CASTES IN INDIA
THEIR MECHANISM, GENESIS
AND DEVELOPMENT
This paper was read by Dr. B.R.
AMBEDKAR
before
the Anthropology Seminar of Dr. A. A. Goidenweiser,
Columbia University,
New York
(America)
on 9th May 1916
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I
need hardly remind you of the complexity of the
i intend to handle.
Subtler minds and abler pens
than mine have been brought to the task of unravelling the
Subject
mysteries of Castes
the
domain of
understood/'
I
but unfortunately
;
remains in
still
it
the
am
''unexplained/' not to say of the "unquite alive to the complex intricacies of
a hoary institution like Caste, but I am not so pessimistic
as to relegate it to the region of the unknowable, for I
believe
it
can bo known.
both theoretically and
institution
The
caste
problem
practically.
a
is
vast
Practically,
it
that portends tremendous consequences.
local problem, but o ie capable of
j
much wider
one,
is
an
It is
mischief,
a
for
India does exist, Hindus
"as long as caste
hardly
or
have
with
outsiders
social
intercourse
any
intermarry
and if Hindus world migrate to other regions on earth, Indian
will
in
;
caste
would become
defied
a great
selves, as a
the case,
1
world problem.
a
many
scholars
Theoretically,
who have
it
has
taken upon them-
labour of love, to dig into its origion. Such being
cannot treat the problem in its entirety. Time,
space ard acumen, 1 am afraid, would ail fail me, if I
to do otherwise than limit myself to phase of
and spread of the caste
it, namely the genesis, mechanism
attcmpi
will strictly observe this rule, and will dwell on
system.
extraneous matters only when it is necessary to clarify or
I
support a point in
my
To proceed with
thesis.
the subject.
According to well-known
is a mixture of Aryans,
Ethnologists, the population of India
Dravidians, Mongolians and Scythians. All these stocks of
people came into India from various directions and with
various cultures, centuries ago,
when they were
in
a tribal
turn elbowed their entry into the country
by fighting with their predecessors, and after a stomachful
of it settled dovvn as peaceful neighbours. Through constant
contact and mutual intercourse they evolved a common
state.
They
culture
all in
that superseded
their
distinctive
cultures.
Jk
may
be granted that there has not been a thorough amalgamation
of the various stocks that make up the people of India,
and
to
a traveller from within
the
boundaries of India
marked contrast in physique and even
colour to the West, as does the South to the North.
But amalgamation can never be the sole criterion of
the East presents a
in
homogeneity as predicated of any people.
peoples arc heterogeneous. It
is the basis of homogeneity.
is
the
unity
Ethnically
all
of culture that
Taking this for granted, I
venture to say that there is no country that can rival the
Indian Peninsula with respect to the unity of its culture.
It has not only a geographic unity, but it has over and
above
a deeper and a
all
much more fundamental
indubitable cultural unity that covers the
unity-thc
land from end
10
But it is because of this homogeneity that Caste
becomes a problem so difficult to be explained. If ihc Hindu
Society were a mere federation of mutually exclude units
end.
would be simple enough. But Ca^te is a
an
of
already homogeneous unit, and the explanaparcelling
tion of the genesis of Caste is the explanation of this proees
of parcelling.
the
matter
Before launching into our field of enquiry, it is better
I will
ourselves regarding the nature of a caste.
of
a
the
of
few
students
best
ca^te for
therefore draw upon
to advise
their definition of
1.
it
:
Mr. Seaart, a French
authority, defi.ies
a caste
as
"a
close
corporation,
in
any rate
at
theory
rigorously hereditary : equipped with a certain
traditional and independent organisation, including
a chief and a council, meeting on occasion in
assemblies of more or less plenary authority and
joining together at certain festivals
:
bound together
by common
more
relate
occupations, which
food and to
particularly to marriage and to
of
and
ceremonial
questions
pollution,
ruling its
members by the exercise of jurisdiction, the extent
of which varies, but which succeds in making the
the
authority of the community more felt by
sanction of certain penalties and, above all, by final
irrevocable exclusion from the group."
2.
Mr. Nesfield
a caste as
defines
"a
class
of the
community which disowns any connection with
any other class and can neither intermarry nor
eat nor drink
with any but persons of their
own
community.**
3.
According to Sir. H. Risley, "a caste may be
defined as a collection of families or groups of
families bearing a common name which usually
denotes or
claiming
is
associated with specific occupation,
common
human or
descent
from
a
mythical
to follow
ancestor,
divine, professing
the same professional, callings and are regarded
by those who are competent to give an opinion
4.
as forming a single homogeneous community."
Dr. Ketkar defines caste as "a social group having
two
characteristics
:
(*")
membership
is
confined to
those who are born of members and includes all
persons so born () the members are forbidden
by an inexorable social law to marry outside the
group."
To
review these definitions
our purpose.
definitions
missed
of great
importance for
individually the
of three of the writers include too
none
little:
is
be noticed that taken
It will
the
is
complete or correct by
point in the
central
itself
much
and
mechanism of
or too
all
have
the Caste
an
and not as a group within, and with
Yet
definite relations to, the system of caste as a whole.
collectively all of them are complementary to one another,
Their mistake
system.
isolated unit by
lies
in trying to define
caste as
itself,
emphasising what has been obscured in the
other.
By way of criticism, therefore, I will take only
those points common to all Castes in each of the above
each
one
definitions
which are regarded as peculiarities of Caste and
evaluate them as such.
To
start
with Mr. S^riart.
He draws
attention to the
"Idea of pollution" as a characteristic of Caste. With regard
be safely said that it is by no means
a peculiarity of Caste as sifch. It usually originates in
priestly ceremonialism and is a particular case of th^ general
to this point
it
may
Consequently its necessary connection
with Caste may be completely denied without damaging
the working of Caste.
The "idea of pollution" has been
attached to the institution of Caste, only because the Caste
that enjoys the highest rank is the priestly Caste While
belief
in
purity.
