Caste in Modern India

Author(s): M. N. Srinivas
Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Aug., 1957), pp. 529-548
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
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Castein ModernIndia
M. N. SRINIVAS

ITIS my aim in this essay' to marshalevidenceto show that duringthe last

centuryor more,the institutionof caste has found new fieldsof activity.

The mannerin which the British transferredpolitical power to the Indians
enabledcaste to assume politicalfunctions.In independentIndia, the provision
of constitutionalsafeguardsto the backward sectionsof the population,especially the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, has given a new lease of life to caste.
It is hardlynecessaryto add that this contrastswiththe aim of bringingabout
a castelessand classless societywhich most political parties,includingthe Indian National Congress,profess.
The politicalsystemof pre-BritishIndia was characterizedby clear territorial
cleavages markingoffthe territoryof one chieftainor raja fromthe territories
of others.Usually, above the chieftainor the raja, therewas the viceroyof an
emperoror the emperorhimself,and below the chiefwerethe headmenof single
villages.The boundariesof a chief'sor raja's domainweremobile,being subject
to expansionor contractiondependingupon the militaryprowessof the chief
vis-a-visother chiefs,and also upon the firmnesswith which the viceroy or
emperorexercisedhis control.However,while the boundarieswere mobile over
a period of time, at any single momentthey constitutedeffectivebarriersbechiefdoms.Such a political systemnaturally
tween people living in different
imposedsevere limitson the horizontalextensionof caste ties. In short,politiif not the maximum,social space of each
determinedthe effective,
cal frontiers
caste living withinthem.2The fact that over a period of time the boundaries
weremobilemeant that culturalties frequentlycut across the existingpolitical
a principle
boundaries.The coincidenceof the culturaland political frontiers,
which is explicitlyrecognizedin the Reportof theStates ReorganizationCommission,is, on the whole,a new event in Indian history.
A naturalconsequenceof the territoriallimitsimposedbythepoliticalsystem
on the horizontaltendencyof castes was the stimulusit gave to castes livingin
an area to co-operatewith each other.Occupationalspecializationstressedthis
Dr. Srinivas,D. Phil., M.A. (Oxon.), is Professorof Sociologyin the M. S. University,
Baroda, and is the authorofMarriageand Familyin Mysore(Bombay,1942)and Religion
and SocietyamongtheCoorgsof SouthIndia (Oxford,1952). He was awarded the Rivers
Institute,London,in 1955.
MemorialMedal of the Royal Anthropological
1 This essay was my presidential address to the Section on Anthropologyand
session in Calcutta
Archaeologyof the Indian Science Congress at its forty-fourth
ofrepublicationofthe essay to makea few
in January1957.I take thepresentopportunity
minoralterations.
the NabuthriBrahmansweresuperiorto the territorialcleavages.
2 In Kerala, however,
See Dr. E. Miller's essay "Village Structurein NorthKerala" in India's Villages, West
Press, Calcutta, 1955.
Bengal Government
529

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530

M. N. SRINIVAS

interdependence,
as each caste was dependentfor its livelihoodon the work
done by the othercastes. Again, the fact that the membersof a caste were all
competitorsforthe goods and servicesofferedby the othercastes, meant that
relationsbetweenthe formerinvolved conflict.This tendencyof economicties
to cut across caste barrierswas also supportedby political and religiousties.
It was the establishmentof Pax Britannicawhich set the castes freefromthe
territoriallimitationsinherentin the pre-Britishpolitical system.Britishrule
freedthe jinn fromthe bottle.
The buildingofroads all overIndia, and the introduction
ofrailways,postage,
telegraph,cheap paper, and printing-especiallyin the regional languagesenabledcastesto organizeas theyhad neverdone before.A postcardcarriednews
of a caste meeting,and the railway enabled membersscatteredin far-flung
villagesto come togetherwhen necessary,whilethe availabilityof cheap newsprintfacilitatedthe foundingof caste journals,whose aim was to promotethe
interestsof theirrespectivecastes. It is usual to point out that railwaysand
factoriesrelaxed rules of pollution regardingeating and drinkingand other
formsof contact. But that is only one side of the story.The availability of
cheap paper enabled caste disputes to be recorded,and this gave permanent
formto rules and precedentswhichwere till then dependentupon the fallible,
and thereforechallengeable,memoryof elders. I learn that several castes in
Gujarat have had their"Constitutions"printed.
The effectsof Britishrule upon the caste systemhave been discussed with
much eruditionand abilityby ProfessorG. S. Ghurye,3and I do not propose to
cover the same groundhere. However, I shall draw freelyupon the material
broughtto lightby him to make my points.
It is widelyheld that the civil and penal codes introducedby the Britishover
the subcontinentof India took away much of the powerpreviouslyexercisedby
caste panchayats. The Britishalso introduceda new principleof justice, viz.,
that all men are equal beforethe law, and that the natureof a wrongis not affectedby the caste of the personwho is committingit, or by the caste of the
personagainst whomit is committed.It is necessaryto emphasizein this connectionthat the use of law courtsby some peasants did not put an end to caste
panchayats.The peasants made use of both the systemsof justice. The tradiin many parts of
tional panchayats,caste as well as village,are stillfunctioning
the country.This factis speciallyrelevantin all schemesforthe revitalizationof
panchayats.In certainparts of the country,Britishrule set in motioneconomic
forceswhich upset the traditionalhierarchy,but this did not mean that caste
was weakenedthereby.In fact,it is arguablewhethersuch a disturbancedid not
actuallyincreasecaste consciousnessall round.A low caste whichmade money
as a resultof new opportunitiespresentingthemselvesto it, made attemptsto
raise its status vis-a-visothercastes, and this resultedin oppositionfromthe
latter.Even eventual consentto such a claim did not lessen immediateopposition. Again,it is importantto note that the newlyrichcastes onlypressedfora
higherstatusforthemselves-theydid not urgethat thecaste systemshouldbe
I

Casteand Class in India (New York, 1952).

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CASTE IN INDIA

531

abolished.It is truethat the economicforcesreleasedunderBritishruleresulted

in greatermobilitywithinthe caste system,but that is quite differentfrom
makingprogresstowardsan egalitariansociety.
I wouldliketo referin thisconnectionto Dr. F. G. Bailey's studyofan Orissa
village.4In Bisipara the policy of the then Governmentof Bengal, of which
a part, regardingthe sale of liquor resultedin the sudden
Orissa was formerly
enrichmentof two low castes, the Boad Distillersand the Ganjam Distillers.
The prosperityof these two groups resultedin disequilibrium,as they both
wantedto lay claimto havinghigherstatusthan before.Previously,in that village, the Warriorsowned all the land, but by 1910 when prohibitionwas introduced,the Boad Distillersownedas muchland as the Warriors,and the Ganjam
Distillersownedmoreland than anyoneelse. The acquisitionofland by the two
castes was followedby the Sanskritizationof theircustom,ritual,and way of
life,and all this was part of the processof statingtheirclaim to being a high
caste.'
While the two Distiller castes have succeeded in raisingthemselvesup, the
Boad Outcastes,an Untouchablecaste, the membersof whichmade moneyby
tradingin hides,foundthat Sanskritizationdid not help them.Their claimsfor
a higherposition in the hierarchyare opposed by everyone,includingother
Untouchablegroups such as the Sweepers,whose economic position has not
improved.The Boad Outcastesare gettingincreasinglyestrangedfromall local
castes, and they are seekingthe help of officialsand law courtsto secure the
rightswhichthe Constitutionof this countryguaranteesto them. The special
in theway ofthe Untouchables'raisingtheircollectivestatusheighten
difficulties
intercastetensions.
Increased economicmobilityled to increasedsocial mobility,and the traditional process of Sanskritizationensured that such mobilitydid not lead to
revolution.But Untouchablesby and largeseemto be unable to take advantage
of it. This is one indicationthat the problemof the Untouchablesis different
fromthat ofthe otherlow castes; the latterhave a means of pushingthemselves
up in the system,whilethe formerdo not.'
The decennialcensus,introducedby the British,recordedcaste, and it unwittinglycame to the aid of social mobility.Prosperouslow castes,and even those
whichwerenot prosperous,soughtto call themselvesby new and high-sounding
Sanskritnames. The recordingof these names in the census was part of the
struggleto achieve a higherstatusthan before.Thus the censusprovideda new
fieldforcaste conflict.
While Britishrule occasionallydid confereconomicbenefitson low castes, it
4Dr. F. G. Bailey made a fieldstudyofBisipara,a village in PhulbaniDistrictin Orissa,
duringtheyears1952-53,and I am gratefulto himforpermissionto referto his unpublished
data. His book will be publishedby ManchesterUniversityPress in Autumn1957.
5 See myearlierarticlein thisjournal,"A Note on Sanskritization
and Westernization,"
FEQ, XV (Aug. 1956),481-496.
6 See, however,Dr. A. C. Mayer's paper, "Some HierarchicalAspects of Caste," in
XII (1956),139: ". . . The Balais are tryingto move
Southwestern
JournalofAnthropology,
fromthe Sudra-Harijanvarnato the Sudra varna."

