mani system, whereb y -t~e
serving .castes through geITer-at ions worked with "their" own jajman
(overlo rd), was importa nt in the north. Howeve r, in Mahara shtra,
t. the serving castes worked for the entire village at the di~ectio n of
the headma n, or patil, in a system called balutedari, and there were
traditio nally twelv~ baluteda.rs, includi ng Untouc hable 1'1ahat-s and
- Bra~m in Joshi (astrolo gers), who receive d ba'lut, a share of the har-
vest. In both forms of organiz ation, paymen t was general ly in grain
and in kind, and ·especial ly in the jajmani system it involved quite a
' ...
. bit of interde penden ce. As cash econom ies began to come iilto play
."an~ transportation from villag~ to city became easier, both systems
broke down, although most villages stiH-retain a number of castes
filling ~ertairi fu.nctions. · ~
The kinship and marriage systen1~ in villa$es have not been af-
fec ~ much by modernity. In norther n India, s ricfru\e sof -. ~
c!Qgan]Y.!! l ~at a couple .relate 1nore clo$e y t 1a 'en...ge ~- _
ITons cannot be married1 and ,never a couple·from the same village.
In the south and Mahari\shtra, cross-cousin marria ges-fo r exam-

•
 :! I) I ( :();\TE~ I p (JR .:\ Ry H I .'\' I) L" I 'i :"I I

pie, a son wilh l1is moLher's broLh er's dauglHer- are a lJ o ,re d :·1qd_.~"·: ·
vore{I, ,rnd th e co upl e can come fro_m Lhc same village. In both sys-
tems, marriages are. arranged and the kinship group is a n essential
social unit, com ing toge ther for weddings and fun e rals a~1d at times
acting as a for m o f soci'al protec_tion . Ivfarriagcs in the urban setting
are also usua.liy arranged, and marriages and funerals can l!_ring to-
aether
b ~
todav even far-flunab members of the lar.e:er family.
I V

Caste has responded to modernity in· a number of__ll:ay.s.:..O e wa ,

o.rc'1-tr~rt__:rt_v_.-L5rr~acctt:fc1c;e;dft:tlh1~
ro~~~tgrl_11
~ ,~.~d!~~~~·J 7fr,E,~c! ~·:S~~
cit~;-~~ ::__
0 -.~y~~~j~;~~~:2:.:~::::~;~:-:::::;~~~,~{;:~~~~~~:~~!~ . .·<
1
1

, b~ned·,v'i'd~ 7~omic factors, is.._that of the Shanars of Tamil Nadu,

/ who, based on the c~!}_0~~t..<2.ukl ~xtrac.t .from·--th e~r ownership
---of -coconut trees and the toddy __tapping tha~ was their profession,
a~ l 5 y Protestant Christian mission schools and the develop-
ment of coffee plantations t~·at proyided employment, rose to
higher sran,s aqci claimed-the _n a~e of_Nadar (Hardgrave 1969).
Another response is in ·c~ste oi:ganizatiO!)S, a response still apparent
when a group ·.of reJac~~_jatis is challenged. Voting as a block has
given large groups ·ofjatis pol.itical clout; whether this strengthens
caste or encourages more egaiitarian sharing of power is a matter of
current debate. .. .. . . . .
Change fro_m Sanskritizati()~--- ~o radical religious and political ef-
forts has bee_il ·do'cumented in Agra. Owen I )'UCb 's l..9,69 study of
the}c!~~y~ of Ag.w!_reniains the classic work oo the effac~of.aulJn-
1J.WJigb.. status...as..Ks,~1,t~i-y,ns. The Jatavs in the
to~chagl_~__s.;1~.-~~Q.Cl.aj_
1920s claimed to be Yadavs and hence Kshatriya, a daim their occu-
pation of work with leather made difficult to sustain. Myths of loss
of status undergirded this attempt, but in-the end thejatavs became ..
committed to the Ambedkar movement and were, as such; -the first
group in the north to follow his: political and religious path. They
co~verted almost en masse in the initial 1956 conversion to Bud-
dhism and have become more pmJerful in Agra politics through
great effort. · ·
The~o greatest changes today are in the cealmc o.Lnr'•iri.... d '
"affi · - ~- r--\.U.uKS an
. I~atJv~ action," th~ !ndian reservation system· in govern~:1u·
h --- .
6 ·~r--- . taaon:-n~
eStahJish.m~JjU::and:p0'1itrc-ai~sen ··--~1'1";,,....,,. began
n. r. nmueuKar
t e -rst of h1s _three political parties in 1937 with som~-success, but