:
we know
therefore
that
priest
conclude
and purity are old associates.
that
the
"idea of
We may
pollution"
is
a
characteristic of Caste
Mr. Nesfield
flavour.
only in so far as Caste has a religious
in his way dwells on the absence of
messing with those outside the Caste as one of its characIn
spite of the newness of the point we must
teristics.
say that Mr.
Nesfield has mistaken the effect for the cause.
Caste, being a self-enclosed
intercourse,
unit
naturally limits social
including messing etc. to
Members
within
it.
is not
Consequently this absence of messing with outsiders
due to positive prohibition, but is a natural result of Caste,
exclusiveness.
i. e.
No
doubt
this
absence of messing origi-
acquired the prohibitory
character of a religious injunction, but it may be regarded as
due
nally
to
exclusiveness,
a later growth. Sir H. Risley, makes no new point deserving
of special attention.
We now pass on to the definition of Dr. Ketkar who
has done much for the elucidation of the subject. Not
is
only
he a native, but he has also
brought a
critical
acuman and an open mind to bear on his study of Caste*
His definition merits consideration, for he has defined Caste
to a system
of Castes, and has concentrated his attention only on those characteristics which
in
are
in
its
relation
absolutely necessary for the existence of a Caste which
a
system, rightly excluding
or derivative in character.
all
others as being secondary
With
respect to his definition it
said that in it there is a slight confusion
must, however, be
of thought, lucid and clear as otherwise it is. He speaks
of Prohibition of Intermarriage and Membership by
Autogeny as the two characteristics of Caste. I submit
that these are
but two aspects of one and the same thing,
and not two different things as Dr. Ketker supposes them
to be. If you prohibit inter-marriage the result is that you
limit
the
membership to those born within the group. Thus
two are the obverse and the reverse sides of the same
medal.
This
evaluation of the various characteristics of
critical
Caste leave no doubt that prohibition, or rather tlu absence
of intermarriage-endogamy, to be concise is the only one
that
can
be
undertsood.
called
But
the
some
essence
may
of Caste when
deny
on
this
rightly
abstract
anthropological grounds for there exist endoganiou> groups
without giving rise to problem of Caste. In a general
way this may be true, as endogamous societies, culturally
making their abode in localities nv^re or less
removed, and having little to do with each other are a
The negroes and ths whites and the
physical reality.
that go
various tribal groups
by name of American
Indians in the United States may be cited as more or less
different,
view.
support of this
But we must not confuse matters, for in India the situation
illustarations
appropriate
is
different.
As pointed
in
out
form a homogeneous whole.
peoples of India
various races of India
before,
The
the
have more or
less fused into
occupying
one another and do possess cultural unity, which is the
only criterion of a homogeneous population. Given this
definite
territories
homogcnity as a basis Caste becomes a problem altogether
new in character and wholly absent in the situation
constituted by the mere propinquity of endogamous, social
Caste in India means an artificial chopping
population into fixed and definite units, each one
prevented from fusing into another through the custom
of endogamy. Tiius the conclusion is in evitable that
or tribal groups.
off the
Endogamy
is
the
only
characteristic
that
is
peculiar
to
8
caste,
tained,
the
and
we
if
we succeed
in
shall practically
showing how endogamy is mainhave proved the genesis and also
mechanism of Caste.
not be quite easy for you to anticipate why I
regard endogamy as a key to the mystery of the Caste
system. Not to strain your imagination too much, I will
It
may
proceed to give you my reasons for it.
It may not also be out of place to emphasize at this
moment that no civilized society of to-day presents more
of primitive time than does the Indian society,
survivals
is
and its tribal code,
essentially primitive
of
the
advance
of
time
and
civilization,
inspite
operates in
all its pristine vigour even to-day,
one of these primitive
its
religion
survivals,
attention
is
wish
to
v/hich
the
CUSTOM OF EXOGAMY.
I
to draw your
The prevalence
too well known
particularly
of exogamy in the pimitive words is a fact
to need any explanation. With the growth of history,
however, exogamy has lost its efficacy, and excepting the
nearest blood-kins, there is usually no social bar restricting
of marriage. But regarding the peoples of India
the law of exogamy is a positive injunction even to-day.
the field
Indian
are
though
from the
law
principle
of
(blood-kins)
.S
still
society
there
A GOT R AS
savours
no clans
of
of
and
;
matrimony which
for
exogamy,
cannot marry, but
(of
the clan
this
the
it is
same
system, even
can be easily seen
centres
not that
round
the
SAPINDAS
a marriage even between
is
class)
regarded as
sacrilege.
Nothing is therefore more important for you to
remember than the fact that endogamy is foreign to the
The various GOT R AS of India are and
people of India.
been exogomous, so are the other groups with totemic
have
no exaggeration to say that with the
exogamy is a creed and none dare infringe
so
so
much
that, inspite of the endogamy of the Castes
it,
within them exogamy is strictly observed and that there
are more rigorous penalties for violating exogamy than are
organization. It
people of India
for violating
is
with exogamy
the rule
see that
will, therefore, readily
You
endogamy.
there could be no Caste, for exogamy
the
consequently in
final analysis creation of castes, so for as India is concerned,
means the superposition of endogamy on exogamy. However,
out
in an originally exogamous
population an easy working
Caste)
of
of endogamy (which is equivalent to the creation
consideration of the
in the
is
is a grave problem, audit
of
means utilized for the preservation
endogamy against
means
But we have castes
fusion.
that
exogamy
we may hope
to
;
find
of our
solution
the
problem.
