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Chapter 3
Social Institutions: Continuity and Change

1.Caste and the Caste System

What is Caste system?

• Caste is an ancient social institution in Indian society, which is part of Indian history
and culture for thousands of years. Caste existed in Past and present Indian Society

Caste system in the past

 Caste is a unique social institution in the Indian Sub-continent. It is mostly associated

with the Hindu Community during ancient times. But now, caste spread to non-Hindu
communities- Muslims, Christians and Sikhs

 The word ‘Caste’ is borrowed from Portuguese word ‘casta’ = meaning ‘pure breed’

The word Caste in Sanskrit means = Varna and Jati

 Varna means= ‘colour’ and refers to the Four-fold division of society such as
Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra

 There is a fifth category called Panchamas includes, ‘outcastes’ i.e. Foreigners, slaves,
conquered people

 Jati refers to species or kinds of anything. Jati is commonly used to denote the
institution of caste in Indian languages.

Difference between Varna and Jati

Varna Jati

Four Varna classification is common  It is regional or local institution
to India  Jati hierarchy is regional
 Varna hierarchy is national  It vary region to region
 No variations in regions  Jati includes hundreds or thousands of
 There are only four Varnas castes and sub-castes
 It is simple classification  It is a highly complex classification
Characteristics of Caste System

1. Caste is determined by birth. It is a closed system.

2. Restriction on marriage: Endogamous marriage system (marriage within the group)
3. Restrictions on food habits and sharing
4. Caste system has a hierarchy –based on rank and status
5. Caste has segmental organization- it has sub-divisions i.e. sub-castes and sub-sub
castes
6. Traditional occupation: Hereditary in nature-passed through generations. There is
restrictions on social mobility

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 Each caste has its own place in the system, which cannot be taken by any other caste.
The system functions based on the social division of labour.

Two Principles of Caste:

1. Difference and Separation

 Each caste is separated and distinct from others. So they are different and nothing
common between the two
 These rules prevent mixing of caste rules in marriage, occupation, social interaction
and food sharing
2. Wholism and Hierarchy

Different castes have no individual existence. They exist in relation to larger whole
Also there is a hierarchical system, with ranking from highest to lowest. This is based
on purity/pollution. Pure caste have higher and impure caste have lower status
 The material power is with high castes and the people who suffers are in lower caste
Colonialism and Caste

 Indian Independence in 1947 offers a dividing line between colonial period (150 years
from around 1800 to 1947) and post- colonial period (six decades from 1947 to the
present day).
 Caste underwent major changes in colonial period. Today’s caste is the product of
colonialism than ancient tradition. British studied the customs and manners of castes
and tribes through surveys. They collected information through Census in 1860s and
the regular Ten-yearly census from 1881 onwards

Intervention of colonial rule upon caste

1. Census: In 1901 census, Herbert Risley collects social hierarchy of castes and categorize
based on the position of each caste in the rank order. It is the first direct attempt to
count caste and to officially record caste status. It has changes the caste institution
itself. After this census, caste began to take a new life
2. The land revenue settlements: It gives legal recognition to the caste-based rights of
the upper castes. They became land owners. Implementation of large scale irrigation
schemes also brought changes in caste system.

3. Welfare of the downtrodden castes: The government introduced several steps to

ensure the welfare of the depressed people. Government of India Act: 1935, gives
Legal recognition to the lists or ‘schedules’ of castes and tribes. Terms of ‘Scheduled
castes’ and ‘Scheduled tribes’ were emerged. ‘Untouchable’ castes are also included in
‘scheduled castes’.

Caste system at present

 Caste played major role in nationalist movement. Various movements were organized
by ‘depressed classes’ and untouchable castes. The upper caste and lower caste
reformers organize lower caste people for these movements. Anti-untouchability

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movement were organized by congress and they treated caste as a social evil and it
divide Indians.

Role of Social Reformers

1. Ayyankali (1863 - 1914)

 He was the leader of the lower castes and Dalits
 With his efforts, Dalits got the freedom to walk on public roads and Dalit children
were allowed to join schools.
 Established Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham
2. Jotirao Govindrao Phule (1827-1890)
 Leader of anti-caste and anti-Brahmin movement.
 He Denounced Caste System ad rejected purity and pollution
 Founded Sathya Shodak Samaj in 1873
 Stood for Human rights and justice for lower castes
3. Savitri Bai Phule (1831-1897)
 First headmistress of first girls school in Pune
 Educating Shudras and Anti-Shudras
 Started night school for agriculturists and labourers
4. Periyar (E.V. Ramasami Naickar) (1879-1973)
 Leader of lower caste movement in South India
 He taught, all men are equal and it is the birth right of every individual to
enjoy liberty and equality
 Founded self-respect movement
5. Sri Narayana Guru (1856-1928)
 Preached brotherhood for all
 Fought against caste system
 Led a Social revolution
 One Caste, One Religion, One God for all
 Founded SNDP
Caste in Post-Independence India

