CUASSTIME Ans.

)Critcally
Ques)
Caste what Ihere the But Socfal
ubich ambg the with
the twentih|\Ower
got fonalSymmetry the.In
System
Nara fmmobile System
Caste the
0 wee Scfentists caste caste
played
Sevedal
hfstonians establishment
colon'
poe-al
centur
jati system sharp
ferk. examinme.
Hhe Sy6temthe
the MOvements
Of
and
to System
atuse.
later0n
factors
mam
Stated acuteHindu
and Indían
fnfm Ihe forms
mafnrole
Ihere
opiníonegaraig
that wfthin socfety
Caste
perfod
also about
IndianS0CLal colonial
due late
of
among Indian colonial the
aboutbehindthe ts the distÉnc
Hon. Teqional
lopmemt
devethe Siensts to
emesgence thenis depended
lot socfety mfnlypower
onandnfneteen
COnsolfd
aton Hndu
socretyrule ,
toxsftQhce holas Sc
tÉnctions
castedfsHindu
varâtons
emegence and troditthe But th
ControvezSy is Soctety
despfte and
sti|)
n n
 Title. Date
Page. 2

Colonial rule CTeated Condtons and Set prOcesses

moton gowththe MOn -
Brohman fdeology- amd emegence lower
caste movements. Ihis Was becausey the 0ne
hamd there. Was dÉrect attack the
institution Caste by Protestant missiornaries
Ond the other classi fcation Castes
accoTding to Dumbers the censuses made
VIsible the disTepancy between numezcal strength
Socfal poivileges Df vornfous Castes
Before
omlyzing Phule's mDveMent SOYne other lower
Caste anti - Brahman movementS, it is impoztant
to Reep in mind the mpetus ffered by ethno
graphi SurMeys and Lons the
fact that they cotegomized Ind an bodies hey alsa
gave them auanitatiie Naues
Herbert H. Risley,
colonial adminishrator who started
he Census Inda gave his oUn
caTTyig
dea
the castel yam. system. Accoding to hirm the
psedominant foctor fn the evolution 0f the Castes
was the acial factor. He used the. nasal ndex to
aisaingufsh behueen Aryans
Aryans
Louis Dumont a enowned Soc>ologist , n his book
Hoop Heirarchícus aagueS that greatest
the

pecullaíty the Hindu soctety I e s n that4

ts hferarchy
W
harmonfous. Thës hierar chy , namely
the. CAste system has nothng to do with
materfal amd euonomfc factors. Ihe eleme nts that
CLASSTIHME Caste System and eyen bullds it
ldetemfnes the
 Title. Date.
Page. 3

up, s the ftualfstfchfeagchy. The mst fundatn

-ental elenem+ of ths fdeology s to bufld up
entxe Social hfezagchy babed the logfc
pusity. polluton wfth the Bahn ans at
ts apex, and the untouchables at ts botton
1hus. Dumont tbe 0f Gerald Berre man ,
adopts baahmÉnical veew op COste.
He fafls to
explain the fact tbat uith the development
ndustes amd Capitalsm COste TestocH°ons
0ccupatlon and commen Sa) prefud'ces bave
been weakenfng Steadily denonstYated by
Qnd E.K. 0nly Chaxac
-terlstc featuse that persists endogany
On te. whole , 4S Ghu7y put stress Onthe
acfal osigîn Caste System Besides him
N.K. Dut baumar and R.P. chandYa also

|Suppogted tHis fdea 04 acal ofgfn.

INícholas Yany Subalten Hstoxtans
Such Pasth Chattexfee have. put foTWazd
the about the studies the colo nfal
admini'staatogs Hhat they nvent 07 fmagine the

Caste System. It was Hhe colonalgulng cass

which establfshed the caste System n its
0Ssified form. AS pe thef Caste beomes
Onstuct the colonials ts.
Susan
Bayly n
her book Caste and Politics in Erghteenth Century
India has Caitefzed this líne. Of tbaught
CLASSTME
Nicholas Dis ks from he point of view
 Title Datc.
Page.