/
 . I·•~ ~ l ,·<··,
I .111 I11s ,· 111 Re JJt1blica 11 r~,n,,
1~
-. is
11 1.51·I 1cc
·th e ·cu rre nL p,,n y cs ra)
~ ., • • '"'
ull l,
y i·,; a fe\v l?c a l a rea s . In th e so
fac tion a lize cl a nd p o we rf'ul o nl e ar-
sev era l par ties hav e rc c:c n lly ari
se n, one tak ing Lh e nam e of Lh e
-r--·)
e ii:
vem ent , th e Da l it Pa nth ers . Th
li er Ma h ~u-a sht ria n mil ita nt _mo · n . t! ·
113 co , ,- "til-e-f>r'H" ty of th e )
. . . ~ ~,._a~ .,.,,,.7
~y ;.u )... S~
mo st suc ces sfu l is the h~
t d b~--I~ansJ...i,!~n...auJ.1.n..to.!JC
major ity of tl1e.~p.e opJ G-J:'.....es ta l~li ~-h e U
o.ry ,1s__1nlltd..! a ,Ll_~rges t sta te, t
a ble..Sikb..-1.ts..Jll-ost -re n1arkat1le_.v tCC r
for L111~~e reriQ.Q~_b_}'. a ~ ha ma
tar Pra des h, wh ich has bee n _ru led
m~ Jh tr~-~ti.:3.VW.s:e::H.SEs l!.C ~.ss.,r.es.t.LOILal1.i gl.1.tx,_pQ bti ci ze cl
WO
,po.l.itiGa l-sk ills...(Ja f.=_ ·--- -- -
--
as wel l as on her e_~t [~ di] E!y
c;.tl~·te of Ch a ma rs
.-· ~ ,frefot 2003;-Pai 20-02 )': ::.: : · ~. ._-:- _ · ..

Th e mo st far-ra ngi ug....c.b.ang..e..in_.

m_Qd.era tim.e_s aff ect ing cas te,
in
erv atio n system. Th ere has be en
_..,. and e,~ n its str uct ure , is 'th e res
n lon ger in. the sou th) ~ sys tem
place sin~e 193 5 nat ion·any (an d eve
erv atio ns fo1: the · o
b: tto m lay ers· ~f soc iety tha t all m-v ed rep re-
of res -
all gov ern me nt- bo die s··a nd in gov
~ sen lat ion on a quo ta system in
me nt- aid ed edu cat ion al ins titu -
~rnme11t . em plo ym ent and gov ern
ste s .. an~ :f 'trib es tha t me t cer tain cri ter ia of dis cri mi nat ion -·
tions. Ca
in the gov ern.me nt reo rga niz ati on
we re _pla ced on a lis.t or sch edu le e
93 5, _ sq
an·d ~S
'- che c;lu led Ca ste s" and "Sc hed ule d Tri bes " be cam
0(1
s and Ad iva sis , or· Tri bal s. Al-
the na_rnes use d for Un tou cha ble
ugh .th e. qu ota s ·at the hig he st levels of off ici ald om hav e ne ve r
. tho -
has cre ate d a lar ge nu mb er of ed
· bee n com ple tel y filled, . the ·s yst em
ScJ 1e. dt1 Castes,
led no w kno wn as Dali ts, 1na ny o~ wh om ho ld
uca ted
Th e res erv ati on syste1n is con 1p re-
i1n por tan t go ve rnm en t po sit ion s. a-
s and in go ver nrn ent -ai ded ed uc
hen siv e bo th for go ver nm ent job
tio nal ins titu tio ns, bo th for stu
de~ ts an d tea ch ers , an d ha s pro -
cri tic al 1na ss of ed uc ate d Da lits who, in tur n, have fou nd ed .
duced a
cat ion al ins titu tio ns, lite rar y mo vements, an d self-help.. on0ran i-
edu
s. Da lit gro up s are cu rre ntl y dem and ing tha t the rese-r.vation
zat ion
t~m , or "af firm ati ve~act ion ," ~e ext ended to the private sec tor . · .
sys
uled Ca ste s an d Sc he du led
A rat he r passive gro up of ' S~hed
Tribes rep res en_tatives, ele cte d government bo die s by a ma j~t jty
·to·
creating ch an ge. Th e political
of voters, has been less successful in
res ent ati ves do allo w a cer tai n am ount of co nn ec tio n wi th gov-
rep
n:i ent be ne fit s for the Sc he du led Caste an d Tr ibe anembers, bu t
ern
res en tat ive s spe ak otJ t,in w~ ys tha~ mi gh t an no y the ina jor ity
few rep · ·
of voters wh o ele ct th~ m. . - .
 G _In ~ re~m::uion S!:Sten, _L!'."lc~·\\:':.n!.~~ m a~Si l'e_change .
Pnme i\lrn1ster V. .[:>• .Srngh ·of th_e Janata Party rm pJ e mented an ear- 1
li e r re po,·t fro-1n-·Lhe Ma1i<la~ -C ommissi on ----- on. th e need to ex tend
----- -
resc rva riau~~ lJu~,:. ~bac}_1va-r: d . .c astes" tHH~1bering 3,743. In th e In-
'

