M.N.

Srinivas

Biography

M.N. Srinivas was born on 1916 in Mysore. He is one of the biggest contributors to
Indian sociology. He preferred collecting data first hand by studying his own people and
disliked relying on western sociological works, which were the ones that existed in early
Indian sociology. Most of his works revolve around caste and religion as that was his primary
field of study. He was born a brahmin, which is considered to be the superior caste but he still
never showed signs of hesitation when working on caste as his field of study

Prominent works and theories

Varna and Caste

An attempt is made in this brief essay to consider the relation between caste as it in in
fact, and as it is subsumed by the traditional concept of varna. The consideration of this
relationship is both important and overdue, as the concept of varna has deeply influenced the
interpretation of the ‘ethnographic reality’ of caste. Varna has been the model to which the
observed facts have been fitted and this is true not only of educated Indians but also of
sociologists to some extent.

The layman is unaware of the complexities of varna, to him it means simply the division of
Hindu society into four orders, Brahmana (Brahmin), Kshatriya (Ruler and soldier), Vaishya
(merchant) and Shudra (Peasant, laborer and servant). The first three castes are ‘twice-born’
as the men from them are entitled to don the sacred thread at the Vedic rite of the
‘upanayana’ while the Shudras are not. The untouchables are outside the varna scheme.

The layman’s view of varna is a comparatively late view, and varna, which literally means
color originally referred to the distinction between the Arya and Dasa. (According to Ghurye)

He states later Rig-Vedic distinction between Arya and Dasa gave place to the distinction
between the Arya and the Shudra. In the Rig-Veda, along with the distinction between Arya
and Dasa, there is a division of society into three orders, viz., Brahma, Kshatriya and Vish.

The names of the four orders, Brahmana, Rajanya (Kshatriya), Vaishya and Shudra who are
said to have come from the mouth, the arms, the thighs and the feet of the creator. The
particular libs associated with these divisions and the order in which they are mentioned
probably indicate their status in the society of the time, though this is not a direct
interpretation.

In the varna scheme of the Vedas, there are only four orders and the Untouchables have no
place in it. But there are references in the Vedic literature to groups such as the Ayogava,
Chandala, Nishada and Paulkasa who are outside the varna scheme and who seem to be
despised.
Firstly, according to the varna scheme there are only four castes excluding the untouchables,
and the number is the same in every part of India. But even during Vedic times, there were
occupational groups which were not subsumed by varna even though it is not known whether
such groups were casts in the sense sociologists understand the term. Today, in any linguistic
region there are about 200 caste groups which are further sub divided into about 3000 smaller
units each of which is endogamous and constitutes the area of effective social life for the
individual. The varna scheme refers at best only to the broad categories of the society and not
to its real and effective units. And even as referring only to the broad categories of society, it
has serious shortcomings. It has already been seen that the untouchables are outside the
scheme but as a matter of actual fact they are an integral part of the society.