...special article caste in the 21st century: From system to elements A M Shah The argument that while caste as a system is more or less dead, individual castes are flourishing is widely accepted. However, the notion of “caste as a system” is derived mainly from studies of the rural rather than the urban community. In this article, individual caste is seen in the context of both rural and urban communities and its several aspects, particularly the rule of endogamy as its defining criterion, are analysed at some length and some implications of the analysis are pointed out. n 1955, M N Srinivas presented a paper, ‘Castes: Can They Exist in the India of Tomorrow?’, at a national seminar on “Casteism and Removal of Untouchabilty” in Delhi, attended, among others, by such distinguished persons as S Radhakrishnan, Jagjivan Ram, Govind Ballabh Pant, V K R V Rao, Kaka Kalelkar and Irawati Karve. The paper was published in the seminar report as well as in the Economic Weekly (1955). After a lifetime of scholarship on caste, in 1999, the last year of his life, Srinivas delivered a lecture under different titles in Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata, on the passing away of caste as a system. It was published posthumously in 2003 in the Economic and Political Weekly under the title, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’. Srinivas expanded this title into a sentence, “While caste as a system is dead, individual castes are flourishing” (ibid: 459). He made this statement almost at the end of...
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...Presidency university ,Kolkata Political sociology paper, TAUGHT BY Y.S.SIR Changing dynamics of Caste In Indian Politics The word ‘CASTE’ is derived from Spanish word ‘CASTA’ which means , ‘breed or lineage or race’. It was first applied by the Portugues to the particular Indian Institutions known by the name of ‘Jati’. CASTE is a ‘state of mind’, ( Ambedkar, 1936 : 33) In 1955, M N Srinivas presented a paper, ‘Castes: Can They Exist in the India of Tomorrow?’, at a national seminar on “Casteism and Removal of Untouchabilty” in Delhi, attended, among others, by such distinguished persons as S. Radhakrishnan, Jagjivan Ram, Govind Ballabh Pant V .Rao, Kaka Kalelkar and Irawati Karve. The paper was published in the seminar report as well as in the Economic weeky , under the title, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’. Srinivas expanded this title into a sentence, “While caste as a system is dead, individual castes are flourishing” (Srinivas ,1962 : 51) M.N.Srinivas defines ‘caste’ as a hereditary usually localised group, having a traditional association with an occupational group and a particular position in the local hierarchy. (ibid : 52) Colonial Understanding Of Caste The Colonial rulers understood caste as a feature of Hindu Religion. It is through the Colonial census that ethnographic details and theories of caste evolved. According to this understanding , Caste derives it’s legitimacy from the ‘ four-fold verna hierarchy’ found in Manusmriti. (Jones,1796:103) ...
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...Presidency university ,Kolkata Political sociology paper, TAUGHT BY Y.S.SIR Changing dynamics of Caste In Indian Politics The word ‘CASTE’ is derived from Spanish word ‘CASTA’ which means , ‘breed or lineage or race’. It was first applied by the Portugues to the particular Indian Institutions known by the name of ‘Jati’. CASTE is a ‘state of mind’, ( Ambedkar, 1936 : 33) In 1955, M N Srinivas presented a paper, ‘Castes: Can They Exist in the India of Tomorrow?’, at a national seminar on “Casteism and Removal of Untouchabilty” in Delhi, attended, among others, by such distinguished persons as S. Radhakrishnan, Jagjivan Ram, Govind Ballabh Pant V .Rao, Kaka Kalelkar and Irawati Karve. The paper was published in the seminar report as well as in the Economic weeky , under the title, ‘An Obituary on Caste as a System’. Srinivas expanded this title into a sentence, “While caste as a system is dead, individual castes are flourishing” (Srinivas ,1962 : 51) M.N.Srinivas defines ‘caste’ as a hereditary usually localised group, having a traditional association with an occupational group and a particular position in the local hierarchy. (ibid : 52) Colonial Understanding Of Caste The Colonial rulers understood caste as a feature of Hindu Religion. It is through the Colonial census that ethnographic details and theories of caste evolved. According to this understanding , Caste derives it’s legitimacy from the ‘ four-fold verna hierarchy’ found in Manusmriti. (Jones,1796:103) ...
