SOCIAL 　

STRATIFICATION
S OF
BANGLADESH
TWO BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT
SOCIETY
 Are there any societies in which all people
are equal?

 What kinds of stratification system exist in

your society?
REASONS OF STRATIFICATIONS
 Social, political and economic power institutionalized
through political control.

 Power: ability to control people

 Wealth: accumulation of economic resources

 Prestige: an individuals of society evaluated by others

 Caste: Stratifications regarding religious matters

STRATIFICATION IN BANGLADESH
 Politics
 Economics

 Class

 Caste

 Sex/ Gender
CASTE SYSTEM
 The caste system is a system of social stratification

 Which has pre-modern origins, was transformed by the

British Raj

 Today the basis of reservation in South Asian region.

CASTE IN HINDU SOCIETY
 Varna may be translated as "class,"
 Four social classes which existed in the Hindu society

 1.Brahmins, 

 2. Kshatriyas,

 3. Vaishyas and 

 4. Shudras Certain groups,

 Dalits, were historically excluded from the varna system

altogether, and are still considered as untouchables.
CASTE IN MUSLIM SOCIETY
 In North India, most of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal,
the Muslims are classified as three categories
 1) Sharif or Ashraf(i.e., noble born/foreign Moslems);

 2) Atraf (low-born) and

 3) Ajlaf (lowest of all) all of them signifying extreme

contempt.
ASHRAF:
 Ashraf is the noble class of people
 Historically they migrated from Moslems(Arabs, Persians,
Afghans in the time of Spreading out of Muslim religion
in Bengal

 Destined to be priests, teachers, preachers, kings,

governors, landlords, warriors and soldiers.

 having higher value in the society.

 Like higher caste Hindus, foreign Moslems(Arabs,
Persians, Afghans) and their offspring did not engage
menial service or to handle the plough
ATRAF

 Ajlaf is the buffer class

 Bengal Moslems whom they call “Ajlaf’, ‘coarse

rabble’(functional groups such as weavers, cotton-
carders, oil-pressers, barbers, tailors etc.).
ARZAL
 Arzal is the working class destined to labour

 Provide services to all others

 The Arzal(lowest of all) consisted very lowest castes

 such as the Helalkhor(sweepers, latrine and garbage cleaners),

Lalbegi, Abdal and Bediya

 No other Muslim would associate with them

 Mosque is different, were forbidden to enter the mainstream

people Mosques or to use the public burial ground
TILING OF CASTE PEOPLE IN MUSLIM
COMMUNITY
 Some of the backward or lower-caste Muslim caste
include Sheikh, Helalkhor, Quraishi,
Ansari, Kunjra, Dhobi, and Kulu.

 The upper caste Muslim caste

include Mughals, Pathan, Muslim Rajput, Muslim
Jatt and Muslim Tyagi
DALITS: LOWER CASTE PEOPLE
 Dalit, meaning "oppressed" in South Asia

 It is the self-chosen political name of castes in

the SAARC region which are "untouchable”

 the economist and reformer B. R. Ambedkar (1891–

1956) popularized the term.
 More than 270 million people worldwide continue to
experience discrimination as Dalits.

 According to the 2001 census, there are some 167

million Dalits in India alone.

 There are tens of millions in other South Asian countries,

as well.  

 Approximately 5.5 million Dalits or people from

excluded communities in Bangladesh.
SOCIAL STATUS OF DALITS
 Dalit status is associated with occupations regarded as
ritually impure

 Such as leatherwork or butchering, or removal of

rubbish, animal carcasses and human waste.

 Dalits work as manual laborers cleaning

streets, latrines and sewers
 Activities considered to be polluting to the individual

 Dalits were commonly banned from full participation in

Indian social life.

 They were physically segregated from the surrounding

community.

 For example, they could not enter a temple or a school

and were required to stay outside villages.
EDUCATION:

 Dalit children are discriminated in the classroom by their

classmates and teachers.

 Many schools not allow them for education

 In Chittagong shows that 59% of household heads have

no education at all,
IN RAJSHAHI DIVISION OF BANGLADESH
(SOURCE HEKS REPORT, 2014)
 31% attended primary school without formal graduation,
 2% attended junior high school,

 3% high school without graduation and 1% went college.