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532

M. N. SRINIVAS

was moreusual forthesebenefitsto go to those castes whichwerealreadyat the

top of the hierarchy.It must be rememberedthat in the examplescited above,
ideas regardingpollutionpreventedthe highercastesfromgettingintothe liquor
and hidestrade. In otherwords,the institutionof caste obstructedtheirbenefiting fromthe new economicopportunities.
But the same institutionbenefitedthe
highercastesin certainotherfields.Westerneducationprovidedan indispensable
passportto these fields,and the high castes whichhad a traditionof literacy,
such as the Brahman, Vaishya, and Kayastha, were in a more advantageous
positionto exploitthe new opportunitiesthan those whichdid not have such a
tradition.Members fromthe formerprivilegedcastes became clerks,schoolmasters,officials,lawyers,and doctors.The Vaishyas or Banias naturallyled
the othercastes in takingadvantage ofthe new commercialopportunities
offered
by Britishrule.The bulk ofthe new intelligentsiacame fromthe threegroupsof
castes, and the leadershipof the nationalistmovementfell mainlyupon their
shoulders.It is not surprising
that theywere dislikedby the Britishrulers.The
upper castes were not only the firstnationalistsbut theywerealso consciousof
the facttheywereHindus. This was speciallytrueofthe Brahman,who enjoyed
a privilegedpositionin the traditionalhierarchy.European missionarieshave
abundantlytestifiedto the hold the Brahmanhad over the bulk of the Hindus,
and thishold had to be brokenif Christianitywas to make headwayin India.
The policypursuedby the BritishGovernmentin India of givingpreference
to the low castes was in accordancewithits humanitariansentiments,
but it also
had the effectofmakingthe lowercastes look up to the Britishforprotection.It
drovea wedgebetweenthe higherand lowercastes,and thiswas especiallyseen
in peninsularIndia. The leadersof the non-Brahmansand the otherhighcastes
wereto be foundin the nationalistmovement.It was Mahatma Gandhiwho was
chieflyresponsibleforcarryingnationalismto all sectionsof the population.
ProfessorGhuryewritesthat beforethe Indian Mutiny of 1857, the Bengal
Armywas composedlargelyofBrahmansand Rajputs, and that soldiersbelongingto thesecastestook a leadingpartin the Mutiny.Soon therewas an agitation
in England to rid the army of the highercastes. A Coommission
was appointed
under Lord Peel to go into the question of reorganizationof the Indian Army.
The Commission,afterrecordingevidence fromhigh Britishofficialswho had
servedin India, recommended
that "the nativeIndian Armyshouldbe composed
of different
nationalitiesand castes and as a generalrule mixedpromiscuously
througheach regiment."Ever since then the Indian Armyhas been steadily
purged of the highercastes. ProfessorGhuryethinksthat the Mutiny drove
hometo the Britishrulersthat the safetyof Britishdominionin India was very
closelyconnectedwith keepingthe Indian people divided on the lines of castes.
He quotes the opinionsof contemporary
and James
Britonslike Sir Lepel Griffin
Kerr,who knewthat caste dividedthe Indian people into small groupsand obstructedthe emergenceof a nationalistsentiment.Towards the last quarterof
the nineteenthcentury,the maxim of "Divide and Rule" began to be openly
preachedby historiansand journalists(Ghurye,pp. 175-176).
ThroughoutIndian historyattemptshave been made to reject Brahmanical

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CASTE IN INDIA

533

from
supremacy,but the non-Brahmanmovementofthe presentcenturydiffers
earliermovementsnot onlyin regardto scale and intensitybut also as to ideology.
The speechesmade by the leaders of the non-Brahmanmovementin Madras in
the twenties,forinstance,revealthe influenceofthe liberaland radical thought
of WesternEurope.7The non-Brahmanleaders assertedthat theywere as good
as the Brahmans,and that theywantedthe Britishrulersto give thempreferential treatmentfora timein orderthat this could become an establishedfact.
The non-BrahmanmovementofpeninsularIndia was the responseofa downtroddensectionof Hindu societyto the challengeof caste in the new contextof
ideology.One ofthe foundersof this
Britishruleand Westernliberal-rationalist
movementwas JyotiraoPhule, of Poona, a man of the Gardenercaste, who
foundedthe Satya Shodak Samaj in 1873 withthe object of assertingthe worth
of a human being irrespectiveof his birthin a particularcaste. In certainrespects,Phule's reformsanticipatethe programof the non-Brahmanmovement
in Madras. He urgedthe non-Brahmansnot to engageBrahmanprieststo conduct theirritual.He saw the need foreducation of the non-Brahmans,and in
1848 he starteda schoolfornon-Brahmanboys and girls.In 1851, he starteda
school for Untouchablesin Poona. He demanded adequate representationfor
membersof all castes in the servicesand local bodies.
The measureswhichPhule advocated in the second and thirdquartersof the
nineteenthcenturywere to become the main itemsin the programof the nonBrahmanpartiesofBombay and Madras in the firsthalfofthiscentury.Professor Ghurye recordsthat Phule's demand for special representationfor nonBrahmansin the servicesand local bodies went unheededtill the last decade of
the nineteenthcentury,whenthe Maharaja ofKolhapur (ShriSahu Chatrapati)
took up the non-Brahmancause. Thanks mainlyto his efforts,
special representation throughmixed electorateswas conceded to the non-Brahmansin the
Montague-Chelmsford
Reforms.These reformsdivided the people of Bombay
into threepoliticaltiers:the firsttierconsistedof Brahmansand Allied Castes;
the second consistedof the IntermediateCastes, the Mahratas and others;and
finally,the Backward Classes, includingUntouchables.This principlewas also
made use of in appointmentsto Governmentposts. ProfessorGhuryequotes a
resolutionof the Finance Department of the Governmentof Bombay, dated
of Brahmansand Allied Castes
September17, 1923,prohibitingthe recruitment
to the lower services,till a certain proportionof the posts were held by the
Intermediateand BackwardCastes. This policyofreservinga certainpercentage
ofthe poststo the non-Brahmancasteswas followedby otherprovincialgovernments. The logical consequenceof this policy was seen in Madras as early as
1924. "The hundredsof small communitiesinto whichIndian societyis divided
were not slow to take advantage of the opportunitywhichwas so conveniently
in thelegislature,
affordedthem,and began to clamorforspecial representation
local bodies, the public servicesand even educationalinstitutions.The Governof theLeague of Non-Brahmin
7See the Proceedingsof theFirst ProvincialConference
ReportoftheLeague ofNon-Brahmin
Youth(Central),Madras, 1927;and theAdministrative
Youth,Madras, 1926-27.

