Theories of Caste

The first theory of caste is a product of race. The connection of caste and race was made by some of the earliest outside commentators on India who related it to the Aryan invasion of India and to the fact that members of Brahman castes were often light-skinned while members of peasant and low castes were often dark-skinned or displayed other 'aboriginal' traits. There is some basis in reality for this observation, but it is of limited value for an explanation of caste. Over the centuries certain populations were undoubtedly subjugated by others and the historical remnants of this can still be seen clearly in many places. But for the most part there is no obvious connection between caste and racial characteristics and in any case, the complexity of caste systems cannot be explained by a marker as crude as race. The often made comparison with racial segregation does not explain much.

The second theory, though false, is still widely believed. This is the idea that there is an inherent connection between caste and occupation which explains how the caste system works in general. But this connection is not a sufficiently good guide. The first reason for that is the fact that it is never the case that all members of a given caste perform a particular occupation. The second reason is that many people who perform the same occupation belong to quite distinct castes.

The main idea of the third theory is that the caste is fundamentally about dominance and exploitation. On this argument, Brahmans are at the top and Untouchables are at the bottom not because of their respective degrees of purity, but because of their respective degrees of material and economic power. But economic power and ritual status do not always coincide.

The fourth theory argues that in a caste system every group has its place, and the element of competition among them was removed. The argument against seeing caste as a form of social stratification is that this perspective smuggles in a modern, individualistic, 'western' set of values which is inappropriate where traditional, 'holistic' values prevail.