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...INDIAN CASTE AND VARNA SYSTEM India is a diverse nation and one of the most prominent historical features of this country is its caste system. Under this caste system, people are divided and differentiated on the basis of region, class, place of birth, language, religion, tribe and gender. This caste system is seen as a tool to intricately stratified social hierarchy which plays a key role in distinguishing the culture of our nation from any other in this entire world. It has a history which is multi-dimensional and multifarious and is considered as the sole basis of a methodical ranking system on the basis of your occupation and inequality among the people, which is the root cause of the problem of inequality of the society. According to this caste system, the social standing of a person should be decided on the basis of the caste in which he is born in. To study the history of caste system in India, we must first study the history of Hinduism. The definition of ‘caste’ should be considered before studying about the Caste system of India. Caste can be defined as “a collection of families or groups of families bearing a common name; claiming a common descent from a mythical ancestor, human or divine; professing to follow the same hereditary calling; and regard by those who are capable to give an opinion as forming a single homogeneous community”. It can also be defined as an hierarchal division of different parts of the society on the basis of their occupation and place of...
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...which collective identities such as those based on language, religion, sect, caste and tribe, assume preeminence.Identity issues are not unique to India, they are a worldwide phenomenon although they prevail in a particularly intense form in today’s India where communities based on language, religion, sect, caste and tribe have strengthened their identities. Conflicts based on such identity issues often lead to violence. A recent example is the increasing conflict generated by sections of society wanting to be counted as tribes, as evident in the agitation by the Gujjar community and its opposition by the Meena community in Rajasthan. Ideally, such issues should be adjudicated by the institutional mechanisms provided for the purpose such as the National commissions for Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and the backward classes and the decisions of these commissions should be final and accepted by all concerned. Gujjar or Gurjars — a farming and trading community — are classified by the government as an "Other Backward Class". They are part of the caste system that does not face as much exclusion or discrimination in society. The Gurjar community feels it has been economically and educationally left behind and it wants to be reclassified as a Scheduled Tribe. They demand scheduled tribe status so that they can qualify for government jobs and state college seats reserved solely for such groups. The Indian government has put in place an affirmative action plan that sets aside job...
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...India is long and not always geared to the desired aim: creation of equality of opportunity. Just like Indian secularism, reservation system in India has always a different political aim to make the system more unequal than what it is. Indian secularism, rather than making the state independent of religion, is intended to provide special privileges to certain religious groups. Similarly Indian affirmative system is politically designed to provide restricted rights not equal rights to some chosen people. The affirmative action in India has started perhaps by Vice-Roy Curzon in 1905 by banning the employment of Hindu Bengalis in the government services; the official argument was that they were too advanced and taking away job opportunity from others particularly the Muslims. Later it was extended in the military services by giving preferential treatments for Muslims and Sikhs branding them as martial races. Reservations in government jobs were introduced in 1918 in Mysore in favor of a number of castes and communities that had little share in the administration. In 1909 and in 1919 similar reservation system was introduced for the Muslims in British India. In 1935, for pure political reason the British government has provided job reservation for the backward castes. The real idea was to divide the population of India into several warring groups along religious, ethnic and caste lines by giving special rights so that future India would be divided and weak. A number of prominent politicians...
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...Reservation Policy and Indian Constitution in India DR.SUNIL KUMAR JANGIR (Assistant Professor) POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT "It is against the fundamental principles of humanity, it is against the dictates of reason that a man should, by reason of birth, be denied or given extra privileges" -Mahatma Gandhi Abstract: However, the theme of reservations has figure importantly in open debates constantly since the recommendations of the Mandal Commission Report were sought to be implemented in 1991 nearby has been extremely tiny discussion by the beneficiaries of reservations. This paper looks at some of the more important chronological, constitutional and lawful moments in the development of a reservations procedure in India I. Introduction The spirit of equality pervades the provisions of the Constitution of India, as the main aim of the founders of the Constitution was to create an egalitarian society wherein so- cial, economic and political justice prevailed and equality of status and opportunity are made available to all. However, owing to historical and traditional reasons, certain classes of Indian citizens are under severe social and economic disabili- ties [so] that they cannot effectively enjoy either equality of status or of opportunity. Therefore the Constitution accords to these weaker sections of society protective discrimination in various articles, including Article 15(4). This clause empowers the state, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Articles...