Thus the Superposition of endogamy on exogamy
means
Let us take an
affair.
make
the creation of caste.
itself
against
avail,
make
to
this
is
itself
intermarriage
exogamy had
imaginary
it
self
endogamous.
endogamous
with outside
If a
it
to
\\ill
group
a formal injunction
will be of no
groups
if
tendency
Again, there is
contact with one another to assimilate and
and thus consolidate
is
an easy
desires
of endogamy,
prior to the introduction
been the rule in all matrimonial relations.
in all groups lying in close
a
especially
tendency
not
that
group
into a Caste and analyse what means
have to adopt to make
desires
But
into
to be strongly
Caste formation,
it
amalgamate,
a homogenous society. If this,
counteracted in the interest of
a
absolutely necessary to circumscribe
10
le
outside which people should not contract marriages.
to prevent
marriages
Nevertheless, this
encircling
11 without creates problems from within which are not
Roughly speaking, in a normal
up the two sexes are more or le^s evenly distributed,
generally speaking there is an equality between those
the same age.
The quality is, however, never quite
At the same time to the group
lized in actual societies.
into a caste the manitenance
itself
is desirous of making
equality between the sexes becomes the ultimate goal,
without it endogamy can no longer subsist. In other
rds, if endogamy is to be preserved conjugal rights from
easy of
y
solution.
I
.t
have to be provided for, otherwise members of the
driven out of the circle to take care of
nip will be
But in order that the
rmselves in any way they can.
for
be
from within, it is
to
ijugal rights
provided
numerical
a
to
maintain
equality
solutely necessary
thin
tween the marriageable units of the two sexes within the
nip desirous of making itself into a Caste. It is only
rough the maintenance of such an equality that the
cessary endogamy of the group can be kept intact, and a
ry large disparity is sure to
The problem of caste,
to
>le
break
it.
then, ultimately resolves itself
one of repairing the disparity between the marriageunits of the two sexes within it. Left to nature, the
uch needed parity between the units can be realized only
len a couple dies simultaneously.
But this is a rare con tin-
The husband may die before the wife and create a
who must be disposed of, else through interwoman,
rplus
in like
arriage she will violate the endogamy of the group,
ncy.
11
manner the husband may
survive his wife and be surplus man,
the group, while it may sympathise with him for the
said beravement, has to dispose of, else he will marry out-
whom
side the
Caste and will break the endogamy.
surplus
man and
he caste
Thus both the
surplus woman constitute a menace to
the
not taken care
not finding suitable partners
nside their prescribed circle (and left to themselves they canlot find any, for if the matter be not regulated there can only
if
of, for
enough parts to go round) very likely they will transthe boundary, marry outside and import offspring that
>e just
;ress
foreign to the caste.
s
Let us see what our imaginary group
his
SURPLUS
is
likely to
MAN AND SURPLUS WOMAN.
do with
We
will
WOMAN.
She can
the case of the SURPLUS
of
to
in
so
as
two
different
preserve the
disposed
ways
ndogamy of the caste.
irsttake
up
>e
First
:
burn her on the
funeral
pyre
of her deceased
This, however, is a rather an
the
of
npracticable way
solving
problem of sex disparity,
usband and get rid of her.
some
it may not. Consequenthus be disposed of,
cannot
y every SURPLUS
And
icause it is an easy solution but a hard realization.
the SURPLUS
(widow), if not disposed of,
i
cases
it
may
work,
in
others
WOMAN
WOMAN
mains
in the
group but in her very existence lies a double
She may marry outside the Caste and violate endomy, or she may marry within the Caste and through comtition encroach upon the chances of marriage that must be
:
nger.
ierved for the potential
re
r
a menace
if
in
any
She is thereand something must be done to
brides in the Caste.
case,
she cannot be burned along with her deceased husband.
12
The second remedy is to enforce widowhood on her Tor the
life.
So far as the objective results are concerned,
jest of her
a better solution than
is
burning
Burning the
widow
WOMAN
PLUS
no
creates
eliminates
is
fraught with.
or outside the Caste.
paratively
of
problem
to burning because
humane
all
it
inside
either
But compulsory widowhood
it is
SUR-
Being dead and gone she
remarriage
is
superior
practicable. Besides being comalso guards against the morals of re-
more
marriage as does burning ; but
No doubt under
the group.
woman
enforcing widowhood.
the three evils that a
it fails
to guard the morals of
compulsory
remains, and just because she
is
widowhood
the
deprived of her being
natural right of being a legitimate wife in future, the incentive
to immoral conduct
able
she
is
increased.
But
by no insuperin which
this is
She can be degraded to a condition
no longer a source of allurement.
difficulty.
is
The problem of SURPLUS
more important and much more
SURPLUS WOMEN
into a Caste.
with
figure
woman
From
prestige.
man
He
hand.
upper
time immemorial
group and of the
With
this
than
traditional
his wishes have
that
desires to
two
always been consulted.
iniquitous injuctions, religious,
man as a maker of injunctions is
all.
Such being the case,
of treatment to a
woman
in Caste.
compared
of
on the other hand, has been an easy prey to
social
or
itself
a dominant
sexes has
superiority
of the
make
as
is
much
is
(widower)
difficult
group that
has had the
in every
woman
in a
MAN
greater
man ovei
Woman,
all
kinds of
economic.
Bat
most often above them
you cannot accord the same kind
surplus
man
as
you can to a surplus
13
The project of burning him with his deceased wife is
hazardous in two ways
first of all it cannot be done
he
is
a
because
man.
simple
Secondly, if done, a sturdy
:
soul
is
to
lost
the Caste.
There remain then only two
solutions which can conveniently dispose of him.
conveniently, because he is an asset to the group.
I
say
Important as he
is to the group, endogamy is still more
and
must assure both these ends.
the
solution
important,
Under these circumstances she may be forced or 1 should say
induced, after the manner of the widow, to remain a widower
for the
rest
difficult, for
of his
life.
This solution
without any compulsion
as to enjoy self-imposed celibacy,
step of their
own
But, given
hardly be expected to be realized.
very likely to be the case, if the
joys
not altogether
are so disposed
or even to take a further
accord and renounce
human nature
is
some
as
On
it
and
its
this solution
can
the world
is,
the other hand
as is
MAN
SURPLUS
remains
group as an active participator in group activities,
he is a danger to the morals of the group. Looked at from
different point of view celibacy, though easy in cases where
it
succeeds, is not so advantageous even then to the
in the
material prospects of the Caste. If he observes genuine
celibacy and renounces the world, he would not be a menace
to the preservation of Caste endogamy or caste morals as he
undoubtedly would be if he remained a secular person.