dian Co nstitutio n, reservations we1_· e limited to 50 percent of the

positions in governm ent, and because .the Schedul ed Tribes and
Schedule d Castes together were eJigibJe fa(::2 per.cent, that left 27
percent tha~ coulcl be alJo_tecl to _over 50 percent of the popuTaU011 , w
casles that were socially and/ or economi cally backwaH:I. Even
th5rngh this left 50 percent of the governm ent positions in the
V -rt:":'=7-::--=-= -=-~= ~ . - .- -· - -· ---
...,_~--:::-::--.--1:IB ~6f1h'e T5 or so percentoT Th etfire etrpper castes, tfH;re was a
., 'frenzied backlash ~ Young men, · chiefly. Brah'? io , pea tested by im-
... molating themselves, ~md perhap~ ·as ma·ny as sixty diecl. The ~on-
.- . troversy rages -on~ although withot~t Sttch extre'me protests .. "Man- .·.
dalisation " is a phrase much used. ·i:iow~day~~. b~t studies of its total .
in1pact have yet to be made. Togeth~ i \vith t~e rise of the political
is.
parties, the Mandal Commission· report .tiJe·mos't' ii11portant deyel-
• __ opment in conteinp orary politics.
The reservati on system, the conti_r1uin.g_sti_mu\us of the figure of

·(J) :a::::::~:17: t~=l~:i~: i :n~~~;~~: ~

:e:t~~a::~;;;;eal~~~- 0

dynamic of this m<?vement is that when Dalits claim land in defi-

ance of caste Hindus, use wells or ponds closed to them, oegtrra re-
lationshi p with an upper-caste woman, or in_·other words cross .the
invisible line that keeps them in their· place, ~here i~ ,iolence, espe-
cially in the rural areas (Nantla 1999). •

Many Indians will tell you _that caste is illeial in India. Unfortu-
t16} nately, this is li_ke sayi"!:}g '~rac·e is ~lle_gal." ~!1~~-~~J.!!.~~1 T~ India is
\__:1/ discr1min_aJi9}J__.;Fhe "Fundam-e ntal Rights" section of the Consutu -
~ o f India lists. the forlo\vi11-g"prov1sions: · .
- · .

·•

15 ( 1) The State_- shall._1:i_ot discrimina~~ .i!_g~inst any_.a.t1zens on

grpuriclso~-ilycJ religion, race, caste, sex, place ~(birth or any of
the-m:--- .. _....
 (2) 'No c i1izc 11 ~h:111, rn1 g ro,md s only <1f 1efi~i,rn , 1ace , Gt~l~, i !:.X ,
pi nce u f bi n h ur ,111)' of 1hc:111 , be .n1l1cc1 LO an~ di:<$11bili1.y, li ~bility, re-
stri c ti o n o r co ndido n with rc grlr<l to-
(~) acct:ss to sh bps, pu blic resta ura nts, h otds ~nd pfo ce.s of pu blic
c ntc rt.ainm c nl: o r
( 2) th e use o f we lls, ta nks, bath ing gh ats, road s ;m d places of pub-
lic rcson maint~in e d who lly or pa rl)' out of S ta te funds or dedicated
Lo th e u se of th e ge ne ral publi c . .

f\Jit:icle · 17 is ve ry clear: ...... :

.:J,l_ruQuchahili_ty " is abo'Jishe<l arid_its practice in any form is forb1d-

' den. The enforcement of ;my disabflity a.rTumg ~ ~f .. Untouc.habil-
ity" shall be an_offense punishable_in' ~c~ordance _with law. .

