Caste & Class: Concepts, Changing Dimensions

Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   Caste (Jati) is an endogamous, hereditary, hierarchical social group based on birth; distinct from Varna (the fourfold Vedic classification: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra). India has ~3,000 castes and ~25,000 sub-castes per the Anthropological Survey of India's 'People of India' project (1985–92).

2. 2

   M.N. Srinivas identified four attributes of a Dominant Caste (1959): (i) numerical strength, (ii) economic power (land ownership), (iii) political influence, (iv) high ritual status. Examples: Jats in Haryana/western UP, Patidars in Gujarat, Lingayats in Karnataka, Rajputs in Rajasthan.

3. 3

   Caste as segmental division (Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus, 1966) — caste divides society into segments where individuals are defined by their group membership, purity-pollution hierarchy, and interdependence of occupations (jajmani system).

4. 4

   Social Class is an open, non-hereditary group defined by economic criteria — income, wealth, occupation, and education. Max Weber (1864–1920) distinguished class (economic), status (social prestige), and party (political power) as three dimensions of stratification.

5. 5

   Sanskritisation (M.N. Srinivas) — process by which lower castes adopt customs, rituals, diet, and beliefs of upper castes (especially twice-born castes) to gain upward social mobility. Example: Ahirs of UP adopting sacred thread ceremony. Limitation: changes ritual status, not structural hierarchy.

6. 6

   The Mandal Commission (1978–80; implemented 1990 by V.P. Singh government) identified 3,743 OBC castes — estimated at 52% of India's population — and recommended 27% reservation in central government jobs and educational institutions. Total reservation: SC 15% + ST 7.5% + OBC 27% = 49.5% (below Supreme Court's 50% cap set in Indra Sawhney case, 1992).

7. 7

   Caste-class intersection — since 1991 economic liberalisation, class identity has become stronger among urban, educated Indians; however, caste remains a structural determinant of life chances. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) and NFHS data consistently show SC/ST students face higher dropout rates and lower learning outcomes than general category peers.

8. 8

   EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) Reservation — 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act (January 2019) added 10% reservation for EWS among general category citizens (income below ₹8 lakh/year; agricultural land below 5 acres). Upheld by Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan case (November 2022) by 3:2 majority. Total reservation now 59.5% in practice.

9. 9

   Jajmani System — a traditional caste-based economic exchange system in rural India where lower castes (kamins) provide hereditary occupational services to dominant landowning castes (jajmans) in exchange for food, grain, and protection. Identified by W.H. Wiser (The Hindu Jajmani System, 1936). It reinforced caste hierarchy by tying economic survival to ritual purity norms. The system has largely disintegrated post-1947 due to land reform, wage labour, and market economy.

10. 10

    Ambedkar's critique of caste — Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in Annihilation of Caste (1936) argued that caste cannot be reformed; it must be annihilated because it is rooted in Hindu scriptures (Shastras) and Varna ideology. Unlike Gandhi who sought to purify and reform caste, Ambedkar saw it as a graded inequality system that imprisoned the lower castes mentally and materially. His conversion to Buddhism (October 14, 1956) with 6 lakh Dalits was a sociological revolution.

11. 11

    Creamy Layer — the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992) held that the more affluent and advanced sections among OBCs (the "creamy layer") should be excluded from OBC reservations. Creamy layer income limit is currently ₹8 lakh per annum (revised 2017). This principle ensures reservations reach the most disadvantaged within backward classes and prevents elite capture of reservation benefits.

12. 12

    Caste and Politics — Vote Bank Dynamics: India's caste groups function as organised political blocs. The CSDS-Lokniti surveys consistently show that 60–70% of Indian voters consider caste identity when voting. Caste-based political mobilisation has led to emergence of OBC-dominant regional parties (e.g., RJD in Bihar, SP in UP, AIADMK/DMK in Tamil Nadu). However, caste voting is not deterministic — economics, leadership, and anti-incumbency also shape outcomes.