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534

M. N. SRINIVAS

ment, in which also the non-Brahminelementwas very influential,tried to

but naturallycouldnot
demandforthe plumsofoffice,
satisfytheever-increasing
succeed. It createdjealousies and enmitieswhichhave now reactedwith disastrouseffecton the party [thenon-BrahmanParty]."8 About the same time the
Chairmanofthe ReceptionCommitteeofthe Meetingofthe Madras Non-Brahman Party in 1924, made a strongappeal "to abandon the communalpolicy
pursuedhithertoand to transformthe partyinto an organizationrepresenting
the forcesworkingfor reformalong constitutionallines into which everyone
without distinctionof caste, religionor color would have free admission."9
a
Twelve years later,in the 1936-37 elections,the non-BrahmanParty suffered
and
decisivedefeatat the hands ofthe Congress.This happenedin both Madras
Bombay,but it did not mean that the non-Brahmanmovementcame to an end.
The moremoderatenon-Brahmansenteredthe Congressand soon dominatedit.
In Madras the extremenon-Brahmansunderthe leadershipof ShriE. V. RamaswamyNaickerjoined the Dravida Kazhagam, a militant,atheistic,anti-Aryan,
anti-NorthIndian, anti-Hindi, and anti-Brahmanmovement. The Dravida
of the Dravida Kazhagam, claimsto be more
MunnetraKazhagam, an offshoot
"progressive"than the latter,admittingeven Brahmansas members.It is also
in outlook.
and anti-landowner
pro-nationalization
One featureof the peninsularnon-Brahmanmovementmay be disposed of
featureofthat movementwas dislikeof,ifnot hatredfor,the
now. The unifying
Brahman. Right up to the beginningof the First World War, the Brahmans
dominatedthe administrationand the liberal professionseverywherein peninsular India exceptingKerala. It is allegedthat duringthe periodof Brahmanical
domination,favoritismtowards Brahmans and discriminationagainst nonBrahmans were both widespread.When power and influencepassed into the
hands of the non-Brahmans,theyseem to have harassedthe Brahmansworking
underthem.ProfessorGhuryequotes fromthe memorandumofthe Government
of Bombay to the Indian StatutoryCommissionin 1928 to show that in those
DistrictSchool Boards in whichthe non-Brahmanswerein a majority,attempts
were made to oust Brahmans regardlessof all considerationfor efficiency.'0
assumed a violentformin the riotswhichoccurredin KolhaAnti-Brahmanism
pur and elsewherefollowingthe assassinationof Mahatma Gandhi. Anti-Brahman demonstrations,the looting and burningof Brahman houses, printing
presses,factories,and shops were widespread.The Brahman-ownedand edited
Marathi presshad been verycriticalof Mahatma Gandhi forsomeweeks before
his assassination."
ShriA. B. Latthe, one of the leadersof the non-Brahmanmovementin Bombay in the twentiesand thirties,commentedon the riots: "As an humblefriend
Mail (Bombay), Oct. 14, 1924.See Ghurye,p. 183.
9 See workscitedin note7. See also N. Rama Rao, KelavuNenapugalu(Bangalore,1954),

8 Quoted fromthe Indian Daily

p. 11.
10 Ghurye, pp. 175, 183.

11See Miss M. L. P. Patterson,"Caste and Politicsin Maharashtra,"EconomicWeekly,

VI, No. 39 (Sept. 25, 1954),1066-1067.

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CASTE IN INDIA

535

of the non-Brahminmovementof thirtyyears ago, I stillthink[that]the movementwas essentiallyjustified,but later on it degeneratedinto the naked communalismof several non-Brahmincommunitieswhich ultimatelybroke it up.
The vicariouspunishmentof all the Brahminsforthe sins of a fewamongthem
is foolish,and hatredofone communityagainstanotheris suicidalto democracy.
The days of caste oligarchieshave gone and cannotand oughtnot to be revived.
Those in the State who encouragenarrowcommunalprideare the worstenemies
of the people and the State."'12
I shall now tryto demonstratethat the power and activityof caste has increasedin proportionas politicalpowerpassed increasinglyto the people from
the rulers.The transferof powerto the people began underthe British,and it
findsits culminationin the Constitutionof the Republic of India, underwhich
everyadult has a vote whichis exercisedquinquenniallyat the elections.I shall
considereach linguisticregionof peninsularIndia, and then referbriefly,and I
fearveryinadequately,to India northofthe Vindhyas.It is hardlynecessaryfor
me to add that this is due to my ignoranceof the Northand to nothingelse.
The non-Brahmanmovementin peninsularIndia is over a centuryold. I have
alreadymentionedPhule's efforts
in Poona in the 1840's. About the same time
in Madras, the artisancastes made a representation
to the Board of Revenue to
the effectthat all men shouldbe appointedto public officeswithoutdistinction
and to the destructionof Brahmanical monopoly. The movementgathered
strengthslowly. Accordingto ProfessorGhurye,Phule's ideas did not make
progressamongnon-Brahmansforseveralyearsafterhe had propoundedthem,'3
but caste consciousnessseems to have suddenlybecome sharp in 1916 when
Montague arrivedin India to consultthe people and the Governmentof India
Reforms
about the futureformof government.But the Montague-Chelmsford
were not announcedtill afterthe end of the First World War. Non-Brahman
leadersin peninsularIndia feltthat the grantingof powerto theircountrymen
might lead to a Brahmanical tyranny.The Maharaja of Kolhapur pleaded
Reformsfor"Communal
beforethe announcementofthe Montague-Chelmsford
Representation"forat least ten years if Home Rule was not to culminatein
oligarchy.'4
On the occasionofthecelebrationofthetenthbirthdayoftheMadras
non-Brahmanparty paper, Justice,the Raja of Panagal declared that at the
conclusionof the First World War, the non-Brahmanleadersfeltthat a certain
amountof politicalpowerwould be given by the Britishto Indians. "The late
leadersfeltthat beforeany politicalpoweris concededto the people, the latter
or a majorityofthemmustbe in a positionto assertthemselvesagainstany one
whichwould tryto appropriateit to itself."'5That watchdogofnoncommunity
Brahmaninterests,the newspaperJustice,was foundedon February26, 1917,
and it was followedby the startingof othersimilarnewspapers,Kudiarasu and
Dravidar (Tamil), and Samadarshini (Telugu). The interwaryears may be
Ghurye,p. 202.
Ghurye,p. 197,179.
14 Ghurye,p. 179.
15 Administrative
Reportof theLeague ofNon-BrahminYouth,Madras, 1926-27.
12
13

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536

M. N. SRINIVAS

describedas a period of intenseanti-Brahmanism

in the South. The leaders of
the non-Brahmanparty collaboratedwith the Government,and took measures
to reservea certainpercentageof posts in the administrationand seats in the
local bodies and legislaturesforthe non-Brahmans.The principleof reservation
was also extendedto seats in educationalinstitutions.
In a penetrating
articleon "Caste and Politicsin Maharashtra,"Miss Maureen
Pattersonhas analyzed the forcesof caste underlyingpoliticsin Maharashtra
(excludingVidarbha and Marathwada).16 Miss Patterson discusses the part
played by the threeimportantcastes,viz., Brahmans,Mahrata, and Mahars, in
the politicsofMaharashtra.The Brahmanswerethe firstto becomewesternized
in Maharashtra,and this resultedin a near monopolyof posts forthemin the
new setup. The earlypoliticalleadersweremostlyKonkanasthaBrahmans.The
Brahmansconstituteonly4 % ofthe populationofthisregion,whilethe Mahratas constitute25 %, and the Kunbis who wishto pass offforMahratas, 8 %, and
the Mahars, 10 %. The Mahratas are landownersin the ruralareas and have not
yet taken kindlyto education in spite of the pioneeringeffortsof their caste
leader, the Maharaja of Kolhapur. They have only 7 % literatesas compared
withthe UntouchableMahars who have 11 % literates.The ties of the Mahars
withthe land to not seemto be as strongas thoseofthe Mahratas-traditionally,
the formerwerehereditaryvillage watchmenowninglittleor no land. The Mahars, like the Mahratas, saw army servicein the First World War, and large
numbersofMahars are to be foundnow in Bombay engagedas laborersin mills.
Miss Pattersontells us that in the twenties,Mahratas in Kolhapur, Satara,
and other towns made a concertedeffortto drive out Brahmans fromtheir
and teachers.'7
positionsas priests,pettygovernmentofficials,
In Maharashtraas in Madras, the Congressachieveda notable victoryat the
1936-37 elections,and the non-Brahmanparty candidates suffereda severe
defeat.Accordingto Miss Patterson,the Congresswas able to attractMahratas
and othernon-Brahmansintoits foldpartlybecause its leaderMahatma Gandhi
was not a Brahman.In her opinion,"all along in variousways caste has exerted
an importantthough at times subtle effecton the Congress organizationin
Maharashtra" (p. 1066).
In April 1948, a large block of the Maharashtra Congressleftit to formthe
Peasants' and Workers'Party. The leadersof the new partywereShri K. Jedhe
and Shri S. S. More. Miss Pattersonsays "that the formationofthis partymay
be regardedboth as an attemptto protestagainst what was consideredovertly
'Capitalist' dominationof the Congressand to by-passwhat was claimedto be
continuedBrahmin control over positions of leadershipin the Maharashtra
Congressorganization"(p. 1067).
In 1954, the P. W. P. split into two groups,one led by Shri Jedhe,and the
EconomicWeekly,VI, No. 39 (Sept. 25, 1954),1065if.
It is interesting
to notethata similarmovewas afootin Madras Province.The leaders
movement
in Madraswerein touchwiththeircounterparts
in Belgaum,
ofthenon-Brahman
of theLeague
Satara, and Amravati.See the ProceedingsoftheFirstProvincialConference
of Non-BrahminYouth (Central),Madras, 1927.
18

