Theorising Rituals: An Anti-thesis to Caste Theory

Are Hinduism and Caste Consubstantial? /p. 236/ 'Hinduism' and 'caste' are both paradigmatic examples of one major paradox haunting social sciences concerned with the Indian field. However, crucial to our understanding of India's social and cultural realities, neither of these words-that we can fairly supposed to be among the most widely used through academic literature-can be translated accurately into an Indian language. What is at stake, then, is both defining precisely what we mean when using 'Hinduism' and 'caste', and how these two notions are connected one to the other. Is the caste system Hindu? Is Hinduism necessary for the caste system to exist? Is Hinduism chiefly dependent upon this one-and-only organization (Srivivas, 1956, p. 495)? And would Hinduism inevitably disappear 'if and when caste disappears' as Srinivas also argued (Srivivas, 1956)? Is there such thing as a casteless Hinduism? In other words: to what extent are Hinduism and caste consubstantial? Behind the misleading conceptions of Hinduism as a homogeneous category, a 'religion' shared by some 80 per cent of the Indian population, one must keep in mind the variety of Hindu practices and representations. Together with other criteria such as sectarian or regional traditions, caste affiliations are crucial to the structural diversity within Hinduism. The need to bring together such heterogeneity under a unique term and category has only grown relatively recently, boosted by colonization, and independence/ nationalist fights (Sontheimer and Kulke, 1989; Lorenzen, 1999), without radically undermining neither the diversity between castes, nor the utmost importance of the caste system in Indian social structures, daily life, and religious practices. Caste, Hinduism, and Society Most studies of Hindu castes rightfully start with the distinction between varnas and jatis. On the one hand, castes as varnas divide society into four orders: the Brahmins (religious specialists), the Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), the Vaishyas (farmers and merchants), and the Shudras (servants). Such a conception of caste as varna is inherited from Brahminical ideology. On the other hand, castes as jatis divide society into thousands of inherited, endogamous social groups-a conception close to the naturalist notion of species. Castes as varnas illustrate the intrinsically socio-religious dimension of Hinduism. Not only does the ability to perform certain rituals and to be initiated depend on one's varna, but such religious hierarchy matches a social role embedded in a truly organicist vision of society. The founding myth of varnas has them originate from the dismembering of the primordial being (Purusha)-Rig Veda hymn X/ 90: Brahmins are the mouth, Kshatriyas the arms, Vaishyas the thighs, and Shudras the feet.

I argue, in this paper, that caste is a product of complex histories and exists today in multiple forms. There has been a major change from treating caste as a rigid ritual stratum to caste as “identity to negotiate power and resources.” It operates as a symbol of collective identity and a basis for collective bargaining of limited resources and representation in various organizations and administrative institutions. The caste system eroded at the ritual level, but emerged at the political and economic levels in India and Nepal.

Bryan S. Turner (ed.) The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, New York: Wiley Blackwell, 2017

This entry discusses the transformation of caste in the Indian context. The entry starts with a discussion of the Indological and anthropological accounts of caste and then examines whether “caste” is essentially unique to Hinduism. Furthermore, the entry discusses the possibility of mobility within the ritual hierarchy of caste. In the final section, the entry shows how caste, once described by the Christian missionaries and the colonial state as an irrational traditional institution, has transformed into a modern entity and become a vital instrument of democratic mobilization in contemporary India.

Community Development Journal

Religion is a very important social factor influencing various aspects of human life. It is composed of beliefs and rituals. Ritual is the primary component of religion and fundamentally serves the basic social function of creating and maintaining community. Durkheim opines that ritual is a means by which individuals are brought together as a collective group. It functions to strengthen the bonds of attaching the individual to the society of which he or she is a member. Rituals are also considered as the means by which cultural system and social system are able to interact and harmonize with each other. The role played by a certain person in the rituals is indication of that person’s significance in the society. Historically religious development in India can broadly be seen in four stages or periods. 1. Vedic period 2. Sutra period 3. Puranic period 4. Modern period Female section generally constitutes more than fifty per cent of the population, however it is quite evident that this section is by and large deprived of due share in almost all spheres of life. It would be very interesting to analyze the position of women from the angle of their participation in the ritualistic activities. One should admit that woman or ‘Lady of the House’ was quite necessary in Vedic sacrificial rituals as well as sutra rituals though their participation in such activities was very insignificant. However in Puranic and modern period a change can be seen in the women participation in the field of rituals. This paper tries to study the role of Indian woman in rituals of different period with a view to evaluate their position in the society of the respective era.