After independence, the new government committed to the abolition of caste and
untouchability and included it in the Constitution. Various measures were taken by the
government includes:

1. Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

 Even though the State abolished untouchability (Article 17), it did not
implement radical reforms in the economic basis for caste inequality.
 In education and government jobs, the upper and lower castes have unequal
competition. Only people from SC and ST got the benefits from reservation
 So the government could not effectively deal with the problem of inequality
between the upper castes and lower castes in economic and educational terms
2. Development of private industry
 It has changed caste system through its economic change
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
There was no caste rules in private jobs in modern industries

People from upper and lower castes were permitted in private industries not
based on their caste basis
3. Urbanization
 The city life of people reduced caste segregation because of collective living
 The people from both higher and lower castes were worked together in factories
and industries. This reduced the caste based inequalities

4. Higher Education

 The educated higher castes follows individualism and meritocracy

 The educated people assess people not based on their caste but based on their
merit. So caste segregation was not common among the higher caste educated
people

But again caste came back more strongly in India. Recruitment to industrial jobs based
on caste and kinship-based lines. The departments in industries only recruit people
from a particular caste group. Prejudice against untouchables remained strong in
villages and cities.

5. Cultural sphere
 Endogamy is not changed
 Inter-caste marriages within the upper castes are frequent than before
 But marriage between an upper caste and scheduled caste remain rare, even
now.
6. Political change
 Democratic politics has been conditioned by caste in post-independence. Its
functioning become more and more complex. Caste remains central to electoral
politics
 Emergence of caste-based political parties since 1980s. In the general elections,
caste solidarities were decisive in winning elections

In this context, Sociologists and social anthropologists coined many new concepts to
try and understand these processes of change.

Sanskritisation

 M. N Srinivas (1916-1999): An Indian Sociologist and Anthropologist Coined the terms

Sanskritisation and Dominant Caste
 He is the author of ‘The Remembered Village’, it is a best known village study in
Social Anthropology

What is Sanskritisation?

 It is the process whereby the lower caste people takes over the beliefs, rituals, style
of life and other cultural traits from those of the upper castes, especially the
Brahmins
 E.g.: Adopting practices from Brahmins and Kshatriyas by lower castes
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
Practices include: Adopting vegetarianism, wearing of sacred thread and performance
of specific prayers and religious ceremonies
 Sanskritisation accompanies or follows a rise in the economic status of the caste
 Some scholars believed that sanskritisation claiming a prohibited ritual privileges by
lower castes
Dominant Castes

 It refers to “those castes with large population and were granted land rights through
land reforms after independence”

 The lad reforms took away the land rights from the upper caste landlords. They were
called ‘absentee landlords’, who played no part in agricultural economy. They only
claiming the rent or ‘pattom’of the land

 These rights then granted to the intermediate castes, who managed the cultivation-but
not cultivated by themselves. After the land reforms, these intermediate castes got the
land rights and soon they became economically powerful. They are called as
Dominant castes.

Characteristics of Dominant Castes

 Large in number
 Have land rights
 Economically powerful
 Political power and part of regional politics
 Agrarian economy
Examples of dominant castes:

 Yadavas - Bihar & Uttar Pradesh

 Vokkaligas - Karnataka
 Reddys & Khammas - Andhra Pradesh
 Marathas - Maharashtra
 Jats - Punjab, Haryana, Western U.P.
 Patidars - Gujarat
Transition in caste system at present
Upper castes Lower castes
 Caste is invisible  Caste is visible
 Decline significance of caste  Lost individual identities
 Benefits from development, education  No educational/social capital
and jobs  Compete with upper castes
 State-sector jobs  Caste identity is the only asset
 No competition from others  Suffer discrimination
 Caste is limited to religious practice,  Reservation system as a savior
marriage & kinship
 Differentiated group-some are poor
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2.Tribal Communities
 The term tribe was introduced in colonial era. It is used to describe the oldest
inhabitants of the sub-continent. They are generally defined in terms of what they were
not.
 They did not practice religion with a written text
 They did not have a state or political form
 They did not have sharp class divisions
 They did not have caste. They were neither Hindus nor Peasants

Classifications of Tribal Societies: They are classified based on their permanent traits and
acquired traits

Permanent Traits Acquired Traits

Region Based on two criteria:

Language Mode of Livelihood
Physical characteristics Incorporation into Hindu Society
Ecological habitat

Permanent Traits

Based on Region: The tribal population of India is widely dispersed, but there are also
concentrations in certain regions.

