The caste is undoubtedly one of the most surprising examples of the institutionalization of inequalities and social hierarchies and, as such, it fascinates sociologists, anthropologists, historians and political scientists. Far from disappearing with the advent of democracy, the caste has managed to adapt to changes in Indian society. In this file, The life of ideas offers an overview of work on this complex social institution.
The institution of the caste continues to structure contemporary Indian society in depth. This file offers an overview of the different forms that the caste takes today.
The interview with Christophe Jaffrelot offers an excellent synthesis of the metamorphoses of the caste and the problems it raises: the ethnicization of the caste, the counter-cultural issues of the mobilization of the dalits, the evolution of the caste system, the Political mobilization of low caste groups, the reservations system (quotas for low caste groups), the challenges of the caste census, the links between class and caste, etc. This interview echoes all the other contributions in this file.
The ideology on which the caste system is built, in that it seeks to legitimize social inequalities, is likely to lead to great violence, as the work of Anand Teltumbde reminds us which addresses the question of “ Caste atrocities ».
It is in particular in reaction to this violence that Ambedkar dedicated his life to the political and social emancipation of those whom Hinduism considers as “ untouchables ». The article “ Ambedkar or the criticism of the Castes company »Offers a return to the course of this leader whose work and action continue to structure the Dalit movement.
People considered “ untouchables Having experienced very strong social mobility also constantly refer to the figure of Ambedkar. The article “ Caste, untouchability and social success in India »Offers an analysis of the life stories of these people with exceptional trajectories as well as reflection on the relevance of the concept of” social mobility In the Indian context.
Mayawati, Chief Minister of the State of Uttar Pradesh and leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, a party that explicitly claims to be the ambedkarist heritage, also illustrates the importance that Ambedkar continues. The biography of this politician also makes it possible to grasp how, in India, political identities are built around the caste.
If the dals build the account of their social identity around the figure of Ambedkar and a high valuation of education, this is not the case for all caste groups. It was around the figure of Krishna that the Yadavs sought to build their political identity and to mobilize politically. The ethnography of the yadavs of the city of Mathura that Lucia Michelutti produced thus makes it possible to understand how a community manages to mobilize politically around her caste identity.
Caste identities are indeed at the center of the functioning of Indian democracy and that is why the question of the introduction of the caste in the next censuses has recently led public debate. The position of Deshpande and John was particularly noticed and The life of ideas propose here a translation of the article in which they argue that the refusal to take into account the caste contributes to the maintenance of this institution. Through an original argument, they thus clearly take a position in favor of the integration of the caste into the census.
Finally, in conclusion of this file, the article by anthropologist Zoe Headley (“ Nam the caste ) Remember the uses of the term caste whose abusive use to designate several morphosociological units leads to producing great terminological confusion. His article thus operates a return to the main reading grids of the caste used by historians, political scientists and anthropologists, and makes it possible to measure their influence on our understanding of the caste.
Read also: Castes et Muslims, by Rémy Delage (17-05-2011)