17

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537

CASTE IN INDIA

otherby Shri More. The formerrejoinedthe Congressin August 1954, while a

hard core of leftistsremainedwithShri More in the P. W. P.
The recentmovementin favorof the union of all Marathi-speakingareas in a
singlestate seemed to unite most Maharashtrians,irrespectiveof caste. There
was, however,one notable exception:it was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar,the leader of
the ScheduledCastes. Dr. Ambedkarstated that "in a monolithicMaharashtra,
Mahratas havingthe absolutemajoritywould dominate."He added furtherthat
historyhad shown that the minorities,especially the Scheduled Castes and
Tribes, would not get justice at the hands of the Mahratas. Dr. Ambedkar
wanted Maharashtra to be divided into three Marathi-speakingareas, East,
West,and Central,witha view to seeingthat the Mahratas did not get a chance
to dominatethe Scheduled Castes and Tribes.'8
Mr. Selig S. Harrison,in a recentpaper entitled"Caste and the Andhra Communists,'9 has made a brilliantanalysis of the forcesat workin the politicsof
AndhraState. I make no apology for quotingextensivelyfromMr. Harrison's
paper; it providesconclusiveevidenceofthe decisiveroleplayed by caste in the
politicsof South India, if not India as a whole. Mr. Harrisonwrites: "As an
example of Hindu caste disciplinein political motionl,the postwar decade in
Andhrameritsspecial attention.Caste has played so fundamentala role during
a case historyin theimpactof
thisperiodthatthisexaminationbecomesin effect
casteon India's representative
institutions"(p. 379, italics mine).
I can only presenthere a briefsummaryof Mr. Harrison'spaper. According
to him,most of the Communistleaders of Andhrabelongto the peasant caste,
Kammas. "Since thefoundingoftheAndhraCommunistpartyin 1934,the party
leadershiphas been the propertyofa singlesubcaste,the Kamma landlords,who
dominatethe Krishna-Godavaridelta. This fact carriesenormousimportancein
view ofthe risinginfluenceofthe Kammas in Andhralife.The war and postwar
who own an estimated80 per
yearswerea boom periodforthe Kamma farmers,
centofthefertiledelta land. High pricesforbothfoodand cash cropsmade many
Indian peasant proprietorcastes newlyrich,but forthe Kammas, presidingover
land as productiveas any in all India, theboom was especiallypotent" (p. 381).
While the Kammas dominate the CommunistParty, the rival landowning
caste of Reddis dominatethe Congress.Kamma-Reddi rivalryis an old affair,
and the present-daypoliticalcompetitionbetweenthem"is onlya modernrecurrence of an historicpatterndating back to the fourteenthcentury" (p. 382).
"Both Kammas and Reddis were probablywarriorsin the serviceof the early
Andhra kings. Later they became farmers,some feudal overlordsand others
small peasant proprietorswho to this day take part in the cultivationof their
land. Between them they dominatedrural Andhra,leaving Brahmans beyond
the pale of economicpowerin the countryside"(p. 383).
These twofamouscastes are concentratedin two different
regionsofAndhrathe Kanunas in fertiledeltaic Andhraand the Reddis in the Five Rayalaseema
18 Timesof India,

Oct. 1, 1955.
Review,L (June 1956),378-404.

19 AmericanPolitical Science

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538

M. N. SRINIVAS

Districtsof West Andhra.20The deltaic regionseems to have been called once

upon a time"Kamma Rashtra," whileRayalaseema is in parlancereferred
to as
"Reddiseema." Both the castes are, however,rurallyoriented.Political awareness in Andhra,as in otherpartsofpeninsularIndia, came firstto the Brahman.
Like the Mahrata, the deep chthonicroots of the Kamma and Reddis seem to
have come in the way of theiracquiringEnglish education. "Only about 1900
A.D., Kammas awakenedto the factthatwithoutEnglisheducationtheycannot
bettertheirposition.The feweducated Kammas who joined governmentservice
had to strugglehard to come up due to lack of patronageand the oppositionof
Brahmanvested interests."'2'
The educationaladvancementof the two castes only increasedtheir mutual
rivalry.But the two combinedas membersof the JusticeParty in Madras to
ousttheBrahmansfrompowerand positionin Andhra.Between1934 and World
War II, the Reddis gained controlof the Congress;and the Kammas, of the
CommunistParty.
I mustmentionherethat I do not findMr. Harrison'sexplanationforthe two
leadingpeasant castes' joiningrivalpoliticalpartiesentirelyconvincing.According to him, the fertileand rich deltaic area of the Circars-incidentallythe
regionof the heaviest densityin Andhra,from900 to 1,200 personsper square
mile as comparedwith 316 in the rest of Andhra is the center of Andhra's
intellectualand politicalferment.The Brahmansin thisarea werethe firstto be
drawn into the Congress,and the challengeto the Brahmans came fromthe
leadinglocal non-Brahmancaste ofKammas. "In addition,in the delta's legions
oflandlesslaborerstherewas the gristofa mass movementplain to any Marxist
intellectuallookingfora cause" (p. 384). Accordingto Mr. Harrison,the Reddis
who lived in the politicallybackward area of Rayalaseema, gravitatedalmost
by defaultinto the Congress.
This account of Mr. Harrisonis not consistentwith his earlier statement:
"Both Kammas and Reddis, pushingforwardwiththe anti-Brahmanmovement
that swept all South India, supportedthe Andhra branch of the short-lived
Justiceparty" (p. 384). The latter statementimplies that there was no lag
betweenKammas and Reddis in politicalconsciousness.A simplerexplanation,
and one that is more consistentwith traditionalReddi-Kamma rivalry,is that
the two castes fellapart afterpushingthe Brahman out. One joined the Communistsand the otherthe Congress.The two rival castes now founda new field
fortheirrivalry.
Between 1948 and 1951, Communismin Andhratook a violentform.
20 This kind of relationship
betweena caste and a regionis widespreadin India, and it
shouldbe notedthat regionalclaims are oftenonly a disguiseforcaste claims. The conferringof vast powerson panchayats,whichis a widespreadfeatureof modernIndian
will only place great temptationsbeforethe locally dominantcaste, to
administration,
use the moneyand powerin favourof its membersand at the expenseof the other and
dependentcastes.
21 Harrison, p. 384, quoting K. B. Choudary, A Brief History of the Kammas
Andhra:publishedby the author,1955),p. 122.
(Sangamjagarlamudi,

