Chapter 5 India 175or a few dozen castes, all interconnected through occupation and the varna
hierarchy. The word caste comes from Portuguese for “race” or “breed,” which
somewhat captures the actual Indian term, jati, which means “birth” and is
also the term for “kind” or “species,” as in a kind of being or a species of animal
(Marriott and Inden 1977). Cows, dogs, tigers, Brahmans, Rajputs, Chamars
are all jatis: kinds of beings, each with respective characteristics; they have dis-
positions, customs, lifestyles, occupations, food preferences, and limitations on
mating. The differences among animal species appear to be the model for dif-
ferences among human species. Of course with animals these characteristics
are biological while among humans they can be altered or ignored. But they
shouldn’t be. That’s the conventional and ancient morality. The sense is that this
is a given, natural, and moral order; it exists from the foundations of the universe;
and the word for that is dharma. Dharma is also sometimes translated as “reli-
gion,” or “morality,” or “righteousness,” or the “cosmic order.” The ancient
texts that outline these principles are known as the Dharmashastras—the
teachings on dharma. And dharma is not universal; it is specific to the social
units known as castes.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Prince Arjuna on the battlefield is reluctant to go
forward and kill his own relatives, the Kauravas, with whom he is at war. His
charioteer, who happens to be Krishna in disguise, reminds him of his duty:
“Killing is the chief dharma of one who is a Kshatriya.” It is not you who kills,
but me, he says; “be just my instrument, the archer at my side!” And he adds:
“How many times should I remind you that it is better to do one’s duty
[dharma], though imperfect, than the duty of another even well performed?”
Though this statement encourages one to embrace one’s own jati-dharma, else-
where in the Gita Krishna says: “All beings are equal to Me. There is none
especially hateful to Me, nor one who is especially dear to Me. But all those
who worship Me with devotion are in Me, and so am I in them” (Bhagavad-
Gita 9.29). In other words, there is a higher equality—being beloved by
Krishna—that transcends the caste system.
Social processes that evolved as moral imperatives over centuries make it
extremely difficult to escape them. There is no changing the caste identity into
which one is born—everyone will continue to identify you with your caste;
your family will ensure that your spouse is from the same group, your children
will have the same identity, and no matter what you accomplish in life, you will
die as a member of your caste.
Economics of Caste: The Jajmani System
In the past, and still to a certain degree in the present for many people,
there was an occupation associated with jati. Name an occupation—priest, pot-
ter, goldsmith, car penter, far mer, swee per, scribe, bangle maker, cowherd, gar-
dener, barber, dancer, musician, thief—all were considered hereditary jatis.
Some were considered “high,” some “low,” depending on the purity or impu-
rity of the occupation. Many of these hereditary occupations were viewed as