Peculiar Tenacity of Caste

Andre Beteille

Indian anthropologists gradually turned their attention from tribal to village studies where the
presence of case still exists and also from varna to jati and to active dynamism between caste
and politics.
The economists who dominated the social science profession till 1970 believed that cast
belonged to Indias past and not Indias future.
They believed that caste was an obstacle to economic development and it is an obstacle that
can be removed through the formulation and application of Intelligent policy.
The three major areas in social life in which the evidence suggested that caste was declining
and not advancing is
a. the observance of rules relating to purity and pollution were becoming weaker
b. The regulation of marriage according to rules of caste was becoming less stringent
c. The relation between caste and occupation was becoming more flexible
The authors views were influenced by N K Bose and M N Srinivas. M N Srinivas believed that
the caste system in India will continue to have its hold while N K Bose is carried away by his
hope that India would become a casteless society.
Reasons why evidence about caste is so diverse and difficult to interpret
a. Large size of the country and diversity in population
b. Apart from regional differences there are urban and rural differences
c. Differences are also based on wealth, occupation and education.
Sanskritisation: M N Srinivas pointed out sanskritisation saying that it enlarged the scope of
ritual in ceremonial life even while the force of purity and pollution was being reduced in
everyday life
Rules of Commensality:
The pre-Independence period has witnessed differences in rules of purity and pollution and
maintaining social differences between castes and the most conspicuous among these rules
was commensality. In Bengal, there was distinction between castes from which you can
accept water and from which you cannot and the same is applicable with tanjore district of
Tamilnadu.
Later the link between caste and ritual has weekend precisely in matters regarding
commensality as when food is served on festive occasions, members of different caste are no
longer served food according to rules of caste.
Distinctions of status are observed in each society and old rules of exclusion are often
replaced by more subtle and flexible codes. The old ritual criteria has not disappeared but
they have to compete with increasingly new secular criteria like education and occupation.
The winds of change have not left even rural India untouched as they have shown relaxation
of restrictions in inter-dining.
Rule of Endogamy:
The rule of marriage that is directly linked with the perpetuation of caste is called endogamy.
It is that rule which confines the ties of kinship and marriage within a small and defined
group and thereby maintains social boundaries with other groups.
The rule of endogamy tells is about the separation between castes whereas rule of
hypergamy tells us about both separation and hierarchy. It expresses that bride-takers are
superior to bride-givers.
Among the upper castes in particular, girls were married very young ideally before they
attained puberty. This is changing though not rapidly or to the same extent in all sections of
society.
Rise in age at marriage:
 The secular trend of raise in the age of marriage for women is one of the most significant
features of contemporary Indian society. For good or ill middle calls has played a crucial part
in the making of modern India and its open and secular institutions.
Individual Mobility:
Economic development doesnt create the same opportunities everywhere and it leads not
only to upward but also downward mobility.
After independence, the political conflicts among castes became more widespread and more
intense. New sub-groups between castes, sub-castes and groups of castes began to rise.
Watershed of 1975-77 Emergency:
Things began to change after the emergency. The mandal commission report of 1980 turned
the tide in favour of caste politics. Increasingly, social justice came to be seen as a matter of
caste rather than class.

However, the main responsibility of giving a sensational turn to caste lies with the electronic
media. It has now become a part of conventional wisdom that caste is here to stay just as it
was part of conventional wisdom among the makers of modern India that caste was bound to
disappear.