But as an ascetic celibate he is as good as burned, so far
A
as the material well-being of his Caste is concerned.
Caste, in order that it may be large enough to afford a
vigorous
communal
numerical strength.
life, must be maintained at a certain
But to hope for this and to proclaim
14
is
celibacy
the
same as trying
to
cure
atrophy
by
bleeding.
Imposing celibacy on the surplus man in the group,
It is in the
therefore, fails both theoretically and practically.
interest of the Caste to keep him as a grahastha (one who
raises a family), to use a Sanskrit
technical
term.
But the
to provide him with a wife from within the Caste.
problem
At the outset this is not possible, for the ruling ratio in a
is
man to one woman and none can have
two chances of marriage, for in a Caste thoroughly self-
caste has to be one
enclosed there are always just enough marriageable women
to go round for the marriageable men.
Under these circumstances the surplus man can be provided with a wife only by
recruiting a bride from the ranks of those not yet marriageable in order to
tie
him down
to tin group. This
is
certainly
the best of the possible solutions in the case of the surplus
man. By this, he is kept within the caste. By this means
numerical depletion through constant outflow is guarded
against, and by this endogamy and morals are preserved.
It will
now be
seen that the four
disparity between the
erical
two sexes
means by which numconveniently main-
is
(2)
Burning the widow with her deceased husband
Compulsory widowhood a milder form of burning
(3)
on the widower
tained (1)
Imposing celibacy
not yet marriageable.
;
(4)
;
:
Wedding him
Though, as I said above,
and
widow
imposing celibacy on the widower are
burning the
of doubtful service to the group in its endeavour to preserve
But means, as
its endogamy, all of them operate as Means.
What
forces, when liberated or set in motion create an end.
to a
then
girl
is
the
end that these means create
?
15
and perpetuate endogamy, while caste and
create
They
endogamy, according to our analysis of the various definitions of caste, are one and the same thing.
Thus the existence of these means
and caste involves
identical with caste
is
these means.
This, in
in
my
their
mechanism.
many
past, and caste
tion.
This
is
I
need hardly promise that there are a great
the path
in
pitfalls
in
now
Let us
to the castes in
generalities
mechanism of a caste
turn from these high
Hindu Society and inquire into
the general
is
opinion,
a system of castes.
of those
India to be sure
especially
true
is
who
try to unfold
the
a very ancient institu-
where there
exist
no authentic
or written record or where the people, like the Hindus, are
so constituted that to them writing history
world
an
is
illusion.
long time they
may
tory.
a folly
,
for the
live, though for a
remain unrecorded and as often as not
customs and morals are
If this is
is
But institutions do
like
fossils
that
their
own
our task will be amply rewarded
true,
hisif
we
Hindus arrived at to meet the
problems of the surplus man and surplus woman.
scrutinize
the solution
Complex though
it
the
be in
Society, even to a superficial
lar uxrial
(0
customs, namely
its
general working the
Hindu
observer, presents three singu-
:
Sati or the burning of the
widow on
the funeral pyre
of her deceased husband.
(ii)
Enforced widowhood by which a widow
is
not allow-
ed to remarry.
(in)
Girl marriage.
In addition, one also notes a great
hankering after
16
Sannyasa (renunciation) on the part of the widower, but
may in some cases be due purely to psychic disposition.
So
this-
as I know, no scientific explanation of the origin
is forth-coming even to day.
We have
far
of these customs
plenty of philosophy to
oured, but nothing to
us
tell
why
A.K. Coomaraswamy,
Woman
a Defence of the Eastern
:
these customs were hon-
us the causes o ftheir origin and
Sati has been honoured (Of
existence.
Sati
tell
in the British
Socio-
Review, Vol. VI, 1913) because it is a "proof of the
perfect unity of body and soul" between husband and wife
and of "devotion beyond the grave;" because it embodied
logical
the ideal of wifehood, which
is
well
she said "Devotion to her Lord
eternal heaven
and
:
O
expressed by
Umawhen
woman's honour,
is
it is
her
Maheshvara," she adds with a most
touching human cry, "I desire not paradise itself if thou are
not satisfied with me !" Why compulsory widowhood is
honoured
know
I
not, nor have I yet
met with any one who
of it, though there are a great many who adin honour of girl marriage is reported
Dr.
Ketkar
be
"A really faithful man or
to
as follows
by
woman ought not to feel affection for a woman or a man
sang
in praise
here to
it.
The eology
:
other than
purity
is
the
one with
whom he
or she
is
united.
Such
compulsory not only after marriage but even be-
fore marriage,
for that
is
only correct ideal of chastity.
the
No
maiden could be considered pure if she feels love for a
man other than one to whom she might be married. As she
does not
not
known
to
whom
feel affection for
does so,
it is
a sin
she
is
going to be married she must
any man at
So
it
is
all
before marriage.
better for a girl to
If she
know whom
she has to love before any sexual consciousness has
been
awakened
in in her.
*Hence
girl
marriage.
This high flown and ingenious sophistry indicates
these institutions were honoured, but does not teil us
My
they were practised.
own
interpretation
is
why
why
that they
one
Jslightwere honoured because they were practised. Any
in the 18th century
of
individualism
rise
with
ly acquainted
will appreciate
that
is
my
remark. At
most important
;
and
all
times,
it
is
the philosophies
the
movement
grow around
it
long afterwards to justify it and give it a moral support.
In like manner I urge that the very fact that these customs
were so highly eulogized proves that they needed eulogy for
Regarding the question as to why they
that
submit
arose,
they were needed to create the structure of caste and the philosophies in honour of them were
their prevalence.
