Role of Purity and Pollution in the Caste System - Essay Example

November 10, 2007 Explain the Significance of Purity and Pollution in the Caste System The caste system is the most fundamental feature of the Hindu society in India and many other Asian countries (Ghurye, 1999, 33). Looking back over the course of centuries since its unknown beginning, the system has exercised a very profound influence on the social and economic life of the people. Originally it was introduced on the basis of division of labor in the society and was calculated to promote its economic strength and efficiency. The division was to begin with, complexity flexible and it was possible for a member of one caste to change to the other. But as time passed, the caste system became a water tight social compartment. Caste system is not peculiar to India. It existed and still exists in parts of Egypt, Europe etc, though in some milder forms. The world caste owes its origin to the Portuguese word 'casta' meaning 'lineage' (Ghurye, 1999, 31). PA Sorokin in his book "Social Mobility writes "Unstratified society with real equality of the members is a myth which never been realized in the history of mankind and when class is somewhat strictly hereditary, we may call it caste" Many theories have been promulgated to account for the origin of the caste system in India (Dumont, 1961, 75). The political theory states it was a shrewd trick of upper class Brahmins. The occupational theory traces it origin to the family's occupation. The racial theory traces its origin to the fact that different races organize their own race to form a separate caste. The mythical theory points towards its creation by the god to perform different functions And last of all comes, the Evolutionary Theory. This theory maintains caste system as a social phenomenon, the origin of which lies in social evolution which came into being through a long and slow evolutionary process. It is quite possible that during the evolutionary process some ugly things did make their entry into the system. The one and probably the worst was the custom of 'untouchability'. With improvement in education, this social evil has almost disappeared from the society. Right from the beginning of twentieth century British officials have used the term 'backward classes' to indicate low status backwards castes, and 'depressed classes' to mean the former untouchables or Scheduled castes (now dalits). They do not seem to have been particular about the terms used, and such sloppiness has continued in independent India. It so worth noting that terms such as Backward classes and Scheduled Castes also served as euphemisms for such unpleasant realities as low castes ands untouchables' (Beteille, 1965, 46). Still the caste system is not without its merit, which should not be ignored. It was based on the division of labor and thus enabled society to function efficiently. It made labor more efficient as the hereditary skill in at was transformed from father to son. Castes served as the social insurances in the society and helped their members in time of need. The caste system solved the problem of choosing careers and the problem of unemployment did not arise. The system provided united action against exploitation. Also by eliminating competition, it protected the poor. Thus for a Hindu the caste system has proved, '' his club, his trade union, his benefit society and his philanthropic society" (Ghurye, 1999, 67) To sum up, in each linguistic area there were about two hundred groups called castes with distinct names, birth in one of which, usually determined the status in society of a given individual, which were divided into about two thousand smaller units- generally known as sub- castes-fixing the limits of marriage and effective social life and making for specific cultural tradition. These major groups were held together by the possession, with few exceptions, of a common priesthood. There was a sort of an overall counting which grouped all of them into five or six classes overtly expressed or tacitly understood. Over a large part of the country they were welded together for civil life in the economy and civics of village communities. Common service to the civic life, perspective rights of monopolist service, and specific occasions for enjoying superiority for some of the castes, considered very low, made the village community more or less a harmonious civic unit. Complete acceptance of the system in its broad outlines by the group making up the systems and their social and economic interdependence of the village not only prevented the exclusivist organizations of the groups from splitting up the system into independent units, but created a harmony of parts that are equally valued, but of units which are rigorously subordinated to one another (Srinivas, 1996, 69) The there basic characteristics of caste, typified as jati, a birth status group, are exclusion or separation (rules governing marriage and contact, which maintains distinctions of caste), hierarchy (the principal of order and rank according to status), and interdependence (the division of labor which is closely tied to hierarchy and separation). These three analytically separable principles of the caste system operate not so much through individuals as through units based on kinship. The maintenance of rules of behavior and actions specific to one's jati and the patterns of interactions with other birth status groups, for instance, critically centre on kinship units particularly the family and the households. Since the 1950s, the concepts of purity and impurity have been seen as central to caste not only in indicating the rank of a jati in the local hierarchy but also in several other areas. Women are more directly concerned with purity -impurity than men, and the kitchen may be described as the heart of purity -impurity system. It is women who have to prepare and serve the food, and among many castes they have to be ritually pure while handling food. The rank of a caste depends on the avoidance of some impure foods (and liquor). Food is an important part of domestic ritual -daily, life-cycle and calendrical- and the ritual varies according to caste and domestic traditions. Women's are expected to know the special foods that need to be prepared for each important ritual, and women are the de facto custodians of the traditions. Punishment for the violation of the rules of purity-impurity in matters of food and sex operates far more harshly against women than men. As Leela Dube puts it, 'Sexual asymmetry (between men and women) is bound up with the maintenance of the hierarchies of caste. Also, 'Caste is not dead. Gender is a live issue. The principles of caste inform the nature of sexual asymmetry in Hindu society and the hierarchies of caste are articulated by gender.' Contrary to popular views, ideas of purity and pollution do play a part in the lives of Muslims. In particular the degree of impurity associated with the performance of traditional occupation is yet another factor in the assignation of social rank. But the above statement