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CASTE IN INDIA

539

This was the so-calledTelengana movement,organizedalong standardCommunistguerand parallel village governments.Clustersof

rilla lineswithwholesaleland redistribution
villagesin the delta and nearlyall Warangaland Nalgonda districtsin Hyderabad went
underCommunistcontrolfrom1948through1950.Andhraand TelenganaCommunistleadnorthintoTelengana and southintothedelta,froma 40ers directeda two-wayoffensive,
villagebase of operationsin Munagala Junglein northwestKrishnaDistrict. Communist
squads raidedvillagesby night,police battalionsby day. WhenIndian Armytroopsconducted their1948 "police action" against the Nizam of Hyderabad, they stayed on in
Warangaland Nalgonda to drivethe Communistsout. It took themuntil 1951to restore
normallocal government.(p. 390)

Communistviolencedid not, however,affectthe Kamma landlords,and this

was noticedby Shri B. T. Ranadive, thenSecretaryof the CommunistParty of
India. He said that the Andhra CommunistParty was dominatedby "rural
intellectuals,sons of rich peasants and middle peasants.... The party politically based itselfon the vacillatingpoliticsof the middlepeasantsand allowed
itselfto be influencedeven by richpeasant ideology."22
The Kammas supportedthe Communistsin the 1951 elections."Whateverthe
understandingbetweenthe Communistsand Kamma patriarchs,a significant
sectionof the Kammas plainlyput theirfunds,influence,and votes behindthe
CommunistKamma candidates.This factorappears to have tippedthe scales in
the delta.... Whilethe Kamma vote was divided,the shareofKamma support
won by the Communistsprovidedthe marginof victoryin 14 of the 25 delta
generalconstituencieswhere Communistdeputies were elected" (p. 395). Mr.
Harrison states that in a substantialnumber of cases powerfulKamma supportersgave even moredecisivesupportto the Communistcandidates,viz., that
of identificationwith village-levelauthority.Kamma influenceis so evenly
wherenon-Kamma
spreadoverthe delta that even in thosedeltaicconstituencies
Communistswere successful,Kamma supportwas probablyextended.
In the 1955 elections,the Congresssent one of theirablest organizers,Shri S.
K. Patil, to organizethe Congressto defeatthe Communistsat the polls. The
Andhra Congress closed its ranks, and this minimizedthe splittingof votes
among a numberof candidates,whichwas a featureof the 1951 elections.The
Congressalso securedthe supportof the outstandingKamma leader,Professor
N. G. Ranga, and his supportwas a crucialfactorin the defeatofthe Communist
candidates.ShriS. K. Patil matchedcaste withcaste in the choiceofcandidates,
and this ensuredthat the Communistcandidate did not have the advantage of
propaganda
caste against his Congressrival. Finally,vigorousanti-Communist
seemedto splittheKammas in theirsupportofthe Communists.The Communist
press bitterlycomplainedthat the propertiedinterestshad ganged up against
them.On his side, Shri N. G. Ranga showedthat he could drivea hard bargain
forhis caste withinCongresscouncils.
What will be the patternof forcesin the new Andhra State? The Times of
India of August25, 1956, reportedthat therewere two groups,one supporting
thethenChiefMinisterShriB. Gopala Reddi, and the othersupportingthe then
22

II (June-July1949),34.
Harrison,p. 391,quotingfromthe Communist,

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540

M. N. SRINIVAS

Deputy ChiefMinister,ShriN. Sanjiva Reddi, forthe leadershipofthe Congress

LegislativeParty in the enlargedAndhraPradesh. In this contest,the decision
membersin the Legislature)to support
ofthe Telega subeaste (withtwenty-two
the latter'schancesof success.The followersof
Shri Gopala Reddi strengthened
ShriN. G. Ranga also decidedto supportShriGopala Reddi. The Harijans were
deliberatingas to whomto support,and it was likelythat theirvote would go to
the highestbidder.
In Telengana,the leadersin the politicalfieldare the Reddis,who are distinct
fromthe Rayalaseema Reddis. The Telengana Brahmansare theirlocal rivals.
A complicatedpatternof alliancesand rivalriesis likelyto emergein the new
Andhra.Mr. Harrisonwrites,"Alreadythe Reddi-Brahmanrivalsin Telengana
and the Kamma-Reddi antagonistsin Andhra can be seen each jockeyingto
establishties acrossthe border.To complicatemattersstillmore,the Telengana
Conununistleadershiplacks caste homogeneity.Ravi Narayana Reddi and a
Brahman,D. V. Rao, lead rival factions.How will these rivals adjust to their
new commonrelationshipto the delta Communistleaders?" (p. 404).
It is to be regrettedthat analysesofelectionssimilarto Mr. Harrison'sare not
available for otherparts of India. But some idea of the forcesat work in the
1951-52 electionscould be obtainedevenfromnewspaperreports. It is relevant
to mentionherethat it is widelybelievedthat the CongressParty in Madras is
to servicesa policywhich
pursuingin the spheresof educationand recruitment
meetswith supportfromthe Dravida Kazhagam. In fact,as mentionedearlier,
the successofthe Congressin Madras is partlyattributedto its pursuinga policy
whichmakes a non-Brahmanpartyunnecessary.In an articleentitledthe "National Scene" in the TimesofIndia ofJuly12, 1955, "Darem" wrote: "But it is
futiledenyingthat a largemajorityofthe people [whichmeansthe non-Brahman
majority]in Tamilnad sympathizewith the Kazhagam's ideology.Indeed the
presentChief Minister of Madras [Shri K. Kamaraj] owes his returnto the
Assemblyto the supportof the Kazhagam in the election.It is furtherbelieved
that a majorityof Congressmenactivelyback the Kazhagam."
During the electionsthe CommunistParty of India, in accordancewith its
policy of supportingcandidates and parties having a "social base," supported
the Dravida Kazhagam candidates. The Communistsargued that thoughthe
Kazhagam was in origin a result of depressed non-Brahmansrising against
Brahmanprivilege,it had an economicand social basis, and a "progressive"or
Leftistideal. (See the Times ofIndia, January2, 1952). In the same report,the
Times of India correspondentremarkedthat the Scheduled Castes Federation
was verypowerfulin Madras, and that the Harijans, constitutedas theywereof
landless laborersand otherimpoverishedsectionsof the community,were attractedto the extremeLeftin thousands.The poorerChristians,mostlyconverts
fromHarijan castes,werealso supportingthe Communists,thoughin theircase
of the Churchto the Right.
therewas the counterinfluence
The Vanniya Kula Kshatriyasare a dominantcaste of pettylandownersand
poor peasants in the four districtsof North Arcot, South Arcot, Salem, and
Chingleput.In the year 1944 this caste organizeditselfas a pressuregroupto

