Showing papers on "Caste published in 1997"

Family Business in India

Abstract: A critical look at Indian family businesses is provided in this volume. Sudipt Dutta shows how family-owned enterprises, while adapting to foreign cultural artefacts and structures, have sustained remarkably stable values over the generations. Unlike in the West or even East Asia, the Hindu-dominated Indian business fraternity stays in control by using a network of social and caste affiliations. Exploring the global future of Indian family businesses, the author maintains that the international business trends of networking and relational contracting will reinforce the Indian style of doing business.

Wage Hunters and Gatherers: Search for Work in the Urban and Rural Economy of South Gujarat.@@@Global Migrants, Local Lives: Travel and Transformation in Rural Bangladesh.@@@Siva and Her Sisters: Gender, Caste and Class in Rural South India.@@@Contours of Continuity and Change: The Story of the Bonda Highlanders.

Abstract: This collection of essays focuses on a large segment of unskilled labourers in Indian society who have failed to manage regular and protected employment in the rapidly expanding towns and cities of Third World countries. Based on empirical research over two decades in a small town of south Gujarat, the author discusses and then rejects some of the standard notions regarding the origin, size, shape and growth of this sector of the Indian population.

Identity, Gender and Poverty: New Perspectives on Caste and Tribe in Rajasthan

Abstract: Most studies of the so-called tribal communities in India stress their social, economic, and political differences from communities that are organized on the basis of caste. It was this apparent contrast between tribal and caste lifestyle and, moreover, the paucity of material on tribal groups, that motivated the author to undertake this study of a poor "tribal" community, the Girasia, in northwestern India. While carrying out her fieldwork, the author soon became aware that the traditional tribe-caste categories needed to be revised; in fact, she found them more often than not to be constructs by outsiders, mostly academic. Of greater importance for an understanding of the Girasia was the wider and more complex issue of self-perception and identification by others that must be seen in the context of their poverty as well as in the strategic and shifting use of kinship, gender and class relations in the region.

Religion and identity in India

Abstract: In colonial India the British administration sought to fashion a Western‐style state structure at the same time as it assumed that primordial groupings based on caste and, especially, religion were the appropriate bases of the political community. Hence, colonial counting processes endowed religious identities with greater substance and clearer outlines than they had had in the past. The combination of homogenizing state practices and reinforcement of traditional identity, to which Indian nationalism had no coherent answer, ultimately legitimized India's partition. For two decades after independence, political conflict in India was primarily on modernist lines. However, in contrast to the urban elite who mostly operated in political life according to the norms of modern Western politics, other groups saw politics in terms of caste, religious and linguistic allegiances. The rise of communal elements in Indian politics thus followed the mobilization of non‐urban elites and poorer sections of the po...

The Machete and the Cross: Campesino Rebellion in Yucatan

Abstract: Violent class struggles and ethnic conflict mark much of the history of Latin America, continuing in some regions even today. Perhaps the worst and most prolonged of these conflicts was the guerra de las castas or "Caste War," an Indian rebellion that tore apart the Yucatan Peninsula for much of the nineteenth century (1847-1903). The struggle was not only ethnic, pitting indigenous peoples against a Hispanic or Hispanicized ruling class, but also economic, involving attacks by rural campesinos on plantation owners, merchants, overseers, and townspeople. The rebels met with sporadic and limited success but still managed at times to remove whole portions of the Yucatan Peninsula from state control. Don E. Dumond's work is the anticipated complete history of the Caste War. Drawing on primary sources, he presents the first comprehensive description of this turbulent century of conflict in Yucatan and sets forth a carefully argued analysis of the reasons and broader social, political, and economic processes underlying the struggle.