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...During our study to understand the caste and class dynamics between the PGP students at IIM Bangalore, we came across results and insights that potentially led us very different conclusions than what we had initially assumed. Our team floated a survey to gauge the popular reactions of people with respect to some commonly held class and caste notions. The survey, open to all PGP students at IIMB, attracted close to 80 responses. Thereby the sample size is not sufficient enough to project the findings as being generic to the Indian society at large. The survey conducted focussed on 3 main aspects of student identity at an educational institute in India. The fact that it is a part f their identity is proof enough to assume that there are schisms in the Indian society on the lines of class, caste and community. Considering the kind of people that an elite institution like an IIM would attract, the survey results were interestingly different from our presumptions. Before going further I would like to state that we were lucky enough to attract sufficient and proportionate responses spaced out equally across the social background spectrum. Most people who participated in the survey refused that they have had a discriminatory experience of any sort till date. However a majority still stated that discrimination does exist in the basis of various divisive factors. The paradox resolved itself when we dug a little deeper through the caste and class spectrum. The key factor...
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...Emerging adulthood and culture Class: Lifespan Development Name: Grishma Patel Week four assignment Meaning of Emerging Adulthood Emerging adulthood is the period of life from about age 18 through age 25, during which young people are exploring the possibilities of their lives and beginning to define themselves as adults, rather than teenagers. They shared the perception of “feeling in between” – knowing they were pulling clear of the struggles of adolescence and starting to feel responsible for themselves,, but still closely tied to their parents and family. Emerging adulthood can be defined as an: Age of identity exploration: young people decide who they are and what they want out of work, school and love. Age of instability: young people either go to college or live with their friends or a romantic partner. For most frequent moves end as a families and careers are established in mid 30’s. Age of feeling in between: many emerging adult say they are taking responsibilities for themselves, but still do not completely feel like an adult. Age of self focus: freed of the parent and society directed routine of school, young people try to decide what they want to do, where they want to go, who they want to be with – before those choices get limited by the constraints of marriage, children and career. Culture influences in India in emerging adulthood In my culture as I m from India, examination of (a) whether or not they feel they are adult (b) the criteria they...
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...A Comparison of Eastern Philosophy Asia, the world’s largest continent, consists of over one third of Earths total land are and approximately 60% of the world’s population. Further, a large percentage of Asia’s 4.3 billion people live in the countries of China, Japan, and India (Exploredia, 2011). Out of these densely populated countries three eastern schools of philosophy were born between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, and it is these same ancient philosophies that flourish throughout Asia today. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism are three major schools of thought that significantly have impacted the political, social and religious views of Asian culture. Confucianism, which was inspired by Confucius, has been followed by the Chinese people for more than two thousand years (Confucianism, 2012, pp.1). Because Confucianism is described as a way of life, it is sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes viewed as a religion, although it does not share the aspect of organization that most other religions share. The idea behind Confucianism is that wisdom and knowledge can be obtained through study, ritual practices, and learning from experiences. Humans are perfectible by wisdom and the ultimate goal is to reach a state of superior wisdom. The first principle Confucius taught is called the principle of mean, which is the importance of seeking balance and moderation in life. Any circumstance of extreme should be avoided. The second principle Confucius...
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...that the relationship we should be focusing on is the one between social class and education. Races and cultures that put a higher value on education tend to produce more members of society that move from a lower social class to a higher social class or retain their social class from one generation to another. Also, I believe that the movement between social classes becomes more available within a society that does not apply a caste system on its members. Ultimately, it is an individual’s personal responsibly to determine their outcome. This goes beyond race, social class, and culture. I believe America has equal opportunity, but not equal outcomes. As Martin Luther King famously said in his “I Have a Dream” speech, “be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” We are unique individuals and have an opportunity to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are natural rights that are given to us by God. Today the President of the United States is of mixed White and Kenyan heritage. Any remnants of a caste system, perhaps from the days of Jim Crow and the laws of “separate, but equal” are but all behind us in America. If you look at the achievement gaps in the Jersey City, NJ public schools, there is a significant gap in the graduation rates of different ethnic groups; fewer Black and Hispanic/Latino students graduate than Asian and White students. Blacks are graduating at about 55%, Hispanic/Latino’s at 65%, Whites at 80%, and...
