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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.


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Book
20 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, a comprehensive examination of the 'varna' system -a classificatory scheme laid out in the classical Hindu Vedic literature and thought to underlie the concept of caste, which continues to exert a powerful and pervasive influence over Indian life.
Abstract: This is a comprehensive examination of the 'varna' system - a classificatory scheme laid out in the classical Hindu Vedic literature and thought to underlie the concept of caste, which continues to exert a powerful and pervasive influence over Indian life.

72 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study how these entangled cultures of caste and development translate into social network structures using data on friendship ties from a south Indian village. And they find that although caste continues to be important in shaping community structures and leadership in the village's network, its influence varies across different communities.
Abstract: Cultures of caste in much of rural India have become entangled with institutions of rural development. In community-driven development, emphasis on "local resource persons" and "community spokespersons" has created new opportunities for brokerage and patronage within some villages, which interact with existing forms of authority and community afforded by caste identity and intra-caste headmanship. In this article, we study how these entangled cultures of caste and development translate into social network structures using data on friendship ties from a south Indian village. We find that although caste continues to be important in shaping community structures and leadership in the village's network, its influence varies across different communities. This fluidity of caste's influence on community network structures is argued to be the result of multiple distinct yet partially overlapping cultural-political forces, which include sharedness afforded by caste identity and new forms of difference and inequality effected through rural development.

72 citations

Book
25 Feb 1993
TL;DR: In this article, Thapar argues the importance of understanding and positioning various well-established perspectives on the Indian past in order to arrive at an informed understanding of contemporary situations - such as disputes between Hindus and other Indian communities.
Abstract: Professor Thapar argues the importance of understanding and positioning various well-established perspectives on the Indian past in order to arrive at an informed understanding of contemporary situations - such as disputes between Hindus and other Indian communities. It is vitally important for historians and informed lay readers to consider the wide range of opinions and views that are available on our past, particularly on religion and society in ancient India. This volume has essays on Durkheim and Weber's views on Indian caste and society; on D.D. Kosambi's contribution to Indian historiography; and on the recent attempts to project a composite Hinduism in early India by ignoring evidence on the existence of multiple communities and diverse identities. (This is a new paperback edition of the earlier hardback published in 1992.)

72 citations

Book
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: Wadley as mentioned in this paper examines what it means to be poor or rich, female or male, and demonstrates that the forms of subordination prescribed for women are paralleled by those prescribed for lower castes.
Abstract: Susan Wadley first visited Karimpur - the village 'behind mud walls' made famous by William and Charlotte Wiser - as a graduate student in 1967. She returned often, adding her observations and experiences to the Wisers' field notes from the 1920s and 1930s. In this long-awaited book, Wadley gives us a work of unprecedented scope: a portrait of an Indian village as it has changed over a sixty-year period. She hears of changes in agriculture, labor relations, education, and the family. But Karimpur's residents do not speak with one voice in describing the ways their lives have changed - viewpoints vary considerably depending on the speaker's gender, economic status, and caste. Using cultural documents such as songs and stories, as well as data on household budgets and farming practices, Wadley examines what it means to be poor or rich, female or male. She demonstrates that the forms of subordination prescribed for women are paralleled by those prescribed for lower castes. Villagers also speak of political struggles in India, and of the importance of religion when confronting change. Their stories, songs, and life histories reveal the rich fabric of Karimpur and show how much can be learned from listening to its people.

72 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that status and caste are too vague for plantation studies and must be replaced with a more relevant formulation that includes economics and power, and a reconsideration of the data presented by Moore indicates that these last concepts have greater strength in the archaeological analysis of plantation society.
Abstract: In recent investigations of plantation society, Otto and Moore use a model that incorporates status and caste. I argue that these concepts are too vague for plantation studies and must be replaced with a more relevant formulation that includes economics and power. A reconsideration of the data presented by Moore indicates that these last concepts have greater strength in the archaeological analysis of plantation society.

72 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023585
20221,232
2021241
2020254
2019243
2018247