Braboanism
produc t Colomia)s m
and ts hegemony
though
were

they were
certainly strengthened by ît Jhe boahmfns played
a signficamt ole Construct í0n this.
colonfal Rngwledge amd the collabora hon of the
colonfal State matfve el'tes Could be
Ldiscegmed thoughout this emtire. pTocess. Jhe
collaboratfon betwee the colonfaL State and
thee natÉve elites Qnd feudal classes Was neithe
cOnstruct but
magínatíon no WOs

Stark Teolity
M.NSrnivas proposed the concept of
SanskritfzatioY to descaibe bow lowe Caste
adnpts the CUstoms practces. highex
Castes 'n order to fmprove their Social status
5rinivas Chalengad the toditonalL V'ew 0£ Caste
0S Statc and unchanging System y guig
Hhat dynam'c and (nsttut'om
that is Ingluenced by factors Such urbanizahan,
ndustalízaton and educatom.
has
Tefered t0 Hhe Indion sotfal or9anízaton
Caste feudal socety with Caste Lclass coDusTon
|There System gradaton with
the middle meg'ons where dÉfenent
ambiguity yied fD Status.
peasant Costes
Ash'sh. Nand
made futile to pTesent the Caste
Telated Studies the colonasts as machin
-a+fon the gatfonalfty of Enlightnment and
to show Onfental nnocence apaSSI NeVCTm
CLASSTIME
 Title. Date_
Page 5

Sunit sar kar n hfs book Beyond Natonal'st

trames. has shown that this Cultuse (oitaue
of coloníalsn ultmately allígns tself with the
TeviNalfsm Of the extreme Right in Cose of
|Conm unalism and also Castfsm . Ihis whole logic
cíxcula and self - 0ne
defeatfng
Caste Movement of the colonal peafod had bo0adly
dfstinc+fve. chaacters tesms their
|objective. Gafl omvedt has shown
Hhat the amti
Brahan caste movement in Maharashtra had tw0
equal Nave 0thodox wbfch Was onganized
by elite Boahmfn groups who depended
the Bait'sh goveznnent and wnnted to upgzade
them selyes n Soc'al the tradihònal
Híndus 0theg prngessie led

by Jyotfxaophule. Ond late Ambedkar who

wanted to abolísh caste system. and establish
cOsteleSS. society
yot'rao Phule the Mali
|Caste, founded Hhe Satya.sodhak Samaj in8t
mOveTm ent
nitating
Mahaashtra. Phule
the mon 8ah nan
bel'eved that Brahman domfnatan
Hhei Comtol OVeT power amd appoztumit'ts
Wese Tesponsíble the probles faced by
Sudra amd A+f Shudra castes. He afmed to unte
non - Bsahman peasant Castes and dalit gooups
COTNOn movement. Howeves 9 n the 1S 80s
and J890s the fDcus. shÉfted towaads mobílizing
the Kunbi peasantr and contesting the claim
o fthe Brahman dominated Poona Samvajamik Sabha
[CLASSTIME that peasanty Ihis led to
they epresented the pea santy Ihis
 Title. Date.
Page 6

shift touwagds psfvileging the Maatha fdentity

amd asserton f their Kshatríyahood, which.
at times appeaved to be dangerously close
simple Sams koitization clafm Ihe DOn - Brabmin
movement Mahaashtxa develop ed at the tum
the centuy two porsalle)
pasallel tendencies O
One
WAs Consevatfve , led by xch nOn - Brahmfns
wbo 0ganised Separate and lbyalfst pazty
the Non - Boahman Associaton They pafmarly
focused achievig politca) epTesentation. and
gavegnment fobs for non - Brsahmins. On the othe
hand the mOve nent also had gadial trend
TepTesented the Satyasod hak
which Sanajs
ldeveloped "class content" by axtfeulatíng the
Socfal dfchatomy betweem the BahufanSama
masses the 6shetffbhatf - the
meTch0nts amd Bxahmins. The Baahmn move -
n and fresh
ment brought
Hhe
enesgt
Congzess's stuggle against
pespectve to
Boiish ule It also Contibuted to the So cal
tonsformatfon 0f MahaashtTa by challenging
he tsoditíoal. bfesagchfes of caste ond gelgion
Snd psomating Social eauality andfustce