T
intended to popularize them, or to gild the
say, for they
pill,
as
we might
must have been so abominable and shocking to
sense of the unsophisticated that they needed a
of sweetening. These customs are essentialy of
deal
great
the nature of means though they are represented as ideals.
the moral
But
not blind us from understanding the results
that flow from them. One might safely say that idealization
this should
of means
is
necessary and in
this particular case
was
per-
haps motivated to endow them with greater efficacy. Calling
a means an end does no harm, except that it disguises its
real
character
that of a
means
;
but
it
does not deprive it of its real nature,
pass a law that ail cats are dogs
You may
,
a means an end.
But you can no more
the
nature
of
means
than
change
you can turn cats
thereby
into dogs consequently I am justified in holding that whethere regarded as ends or as means, Sati, enforced widowhood
just as
you can
call
;
~"~
"History of Caste in India, 1900, pp. 32-33.
18
and girl marriage are customs that were
primarily intended
to solve the problem of the surplus man and surlus woman
in a caste and to maintain its endogamy.
Strict
endogamy
could not be preserved without these customs, while caste
without endogamy is a fake.
explained the mechanism of the creation and
Having
of Caste
preservation
in
India,
the further quesion as to
The question of origin is always
an annoying question and in the study of Caste it is sadly
neglected some have connived at it, while others have dodits genesis naturally arises.
;
Some
are puzzled as to whether there could be such
ged
a thing as the origin of caste and suggest that "if we cannot
control our fondness for the word 'origin,' we should better
it.
use the plural form,
do not
feel
viz. 'origins
of caste."
As
for myself I
puzzled by the Origin of Caste in India for, as
have established before, endogamy is the only characteristic of Caste and when I say ORIGIN OF CASTE I mean
I
THE ORIGIN OF THE MECHANISM FOR ENDOGAMY.
The atomistic conception of individuals
in a Society
so
was about to say vulgarized in poligreatly popularised
tical orations is the greatest humbug. To say that individuals
make up society is trivial ; society is always composed of
It may be an exaggeration to assert the theory of
classes.
class-conflict, but the existence of definite classes in a society
I
is
a
fact.
Their basis
may
intellectual or social, but
a member of a
class.
differ.
They may be economic or
an individual in a society is always
is a universal fact and early Hindu
This
to this rule, and,
society could not have been an exception
If
it
not.
we bear this
was
know
we
of
fact,
as a matter
our study of the genesis of caste
generalization in mind,
19
would be very much facilitated, for we have only to determine what was the class that first made into caste, for class
and
caste, so to say, are next
span that separates the two.
door neighbours, and
A CASTE
IS
it
only a
AN ENCLOSED
CLASS.
The study of
the origin of caste
must furnish us with an
answer to the question what is the class that raised this
'enclosure' around itself ? The question may seem too inquisitorial, but it is pertinent, and an answer to this will serve
us to elucidate the mystry of the growth and development
of castes all over India. Unfortunately a direct answer to
this question
indirectly.
not within
is
said just
I
my power.
were current in the Hindu Society.
To be
necessary to qualify the statement, as
of
their prevalence.
can answer
I
above that the customs
it
it
only
in question
true to facts
it
is
connotes universality
These customs in
all
their
strictness
are obtainable only in one caste, namely the Brahmans, who
occupy the highest place in the social hierarchy of the
Hindu
society
castes
is
;
and as
their prevalence
derivative of their observance
in
is
Non-Brahman
neither strict nor
This important fact can serve as a basis of an
important observation. If the prevalence of these customs
in the non-Brahman Castes is derivative, as can be shown
complete.
very easily, when it needs no argument to prove what class
the father of the institution of caste. Why the Brahman
is
class
should have enclosed
itself into a caste is a different
which
be
left
as
an employment for another
may
question,
occassion. But the strict observance of these customs and the
-.social
ent
superiority arrogated by the priestly class in all anciare sufficient to prove that they were the
civilizations
20
originators of this
founded
"unnatural institution"
and
maintained through these unnatural means.
I
now come
to the third part of
my
paper regarding the
question of the growth and spread of the caste system all
How did the
over India. The question 1 have to answer is
institution of caste spread among the rest of the Non-Brah:
man
population of the country
of the castes
all
?
The question of
the spread
over India has suffered a worse fate than
the question of genesis.
And the main cause, as it seems to
is that the two
questions of spread and of origin are not
me,
separated. This is because of the common belief among scholars that the caste system has either been imposed upon the
docile population of India by a
law-giver as a divine dispenhas grown according to some law nf social
growth peculiar to the Indian people.
sation, or that
it
propose to handle the law-giver of India. Every
has its law-giver, who arises as an incarnation
I first
country
(avatar)
times of emergency to set right
a sinning
it the laws of justice
and morality.
the law-giver of India, if he did exist, was certainly
in
humanity and give
Manu,
an audacious person. If the story that he gave the law
of caste be created, then Manu must have been a dare-devil
fellow
and the humanity
must be a
humanity quite
acquainted with.
was Given.
It
is
that
accepted
different
from
his
dispensation
ths one
we
are
unimaginable that the law of caste
hardly an exaggeration to s.iy that Manu
It
is
could not have outlived his law, for what is that class
status of
submit to be
that can
degraded to the
brutes by the pen of a man, and suffer him to raise
another class to the pinnacle ? Unless he was a tyrant who
21
the
all
in
it
cannot
population
subjection
be imagined that he could have been allowed to dispense
his patronage in this grossly
unjust manner, as may be
easily seen by a mere glance at his "Institutes". I may
seem hard for Mann, but I am sure my force is not strong
held
enough to
spirit and
One
long.
his
kill
is
He
ghost.
appealed
to,
lives,
and
I
like
a disembodied
afraid will
yet live
want to impress upon you is that Manu
law of Caste and that he could not do so.
thing I
did not Give the
He was an
Caste existed long before Manu.
and
am
upholder of it
but
it,
certainly he did
the present order of Hindu
about
therefore philosphised
not and could
not ordain
work
His
ended with the codification of existig caste
Society.
rules and the preaching of Caste dhanna.