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...SOC 308 Week 5 Final Paper Indias Caste System https://hwguiders.com/downloads/soc-308-week-5-final-paper-indias-caste-system SOC 308 Week 5 Final Paper Indias Caste System The Unique Caste System of India: Within India’s society there is a lot of controversy surrounding their Caste system. India’s daily events consist of Dalits that are assaulted, raped, butchered, abused, shamelessly mutilated and shot without any regard for the consequences of the people committing these violent acts. There are numerous deaths concerning women who are pregnant due to bribe non-payments at hospitals ran by the government, falling in love with a woman from a caste more superior from their own and even rumors of people being boiled to death for nothing more than an argument with their boss. India’s society has been one of democracy for many years, but the structure socially practices the caste system in terms of having no regard for law abolishment. Attempts have been considered useless after several efforts to abolish the caste segregation and adaptation through national and international means failed. The profoundly instilled caste system is a problem of social proportions that demand a vast commitment internationally and domestically. These commitments will help us understand why these practices are still in place and what specific measures will be needed for the removal of this system. Caste association in India has caused more than a million people within society to be plagued...
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...there. After a woman’s husband dies she does not have independence and she is not allowed to remarry. These are the values that are taught to the woman in India and are respected by the men in the country. Starting off with the value of respect, it dates back to the caste system. Generally most Indian communities do not respect the fact where families do not accept lower caste systems into their own. The caste system can be described as segregation in a way. The categories of segregation are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra. The Brahmans were considered the priests and educated class, the Kshatriya were considered the land owners, rulers and fighters of their town, they dominated the government, and their superiority level was just under the Brahmins. The Vaishya were considered the trader class and the Shudra were servile laborers. What the caste system did was that it organized a special way for the different classes to respect one another. Women were treated differently and were supposed to do certain things. Women had to achieve the following roles such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and taking care of children, if any. The caste system is the reason for the gender roles that exist in India till this day. Women, as children, were...
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...go, as far as to say, obedience is part of human nature. Even if we as humans pride ourselves in our knowledge, we constantly acknowledge the fact that there will ultimately always be someone who will know and understand something better than us. I find this whole notion of obedience very fascinating. I grew up in a very multi-cultural environment and through my experience with various nationalities I have noticed that the constant need for direction and reassurance is an innate quality in all human beings but it’s a more dominant quality in some people than in others. My research aims to answer the question: Why are Asians, particularly South Asians such as Indians, more prone to be obedient than other nationals? Based on the aforementioned question and my personal observation, I derived a hypothesis: Indians are more prone to remain silent when someone cuts in front of them in a waiting line. Why? Environment and society play major roles in shaping a persons character. The British have colonized India in specific for almost 100 years. India had lived under the British rules and regulations and was forced into complete submission. I presume the fact that they were oppressed for so long has made them...
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...SOC 308 Week 5 Final Paper Indias Caste System https://hwguiders.com/downloads/soc-308-week-5-final-paper-indias-caste-system SOC 308 Week 5 Final Paper Indias Caste System The Unique Caste System of India: Within India’s society there is a lot of controversy surrounding their Caste system. India’s daily events consist of Dalits that are assaulted, raped, butchered, abused, shamelessly mutilated and shot without any regard for the consequences of the people committing these violent acts. There are numerous deaths concerning women who are pregnant due to bribe non-payments at hospitals ran by the government, falling in love with a woman from a caste more superior from their own and even rumors of people being boiled to death for nothing more than an argument with their boss. India’s society has been one of democracy for many years, but the structure socially practices the caste system in terms of having no regard for law abolishment. Attempts have been considered useless after several efforts to abolish the caste segregation and adaptation through national and international means failed. The profoundly instilled caste system is a problem of social proportions that demand a vast commitment internationally and domestically. These commitments will help us understand why these practices are still in place and what specific measures will be needed for the removal of this system. Caste association in India has caused more than a million people within society to be plagued...
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