assoate
In Madras Presidency Caste mOvement was
uwith the Vella)los and a Dravidian tdentity.
whege the Baabmins
in late
(entuay cOntext
af the populat'on
3percemt
constituttng
monopolized
less
42 1.
than
of goven nment fobs. Advanced n
heig Englfsh education , they valoaised Sanskat
the langunge of classt cal past, and showed
(CLASSTIME Afsd ain for Tamil the
pulbllc. the language of
 Title. Date.
Page.

ozdinamy people This motivated the Vellala el?te

upbold thef Davidian fdentit y Ihe ant
Bahman moYement found ts polttica fors um
n the Justice that Came fnto beng n
1416 (onsciously constltuted
non - Brahman. Tustice
the Justice Pasty pub)>shed a
Non. - Barahman Monifcste and opposed the Conges
he paty showed its f u Ioyalty to the colon'al
Ladmintstratfon andvied fox pratuileges offered by
govemment - sponsoed TefoTms
Polazisat'on
CAste affiliattns was eoser SOuth , given
the absence complex Caste middle 0rde Bo
the TegionAlso, antf - bxabmin MoYerment cofncided
with amti Ayanoye ment

ideo floated by the British, he

Paimanly
aSSociat'on
bzahmins wfth Anyan and non - brahmina wth
Dxavidionism allbuwed altenative ethnic
tàenty to emeTge. Caste dppeTences
eajated wfth Sacial amd ethne difeerences.
Chgistopne afrrelot In his w0xk Sanskaitz atton
VS. Ethnicizoton India. díscussed COncept
ethnícizgton poocess whene the VaTouS
cOste Seosched fos the egalitan fan altegnative
cultuga) Ydentty. He argues that wbile Such
ethmicizati'on process endowed he loweT Castes
and even he untouchable Of South and West
India with egalitan an fdentfties Such
not to the SaTMe
CLASSTIME
Mental enan cipat'on
extent in the No th.
 Title. Date
Page 88
Jagexelot hypothesize. that th's Nog thLEost
South West comtrast is lagely due to. the
Tesil'ence the ethos 0f Sanskntzoton fn
the. H?ndi_ belt.
Ihe ethmiczathion pocesS that took
place
to te
n lest and South Indía
the
Was
loxgely
Pdeas
due
impact EuTopean
gated by the missionaies Ond the schools
In
NoTth India whtle Caste associatons took shape
eaTly date
hey did not prepae the
gzDund gesilient ethnicization procesc
but perated uithin. the Iogic of Samskoitfzat'on.
In Punjab the Cultual mobilisation 0f loweT Castes
is Connected to the gm0uth
egalfta nían ideolog challenged the Bsahmamical
dis couSe howeVeI unfnunately the Skh soiety
Could the pract'cabilihy f Such
praolong
egalita ian painciples. The Adi Dboam mDYeMent
1920s and Ravidas Deas played
histoic Sole the {0DMOtion
ConsciouSness Pumjab.
The fact that Ravidas belonged
One Of the lowest CAstes LChamoan allowed
of Dalit
him to act
catalyst
cOYnsciousness fn Punjab Mangoo Kom ealy leade
Hhe Adi Dhanma MoYement fnstilled
lpside mtnds of Puníabi Dalits. Leadexs f
the movernent emphasised that Dalits the
0giqinal inhabitants of his land. hey used mages
of Guu Ravidoss emblem took his
CLASSTIAME) VezSS Saced text and Systematically paafect ed
 Title Date.
Page q

legends to concre tÉse the new Dalit Cultual

space. Now Dalits dentity emexged thzough

ellgious Pomadigms endeovOus revive
Dalit histoy cultuTe ond hexitage.
In contrast
to lowex cOste moYements 50uth 0nd west,
mpYenents dfd not Teall y chchall enged
the. caste System t is because in his
Somskaitiz ation COntin ued to exeot
stzong
Contibuted
nfluerce
divisions
and
he lowes
decisively
CasteS
the.
accordng to the
to

