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14 views1 page

Answer 21 07 2021 09

Uploaded by

Dev Raj24
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DAMP SOCIOLOGY

Q) ‘The idea of caste as a hierarchical system is guided by ideological bias’. Critically


analyse the sociological significance of the statement. (20 Marks)

Answer:
Louis Dumont, in his seminal work Homo Hierarchicus, says that caste was above all an
ideology and is a system of ideas, belief, and values. It was only via ideology that the
essence of castes could be grasped and true principle behind the system could be known.
The ideology of the caste system is hierarchy. It is the essence of the caste and based on the
notion of purity and pollution. Hierarchy defined as superiority of the pure over the impure
was the keystone in Dumont’s model of caste system. This notion of hierarchy distinguishes
Indian society from modern societies whose fundamental social principle is equality.

One of the core feature of the caste system was the distinction it made between status and
power. It was the ideology of hierarchy, which allocated status to different groups in society
and it is more important than the material position of a person in the caste system.
Therefore, a poor brahmin will have a better status than a rich or powerful person from
other caste groups.

However, this theorisation of caste system based on the notion of purity and pollution was
criticised by scholars like Gerald Berreman, Dipankar Gupta, Andre Beteille and Joan
Mencher on the basis of ideological bias.
• Dipankar Gupta says that Dumont’s conceptualisation of caste system is derived from
the study of some selective classical Hindu texts and does not correspond with the
lived reality of caste. Anthropologists produced several monographs on caste based on
village studies, which are not included in the Dumont’s work.
• Dumont’s theory of caste stands on the premise that ritual hierarchy functions
independently of the considerations of power and wealth. Berreman argues that the
power-status opposition is a false dichotomy; they are two sides of the same coin. He
gives the example of the integration of Gond tribes into the caste system.
• Dipankar Gupta in his studies of Western UP also showed the relationship between
power and status.
• Joan Mencher in her fieldwork among the lower castes in Tamil Nadu found that from
the point of view of people at the lowest end of the scale, caste had functioned and
continued to function as a very effective system of exploitation.

Therefore, Dumont’s work provides a description of caste system based on the notion of
purity and pollution, however, he does not include the view of caste as an empirical reality.

Q) Write a short note on G S Ghurye on Caste. (10 Marks)

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