1. Tribal concentrated middle India: 85% of tribals lives in middle India. It includes states
like Gujarath, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odhisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh

2. North-Eastern States: Remaining 15%, over 11% in North-Eastern states and over 3% in
rest of India

 In state estimates: North-Eastern states have highest concentration of tribals

 Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland-more than 60% to 95%

Based on Language-Four groups

 Indo-Aryan
 Dravidian
 Austric
 Tibeto-Burman
Based on Physical-racial: Five Groups

 Negrito
 Australoid
 Mongoloid
 Dravidian
 Aryan

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Size of Tribal group:

 Andaman Islanders –Less than 100 persons

 Total tribal population (2001 census): 8.2% (84 million persons)
 In census 2011: 8.6% (104 million tribal persons)
Biggest tribal groups (million population): Gonds, Bhils, Santhals, Oraons, Minas, Bodos,
Mundas

Acquired Traits

The acquired traits can be classified on two criteria:-

1. Mode of Livelihood: Fishermen, food gatherers & hunters, shifting cultivators,

peasants, plantation & industrial workers
2. Extent of Incorporation into Hindu Society: Degree of assimilation can be in two
ways:-

a).Tribes‘ point of view: Tribe’s attitude towards Hindu society, some are supportive
/resisting Hinduism

b). Mainstream point of view: Status accorded to them in Hindu society ie. high status is
given to some tribes in Hindu society. But most of the tribes are given a low status in Hindu
society.

Tribe: The Carrier of a Concept

During 1960s: There are two views about tribes

1. A continuum of Caste-based (Hindu) peasant society

 Some believed that Tribes are the continuation of the caste-based Hindu society. They
are not fundamentally different from caste-peasant society
 Because they are less stratified, having more community based ownership

2. Tribes are different kind of community

 Tribes are wholly different from castes because they had no notion of purity/pollution
 They said there is cultural difference between tribes and Hindu castes
 Tribals lacks hierarchical integration and ‘animist’ tribals are more egalitarian
 They are having kinship based social organization

During 1970s: Discussions

 The definition of tribe has changed. It is believed that tribes and peasants were two
different societies
 The distinction between the two was depended on the common criteria like size,
isolation, religion and means of livelihood. But it has changed now.
These include:
 Santhal, Gonds & Bhils - became Large group
 Munda & Hos turned to - Settled agriculture
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 Hunting gathering tribes like Birhors of Bihar now turned to – basket making
 But now some ‘caste’ people were also engaged in hunting and gathering in absence
of other livelihood

Mechanisms of absorption into Hindu community

There are three ways:

1. Sanskritisation
2. Conquest by caste Hindus to the gotras and accept them as Shudras
3. Acculturation: a process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of other group
4. Due to colonization and forest conquests-the absorption is two ways:
Natural and Exploitative incorporation
Nature of tribal community now

 Ideology of ‘tribalism’ i.e. tribals define themselves as tribals in order to distinguish

them from others. The hunting-gathering tribes still common, but many tribes are
advanced and free from oppression
 There are Gond Kingdoms in central India such as Garha Mandla or Chanda and
Rajput Kingdoms in central and western India
 They have dominance over plains people and have special market for trading forest
produces, salt and elephants
 But the businessmen exploit forest resources and recruit cheap labour from tribals to
work on their plantations
 Thus they are mingled with the mainstream society
Mainstream Attitude towards Tribes
 During colonialism, the tribals were faced incursion of money lenders and thus lost
land due to immigrant settlers. Their access to forests restricted due to Govt policy of
reservation of forests and mining operations. Tribals lost their culture, land and
livelihood
 In 18th & 19th centuries several tribal rebellions were emerged
E.g.: Santhal rebellion
 So Govt. categorized the land into two:
The ‘excluded’ areas
Partially excluded’
 The excluded means: The entry of non-tribals are prohibited
 Partially excluded means: The entry of non-tribals were regulated based on certain
criteria

Two Debates…1940s

Isolation Debate

 This was put forward by Verrier Elwin.

 Tribals should be separated from the mainstream society.