2015

Caste as a social system has always been in limelight for those who made effort to understand the Hindu culture, and often vaguely interpreted due to its complexity and genesis. Caste is expansion of Varna due to further development of social needs. However, they both are different things. The article focuses on the influence of various cultural elements and concurrent process happened in course of time which propelled to emerge a system that became a reality and has been affecting the Indian social setup positively and negatively both respects. Indian society is divided into several castes and groups. Each Caste group is distinctive than the others and reflects in various ways such as life style, thinking process, professional choice as well as social behavior etc. Indeed, caste system is a social institution full with unique reality and as an institution with hierarchy giving professional choice for those living in it as part. It concludes that Caste is a professional group with ...

PURVADEVA, Peer Revied Bilingual International Research Journal, 2022

The caste system categorizes people into various hierarchical levels, which determine and define their social, religious, and hegemonic standings within the society. The caste system has also maintained a nexus and a sense of community for caste members for more than 2,000 years. A classic example of the caste system is the one found in India, which has existed there for hundreds of years. The caste system in India was traditionally a graded hierarchy based on a purity-pollution scale; it has undergone many changes over the years. After India’s independence, there has been a de-ritualization of caste, and it has moved toward being a community based on affinity or kinship rather than representing a fixed hierarchy. The association of each caste with a distinct occupation has weakened considerably, and inter-caste marriages across different ritual strata, even crossing the Varna boundaries, are not uncommon. In present day society because of industrialization, urbanization, modern education system, modern means of transport and communication, remarkable changes have been experienced in features of caste system, such as occupation, marriage, food, drink, social intercourse etc. But at the same time there are some factors like emergence of political parties, method of election, constitutional provision for S.C., S.T. and other backward classes have gradually encouraged the problem of casteism in India. So, it is difficult to predict about the future of caste system in India. In this context, I am trying to find out the present position and future of Indian caste system. The aim of this paper is to understand the continuity and the changes in the caste system in India.

The article presents an ethnography of caste system in Kerala from a comparative perspective. It begins with a personal narrative on the manifestation of caste in the fifties and sixties. Viewing caste as a system of stratification, the article then describes the manner in which it functioned in the ancient past and how flexibility existed within the system. It then goes on to explain the changing profiles of caste in the modern times and discusses how it is being played out in the present day socio-political life in Kerala. The last section of the article makes an attempt to look at the caste system in comparison with the racial relations in America. It is submitted that both in India and the U.S., questions of caste and race are intertwined with questions of economic justice and equal opportunity in the broadest sense.

Religions, 2020

The classical account of the Brahmin priestly class and its role in Indian religion has seen remarkable continuity during the past two centuries. Its core claims appear to remain unaffected, despite the major shifts that occurred in the theorizing of Indian culture and in the study of religion. In this article, we first examine the issue of the power and status of the Brahmin and show how it generates explanatory puzzles today. We then turn to 18th-and 19th-century sources to identify the cognitive conditions which sustained the classical account of the Brahmin priest and allowed for its transmission. Three clusters of concepts were crucial here: Christian-theological ideas concerning heathen priesthood and idolatry; racial notions of biological and cultural superiority and inferiority; and anthropological speculations about 'primitive man' and his 'magical thinking'. While all three clusters were rejected by 20th-and 21st-century scholarship, the related claims about Brahmanical ritual power continue to be presented as facts. What accounts for this peculiar combination of continuities and discontinuities in the study of (ancient) Indian religion? We turn to some insights from the philosophy of science to sketch a route toward answering this question.

International Journal of Novel Research and Development, 2018

This paper examines the complexity of the interconnection of varna and caste systems in Indian society. It reflects the complexities of the traditions of different caste groups and the system that regulates their relationship with each other. It will also reflect on the modes where they turn slightly flexible and become harshly rigid. The concept of community no longer exists. However, it is a stronger claim but is made while stressing the importance of the social Purushārtha Sādhana. Both terms (caste and varna) are used interchangeably. However, a question regarding their meaning would need an entire book to be written. Both words are too ambiguous, especially for non-Indians or non-Hindus, though everyone, including Hindus and Indians, may find it challenging to distinguish between them.