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CASTE IN INDIA

541

promoteits interests.But just beforethe elections,the caste split into two

parties,now knownas the Toilers' Party and the otheras the Commonwealth
Party.The former
had Leftistleaningsand was active in South Arcotand Salem,
whilethe latterhad no particularprogram.The Toilers' Party was supportedat
the electionsby boththe Kisan Mazdoor Party and the UnitedFrontofLeftists.
remarked,"it is astonishinghow much caste
The TimesofIndia correspondent
feelingis beingevoked by the elections" (January2, 1952).
I have mentionedearlierthe Dravida Kazhagam movementin Madras. Sometimein June1956,the founderofthe Kazhagam, ShriE. V. RamaswamyNaicker,declaredthat he had givenup the goal ofDravidistan,a sovereignstate consistingofTamilnad,Kerala, Karnatak,and Andhra,thefourDravidian-speaking
areas of South India. He declared himselfonly in favor of Tamilnad, a tacit
acknowledgment
of the fact that the movementhad never made any headway
outsideTamil-speakingareas.
ofthe Dravida Kazhagam,
But the Dravida MunnetraKazhagam, an offshoot
has not givenup the demandforDravidistan.A conferenceofthe D. M. K. held
in Trichyin the thirdweek of May 1956, passed a resolutiondemandingthe
creationofDravidistaninsteadofDakshina Pradesh.23The demandforDravidistan as distinctfromDakshina Pradesh,is a demand forthe creationof a soveis ragingat presentbetween
reignand independentState. An acute controversy
the advocates of Dakshina Pradesh, led by Shri C. Rajagopalachari, and the
advocates of a Tamil State, but this need not detain us here. It is relevantto
mentionthat in a recentspeechShri C. Rajagopalachari chargedboth the D. K.
and D. M. K. with". . . openlypreachinga creedofhatredbased on ethnological
conjecturesand unrecordedand unprovedhistoricalconflicts.""It was claimed
by these 'hatred-mongers'
that the Dravidians were very strongand powerful
and that the Aryans,who conqueredthem,werenone else than the forebearsof
exampresent-dayBrahmins.This theory would not stand even half-an-hour's
is goingon
ination."He asked, "Is it not remarkablethat thishatred-mongering
fromthose in authority?"24
meetingwithlittledisapprovalor discouragement
in modernMysore.As in Andhra,the CongressParty is
Caste is omnipresent
dominatedby two leadingpeasant castes, one of whichis the Lingayat and the
other,Okkaliga. Lingayat-Okkaligarivalryis coloringeverymatter,whetherit
be appointmentto governmentposts or reservationof seats in colleges,or electionto local bodies and legislatures.A detailedaccountofthe way in whichcaste
functionsin modernMysore was given in the EconomicWeekly.25
The Okkaligas of Mysore are apprehensivethat in a large Kannada-speaking
statecomposedofMysore,Coorg,and South Kan.ara,and the Kannada-speaking
areas of Madras, Hyderabad, and Bombay, they would be dominatedby the
Lingayats.This is why they wanted Mysore to remaina separate state. They
continuedto pressforthiseven afterthe States ReorganizationCommissionhad
23Hindu, May 22, 1956.
24 Hindu, June16, 1956.
25 See "Profileof a SouthernState-Mysore," EconomicWeekly,
VIII, No. 29 (July21,
1956),859-865.See also No. 32, p. 943; and No. 34, pp. 1005-1006.

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542

M. N. SRINIVAS

recommendedthe creation of a single state embracingall Kannada-speaking

areas, includingMysore. It was Shri Hanumanthaiah'ssupportforthe S. R. C.
proposalwhichchangedthe courseofevents.The supportersofseparateMysore
even welcomedthe creationof Dakshina Pradesh as a counterto a singleKannada-speakingstate-in the formerstate no singlegroupwould be able to dominate. One of the dilemmasof modernIndia is that while smaller states will
make forthe moreintimateassociationofthe people withthe Government,they
are also likelyto make forthe tyrannyofthe dominantcaste. Devolutionofpower
bycaste.
in India is seriouslycomplicated
That the membersof the States ReorganizationCommissionwere keenly
aware ofthe apprehensionsofthe Okkaligasis evidentin par. 324 (p. 91 Ch. iv)
of theirReport:
It has been suggestedto us that the basic reasonwhytwo States have been demandedinstead ofone is eitherpolitical or religiousapprehensionor perhapsa combinationof both.
It has been estimatedthat Lingayats or Veerasaivas constituteabout 35 to 40% of the
populationin the Kannada areas outsideMysoreat present.The otherimportantsection
of the Kannadigas, namely,the Vakkaligas,similarlyconstitutea littleless than 29% of
thepopulationofMysore.In theunitedKarnataka,it has beenestimatedthat a littlemore
than20% ofthepopulationmay be Lingayats,between13 and 14% Vakkaligas,about 17 to
be dominant,and any one
will,therefore,
18% Harijans. It is clear thatno one community
ifothergroupscombineagainstit. These
sectioncan be reducedto thestatusofa minority,
because the
estimatesofthecommunalcompositionofthenewState are naturallynotfirm,
They servehoweverto illustratethe
figureswhichhave been quoted vary considerably.26
problem.

Shri Hanumanthaiah'sadvocacy of the cause of a singleKannada state cost

him the ChiefMinistershipof Mysore.His action has been interpretedas harming Okkaligas.With the approach of the formationof the new state, OkkaligaLingayatrelationshave becomebitter.It is likelythat in New Mysorebesidesa
tussle betweenthe two groupstherewill be regionalconflicts.
straightforward
In fact,regionalismwill be the patternin India south ofthe Vindhyas,ifnot all
over India. This is an inevitableconsequenceof the formationof large states
of linguism,and caste is
withinthe Indian Union. Regionalismis an offspring
active in both.
Anotherfeatureof modernMysore is the recognitiongiven to caste in apcolleges,etc.
pointmentsto governmentposts, seats in medical and engineering
Brahmansmay apply foronly one in fiveposts, and only 30 % of the seats in
medicaland engineeringcollegesare allottedon the basis of merit.(In Andhra,
conditionsseem to be worse,Brahmansbeing eligibleto apply foronly one in
seven posts, and only 20 % of the seats in collegesbeing open to competition.)
It may be recalled in this connectionthat Article29 (2) of the Constitution
guaranteeingthat "No citizen shall be denied admissioninto any educational
maintainedby theState orreceivingaid out ofState funds,on grounds
institution
onlyof religion,race, caste, language or any of them,"was amendedin 1951 to
26 According
to the 1931Census,the percentageof Lingayats,Vakkaligas,and Harijans
in theareasproposedto be includedin theKarnataka State was 17,11,and 13, respectively.

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CASTE IN INDIA

543

provideforreservationof seats in schoolsand collegeson the groundsof caste.

The Constitution(First Amendment)Act was passed in 1951 and added the
followingto Article15 ofthe Constitution:"(4) Nothingin thisArticleor Clause
(2) of Article29 shall preventthe State frommakingany special provisionfor
the advancementof any sociallyand educationallybackwardclasses of citizens
or forthe ScheduledCastes and ScheduledTribes." The AmendmentAct arose
out ofthecase ofChampakamDorairajan vs. the State ofMadras. Miss Dorairajan, a Brahmangirl,was refusedadmissionto a collegein Madras, and she filed
a writpetition.The Madras High Court held that the CommunalGovernment
Orderunderwhichthe actionwas taken was ultraviresofthe Constitution.The
Madras Governmentappealed to the SupremeCourt,whichupheldthe decision
of the Madras High Court. Their Lordshipsofthe SupremeCourt declaredthat
made in the Madras Governmentorderregardingadmissionto
the classification
collegesproceededon the basis of religion,race, and caste, and was therefore
and constituteda clearviolationofthe Fundamental
opposedto the Constitution,
Rightsguaranteedto the citizensunderArticle29 (2) of the Constitution,and
thereforevoid under Article 13. The Amendmentto the Constitutionwas
promptedby the decisionof the SupremeCourt.
Kerala, or the Malayalam-speakingarea, on the west coast of South India,
in certainimportantrespectsfromthe rest of South India. For instance,
differs
it includesa large and influentialChristianpopulation,and in the northernpart
ofthe State, a well-knitgroupofMuslims.The Nabuthri(Nambudri)Brahmans
of Kerala, who may be said to be Brahmansamong Brahmans,have not taken
to Westerneducationin the way theireasternand northerncounterpartshave
done. The Nayars are the importantHindu groupin an educational,administrative,and politicalsense. The Izhavans or Tiyyans,a "backward" caste withthe
traditionaloccupation of toddy-tapping,have Sanskritizedtheir way of life
undertheleadershipoftheirreveredleader,thelate ShriNarayana Guru.Among
Hindus, thereis a certainamount of rivalrybetweenthe Nayars and Tiyyans,
and in Travancore-Cochinthere is rivalrybetween Hindus and Christians.
Kerala teaches us that it is not so much the ritualsuperiorityof the Brahman
that is resentedby others,but his politicaland economicdomination.
In the 1951 elections,the major cleavage in Travancore-Cochinwas between
Hindus and Christians.For a whole year beforethe elections,the Democratic
Congresscarriedon a steadyand virulentcampaignthatthelocal Indian National
Congresswas dominatedby Christians.This led to the departureofsome Nayars
and Tiyyansfromthe National Congress.Then came a suddenelectoralalliance
betweenthe National Congressand DemocraticCongress,whichconfusedmany
followersofthe former.Many Izhavans turnedLeft.The Christianvote did not
go to the National Congressbecause the State Governmenttriedto obtain control of tuitionin schools,which are mostlyrun by Christianmissionaries.The
Churchresistedthisattemptby the State, and the GovernmentofIndia reversed
the decision of the State Government.The clergyand the Catholic Congress
supportedIndependentCatholics against the Congressnominees.Independent
Catholics in Trichurcalled themselvesthe Cochin Party. When Hindus saw

