Frontline – July 05, 2019

in theocean,shesays.
UmaChakravarti ar-
guesthattheeconomic un-
derpinningsof castein the
application of hierarchy
andstratification remain
relevant today.Thetradi-
tionalway oflookingat
caste“basedontheirre-
concilable opposition of
purityandpollution”,an
ideapopularisedbyLouis
Dumont,is “unmindfulof
thematerialdimensionsof
thecastesystem”.Casteis,
andalwayswas,a mechan-
ismto justifytheappropri-
ation and control of
material resourcesbycer-
taingroupswhowiththe
helpof religioustextssuch
as theDharmashastrasare
abletoconvincetheother
groupsoftheirinnatesu-
periority.Womenarecon-
duitsin theprocess.
Therole ofmarriage
anditscentralityinper-
petuatingandreinforcing

the“assumedimmortality

of the male line”, the

“vansa”, alsoneedstobe

lookedatmorecritically,

thewritersays.If thepro-

ductivepowerof thelower

castes wasappropriated,

shewrites,the“reproduct-

ivepower”ofwomenwas

controlled by the upper

castes. Womenwerethe

“gateways”,thepurveyors

andthecustodiansofthe

hierarchy. Asa livingex-

ampleof the“livedreality”

and resilience of caste,

Uma Chakravarti re-

peatedly refers to the

words inscribed on the

placard held by upper-

castegirlstudents in Delhi

Universityduringtheagit-

ationagainstreservation.

Theroleofwomenas

central to theperpetuation

ofcastehasbeenignored

somewhat, she writes.

Feminist historians and

the women’s movement

needtolookattheseas-

pectsif castehasto bedone

awaywithin therealsense.

A wide“sisterhood”is pos-

sibleonlyif there is a better

understandingof,forin-

stance, howDalitwomen

perceivetheiroppression.

The writerdrawsat-

tentiontotheuseofviol-

enceinenforcing unequal

relationsanda stratified

socialstructureasanin-

trinsiccomponentofthe

castesystem.She exam-

ines,too,theuseofrape

andviolenceagainstwo-

menforthesubjugationof

expressions of assertion

among the “low born”.

GenderingCastelooks at

randomexamplesof asser-

tionanddefiancecitedin

HinduepicsandJainand

Buddhisttextsbythelower

ordercastesandnotes how

suchassertionsweresup-

pressedwithviolence.She

alsodrawsthereaders’at-

tentiontomorecontem-

porary forms of caste

violence.

BRUTALREPRISAL

Notwithstanding the

pledge of equality en-

shrinedinthe Constitu-

tion,recoursetoviolence

hasalsobeenincreasing,

especially as Dalits and

othersattempt to translate

the promise of equality

Theroleofmarriagein

perpetuatingthemaleline

needstobelookedat more

critically.