Caste

About: Caste is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5681 publications have been published within this topic receiving 91330 citations. The topic is also known as: caste system.

Human fertility in India.

Abstract: India's population problem might be solved if her traditionally high fertility could be reduced. The present analysis assesses the possibility of such a reduction in the next two or three decades. The birth rate in the past shows no definite downward trend. The rural-urban differential shows no increase in the gap between city and country. A study of religious and caste differentials according to social status, occupation, and literacy shows no displacement of institutional by deliberate controls. No downward trend is imminent under present conditions.

Producing hi-tech: globalization, the state and migrant subjects

Abstract: This paper examines the role of the state in the context of globalization. Taking up the specific case of Indian software engineers and their migration to the USA, the authors show the involvement of the Indian state and the US at different levels. The growth of the IT labour sector was based on changes in the higher education policy of the Indian state while the large-scale migration of IT workers from India required changes in the immigration policies of the US. The authors argue that these policy changes reflect how nation-states alter their national policies to meet the demands of the global economy. Equally important, the authors show that the policy changes are indicative of the unique political context and culture of each country. In the case of India, the education policy changes relate to caste politics while the immigration policy of the USA shares the legacy of US race politics.

Gender, Caste and Labour-Ideological and Material Structure of Widowhood

Abstract: Widowhood in India among the uppercastes is a state of social death.' The widow's social death stems from her alienation from reproduction and sexuality. following the loss of her husband and her cxclusion from the functioning social unit of the family. Oncc a woman ceases to be wife (especially a childless wife) she ceases to be a 'person' - she is neither daughter nor daughter-in-law. The problem posed by brahmanical patriarchy thercfrerc is: since the wifc has no social existence outside of her husband, then as a widow who, or what, is she? The texts and the rituals attempt to work the problem out. The problem itself was simply that although the widow is socially dead. she remains an element in society: the question then was how to Incorporate her. One way could have been to constitute a separate community of widows, a non-sexual cominunity such as that of the female ascetics.

Caste-based social inequalities and childhood anemia in India: results from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2005–2006

Abstract: Caste is one of the traditional measures of social segregation in India and differs from other indicators as it is both, endogamous and hereditary. Evidence suggests that belonging to lower castes exposes one to social inequalities and affects health adversely. We examined the association of caste with childhood anemia in India and explored the effect modifying role of adult education and household wealth. A cross-sectional analysis of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data of 43,484 children aged 6–59 months was performed. Poisson regression analysis was conducted to study the association between caste and childhood anemia accounting for various maternal, child, and household related variables. Caste was categorized as “other caste” (least disadvantageous), “other backward caste”, “scheduled tribe” and “scheduled caste” (most disadvantageous). Anemia was defined as mild (hemoglobin level 7-11 g/dL), moderate (hemoglobin level 5-7 g/dL) and severe (hemoglobin level <5 g/dL). We found that children in scheduled caste had higher risk of having anemia [mild anemia: RR = 1.10, 95 % CI = 1.05-1.15; moderate anemia: RR = 1.19, 95 % CI = 1.14–1.24; severe anemia: RR = 1.87, 95 % CI = 1.51 – 2.31] after accounting for child, maternal and household covariates including adult education and household wealth. The interaction of caste with adult education and household wealth was not statistically significant for any level of anemia. Sensitivity analyses for children born to mothers of age ≥ 18 years at first child birth and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 18.5 kg/m2, resulted in similar findings. Caste is an independent determinant of childhood anemia in India. The level of adult education and household wealth did not modify the association between caste and childhood anemia. The findings may be used for countering childhood anemia and it may be beneficial to target future public health actions towards disadvantageous castes in India.

The Female Bridegroom: A Comparative Study of Life-Crisis Rituals in South India and Sri Lanka

Abstract: Life-crisis cycles in South India and Sri Lanka three villages caste, agriculture, and the local economy inter-caste presentations relationship terminologies marriage rules and behaviour puberty rites in the three villages the local wedding ceremony rituals of birth and infancy death ritual other ethnographic examples modes of interpretation an analysis of the ritual cycle in Terku Vandanam the social identities of ritual participants the overall pattern divine marriage.