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544

M. N. SRINIVAS

thattheclergywerebackingCatholiccandidates,theyvoted againstthe Catholic

nomineesof the Congressand supportedHindu Independentsand Leftists.The
Congressvotewas thussplit.Five ofelevenIndependentselectedto theAssembly
werefromTrichur.27
A reportin the TimesofIndia ofAugust27, 1956,containeda revealinganalysis ofthe forcesat workin Travancore-CochinState sinceits inception:
For a long timeTravancoreand Cochin were two separate States ruled by two royal
familiesand theiradvisors,called Dewans. In those days,it was not a sin to distribute
favours.At least,the royalrightwas not challenged.The best available place to distribute
favourswas the expandingfieldofpublic administration.
Whenself-rulereplacedautocracy,it inheritedthe old machineryintact.But the units
and componentsof this machinerywere never seriouslydisturbed.In fact, some of the
criticsofministerialrulein theState pointout thattheservicesenjoyedmoreopportunities
duringthe initialrise and temporarydeclineofrepresentativegovernment
forfavouritism
here.
all tendedto identifyand
The Public, the newspapersand thepeople's representatives,
of
and promotions
Appointments
withthisor thatcommunity.
employees
equateGovernment
newsand reachedtheagendaof Cabinet
ofpolicebecamefront-page
clerksand sub-inspectors
withthefailures
wereidentified
employees
Thefailuresandfortunesof Government
meetings.
communities.
The employeesenjoyingrare privilegessoon
and fortunesof theirrespective
and sponsors,amongthe
promoters
"god-fathers",
searched
forand alwayssucceededin getting
leadersofpubliclife.[italicsmine]
In this small and compactarea, everyonekneweveryoneelse. Family connectionsand
communalparityweremuchtoo important.Personal considerationsand obligationsheld
and independence.Progressstopped.Inertiaset in. This is the critical
swayoverefficiency
analysisof the recenthistoryof the State Servicesby responsibleofficials.
Into thisstagnantpool flewthe PresidentalAgent,Mr. P. S. Rau. He detectedthe mashall be strictlyimpartialran through
laise. His writthat the President'sadministration
He feltthatbeinga newcomerfrombeyondtheState's bordershe coulddo
all departments.
somethingin this direction.Mere senioritywouldnot be the sole criterionforpromotions,
wouldbe the keynoteof the administration.
he said. Efficiency

I may be permittedto remarkherethat it is not unlikelythat the absence of

powerfulBrahman groups in the North has preventedthe risingof an antiBrahman movement,and this has probablyled to the popular impressionthat
caste is morepowerfulsouth ofthe Vindhyasthan to the north.There are signs,
however,that caste is becomingstrongerin the North. Whethercaste conflict
willever becomeas strongas it is in the South today,remainsto be seen.
Strongcaste rivalrieswere seen in the Bihar Congressduringthe 1951 elections. The three chiefcastes were the Rajputs (led by the Finance and Food
Minister,Shri A. N. Sinha), the Bhumihar(led by the ChiefMinister,Dr. Shri
Kishna Sinha), and the Kayastha (led by ShriK. B. Sahay, MinisterforRevenue
and Excise). A Times ofIndia report,dated January3, 1952, stated that many
and in some cases even openly,
Congressmenwere supportingsurreptitiously,
many Independentcandidates and disgruntledCongressmenstandingagainst
the party'sofficialnominees.In short,Rajputs supportedRajputs, and Bhumihars supportedBhumihars,occasionallyin contraventionof partyloyalty.The
27

TimesofIndia, Jan. 26, 1952.

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CASTE IN INDIA

545

Kayasths,however,weresplitintotwo groups,one ofthemsupportingShriA. N.

Sinha.
While some Congressmensupportedcaste fellowsat the expenseof the party
nominees,somemembersofthe partyofRajput landlords,the Janata Party (led
by the Raja of Ramgarh),expressedtheirpreferenceforShri A. N. Sinha.
The Congressexploited the principleof caste in the elections. Rajkumari
AmritKaur was broughtto tourthe tribalareas to wean away tribesmen,a good
manyofwhomare Christians,froma separatistdemandfora tribalstate,to be
called Jharkhand.The leader ofthe JharkhandParty,Shri Jaipal Singh,himself
a Christiantribal,wanted a new state to be carved out of the tribal areas of
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa.
In 1951 therewas in existencein U. P. an organizationcalled the Shoshita
the lowercastes,whichhad as its aim the improvement
ofthe
Sangh,comprising
conditionsof the latter.28This seems to be but one indicationof the fact that
is on the rise in U. P. The tussle betweenthe Rajputs and
caste-consciousness
Chamarsforpoliticalpoweris likelyto get keenerin the nearfuture.In the rural
areas the Rajputs, who wereuntilrecentlyan exclusivegroup,seem to be more
willingnowadays to grant Rajput status to aspiringgroups,with a view to
themselvesat the next elections.
strengthening
An incidentaleffectofthe abolitionofthe zamindarisystemin parts ofNorth
India was the outbreakof dacoity in parts of U. P. and Madhya Bharat. The
dacoit gangs in U. P. were recruitedalmost exclusivelyamong the Thakur,
to protectthe criminals
Mallah, and Gujar castes,whichcollaboratedeffectively
whereverthey went. Punitive police were posted in the affectedareas during
December 1952-January1953,by the U. P. Government.Similarly,in Madhya
Bharat, the Rajputs, Thakurs,and Gujars who were adverselyaffectedby the
post-Independenceagrarianreformstook to dacoity.29In the latterhalfof 1952,
in certainvillagesin Bhind and Morena Districtsof Madhya Bharat, Harijans
werefrequentlyvictimsof loot, arson,and murderat the hands of the dacoits.
as a kind of
These assaults were describedby the Times ofIndia correspondent
"class war" waged by the Zamindars(whohad suffered
by the abolitionofzamindari) againstthe people (Harijans) whomtheyhad oppressedformerly.30
In the Punjab, the conflictis not betweencastes but betweentwo systemsof
castes-the Hindu and Sikh. The Hindu-Sikhconfficttook on the guise of a
linguisticconflict,and this was in spite of the factthat "the Punjabi and Hindi
languagesas spokenin thePunjab are akin to each otherand are bothwellunderstoodby all sectionsofthepeopleofthe State."'" "The problemoflanguagein the
Punjab is, therefore,one of scripts...."32 The Sikhs wanted Gurmukhiscript
while the Hindus wanted the Devanagari script. The States Reorganization
Commissionturneddown both the Sikh demand forthe creationof a PunjabiTimesofIndia, Nov. 14,1951.
TimesofIndia, Jan. 26, 1953.
30 TimesofIndia, Nov. 25, 1952.
31Reportof theStatesReorganization
S. 520, p. 141.
Commission,
32 Ibid., S. 527,p. 143.
28
29

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M. N. SRINIVAS

546

speakingstate as well as the Hindu demand fora Maha (bigger)Punjab state.