At the 2001 . World Conference .agains( -~ qs!.11 held in Durban,

South Africa, D_a lit ·representative s p_Jed for the ·ipdusion of Un..,
touchab]es as descent-based groups akin to ra~~ gr.c ups and sub- ·
ject to discrimio.a .ti9~ --~~---su~h.:--The · go\'e~en.t _·of India denied
their claim. · .--· · · -· - · ·· · ·

A sophisticated and very honest editorial by Narendra Pani and

Shiv Viswanathan on the current state of castes. in India appeared
on February 22, 2003,.in the Times of India.

Does caste still call Lhe shoLr inJ!JP.f.km, India?

}fa. Caste ts as f!'wl us you want, as global as you can gel.
If you drop your ideol_ogica~ spectacles, your secularist contact
lenses _and stop -swinging- on the indifference curve of right and left,
your vision clears and it is appar~nt that caste lives and calls the shots.
Cas.te is cont-int.iall reinventing -~~C..~ Caste is to-day what caste
does. It i~ ~est understood-not as an o o ·st code but a new in-
strumentali~t grammar that shifts from context to context.
Caste has shifted its original axis from a horizontal per~pectivc lo
a ~ider vertical amalgamation. It is part community., part association.
even cadre.
 :168 Co :\' T O lr On .\RY H1 ~ D l' I \ "

@- \\'c hare tod,w casles f11 nc ti(m i11 g a~ n, te banks, creatin g 1li e ongi~
..........,._"""'~ --- • .. .wA,/

n at T-e llo"· p.,gcs as cas te di1ecto ri es, p rm·i<ling caste as-sod .i tio ns for
u rba n migra tions a nd se1Tices. Caste is as Joe.ii as yo u wa n r, ,,s glo bal
as )'Oll c-an get: Betwee n its rigidity a nd its plasticity~ Gls t e c rc~ tes _a
civil s~ciety of welfa re in ;i state without sec uri ty nccs.
It i'S _the divc_rsity of castes still p e rformin g different fun ctions ch at
sustains ·our diversitv in ritual and botani cal life.
I

It creates new ci\'il so cieties of compe te nce and re~ief a ll owi n g vie~
tims to recm~~ from disasters . In fa c t NGOs {nongove rnm en-taJ or-
. ~ ... . . .oaniza{ions] have a .. lot toiearn from caste.if they wish to tra nscend it.
. v~· . . ... ...... -.
<· Caste today can be understo od in terms .- of- two_-rne taph o r~ h e .
'i orga~rnsm and the virus. An organis~ Jives m symbiosis with the host ·
.,. -· or the e t W w ~ s destfo~ ·
Ca~-s·or ganisi~ ~;~ym biotic spaces in the city and .th~ Di-
aspora. But as ·virus it can be 1eihaJ providin g an edge of violence to
the future.
Caste threatens the discourse of citizensh 1p but as a Mandali st dis-
~m~~se:·it._ha~ pro~ided the dynamics of middle caste electont l pol\-
tics. Mandalism redefine s the worJdview of fodian den?·ocracy, ope_n-
.ing possibilities ·and yet truncati ng democra cy i~co horizon tal
segment s.
__ But while caste js prot~an for the middle castes,: it is procrust ean
for the Dalits. As vote banks Dalits have entered politics in a big way
---yet DaJit politics .is a reminde r for the limits of casteism. It is ;t re~
minder th,a.w;J~ ~ e s - - ~diea~ l~ i;m.s...o( cast ~- .// .__.-
~ g.A.emooratiq-po·fi-t-ics- in' tne·. very,,a<;t,.ot: ope.n in g it.
Caste eventuaJJy is a gramma r of symboli c violence terrorisi ng V\tl-
nerable gfotips 111"s egme nts-:'Tts.mor a'Iinaiffei:enceanc r1ts-tech ~ oloo--
icatiUirera·cy are- caught in the figure of the s~avenger. The presenc"e
of scaveng er ~·nsure-s that caste narrative s can never deodori se them~
selves. .. · ·
:.:.,_ ,_-.!:.t~e m_oral imagina tion, ,,,,,.,.-
renderin-------
' --......
g democ!"a ~
. l.]J/
c a ri~
0
h1s Janus edge of caste that turns the ceJebra-
. its inventiveness into a wall. Castes hide this often by operat-
ing through diches. In fact a cliche sums it aJJ. 'Caste is clyina but
long Jive casteism .' In this, lies the pity. (Source: Times of I~dia
.~~~~~~ • I