Ynechanism.s ofAded inealty

In Benaal also,
Caste YmDveNent Were Started n the colonal
pesibd against he age old devastating amd
harmful CUStomms fnpased by htgher COste
people 0n the. Narnasud gas untouchable COte

Unde he leadership
of Hamchand Ihakur and
bis SOn Ausuchand IhaRur the Matua' Telgious
Sect deve loped late nineteenth
ROsten pagt
the

of BengalL Meet
centuy
cextain
Social needs the mobile peasant
upunTdly
conm unity Nama.sudras who gained Solidaity
and self conidence thsough the help af the
Motuo Soc0 -geligious fdentities.
Sekha Bandyepodh
his book Coste Protest amd Identity
Imdia' Studied
n
Colonia the Namsudras

by focusing the paocess f fo matian

coTnmunity dentity- He agques that Caste mOvem
-ent did not ozginate only fTom the prospezity
(CLASSTIME depaivathion. 0f ts mem beTS. wee
they
 Title. Date.
Page |O
exclusiye expressons of eithe am bion
Lprotest TepTesented
hey convegence of
dis+'nct fdeas and 0spvatons at the pag t1°cula
histoica) functure. As with moYement fn south
and west Namasudras 0f Bermgal came together
as meams pxotest
movement nent only to afsfntegTate and merge
wfth dffferent pollhcal trends n twenteh.
Lentuay. The validity of Bondho padhyay's aagume
becomes 0ne poobes the teS
whfch the adical Brahmana. and
Dalft discourSe wee posed. whfle both
seNegly ntero gated Coste related oftual disc
-fma naton haped the afust'ce of
the practice
hey dew
heavfly the
model to fo1ge comMuniy
as Bandyopadhyay shaws, thfs contingent COm
-unity apart after pofnt Qf H'me,
the Sym bolfsm the Vaona alsa
allowed
andt
the
Was
shaping
this
newer coNm unities
complioated pocess that
mmade caste
ldentity In NoTth and East
cuntTastinn South Ond Wesi the moblzat'on.
lowe Castes stopped with Coste
05Socfatons. establish the'r
claim 0n ethmi
m40undS whfch prevented
oat'ans ke the
them
DTavidans
fom
shaping lage
Bxabnman q7ouping In fact,
Stagted to mDve towazds the fomation
hey when the State exten
(CLASSTIME
lage fonts only
- ded its dfs calmfnat'on polc
Compensatb4
 Title. Datc.
Page.

The schema there fOTe has dvded

and held togethex the eve elusive fnstitu
-+on caste Im potant wOrks that have
focused speciffe caste gz0ups. partfcular
Tegfons hav epeatedly pofnted to the nnatel y
Changing mture Caste.

Caste has alway

been about nd Plegs that fs,
ispaltcal , but the perceptHon Caste.
300ted whfch s taken to be
elfgíaus and itual with basis n Hindu
scatptuges thatgot pexpetvated duag the
colomfal pegod continues to 90eTn. actvitfes
caste.AcHNe pastc'pat'on Of valous
g70ps havee definftely fashfoned caste fentities

COnclude the foTmulaton and Consol

dation. coSte dentity duaing the late
Qnd eaaly 20 centuy was the omplex and
multiface ted proceSS H happened
COSte
thsough
the BoHsh
the
albng
While Hhe omiy 'nal fotent CensuS.
may have
been to gather data that Could assist fn the
qoven nance, the effect the analysis Went
far beyond these goals eventually lead'ng to
emeTgence. of Vafous caste mOvements In
A£ferent poxts 0 India

CLASSTIME