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 Tribes need protection from traders, moneylenders and Hindu/Christian Missionaries
 They are trying to reduce tribals to detribalized landless labourers
Integration Debate

G.S.Ghurye was put forwarded this theory. He called them as ‘backward Hindus’
Their problems have to be addressed within the same framework as like other
backward classes
The result of debates.
 Constituent Assembly advocated welfare schemes for controlled integration of tribals.
But this integration neglected their needs & desires
 Integration only based on the terms of mainstream society
Introduced some Schemes:
 Five-Year Plans, Tribal sub-plans, Tribal welfare blocks, Special multi-purpose area
scheme
 The result is – tribals lost their forests, land and communities in the name of
development
National Development V/S Tribal Development
The tribals paid price for the ‘development’ of Indian society. It includes:-

1. Dispossession of tribals’ land: Development schemes like large dams, factories, mines
in tribal areas displaced tribal people from their land.
2. Loss of livelihood: Tribals have faced exploitation of minerals and natural resources
by outsiders and loss of forests
3. Private property rules in land – Community ownership to private ownership.
Construction of large dams leads to development of mainstream society and
undermine the tribal people. E.g.: Narmada Dam
4. In-migration of non-tribals to tribal areas leads to destruction of tribal culture and
community. Thus they demand for separate states – Jharkhand and Chattisgarh
5. Emergence of disturbed areas: North-Eastern states like Manipur and Nagaland- lost
their civil liberties and don’t have the same rights as other citizens of India because
their states have been declared as ‘disturbed areas’

Tribal Identity Today

Negative Impacts
 Forced incorporation of tribes into mainstream
 Tribal identity formed by interactional process
 Centered on ideas of resistance and opposition to the non-tirbals
 Manipur & Nagaland – ‘disturbed areas’ (don’t have same rights as other states)
 Tribal rebellions and thus have economic and social impacts

Positive Impacts
 Achievement of statehood: Jharkhand & Chattisgarh
 But they did not use their new statehood. Tribals are powerless there
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 Emergence of educated middle class, most visible in North-Eastern states
 The reservation policy in education creating urbanized professional class
 Tribal society itself is differentiated due to this. Class and other divisions increased
within tribals
 Different bases for tribal identity growing

3.Family and Kinship

What is family?

Family is the simplest form of society and is a basic unit of society

Family is a group of people united by blood, marriage and adoption
Family is the first ever social institution which was experienced by a child. The word
family is derived from the Latin word Famulus which means Servant
Definition

 William F Ogburn and Nimkoff: Family is a more or less durable association of

husband and wife with or without children
 I.P. Desai: A Family is composed of parents and their unmarried children or the
husband and wife and their unmarried children

Structure and Forms of family: 2 Types

1. On the basis of number of members in the family, it can be divided into 3 types:

a. Nuclear family –father, mother and unmarried children

b. Extended family – one or more families of same generation with parents
c. Joint family – it is a group of people who lived together under common roof, who eat
food cooked at one hearth, who hold property in common and who are participated in
common family worship

Reasons for the decline of Joint family system in India:

1. Advancement in education
2. Industrialisation
3. Urbanisation

2. On the basis of the structure of family

On the basis of residence, family can be divided into 3 types:

a. Patrilocal: After marriage, the newly married couple lives in bridegrooms (Man’s)
house with their parents
b. Matrilocal: After marriage, the newly married couple lives in brides (girl’s) house with
their parents
c. Neolocal: It look for a new residence
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On the basis of authority, family can be divided into 2 types:

a. Patriarchal family: It is a type of family in which the eldest male member of the family
exercises power and dominance
b. Matriarchal: It is a type of family in which the eldest female member exercises power
and dominance

On the basis of inheritance, family can be divided into 2 types:

a. Patrilineal: It is a type of family in which inheritance through father

b. Matrilineal: It is a type of family in which inheritance through mother

Family of orientation and Family of Procreation

a. Family of Orientation: It is a type of family in which the child was born

b. Family of procreation: Family formed through marriage

Kinship
 The bond of blood or marriage which binds the people together in a group is called
kinship

There are two types

 Consanguinous: Kinship is through blood

 Affinal: Kinship is through marriage

Degrees of kinship-3 types

1. Primary kinship: The primary kinship is between those who have face-to face relation
E.g. Father and son, Mother and daughter etc..

2. Secondary kinship: The kinship between the primary kin of primary kin
E.g.: Father’s brother, Mother’s sister etc..

3. Tertiary kinship: The kinship between the secondary kins of the primary kin
E.g.: Mother’s brother’s wife, Father’s sister’s husband

Alphonsa Joseph, HSST (Jr.) Sociology, TSGVHSS Payyoli, Kozhikode 24