UNIT 2

Structural and change aspects in caste

■ Spanish word casta = breed or race.

■ People belonging to same breed or a heriditary group.
■ Definitions:
■ Cooley: when class is somewhat heriditary we call it caste.
■ M.N.Srinivas: a heriditary endogamaous, usually localised group, having a traditional
association with an accupation, and a particular position in the hierarchy of a caste.
Features of caste system:
■ Segmental division of society
■ Status and position decided by birth
■ Caste is a quasi sovereign body
■ Hierarchy of groups
■ Act within certain standards
■ Definite rules
■ Theory of pollution
■ Mixing is forbidden
■ Social , religious and political disabilities
■ Monopolize occupation
■ Endogamy
■ Accepted stratification
 Casteism in India:
■ Rigid and inflexible
■ Gave rise to problems of untouchability, superiority complex and hierarchy
■ Promoted caste conflicts for establishing supremacy
■ Casteism means one sided loyalty towards a particular caste.
■ The sense of caste becomes casteism only when consideration of superiority between the castes and
the tendency to consider the interests of ones own caste as opposed to the other castes.
■ Definitions:
■ M.N.Srinivas: in india when caste system became rigid it began to be called as casteism.
■ K.M.Panikkar: casteism is the term which is used to support one caste to that of the other caste.
Causes for growth of casteism :
■ Sense of caste prestige
■ Marriage restrictions
■ Urbnisation
■ Increase in the means of transport and propaganda
Consequences of casteism:
■ Hinderance in the development of nationalism
■ Hinderance to democracy
■ Corruption
■ Hinderance in technological efficiency
Remedial measures of casteism:
■ Proper education
■ Intercaste marriages
■ Lesser use of the word caste
 Untouchability:

Theories about the origin of untouchability:

■ Pratiloma marriages: Manu
■ Racial theory: Risley, Majumdar and Ghurye
■ Occupational theory: Nesfiled

Disabilities of untouchables:
■ Social: prevention from the use of public roads, public wells, from entering into schools
■ Economic
■ Religious
■ Political
 Remedial measures:
Non- governmental efforts:
■ The Indian National Congress
■ Harijan sevak sangh
■ Voluntary organisations
Governmental efforts:
■ In the year 1935 even before independence many acts were passeed by the british government to eradicate
the untouchability. “ Government of India Act 1935” was passed and budgets were provided for the
betterment of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Constitutional safeguards:
■ Article 15- equal opportunities for all citizens relating to employment
■ Article 17- abolished practice of untouchability
■ Article 19- scheduled castes shall be no restrictions to their legal occupational and movements
■ Article 29- admission into educational insttution shall not be denied based on caste
■ Article 46- DPSP state shall promote special care to the educational and economic interests of the
untouchables
■ Article 330, 332, 334 – seats reserved for scheduled castes in the state legislature and in the parliament.
 Structural and change aspects in family
Advantages of joint family:
■ Maintain social order and harmony
■ Preserve family property
■ Maintain moral order in the family
■ Serve as social insurance
■ Serve the economic purpose of division of labour
■ Preservation of family faith
Disadvantages of joint family:
■ Hinderance to the development of personlaities of its members
■ Encourage laziness and indifferences
■ Curb freedom of occupation
■ Hinders social and economic progress
 Factors contributing to the disintegration of joint family
■ Industrial economy
■ Influence of western civilization
■ Pressure on land
■ Quick means of transportation
■ Shortage of accomodation
■ Desire of woman to live seperately
■ Spread of education
■ Economic freedom
■ Social legislation
■ Factors contributing for changes in functions
1. medical functions
2. recreational functions
3. economic functions
4. educational functions
5. religious functions
Features of modern family:

■ Economically self sufficient

■ Responsibility of selecting a life partner
■ No subordination
■ Love marriages
■ Perform only essential functions
■ Democratic in nature
■ Absence of love and affection
 Structural and change aspects in marriage:

■ Brahma marriage
■ Daiva marriage
■ Arsha marriage
■ Prajapatya marriage
■ Asura marriage
■ Gandharva marriage
■ Rakshasa marriage
■ Paishacham marriage
 Aims of the Hindu marriage:

■ Promotion and fulfillment of dharma

■ Begetting children
■ Sexual pleasures
■ Development of personality
■ Obligations to discharge
Problems associated with hindu marriage:

■ Child marriage
■ Widow remarriage
■ Dowry system
■ Divorce
 Features of modern marriage:

■ Mariage is not considered compulsory

■ No restrictions in selecting partners
■ Discouraging child marriages
■ Intercaste marriage
■ Prohibiting polygamous marriages
■ Widow remarriage
■ Provisions for divorce
 Structural and change aspects in kinship:
■ Kinship in india is based on two factors:
■ Birth in the family
■ Marriage
■ Kinship Usages:
■ Kinship usages or the rules of kinship accomplish two major tasks:
■ First, they create groups, special groupings of kin. Thus, the social invention of
marriage assigns each mother a husband,, and makes her children his children, thereby
creating special group of father, mother and children which we call family. By use of
additional rules and social conventions, larger kin groups are created, such as extended
families or lineages or sibs or clans.
■ The second major function of kinship rules is to govern the role relationships among
kins. Kinship provides a sort of social grid. In a society people are joined to one another
by genealogical ties and by common kin-group membership.
■ Patterned kin behaviour might be divided into two categories:
■ (i) Rules governing rights and obligations and
■ (ii) Rules of comportment or ‘manners’.
■
Rules Governing Rights and Obligations:
■ These rules apply where one kinsman owes another certain services or duties or privileges. For example, a general
hospitality ethic generally prevails among kin. If a relative expresses a desire to pay a visit to any of his kins, he may
rightly expect free meals, a place to sleep, and other tokens of hospitality. His expectation or claim is considered to be
legitimate on the ground that he is a kinsman.
■ Rules of Comportment or Manners:
■ These rules may be sub-divided into several sub-categories:
■ (i) Rules of Deference:
■ Deference customs are a ritual expression of social inequality. For example, in Indian society a child is expected to
touch the feet of his father or mother or anyone considered to be of higher status than his own.
■ (ii) Rules of Avoidance:
■ These rules are designed to curtail intimacy, and usually apply to cross-sex relationships. In almost all societies
avoidance rules prescribe that both men and women must maintain a certain amount of modesty in dress, speech, gait
and gesture in a mixed company. There are more strict avoidance customs which restrict kin relationships in certain
societies.
■ For example, in many societies spouses are not supposed to touch each other or show affection in the presence of
■ (iii) Rules of Joking:
■ Many societies provide for joking relationships among particular kin relatives, generally of
opposite sexes but not always so.
■ By way of illustration, we may refer to the joking relationships between a grandson or
grand-daughter on the one hand and his or her-grand -father or grand-mother on the other, or
between a man and his older brother’s wife, or between the husband of an elder sister and
his wife’s younger sister. There are many such joking relationships.
■ The origins and causes of joking relationships are utterly obscure. Some anthropologists
refer to the possibility that these joking relationships might permit a sort of ‘safety valve’ for
giving expression or release to the pent up feelings and emotions.

■ (iv) Teknonymy:
■ According to this usage, a kin is not referred to directly, but he is referred to through another
kin. For example, all over rural India, and among some tribal groups, a wife does not utter
the name of her husband but refers to him as the father of so and so. The husband also refers
to his wife or calls her in the presence of others as the mother of so and so.
■ (v) Avunculate,( Avunciate):
■ If the maternal uncle enjoys, as a matter of convention, a pre-eminent place among his nephews and
nieces, if he has special obligations towards them which exceed those of their father, if he transmits
according to convention his property to his nephew, if the nephew works for him rather than for his
own father, then this kinship usage is called avunculate. This is a common usage among patrilineal
people.
■ (vi) Amitate:
■ When a special role is given to the father’s sister, the usage is known as amitate. This usage is more
common among patrilineal people.
■ (vii) Couvade:
■ This kinship usage involves only husband and wife. Anthropologists have reported the prevalence
of this usage among the Khasis and the Todas, and also among some people from outside India.
■ According to this usage, the husband is made to lead the life of an invalid along with his wife
whenever she gives birth to a child. He refrains from active work, takes sick diet, and observes
certain taboos. This kinship usage involving wife and husband has been variously explained.
 Changing aspects of kinship:
■ In the past kinship was confined to caste but then
intercaste marriages were discouraged. But today inter
caste marriages became very common.
■ In the past in every society residence was counted
much. No marriages between people residing in very
far of places. After developed transportation system
people are entertaining marriages with person living in
distant places.
 Structural and change aspects in religion:
■ Maciver and page- religion is not merely relationship between man and man but
between man and some higher power
■ Ogburn- religion is attitude towards superhuman powers
■ A.W.Green- religion is a system of belief and symbolic practices governed by faith
rather than by knowledge, which relates man to an unseen super natural realm beyond
the controllable
■ Durkheim- religion is a unified system of belief and practices relative to sacred things,
that is to say things set apart and forbidden
Religion in indian society:
■ Religious tolerance
■ Universality
■ Worship in temples
■ One supreme god
Democratic dimension of religion:
■ Religious institutions must run according to the wishes of people. Chnages should be
acceptable
■ But unfortunately monopolized for own selfish motives
■ Ancient hindu religion was purely democratic in lines
■ Interpretation of religion according to their own view point
■ Buddhism and jainism raised voice to preach restoration of democratic lines
■ Other religions like islam, christianity and sikkism also emerged
■ Spirit of tolerance
■ Tries to have maximum followers
Steps taken to make India a true democratic state:

■ Educational institutions aided by government must not favour

particular religion
■ State will not give financial assistance to any individual/ institution on
religious grounds
■ Public offices will be filled up based on merit not on religious grounds
■ No political appointemnts on religious grants
■ No separate communal electorate or disivion of constituencies based
on religion
■ Untouchability is legally and constitutionally abolished