Cárdenas and the Caste war that Wasn't: State power and Indigenismo in post-Revolutionary Yucatán

Abstract: The Caste War that devastated Yucatan in the middle of the nineteenth century cast a long shadow across ethnic relations and politics in the state decades after its effective end. During the Mexican Revolution and the subsequent period of national reconstruction, revolutionary politicians invoked the Caste War as a precursor to the Revolution and as justification for post-Revolutionary projects, in particular indigenismo. The state’s indigenist policy advocated, in the words of Alan Knight, the “emancipation and integration of Mexico’s exploited Indian groups.” To this end, it offered indigenous people education, legal support, even land; however, these “modernizing” policies also destroyed or appropriated much of their culture and subordinated them to the state. The legacy of the Caste War shaped such indigenist projects in Yucatan from the Revolution to (at least) the 1930s, but its influence was strongest during Cardenas’ visit to Yucatan in August of 1937. The president not only reinterpreted the Caste War to justify land reform and a broad indigenist project; he attempted to mobilize the Yucatecan peasantry along class and ethnic lines and threatened recalcitrant landlords with another caste war should they oppose him. Once armed, however, peasant soldiers turned their rifles not against the landowners but against each other. This essays explores how the Caste War’s legacy shaped the development and deployment of indigenist projects in Yucatan from the Revolution to the late 1930s, focusing on Cardenas’ aborted mobilization. Along the way, it will consider the impact and efficacy of state-sponsored indigenismo. Above all, it seeks to understand why state efforts to champion the cause of the Maya failed to unify the rural poor of Yucatan under the banner of Cardenismo.

The shape of south african society and its challenges

Abstract: South Africa’s negotiated settlement and its transition to democracy reads like a modern fairy tale. A brief review of South Africa’s social indicators serves to temper some of optimism about the country’s future. The indicators reflect the society’s quality of life which has been shaped by its turbulent history. Political “caste formation”, changing political alliances, the reforms intended to forestall the demise of apartheid, and the race for global competitiveness have left indelible marks on the society’s social indicators. A comparison of living conditions in South Africa with those of roughly comparable economies indicates that the country lags behind in securing overall and widespread socio-economic upgrading of the population at large. A review of a cross-section of South African indicators and their trends over time shows that South Africa is still a very deeply divided society with a very large backlog in socio-economic development. There is evidence of breakdown in the society’s social cohesion. Popular expectations of future quality of life indicate that the euphoria following on the first democratic elections has been replaced by a sense of realism among all sectors of the population. It is concluded that quality of life as reflected in South Africa’s social indicators may get worse before it improves. The challenge will be to avoid new forms of economic “apartheid” which would depress the quality of life of marginal sectors of the population at the expense of the economically privileged.

Social and Cultural Strategies of Class Formation in Coastal Andhra Pradesh

Abstract: Despite India's long history of capitalist development and consequent precipitation of class structures, class has been a relatively under-studied topic in Indian sociology. The social and cultural aspects of class formation have been especially neglected. This paper attempts to fill this gap through a case study of the history and culture of a rural-urban dominant class, located in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Drawing on Bourdieu's practice theory, it focuses on actors' investment and consumption strategies which are aimed at the accumulation and monopolisation of social, cultural, symbolic and economic capital. Through such accumulation, and by converting one type of capital into another, actors are able to construct class boundaries, promote internal cohesion, and establish hegemony. The paper also addresses the caste/class question within this theoretical framework by showing how the construction of caste identity has been closely linked with class formation.

Rural Political Violence and the Origins of the Caste War

Abstract: Between 1840 and 1847 the Mexican province of Yucatan witnessed a remarkable explosion of rural political violence. Contemporaries were well aware of the trend, for they referred to it through vivid phrases such as “uprisings,” “murder and other excesses,” “restless and turbulent spirits,” and “the storm which threatens us close at hand.” And by all accounts these episodes were something new to the society. Indeed, Yucatan had suffered a good deal less violence than had other regions of Mexico. Until 1847 nothing here had remotely approached the chaos of the Hidalgo revolt or the Morelos insurgency. It is impossible for historians, just as it was for contemporary observers, to avoid connecting the violence to the Caste War, the massive rural rebellion which would erupt in 1847. But what was the connection? And what does the political violence tell us about the nature of rural Mexican society?