 53% of them can read news paper and write letter in

Bangla.
OCCUPATION AND EMPLOYMENT:
IN RAJSHAHI DIVISION OF BANGLADESH (SOURCE HEKS REPORT, 2014)

 Less diversity of employment, most of the Dalits are

living on traditional work;
 scarcity of traditional work increases the unemployment.

 Untouchable notions limit the opportunities to get jobs.

 Poor people from the other communities are increasingly

competing to get the cleaners’ jobs, resulting in a decline
in the jobs.
 Manual scavenging is still practiced- constituting a grave
health risk.
HOUSING:

 Dalits live in quarters that are too small, congested and

unhealthy. They have been living in these tiny rooms for
many generations.

 Untouchability notions generally prevent Dalits from

renting houses outside the colony.

 Dalits are severely restricted in buying land, if someone

even have the money.

 Dalits do not have access khas (Government owned) land.

HEALTH AND SANITATION:

 Because of unhealthy job environment, Dalits are easily

caught by dangerous diseases

 Dalit peoples are often ignored when seeking treatment

in the hospital due to their identity.

 Women and children use water from limited sources and

they have to invest significant time for collecting water.
WOMEN RIGHTS:

 Dalit women are most marginalized amongst the

marginal people.

 Practicing of child marriage.

 Women have to depend on their husbands’ income for

living.

 Widowed women fight hard to find a job.

 Among some Dalit people a widow is not allowed to get
marriage again.
IMPACT OF UNTOUCHABILITY:

 Children of this community are facing discrimination in

academic institutions and in general public.
 They are bound to do the same job performed by their
ancestors for 　 generations.
 They have no opportunity to choose other professions.

 They are facing tremendous health risks.

 They are discriminated upon in health and other services.

SOCIAL CLASS IN BANGLADESH
 a system of social stratification

 based on access to resources (wealth, property, power,

and prestige).
CAPITAL
 Economic Capital

 Social Capital

 Cultural Capital
ECONOMIC CAPITAL
  money, property, and other assets.

 Based on economic capital Karl Marx believed two social

classes in capitalist societies:

1. capitalists (or bourgeoisie):

who owned the means of production
Such as Garments owner of BD

2. workers (or proletariat):

who sold their labor for wages.
Labor of Garments Sectors
SOCIAL CAPITAL 

 networks of influence or support based on group

membership

 (such as family), friends, or other contacts.

 Family member of MP or big businessmen can access

greater scope though they are poor.

 Square hospital: many poor relatives of Anjan

Chowdhury appointed as service holders
CULTURAL CAPITAL 

 non-financial social assets that promote social mobility

beyond economic means.

 education, intellect, style of speech, dress, or physical

appearance.

 TV artist (if) may poor but renowned figure for his

appearance
STATUS
 People has status without economic solvency

 In BD: Moulana, Priest, Elderly people in rural areas

 Though they are poor, they can seat a decision making
process in village community
POVERTY IN BANGLADESH
 Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated
countries with 150 million people

 36% of whom live below the national poverty line  of US

$2 per day

 In Bangladesh, 56.6% of the population is employed;

43.4% unemployed
 For 1,000 babies born, 31 die before their first birthday

 Child malnutrition rate at 48%

 Social security level is poor: lack of health, insurance,
sanitation, pure drinking water

 Unhygienic environment is causes of big diseases

 Treatment cost high

 State not support for big diseases

 Kidney failure, cancer patient may die without proper

treatment;
POVERTY & CORRUPTION
 Unemployment and poverty causes of increasing
corruption/ crime
 Unemployed youth may join illegal activities: hijack,
illegal extortion, drag business
 Institutional corruption is causes of poor infrastructure:

 public health level (poor health care, expire medicine..

 roads, construction building in school

 Collection bribes for employment

Items considered to be necessities in urban areas Yes (%)

Children can eat three meals a day 91.1%

Adults can eat Two meals a day 85.7%

Can ensure Milk for babies 78.0%

Have Regular monthly savings

69.2%

Can Use A fan for home

63.7%

Have Warm clothes and blankets

62.7%

Can eat Fresh fruits or vegetables every day

60.2%

Having a radio or TV
54.9%

Can eat Meat or fish or vegetable

52.9%