SUMMARY CASTE IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA BY ELEANOR ZELLIOT

Caste is one of the most pervasive and controversial aspects of life in India. it is found in all
religions in India. Only tribals people are totally outside the system. It is a form of graded
inequality with varied but distinct hierarchy wherever it exists it has been a factor in Indian
society for at least 2500 years. The origin of cast in terms of classical text has been described
in the introduction of this volume in terms of the picturesque image of primeval man creating
by sacrifice: Brahmins from his mouth, Kshatriya from his arms, Vaishya from his thighs and
Shudras from his feet. The word Varna itself means colour or covering, and this has led to a
racial theory of caste and has become one of the most controversial of the many theories
surrounding caste.
Books that were created in the first centuries of the common era vastly complicated the whole
notion of caste. The symbolic book of brahmin authority is the laws of Manu.This book was
particularly harsh and strict on the character and the ideal behaviour of shudras and often of
women as well. The shudras (women) we're not allowed to recite vedas. The punishments
that were given if a shudra intentionally listen to Vedas or recite Vedas were usually
horrendous and horrific. The classical text also explained one’s birth in a certain caste. The
laws governing is different for each varna and caste. Duty is a strong and loaded word in
India, but it must be added that belief in karma is not totally universal and though privileges
of shudras are non-existent, they still have more freedom than brahmins.
The classical law codes of ancient India often seem humorous in their pedantry about the
punishment of sin. Law books which were probably never the code for any specific Kingdom
the formation of new groups is explained by an unequal sexual alliance, the worst being the
progeny of a lower cost man an A higher cost woman.
The varna system is an image of human organisation that is the subject of belief and much
comment. It received sanction in Bhagwat Geeta. The Varna system is also reflected today in
the ceremony of initiation for brahmins Kshatriya, Vaishyas that enable them as the twice
born which often symbolises superior status. Varna is not as nearly important as Jati. Jati has
greater relevance. There are perhaps 4000 Jatis and they form the basic unit of the caste
system.
VARNA AND JATI:
The varna system does not work even as a rough outline of all caste all over India. It is true
that there are brahmins an untouchables, merchants, soldiers and others but the shudras, are
far more than servants even according to the law books that were being compiled. The twice-
born castes are probably no more than 15% of the popular population and a great majority of
people are shudras, untouchables, tribals, Muslims, Jains, Christians and Buddhists. In
division in the South and Maharashtra is brahmin, shudra and untouchable. In the northern
part of India, the vaishayas have become merchants and shudras are now in professions such
as peasants, farmers, artisans, musicians and others (who basically walks with their own
hand). A shudra now has the advantage of number as well as the possibility of wealth from
the land and politics in today's India. The real unit of caste is jati. A jati is usually found in
one language and is defined by endogamy, food practises and dining together, common
myths and customs and somewhat by occupation. It is a basic form of social organisation, and
larger caste are divided into many jatis.
THE JATIS OF MAHARASHTRA:
In the West central of Maharashtra, the threefold division of caste hold: brahmins, shudras,
untouchables. The dominant Brahmin caste is Chiptavan Brahmins and an alternate name for
them is Konkanastha. The Priestley brahmin in the marathi- speaking area were and are
Deshastha Brahmins. there are several other smaller brahmin jatis, but the total percentage of
brahmins in the marathi speaking area is no more than 4%. The largest group of caste in the
state are the marathas. They are the landowners, cultivators, farmers and soldiers, and
because India was an agrarian society, the marathas had greater political power. The artisans
and service caste: Telis, Malis, Sutars are grouped with marathas but they didnot have much
importance as the Brahmins and untouchables. Outside the varna system but very much in the
caste hierarchy are the untouchables of the Maharashtra. The largest group are the mahers,
who formed about 9% of the state's population. The two other important untouchable castes
in the Maharashtra are the chambhars and the mangs. The complexity of maharashtrian scene
can be duplicated in every area of India. This sketch of jatis in Maharashtra leaves one with
many questions about the Varna theory of caste.
THE THEORIES OF CASTE:
This essay has presented many theories of castes such as the race theory, which differentiates
a race of Aryans from that of the people who lived in the India when the Aryans entered.
Another theory is the theory of purity and pollution this was best elaborated by Dumont in his
Homo Hierarchicus but also in a strange way has been presented by the untouchable leader
and scholar B.R. Ambedkar. Some scholars hold that the castes were formed when tribal
groups entered the mainstream society, clan becoming class or caste, based on the access to
economic resources. Recently caste development has been linked to patriarchy.
NATURE OF CASTE:
The two books which are important in studying the nature of cast in its recent history are:
1. The caste system and its Implications by Louis Dumont: In this book Dumont sees the
caste system as totally hierarchical with the concept of purity and pollution
determining the place of cost in hierarchy.
2. Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the making of Modern India by Nicholas Dirks:
Nicholas also considers kingship as a factor that challenges any easy domination by
the Brahmins, he brings to the fore the certainty that cost became far more rigid in the
colonial period due to the British need to categorise and control their subject
Another example can be of the Castes and Tribes volume which discussed in detail the origin
of caste: racial influence: influence of occupation and religion: birth, marriage and death
ceremony: endogamous units and so on what each of these thousand castes.
THE CRITICS AND REFORMERS OF CASTE: There have been many scholars and
individuals that have criticized and reformed the caste system. Throughout the ages,
individuals and sects have challenged the right and justice of castes.
CASTE IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA:
New clusters of castes have been formed both in the premodern and modern. Caste
relationships are most apparent in India's villages, where over 70% of people live. The
jajmani system was important in the north. The kinship and marriage systems in villages have
not been affected very much by the modernity. In northern India strict rules of endogamy
mean that the couple related more closely than seven generations cannot be married, and
never a couple from the same village. In the South and Maharashtra cross cousin marriage are
allowed and favoured, and the couple can come from the same village. In both systems
marriage is arranged, and kinship group is an essential social unit. Caste has responded to
modernity in number of ways one way is probably the practise of sankratisation by M.N.
Srinivas. The two greatest changes today are in the realms of politics and affirmative action.
The most crucial change in modern times affecting caste is the policy of reservation which
was brought by mandal Commission in 1990 when V.P Singh was the Prime Minister of the
Janta party. Together with the rise of political parties, the mandal Commission report is the
most important development in the contemporary politics.