The spread and
growth of the Caste system is too gigantic, a task to be
achieved by the power or cunning of an individual or of
a
class. Similar in
created the Caste.
I
argument is the theory that the Brahmans
After what I have said regarding Manu,
need hardly say anything more, except to point out that
B
thought and malicious in intent. The
been guilty of many things, and I
dare say they were, but the imposing of the caste system
on the non-Brah;nan p3pulation was beyond their mettle.
it
in
incorrect
Brahmans may have
They may have helped
the process by their glib philosophy,
but they certainly could
beyond
own
own
their
pattern
!
How
glorious
pleasure and eulogize
it
very
for.
There
is
its
!
How
hard
!
One can
take
furtherance, but cannot further
The vehemence of attack may
far.
unnecessary
not have pushed their scheme
To fashion society after one's
confines.
seem to be
can assure you that it is not uncalled
a strong belief in the mind of orthodox Hindus
;
but
I
22
Hindu Society was somehow moulded into the
frame work of the Caste System and that it is an organizathat
the
tion consciously created
this belief exist, but
it
it
by the Shastras. Not only does
being justified on the ground that
cannot but be good, because
it is
ordained by the Shastras
and the Shastras cannot be wrong. I have urged so much
on the adverse side of this attitude, not because the religious
sanctity is grounded on scientific basis, nor to help those
reformers
make
is
to
who
are preaching against
the caste system neither will
show the
falsity
it.
it
Preaching did not
unmake
it.
My aim
of the attitude that has exalted
religious sanction to the position of a scientific explanation.
Thus
the great man's theory does not help us very far
in solving the
probably not
spread of Castes in India. Western scholars,
much given to hero worship, have attempted
other explanations. The nuclei, round which have "formed'*
the various castes in India, are according to them:
(1) occupation
;
the rise of
(3)
(2)
survivals of tribal organizations, etc.
new
belief
;
(4)
cross-breeding and
;
(5)
migration.
The question may be asked whether
exist
in
other societies and
these nuclei
whether they are
do not
peculair to
India.
If they are not peculair to India, but are common to
the world, why is it that that did not "form" caste on other
parts of this planet? Is it because those parts are holier
than the land of the Vedas, or that the professors are
mistaken ?
I
am afraid
Inspite of the
that the latter
high
is
the truth.
theoretic value claimed
several authors for their respective theories
by the
based on one
or other of the above nuclei, one regrets to say that on
23
examination
close
they are nothing more than filling
what Matthew Arnold means by 4t the grand
name without the grand thing in it." Such are the various
theories of caste advanced by Sir Denzil Ibbetson, Mr.
To criticise them in
Nesfield, Mr. Senart and Sir H. Risley.
illustrations
a lump would be to say that they are a disguised form of
of formal logic. To illustrate
Mr.
the Petitio Principii
:
was the
"function and function only
foundation upon which the whole system of Caste in Irdia
was built up." But he may rightly be reminded that he
does not very much advance our thought by making the
Nesfield says that
above statement, which
practically
amounts
to saying
that
are functional or occupational, which is a
We have yet to know from Mr.
discovery
castes in India
very poor
!
Nesfield why is it that an occupational group turned into
an occupational caste ? I would cheerfully have undertaken
the task of dwelling on the theories of other ethnologists,
had
it
not been for
the
fact
that
Mr. Nesfield's
is
a
typical one.
Without
explain
the
occuring
in
stopping
to
caste
criticize
as
a
those
natural
system
obedience to the law of
theories
that
phenomenon
disintegration,
as
explained by Herbert Spencer in his formula of evolution,
or as natural as "the structural differentiation within an
organism" to employ the phraseology of orthodox apologists, or as early attempt to test the laws of eugenics-as all
belonging to the same class of fallacy which regards the
caste system as inevitable,
or as being consciously imposed
in anticipation of these laws on a helpless and humble
population, I will now lay before you ray own vievv on the
24
subject.
We
the
shall
Hindu
be well advised to
common
society, in
of classes
and
composed
(1) Brahmans or the
the military class
and
(4) the
:
a
or
Sudra,
the
in
was
are the
the Kshatriya, or
(2)
or the merchant class
artisan
to be paid to
system,
known
earliest
the Vaisya,
(3)
class
other societies,
priestly class:
Particular attention has
essentialy
the
the outset that
recall at
with
and
menial
the fact that this
which
individuals,
:
class.
was
when
qualified, could change their class, and therefore classes did
change their personnel. At some time in the history of the
Hindus, the priestly class socially detatched
itself
from the
of the body of people and through a closed-door
policy became a caste by itself. The other classes being
rest
subject
to the law of social
differentiation,
some
division of labour underwent
into large,
minute
others into very
groups. The Vaishya ?nd Sudra classes were the original
inchoate plasm, which formed the sources of the numerous
castes
of to day.
easily lend
class
As
itself to very
could
have
the military occupation does not
minute sub-division, the Kshatriya
differentiated
into
soldiers
and
administrators.
This sub-division of a society is quite natural. But
unnatural
thing about these sub-divisions is that they
the
have lost the open door character of the class system and
have become self-enclosed units called castes. The question
were they compelled to close their doors and become
endogamous or did they close them of their own accord ?
is
I
:
submit that there
is
CLOSED THE DOOR
a double line of answer
:
OTHER FOUND
IT
:
SOME
CLOSED
25
AGAINST THEM.
The one
a psychological interpretation
and the other is mechanistic, but they are complementary
and both are necessary to explain the phenomena of caste-
formation in
will
I
is
its entirety.
first
take
The question we have
up
the psychological
to answer
did these sub-divisions or
in
this
classes, if
interpretation.
connection
you
please,
is
:
Why
industrial
become self-enclosed or endogumous ?