Bonds lost: Subordination, conflict, and mobilisation in rural South India, c. 1900-1970

Abstract: Based on a variety of governement and mission sources and actual field work, the author analyses the changing agrarian and social relations and mobilisations among scheduled caste agricultural labourers in the highlands in western Tamil Nadu between c.1900 and 1970.

The world of the "untouchables": Paraiyars of Tamil Nadu

Abstract: A study of untouchability in caste India Originally published in French, it combines scholarship with field work among the most shudra (Untouchable) community within the caste hierarchy in India: the Paraiyars of Tamil Nadu Robert Deliege discusses both the historiography of writing on the caste as well as the vivid reality of caste discrimination in practice Dr Ambedkar's life and work, and policies and programmes of positive discrimination are all explored

Remigration: return of the prodigals--an analysis of the impact of the cycles of migration and remigration on caste mobility.

Abstract: The focus of this research note is the migration of the Patidar community to East Africa--and remigration to Gujarat India. The primary motive for migration of the immigrant Patidars was to work accumulate money and return to India claiming a higher caste status. By 1931 a sufficient number of the community had become economically affluent and were given a higher caste status by the census enumerators. This study illustrates the transient nature of Indian migration to East Africa and its impact on caste mobility. (EXCERPT)

Notes of a Racial Caste Baby: Color Blindness and the End of Affirmative Action

Abstract: Table of Contents A Note to the Reader Acknowledgments Preface: Telling Stories Recasting Remedies as Diseases Color-Blind Justice The Design of This Book Pt. 1. A Personal Narrative Not White Enough Dee Black Columbus Racial Poverty Man-Child Colored Matters Coded Schools Busing Going Home Equal Opportunity The Character of Color Diversity as One Factor The Deception of Color Blindness Pt. 2. White Privilege and Black Despair: The Origins of Racial Caste in America The Declaration of Inferiority Marginal Americans Inventing American Slavery The Road to Constitutional Caste Losing Second-Class Citizenship Reconstruction and Sacrifice Separate and Unequal The Color Line Critiquing Color Blindness Pt. 3. The Constitutionality of Remedial Affirmative Action The Origins of Remedial Affirmative Action The Court of Last Resort The Invention of Reverse Discrimination The Politics of Affirmative Action: Myth or Reality? Racial Realism Eliminating Caste Afterword Notes Index

Siva and Her Sisters: Gender, Caste, and Class in Rural South India.

Abstract: The Politics Of Cultural Contestation Introduction: The Untouchable Rejection of Hegemony and False Consciousness Kinship Burns!: Kinship Discourses and Gender Marrying Money: Changing Preference and Practice in Tamil Marriage Blood Across the Stars: Astrology and the Construction of Gender The Vulnerability of Power: Puberty Rituals Dancing the Goddess: Possession, Caste, and Gender The Politics Of Everyday Life Beware, It Sticks!: Discourses of Gender and Caste Gender And Production Politics Pauperizing the Rural Poor: Landlessness in Aruloor Every Blade of Green: Landless Women Laborers, Production, and Reproduction Discipline and Control: Labor Contracts and Rural Female Labor Mutuality and Competition: Women Landless Laborers and Wage Rates In Gods Eyes: Gender, Caste, and Class in Aruloor.

Affirmative action and elite formation : An Untouchable family history

Abstract: A multigenerational case study of an elite Untouchable family reveals the problems of integration, passing, and cultural affirmation in the development and democratization process. As a nonvisible minority it is possible to facilitate integration in Indian urban areas by hiding caste, while affirmative action programs facilitate upward mobility at the cost of having to proclaim Untouchable caste identity. These contradictory imperatives illustrate the difficulties facing elite Untouchables in achieving emancipation.