needs to be qualified adding that the pollution ideas of Muslims are not the same as those of upper caste Hindus. For instance, while collective or group pollution is transmitted by contact, personal pollution- as, for instance, that caused by copulation-is not so transmitted (Srinivas, 1996, 28) In the complex political economy of modern India, caste continues to provide a support base of members, a fact which is particularly important for upward mobile villagers who seek salaried jobs in the urban bureaucracy, industries, firms and offices. The articulation of kin, caste and patron client ties are crucial to spatial and social mobility. In the words of Panini, ' the membership of a caste implies that a person becomes part of a person based social network which controls insiders information about economic opportunities, transmits skills, and provides varied types of human and material support.' This particular role of caste has been steadily gaining importance in the last 150 years or more, with new economic opportunities becoming available in India and abroad. In the context of developments in the country since independence, the regime of economic control (intrinsic to socialism and centralized planning) has contributed to the strengthening of caste ties b encouraging, albeit indirectly, the growth of the unorganized sector. Socialism, central planning, a vast public sector both at the centre and in the states, a state controlled educational system etc., have facilitated the pursuit of an employment policy in which political considerations have played an important part, with efficiency becoming a secondary issue if not a casualty. Thanks to the policy of protective discrimination, the weaker sections of the population have developed vital stakes in a state controlled economy, and they are also aware of the clout they wield over politicians. But the new political and economic winds favor a reduced role for the state in economic matters: Hence the hard-won battle for 'backward classes' reservation will prove meaningless if the government retreats from the commanding heights of the economy, and if it sheds man of the regulatory and control functions. Such steps would not only reduce the number of posts in the government but diminish the authority vested in government jobs.' It was possible for strategically located groups to move up in the local hierarchy through the capture of political power, the acquisition of land, through trade and enough migration to other regions. But such mobility always resulted in the loss of freedom for the women. High status, whether acquired through caste, or the ownership of wealth, meant that women are confined to the home and subjected to a harsh sex code. While the part played by caste in polities, especially in the context of elections, agitations for enhanced reservation of seats in higher education or government jobs for backward lasses, and the inclusion or omission of particular castes in the other backward classes (OB) or Scheduled castes (Sc) list, have been commented upon by scholars and journalists, the study of the relation between caste and the economy has not received adequate attention. However, the caste system has not only outlived its utility, but is a positive evil, which must be cast away as soon as possible. By splitting the society into the watertight compartments, it operates as an obstacle to social and rational unity, which is essential for a national effort at economic re4generation. It kills the spirit of enterprise and initiative by making functions hereditary. By making change of occupation difficult, the system makes the labor and capital immobile. The large scale industry, which presupposes an easy mobility of labor, becomes difficult of achievement. The caste system has produced among the higher castes a sort of contempt for manual labor. It retards the progress by creating a spirit of exclusiveness among the people and keeping them away from the progressive influences. It is gratifying to find that the shackles of the system are slowly and steadily breaking down. The welfare and advancement of the backward lasses has been the special concern of the state under the constitution. They have been giving reservation in legislatures and services. Measures to provide educational facilities have also been given to them. Conclusion Caste is one of the basic institutions of Hindu society and has engaged the attention of scholars, activists and politicians. There is voluminous literature on the nature and character of caste in its various aspects. Its ideal typical structure with regional variations and the processes of change and continuity have been vividly described and cogently analyzed. Scholars have tried to explore fundamental principles that underlie the caste systems and the study of caste has given rise to endless controversies and debates. At the same time , the significance of gender in understanding the caste system and the way caste impinges on women's lives, although not totally ignored, have not received the attention they deserved. The norms governed by the basic characteristics of caste have undergone dilution during the last few decades but the have not disappeared and still remain the typical identifying marks of Hindu society. It is of course true that economic and political power played an important part in the easy atonement or non cognizance of offences, but here too, more often than not, this play has been essentially that of a familiar unit to which the individual belongs. The greatest duty of the present generation is to do away with asterism which breeds the evil spirit of inequality, hostility and captivity. In order to establish a classless society we have to eliminate casteism and allow inter caste dinners and marriages, so that we can get higher and higher on the way to prosperity and soon form an egalitarian country. Works cited Beteille, Andre, 1965.Caste, Class and Power: Changing patterns of social Stratification in a Tanjore village. Berkeley: California University Press.pp- 46-67 Dube, Leela 1988. On the construction of gender: Hindu girls in Patrilineal India, Socialization, Education and women, Pp 160-190. Delhi: Orient Longman Dumont ,louis. 1970. Homo Hierarchicus: The caste system and its implications. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Dumont ,louis. 1961.'Marriage in India: Contribution to Indian Sociology5, pp. 75-95 Ghurye G S. 1999, Caste and Rae in India, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, pp 31-141 Panini, M N. 1979. A Sociological Study of Entrepreneurs in urban settings, PhD Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Delhi Panini, M N. 1988. Corporate culture in India. Economic and Political Weekly XXIII(35), August 27, ppM-86-M94 Sorokin, Pitrim. 1927Social Mobility, New York. Srinivas M N. 1952. Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Srinivas M N. 1969, Social change in Modern India, Berkeley: California University press. Srinivas M N .1996 Caste Its Twentieth Century Avatar, Viking: Penguin Books India (P) Ltd. Pp 1-87 Read More