CASTE AND INHERITED STATUSextremes. Brahmans in most parts of the country
were found at the top, and Untouchables every-
where occupied a degrading status because of
their economic dependency and low ritual status.
The operation of this hierarchical society was
justified with reference to traditional Hindu relig-
ious beliefs about samsara (reincarnation) and kar-
ma (quality of actions). A person’s position in this
life was determined by his or her actions in previ-
ous lives. Persons who were born in a Brahman
family must have performed good deeds in their
earlier lives. Being born a Shudra or an Untouch-
able was punishment for the sinful acts committed
in previous lives.
Some scholars (Leach 1960; Dumont 1970)
saw the caste system as a cooperative, inclusive
arrangement where each caste formed an integral
part of the local socioeconomic system and had its
special privileges. In a jajmani system, as this ar-
rangement between castes was known, a village
was controlled by a dominant caste, which used its
wealth, numerical majority, and high status to
dominate the other castes in the village. Most
other castes provided services to this caste. Some
worked on the land as laborers and tenants. Oth-
ers provided goods and services to the landowning
households and to other castes. A village would
thus have a potter, blacksmith, carpenter, tailor,
shoemaker, barber, sweeper, and a washerman,
with each caste specializing in different occupa-
tions. These were hereditary occupations. In re-
turn for their services castes would be paid in kind,
usually farm produce. These patron-client rela-
tionships continued for generations, and it was the
religious duty of the jajman (patron) to take care
of others.
Although the system did provide security for
all, it was essentially exploitative and oppressive
(Berreman 1981; Beidelman 1959; Freeman 1986),
particularly for the Untouchables, who were con-
fined to menial, despised jobs, working as sweep-
ers, gutter and latrine cleaners, scavengers, watch-
men, farm laborers, and curers of hides. They
were denied access to Hindu temples; were not
allowed to read religious Sanskrit books and re-
mained illiterate; could not use village wells and
tanks; were forced to live in settlements outside
the village; and were forbidden to enter the resi-
dential areas of the upper castes.
CHANGES IN THE CASTE SYSTEMBritish rule profoundly affected the Indian social
order. The ideas of Western culture; the opening
of English educational institutions; the legal sys-
tem, which introduced the principle of equality
before the law; and the new economic activities
and the kind of employment they generated all
brought new opportunities for greater advance-
ment. Although these new developments resulted
in greater mobility and opened doors for even the
low castes, those castes that benefited most were
the ones already in advantageous positions. Thus,
Brahmans with a tradition of literacy were the first
to avail themselves of English education and oc-
cupy administrative positions in the colonial
bureaucracy.The spread of communications enabled local
subcastes to link together and form caste associa-
tions. These organizations, although initially con-
cerned with raising the caste status in terms of
Brahmanical values, later sought educational, eco-
nomic, and social benefits from the British (Ru-
dolph and Rudolph 1960). When the colonial
authorities widened political participation by al-
lowing elections in some provinces, castes organ-
ized to make claims for political representation. In
some regions, such as the South, the non-Brahman
castes were successful in restricting entry of Brahmans
in educational institutions and administrative
services.To assuage the fears of communities about
upper-caste Hindu rule in independent India and
also to weaken the nationalist movement, the Brit-
ish granted special political representation to some
groups such as the Untouchables. They had be-
come politically mobilized under the leadership of
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and had learned, like other
castes and communities, the use of political means
to secure status and power (Zelliot 1970).After the country became independent from
British rule in 1947, the Indian leaders hoped that
legislative and legal measures would reorder an
entrenched social structure. A new Constitution
was adopted, which abolished untouchability and
prohibited discrimination in public places. In ad-
dition, special places were reserved for Untouch-
ables in higher educational institutions, govern-
ment services, and in the lower houses of the
central and state legislatures.