They proposedthe creationof a new Punjab in whichwas mergedthe existing
states of the Punjab (except the Lohari sub-tehsilof Hissar District),PEPSU,
and Himachal Pradesh. The CommissioncriticizedSikh as well as Hindu communalism,and gave their supportto a compromiseplan: "As forthe possible
ofenlargingthe presentState ofPunjab on the existing
unfavorablerepercussions
communalequilibrium,the positionis that the proposalwhichwe make about
this regionwill no doubt resultin the formationof a largerunit, but the Sikh
percentagein the enlargedunit will not be adverselyaffectedas comparedwith
theirpercentagein the existingState of Punjab. The Sikh percentagein the
ofa littlemorethan 1.5 %,
proposedState willin factshowa smallimprovement
It is ironical
decreasein the Hindu percentage."33
resultingin a corresponding
that the S. R. C. proposalmakes an appeal to the same communalsentiments
whichit so loudlydeprecates.
It was the ShiromaniAkali Dal, the organizationof orthodoxSikhs, which
sponsoredthe idea of a Punjabi-speakingstate. The reasonswhichpromptedit
to guess. In a recentspeech,Sardar Gyan Singh Rareto do so are not difficult
wala, formerlyChiefMinisterof PEPSU, stated that the Sikhs were suffering
ever since Independencebecause ofthe denial of "due statusto
fromfrustration
against Sikh Scheduled
Punjabi languageand Gurmukhiscript,"discrimination
Castes, and discriminationagainst the Sikhs in governmentservice both in
appointmentsas well as promotions.34
The CongressGovernmenthave evolved a "regionalformula"to set at rest
Sikh apprehensionsofdominationby Hindus. This solutionhas been opposedby
the Hindus. The Times of India reportedthat at an emergencymeetingof the
Maha Punjab Samiti WorkingCommitteeheld on September5, 1956, a resolution was passed declaringthat the "unpatrioticregionalformulaforthe Punjab
was intolerableand wouldhave to be resistedby measuressternerin naturethan
thoseadopted by the Samitipreviously."35
I have nearlycome to the end ofmy sketchysurveyof the rolewhichcaste is
playingin modernIndia. There is one importantmatter,however,to which I
must make a reference,necessarilyinadequate, beforeI conclude. Under the
Constitution,the practiceof Untouchabilityin any formis forbidden.Enforcepunishable
mentofany disabilityarisingout ofUntouchabilityshallbe an offence
accordingto law (Article17 ofthe Constitution).Articles15, 25, 29 (2), 38, and
46 deal withboth the positiveand negativeaspects of Untouchability,i.e., preventingall formsof discriminationagainst any group of people as well as the
adoptionof positivemeasuresto put an end to Untouchability,and to help promotethe educationaland economicinterestsofthe weakersectionsofthe people,
and in particular,the Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes.
The Constitutiongrantsstatutoryprotectionto the Scheduled Castes, and
thereare specificprovisionswhichguaranteeprotectionin variouscontexts.Thus
33 Ibid., S.

568,p. 153; S. 550,pp. 148-149.

34 Hindu, June11, 1956.

36

TimesofIndia, Sept. 7, 1956.

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CASTE IN INDIA

547

thereis a reservationof seats forScheduledCastes in the Lok Sabha and in the

State LegislativeAssemblies.Out of 495 seats in the Lok Sabha, 72 seats have
been reservedforScheduledCastes. In the State LegislativeAssemblies,against
a total numberof 3,283 seats in all states, 477 seats have been reservedfor
ScheduledCastes.
The Constitutionhas also providedforthe reservationof appointmentsfor
Scheduled Castes in the servicesof the Union and State Governments.Under
Article35, the claimsofthe membersof ScheduledCastes and ScheduledTribes
are takeninto consideration,consistently
withthe maintenanceofthe efficiency
of administration,
in makingappointmentsto servicesand posts in the Union
and State Governments.1212% of the vacancies filledby open competitive
examinationsin the Centraland All-India Servicesare accordinglyreservedfor
membersof the Scheduled Castes. The reservationis increasedto 163 % in the
case of posts and servicesfilledotherwisethan by open competitionon an allIndia basis. Besides the above, the various State Governmentshave also made
some effortsto improve the economic,educational, and social conditionsof
Scheduled Castes. Some of them have resortedto legislationto give special
protectionto the Scheduled Castes.36
The conscienceof enlightenedIndians demandsthat Untouchabilitybe abolished,and that everything
that is possiblebe done to bringthe ScheduledCastes
and Tribes and the various othergroupssubsumedunder the blanket termof
Backward Classes, to the level ofthe so-calledadvanced groups.But it is beginningto be realizedincreasinglythat the measuresdevised to bringabout social
and economicequality mightthemselvesperpetuatethe evil systemof caste.
In fact, this question was raised in a pointed mannerby Pandit Pant in his
concludingaddress to the Seminar on Casteism (p. 152). It is understandable
that groupswhich are classed as "backward" show reluctanceto give up the
privilegesof "backwardness."
As I writethese lines,a news itemin the TimesofIndia (September5, 1956)
reportsthattheGovernment
ofIndia has foundthereportoftheBackwardClasses
Commissionvague and inadequate, as it has failed to establishobjective and
acceptablecriteriafordefining"backwardness."The Commissionwas appointed
in 1953 underArticle340 ofthe Constitution,withKaka Kalekar as Chairman.
wereto determinethe criteriato be adopted in considering
Its termsofreference
whetherany sections of the people-in addition to those listed as Scheduled
Castes and Tribes-should be treated as socially and educationallybackward,
to preparea list of such classes,and to recommendways and means of assisting
themand improvingtheircondition.
The Commission'slist containsas many as 2,399 communities,of which 913
alone accountforan estimatedpopulationof 116 millions,whilethe Scheduled
Castes and Tribes will make up another70 millions.All womenhave been regarded as backward,thoughthey are not listed among the Backward Classes,
since they cannot be regardedas a separate community.
36 Reportof theSeminaron Casteismand Removalof Untouchability,
Bombay,1955.See
Shri ShankarSaran's address,pp. 95-104.

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548

M. N. SRINIVAS

Accordingto the Commission,then,about three-fourths

ofthe country'spopulationwouldbe "backward." It is difficult
to see how special privilegescould be
givento such a large sectionof the population,and this is clearlyrecognizedin
the Government'sMemorandumon the Commission'sReport.
A majorityof the membersof the Commissionwere of the opinionthat caste
determinedthe degreeand extentof backwardness.The Governmentof India
did not accept this view, but it admittedthat the caste systemis the greatest
hindranceto progresstowardsan egalitariansociety.It added the warningthat
the recognitionof the specifiedcastes as backwardmay serve to maintainand
even perpetuatethe existingdistinctionson the basis of caste.
It is time,then,to give seriousthoughttowardsevolving"neutral" indicesof
backwardness,indiceswhichalso includethe ScheduledTribes and Castes. The
criteriaof literacy,landownership,
and incomein cash or grain,should be able
to subsume all cases of backwardness.This is admittedlya huge and difficult
task but not impossible.And the end may make it worthwhile.
One last point. Caste is so tacitlyand so completelyacceptedby all, including
those who are most vocal in condemningit, that it is everywherethe unit of
social action. Some caste conferences
have been urgedby theirleaders "to seize
the opportunities
afforded
underthe Five Year Plan to the fullestadvantageand
contributetheirshareto the industrialdevelopment[of the country]."37
Shri S.
Chenniah,Presidentof the Mysore Pradesh CongressCommittee,was giving
expressionto a widespreadsentimentwhen he stated in an addressto the conferenceof a particularcaste in Nanjanagud in October 1955 that "communal
bodies strivingfor economic and social upliftcannot be dubbed as harmful.
Human psychologybeingwhat it is, it oftenwas the communalbondwhichurged
themto action." He expressedhis pleasureat his havingwon the confidenceof
the membersof the caste in question.He pointedout that the hostel whichhad
been builtforstudentsofthis caste had now been thrownopen to studentsofall
castes. He held out the assurancethat whencandidateswereselectedforthe next
generalelectionthe claims ofthe membersofthis caste would receivedue attention. But even Shri Chenniaharguedthat theremustbe a limitto caste organizations.
Commentingon the above Report,the Times of India remarkedin a leader
(October23, 1955): "The politicianwho wants caste and communaldistinctions
should disappear is at the same time aware of its vote-catchingpower,and is
thusfacedwitha real dilemma.Whereshouldhe drawthe line whenhe is asked
to extend help and patronage to communal organizations?Should a Union
Ministergraceby his presencea functionarrangedby a sub-casteamong Marathas? Could a newly-elected
CongressPresidentallow himselfto be garlandedby
caste fraternities?"The leader concluded by saying: "The firststep towards
solvingthe dilemmafacingthe politicianis to recognizeits [caste's]widespread
incidenceand implications."It is, however,onlythe firststep.
17Silver Jubileeof the Nadar Mahajana Sangam at Virudhanagar.See the Hindu, May

29, 1956.

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