Down trodden : the struggle of India's Dalits for indentity, solidarity and liberation

Abstract: Recent years have seen dawning awareness of the long-hidden suffering of India's millions of Dalit people, marginalized and oppressed as 'untouchables' falling outside the traditional Hindu caste system. Their treatment, which cuts across communal and religious lines, has become an important concern of the churches in their commitment internationally to combat all forms of racism. The author of this book, a Dalit from North India, uncovers the religious roots of this system of oppression and surveys its historical development over 3500 years, as well as the beginnings of the Dalits' struggle to free themselves from it. He also analyses the role played by missionaries, churches and Christian theology in the past and suggests what must change if Christians are to have a part in articulating and bringing about a vision of solidarity and genuine liberation.

Breaking Rural Bonds through Migration: The Failure of Development for Women in India

Abstract: This study explores the impact of development by comparing the lives and opportunities of women in two different villages (developed and less developed) in India. It also examines the impact of migration a consequence of development policies by comparing the lives and opportunities of women in the urban slums to those of their rural counterparts. The findings revealed that two major bonds caste and gender tie down women in India. These bonds are stronger in the rural areas where development programs have not been able to break these bonds. Caste structures every social relationship in rural India. It determines the type of social mixing the religious status and most importantly the pattern of land holding. However in urban India particularly in Chand caste does not play a significant role. Instead kinship is the most important relationship recognized in this part of India. Through kinship networks the women in Chand have acquired jobs and have been able to exercise control over an area of the job market. Furthermore the bond of gender inequality continues to worsen the situation of women in the rural areas while it has weakened in the urban area. This study therefore concludes that migration has led to the breaking of inter-caste and gender bonds in India as demonstrated by the much better situation of urban women as compared to rural women.

Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow: A Freudian Folkloristic Essay on Caste and Untouchability

Abstract: This provocative book by a leading folklorist offers a new analysis of caste in India, focusing on the rationale underlying the customs surrounding untouchability. Drawing on clues contained in two fascinating folktales, Alan Dundes goes beyond Dumont's classic Homo Hierarchicus in deconstructing the pervasive pollution complex that prevents millions of individuals from entering temples or drawing water from community wells. His graceful and erudite explanation of caste also illuminates the mysterious worship of the sacred cow as well as sati/suttee, or widow burning. The author concludes by relating caste to the theory of marginal survival, drawing on Gypsy concepts of pollution. This controversial book offers a fresh perspective for anyone interested in India, folklore, and psychoanlytic anthropology_a detailed case study documenting how folklore, as a source of native categories and symbols, can yield unique insights into the unconscious functioning of a culture through time. In this comprehensive textbook, renowned philosopher J. N. Mohanty examines the range of Indian philosophy from the Sutra period through the 17th century Navya Nyaya. Classical Indian Philosophy is divided into three parts that cover epistemology, metaphysics, and the attempt to transcend the distinction between subject and object. Mohanty focuses on the major concepts and problems dealt with in Indian philosophy, including ethics, social philosophy, law, and aesthetics. Students of Indian philosophy at every level will find this a rich and rewarding text.

The impact of caste on the growth of male Sikhs in Punjab, India

Abstract: SummaryThis study is based on a cross-sectional sample of 442 Sikh boys and young male adults who were born in and around the town of Phagwara, in the state of Punjab, India, and stayed there all their lives. The sample comprised Sikh boys at three crucial phases of growth, at 5–6, 10–11 and 15–16 years, and young adults around 18 years of age. The sample comprised three distinct caste groups, viz. Jats, Ramgarhias and Ravidassias, belonging respectively to upper, middle and lower socioeconomic strata of the Sikh community. Differences in stature and body weight are particularly marked around early adolescence, and there is some indication of caste differences reappearing in young adults. In the case of body mass index, however, the differences seem most marked in late adolescence. There is no clear directional pattern to the way skinfolds change, but inter-caste differences become more marked with age. There is a suggestion of continuing growth beyond 16 years of age, and indications that the well-off gr...