My answer is because the Brahmans were so. Endogamy
or the closed-door system, was a fashion in the Hindu
religious, or otherwise,
had originated from the Brahman caste
it was whole heartedly imitated
by all the non Baahman
in
their
turn, became endogasub-divisions or classes, who,
.Society,
and as
it
1
"the infection of imitation' that caught
all these sub-divisions on their onward march of differentia-
mous
tion
castes.
It is
and has turned them into
castes.
The propensity to
need
imitate is a deep-seated one in the human mind and
formation
the
for
not be deemed an inadequate explanation
of the various castes in India. It'isj so deep seated that
of
Walter Bagehot argues that we must not think
imitation as voluntary, or even conscious.
it
has
its
seat
mainly
whose notions, so
are hardly
felt
far
in
On
the contrary
very obscure parts of the mind,
from being consciously produced,
from being conceived, before
The main seat of the
at the time.
to exist, so far
hand, are not even felt
imitative part of our nature
is
our
belief,
and the causes pre-
us to believe that
disposing us to believe this or disinclining
nature. But as to the
are among the obscurest parts of our
can be
imitative nature of credulity there
*
1915 p. 60
Physics and Politics
no doubt." *
This
26
propensity to imitate hasjbeen
study by Gabriel
Tarde,
One of his
imitation.
made the subject of a
who lays down three
three laws
is
scientific
laws of
that imitation flows
from
the higher to the lower
or, to quote his own words, "Given
the
opportunity, a nobility will always and everywhere
imitate its leaders, its
kings or sovereigns, and the people
likewise, given the opportunity, its
nobility."** Another of
Trade's laws of imitation is that the extent or
intensity of
:
imitation varies
inversely in proportion to distance, or in his
own words "the thing that is most imitated is the most
superior one of those that are nearest. In
fact, the influence of
the model's
example
as well as directly to
is
efficacious inversely to its
its
superiority.
Distance
is
DISTANCE
understood
here in its
However distant in space
sociological meaning.
a stranger may be, he is close
by, from this point of view, if
we have numerous and
daily relations with him and if we
have every facility to
This
satisfy our desire to imitate him.
law of the imitation of the nearest, of the least
distant,
explains the gradual and consecutive character of the
spread
of an example that has been set
the
social
by
higher
ranks."*
In order to prove my thesis-which
really needs no proofthat some castes were formed
by imitation, the best way, it
seems to me, is to find out whether or not the vital
condition
for the formation
Society.
of castes by imitation exist in the Hindu
The conditions
standard authority are:
must enjoy prestige in
'Numerous and daily
**Laws
*
234
imitation,
according to this
That the source of imitation
the group and (2) that there must be
(1)
relations'
of Imitation, Tr.
ibid. p.
for
among members of
by E.G. Parsons, 2nd
ed. p. 21
group.
27
That these conditions were present
in
India there
is
little
Brahman is a semi-god and very nearly
He sets up a mode and moulds the rest. His
reason to doubt. The
a demi-god.
prestige
unquestionable and
is
Can such
and good.
a
being,
is
the fountain head of bliss
by Scriptures and
idolised
venerated by the priest ridden multitude,
fall to project his
personality on the suppliant humanity ? Why, if the story
be true, he is believed to bs the very end of creation. Such
but at
worthy of more than mere imitation,
enclosure,
least of imitation; and if he lives in an endogamous
Be
should not the rest follow his example ? Frail humanity
a creature
is
!
it
embodied
it
succumbs.
invention
in a grave philosopher or a frivolous
Jt
cannot be otherwise.
Imitation
house-maid,
is
easy and
is difficult.
Yet another way of demonstrating the play of imitation
in the formation of castes is to understand the attitude of
non-Brahman classes towards those customs which supported
nascent days until, in the course
embedded in the Hindu mind and
the structure of caste in
of history,
it
became
its
day without any support for now it needs
In
but
no prop
belief-like a weed on the surface of a pond.
in
the
Hindu
a
caste
a way, but only in a way, the status of
of
Society varies directly with the extent of the observance
hangs there to thi$
the customs of SATI, enforced widowhood, and girl marriage.
But observance of these customs varies directly with the
DISTANCE (I am using the word in the Tardian sense) that
Those castes that are nearest to the
Brahmans have imitated all the three customs and insist on
the strict observance thereof. Those that are less near have
imitated enforced widowhood and girl marriage ; others, a
separates the caste.
little
further off, have only girl marriage
and those
furthest
,28
This
off have imitated only the belief in the caste principle.
imperfects imitation. I dare say, is due partly to what Tarde
calls 'distance' and partly to the
barbarous character of
these customs.
This phenomenon
of Tarde's law and leaves
of caste formation
process
imitation
I
is
a complete illustration
no
doubt
in
India
that
the whole
a
process of
is
of the higher by the lower. At this juncture
back to support a former conclusion of
turn
will
mine, which might have appeared to you as too sudden or
unsupported. I said that the Brahman class first raised the
structure of caste by the help of those three customs in
question.
My
reason for that conclusion was that their
existence in other classes
After what
was derivative.
I
have
said regarding the role of imitation in the spread of these
customs among the non-Brahman castes, as means or as
ideals, though the imitaters have not been aware of it, they
amsng th^m
exist
there
as derivatives
;
they are derived,
original caste that was
and,
must have been prevalent one
if
high enough to have served as a pattern for the rest. But in
theocratic society, who could be the pattern but the servant
a
of
God
?
This completes the story of those that were weak enough
Let us now see how others were closed
to close their doors.
in as a result of being closed out.
process of the formation of caste.
This
It
I call the
is
mechanistic
mechanistic because
of approach, as well as the
of the subject has
psychological one, to the explanation
escaped my predecessors is entirely due to the fact that they
have conceived Caste as a unit by itself and not as one within
it is
a
inevitable.
That
System of Caste.
this line
The
result of this
oversight or lack of
29
sight has been very detrimental to the proper understanding
of the subject matter and therefore its correct explanation.
