Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development
ISBN 9781982085346 | | |
Text | Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development at Wikisource |
---|
Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development was a paper read by
In the paper, Ambedkar made a presentation a social phenomenon that emerged from the strategy of the Brahmins who adopted a strictly endogamous matrimonial regime, leading the other groups to do the same in order to emulate this self-proclaimed elite. He said that "the superposition of endogamy on exogamy means the creation of caste".[2]
Exordium
Ambedkar presented his paper "Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development" at an anthropology seminar, in which he started with the following statement:
I need hardly remind you of the complexity of the subject I intend to handle. Subtler minds and abler pens than mine have been brought to the task of unravelling the mysteries of Caste; but unfortunately it still remains in the domain of the "unexplained," not to say of the "un-understood." I am quite 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 be known. The caste problem is a vast one, both theoretically and practically. Practically, it is an institution that portends tremendous consequences. It is a local problem, but one capable of much wider mischief, for "as long as caste in India does exist,
Hindus will hardly intermarry or have any social intercourse with outsiders; and if Hindus migrate to other regions on earth, Indian caste would become a world problem." Theoretically, it has defied a great many scholars who have taken upon themselves, as a labour of love, to dig into its origin. Such being the case, I cannot treat the problem in its entirety. Time, space and acumen, I am afraid, would all fail me, if I attempted to do otherwise than limit myself to a phase of it, namely, the genesis, mechanism and spread of the caste system. I will strictly observe this rule, and will dwell on extraneous matters only when it is necessary to clarify or support a point in my thesis.[3]
Genesis
Ambedkar believed that ethnically, all people are heterogeneous. According to him, the Indian Peninsula has not only a geographic unity, but also a deeper and a much more fundamental cultural unity. The unity of culture is the basis of homogeneity, which makes the problem of caste difficult to be explained. If the Hindu society were a mere federation of mutually exclusive units, the matter would be simple enough. But, the caste is a "parcelling" of an already homogeneous unit, and the explanation of the genesis of caste is the explanation of this process of parcelling.[4]
Ambedkar views that definitions of castes given by
Ambedkar has evaluated that the endogamy (absence of intermarriage) is the only one that can be called the essence of caste and only characteristic that is peculiar to caste. No civilized society of today presents more survivals of primitive times than does the Indian society like the custom of exogamy. The creed of exogamy, is not that sapindas (blood-kins) cannot marry, but a marriage between sagotras (gotras or clans of the same class) is regarded as a sacrilege. In spite of the endogamy of the castes within them, exogamy is strictly observed and that there are more rigorous penalties for violating exogamy than there are for violating endogamy. Thus "the Superposition of endogamy on exogamy means the creation of caste."[7]
Mechanism
Ambedkar views that sati, enforced widowhood, and child marriage are customs that were primarily intended to solve the problem of the surplus woman and surplus man (widower) in a caste, and to maintain its endogamy. Strict endogamy could not be preserved without these customs, while caste without endogamy is fake.[8]
According to Amebdkar, the two customs -- Sati (burning of the widow on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband) and enforced widowhood (not allowing a widow to remarry) -- intended to solve the problem of surplus women. Whereas man has had the upper hand compared to woman and is a dominant figure with greater prestige in every group. Woman, on the other hand, has been an easy prey to all kinds of iniquitous injunctions, religious, social, or economic. Such being the case, one cannot accord the same kind of treatment to a surplus man as you can to a surplus woman in a caste. So "Girl Marriage" was the only custom intended to solve the problem of the surplus man (widower).[9]
Origin or Development
Ambedkar believed that the "Origin of Caste" was synonymous with "the Origin of the Mechanism for Endogamy" and he treated class and caste as neighbours, saying that "a caste is an Enclosed Class".[10]
For him, the "father" of the institution of caste could be the Brahmins who adopted a strictly endogamous matrimonial regime, leading other groups to do the same to emulate this self-proclaimed elite. The priestly class in all ancient civilizations are the originators of this "unnatural Institution" founded and maintained through unnatural means.[11]
See also
- B. R. Ambedkar bibliography
- Annihilation of Caste (1936)
- Who Were the Shudras? (1946)
- Dalit
Notes
- ^ Naik (2003), p. 165.
- ^ Ambedkar (1917), p. 5.
- ^ Ambedkar (1917), p. 1.
- ^ Ambedkar (1917), p. 2.
- )
- ^ Ambedkar (1917), p. 3.
- ^ Mohanty (2004), p. 136; Rao (2009), p. 125.
- ^ Singh (2000), p. 214.
- ^ "The numerical sexual disparity in marriage". Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ Caste is an enclosed class
- ^ Pandey (2005), p. 165.
References
- Ambedkar, B. R. (May 1917). "Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development". Indian Antiquary. XLVI.
- Pandey, Aditya (2005). Politics of South Asia. Vol. 1. Delhi: Isha Books. ISBN 81-8205-303-X.
- Rao, Anupama (2009). The Caste Question: Dalits and The Politics of Modern India. London: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25761-0.
- Mohanty, Manoranjan (2004). Class, caste, gender. New Delhi: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-7619-9643-5.
- Singh, Nagendra Kr. (2000). Ambedkar on religion. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. ISBN 81-261-0503-8.
- Naik, C. C. (2003). Thoughts and Philosophy of Doctor B. R. Ambedkar. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. ISBN 81-7625-418-5.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-449-0.