Mauritian Society between the Ethnic and the Non-Ethnic

Abstract: When I told a Mauritian acquaintance that I planned to carry out research on mixed marriages in Mauritius, he laughed sadly and said that the best place to investigate this phenomenon would probably be near the Pont Colville Deverell — the highest bridge in the island, which has been a favoured spot for double suicides by young couples unhappily in love, unable to marry each other because of rules of ethnic endogamy and, sometimes, caste endogamy.2 In this article I shall try to show why my acquaintance was wrong (although he was also right in certain respects) by accounting for the current growth in the number of interethnic marriages in Mauritius and indicating some possible long-term effects on social categorization and organization in the island.

Too many stars and not enough sky: Language and ethnicity among the Thakali of Nepal

Abstract: Introduction: Setting the Anthropological Context Given that the total Thakali population is under 15,000, the sheer volume of published anthropology on them is remarkable. By 1985, the Thakali were already the most studied group in Nepal in relation to their number being the subject of over 50 published works by 15 trained anthropologists (Bhattachan & Vinding 1985:1). For anthropologists interested in Himalayan populations, the Thakali make an obvious choice. Research permission is easier to obtain for the lower part of Mustang district than for many other similar Himalayan areas, and fieldwork conditions are pleasant. Informants suggested that researchers have an “easy time” because the Thakali are “very open”, and even “encourage anthropologists” in their research. The “existence of a cohesive sense of Thakali ethnic identity” is also cited as a factor explaining the attention given to the Thakali by anthropologists (Gurung & Messerschmidt 1974:212). Alongside their past involvement in the salt trade and their present control of the trekking economy along the Kali Gandaki river, the Thakali’s growing alliance with Hinduism and their concomitant turning away from Buddhism have generated a great deal of interest among scholars of the Thakali. In fact, the controversy has even dominated academic discussions amongst the Thakali themselves. The anthropologist Srinivas coined the term “Sanskritisation”, defining it as ...the process by which a ‘low’ Hindu caste or tribal group changes its customs, rituals and ideology and way of life in the direction of a high...caste. (1967:6)

Crucifixion stories, the 1869 Caste War of Chiapas, and negative consciousness: a disruptive subaltern study

Abstract: In this article I apply the methodology of the Subaltern Studies group, especially Ranajit Guha's theory of negative consciousness, to an instance of indigenous insurgency in Mesoamerica. During the Caste War of Chiapas, 1867–69, the Maya apparently crucified a boy and, emboldened by this “Indian Christ,” they swept out of the hills killing non-Indians indiscriminately. I argue not only that Guha's “elementary aspects of peasant insurgency” (1983) aid in understanding the ferocious mimesis of the Mayan crucifixion, but also that the Caste War has a disruptive history that challenges theories of resistance as well as the relation of the historian and the ethnographer to the subaltern and to the “colonizer” subject.

Cricket, caste, community, colonialism: the politics of a great game

Abstract: (1997). Cricket, caste, community, colonialism: the politics of a great game. The International Journal of the History of Sport: Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 174-183.

Vīraśaivism, Caste, Revolution, Etc

Abstract: WESTERN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT Viragaivism is and of its place in Indian religious history and modern South Indian society is rather limited, in spite of its socio-religious relevance in southern India. In recent years it has become better known to a wider public in the English-speaking world through translated selections of vacanas, the typical, often fascinating short prose-poems in the Kannada language through which Virasaiva religious thinkers spread their ideas from the twelfth century onwards.1 The Virasaivas are also known for their practice of wearing a small, personal litiga as a representation of God on their body, usually in a small metal container on a cord or chain around the neck, which also serves as an object of worship, so that they have no need of temples as the majority of Hindus do. There is also a widespread notion that Virasaivism opposes the caste system and gender discrimination. Lengthier studies of Virasaivism by scholars in the West are very rare, hence the publication of J. P. Schouten's doctoral dissertation2 demands the attention of Indologists, religious scholars, and social scientists. After a short introductory chapter, in which the author gives an outline of Virasaiva history and teachings, he