I will proceed to offer my own explanation by making one
urge you to bear constantly in mind.
that caste in the singular number is an un-
remark which
It is this
:
I will
Castes exist only in the plural number.
no such thing as A caste
there are always castes.
illustrate
while
To
my meaning
making themselves into a
caste, the Brahmans, by virtue of this, created Non-Brahman
caste or, to express it in my own way, while closing themreality.
There
is
:
:
;
T will clear
in they closed others out.
my point by
taking another illustration. Take India as a whole with its
various communities designated by the various creeds to
selves
which they owe allegiance, to
madans. Jews, Christians and
wit,
the
Parsis.
Hindus, the rest within themselves are
ties.
if
the
Hindus,
Now,
barring the
non-caste communi-
But with respect to each other they are castes.
four enclose
first
closed out,
group A
themselves,
but are indirectly closed
Muham-
Again,
the Parsis are directly
in.
Symbolically
if
wants to be endogamous, group B has to be so by
sheer force of circumstances.
Now apply the same logic to the Hindu Society and you
have another explanation of the 'fissiparious' character of
caste, as a consequence of the virtue of self-duplication that
is
inherent
h
the ethical,
it.
Any
religious
innovation that seriously antagonises
social code of the Caste is not
and
likely to ba tolerated by ths Caste, and the recalcitrant
members of a Caste are in danger of being thrown out of the
Caste, and left to their own fate without having the alternative of bdng admitted into or absorbed by other castes.
Caste rales are inexorable and they do not wait to make
30
nice distinctions between kinds of offence.
be of any kind, but
Innovation
may
kinds will suffer the same penalty.
novel way of thinking will create a new Caste for the old
ones will not tolerate it. The noxious thinker respectfully
all
A
Guru (Prophet) suffers the same fate as the sinners in
The former creates a caste of the nature
illegitimate love.
called
of a religious set and the latter a type of mixed caste. Castes
have no mercy for a sinner who has the courage to violate
The penalty
the code.
a new
caste.
It
is
is
excommunication and the result
not peculiar Hindu psychology
is
that
induces the excommunicated to form themselves into a caste
far
from
it.
On
;
often they have been
the contrary,
very
quite willing to be humble members of some caste (higher by
But
preference) if they could be admitted within its fold.
castes are enclosed units
and
themselves into a caste.
cumstance
that
is
merciless,
and
The
it
some unfortunate groups
is
it
their conspiracy with
excommunicated to make
clear conscience that compels the
logic
is
find
in
of this obdurate
obedience to
its
cir-
force
themselves enclosed, be-
cause others in enclosing, themselves have closed them out,
with the result that new groups (formed on any basis
obnoxious to
the
caste
rules)
by a mechanical law are
constantly being converted into castes
This is told the second tale
multiplicity.
to
in
a bewildering
the process of
Caste formation in India.
Now to
summarise the main points of my thesis. In my
opinion there have been several mistakes committed by the
Students of Caste, which have misled them in their investigations. European Students of Caste have unduly emphasised the role of colour in the caste system. Themselves impregnated by colour prejudices, they very readily imagined
it
to
31
be the chief factor
from the
in the
Caste problem.
and Dr. Ketkar
But nothing can be
correct when he
whether they belonged to (he socalled Aryan race, or the so-called Dravidian race, were
Aryas." Whether a"tribe or a family was racially Aryan or
farther
truth,
is
insists that "all the princes
Dravidian was ^question which never troubled the people of
India, until foreign scholars came in and began to draw the
line.
The colour of the skin had long ceased to be a matter
of importance.
Again, they have mistaken mere descriptions
them as though they were
There are occupational, religious, etc.,
castes it is true, but it is no means an explanation of the
We have yet to find out why occupational
origin of Caste.
for explanation and fought over
theories of origin.
this question has never even been
; but
Lastly they have taken Caste very lightly as though
a breath had made it, On the contrary, Caste, as I have
explained it, is almost impossible to be sustained : for the
groups are castes
raised.
are tremendous.
difficulties that it involves
Caste
relies
on
belief,
It
is
true that
but before belief comes to be the foun-
dation of an institution, the institution
itself
needs to be
perpetuated and fortified. My study of the Caste problem
involves four main points (1) That inspite of the composite
make up of the Hindu population there is a deep cultural
unity (2) That caste is a parcelling into bits of a larger cultural unit (3) That there was one caste to start with (4) That
:
classes
have become Castes through imitation and excom-
munication.
Peculiar interest attaches to the problem of Caste in India
today ; as persistent attempts are being made to do away
with this unnatural institution. Such attempts at reform,
32
however, have aroused a great deal of controversy regarding
its origin, as to whether it is due to the conscious command
of a Supreme Authority, or
life
is an unconscious growth in the
under
society
peculiar circumstances. Those
hold the latter view will, I hope, find some food for
of a
who
thought
its
human
in the
practical importance the subject of Caste
ing
problem
Apart fiom
standpoint adopted in this Pa^er.
and
interest
theoretic foundations has
aroused
moved me
in
is
me
an
all
absorb-
regarding
to put before
its
you some
of the conclusions, which seem to n:e well founded, and the
grounds upon which they
may be
supported.
I
am
not,
how-
any way final, or
presumptuous as to think them
to
a
discussion of the
contribution
a
more
than
anything
ever, so
subject.
in
It
seems to
me
that the car has been shunted
on
wrong lines, and the primary object of the paper is to indicate what I regard to be the right path of investigation, with
a view to arrive at a serviceable truth.
We
must, however,
guard against approaching the subject with a bias. Sentiment
must be outlawed from the domain of science and things
shovld be judged from an objective standpoint. For myself
I shall find as much pleasure in a positive destruction of my
own
idealogy,
as
in
which, notwithstanding
a rational disagreement on a topic,
many
learned disquisitions
to remain controversial forever.
To
is
conclude, while
likely
I
am
can be shown
ambitious to advance a Theory of Casie, if it
to be untenable I shall be equally willing to give
it
up.
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