Author – Sarthak Mehra

The heart of the caste system mainly rests on three main characteristics, endogamy, untouchability, and the division of labour, i.e. association between caste and occupation. However, caste in urban areas is not just restricted to it but is more than that. Caste attaches a different meaning to it and plays a considerable role in contemporary urban India. Caste in contemporary India is on a different platform and manifests in our everyday lives in unprecedented ways. 

Scholars have argued that the effectiveness of caste in social and economic relations has deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate with the prolongation of capitalism, urbanization, and modernity. There have also been debates around the nature of the institution of caste and how it has metamorphosed with time. There is no doubt about the fact that caste has modified but to say it no longer exists or has weakened is an overstatement. The topical discourse on caste revolves around its varying nature and diminishing potency. Questions arise as to what is caste de nos jours. Is caste as a system dead? Has it disintegrated from a system to elements? Has the purity – pollution hierarchy dismantled and evolved into differences between castes? Upper caste scholars have raised questions like is caste just a phenomenon rather than a system in contemporary urban India? 

To answer such questions, one needs to understand the context behind it. Caste as a system is rigid while caste as a phenomenon is quite flexible and has given itself new meanings.

Caste as a system associates itself with the three characteristics mentioned above. Caste as a system works on the philosophy of purity and pollution. Caste as a system is hierarchical in nature. Caste as a system is anti-democratic as it denies human rights to people found at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. 

Caste as a phenomenon has been argued to be flexible and not as rigid as a system. Caste as a phenomenon has some modern aspects to it like political mobilization and reservations. Caste as a phenomenon can also be seen in the form of identity politics based on caste. What the deniers of caste as a system argue is that the tendency of caste has shifted from hierarchy to means of reckoning and identity-making. Several upper caste scholars have argued that caste as a system is on its last legs and that caste persists but has taken new forms and it does not prosper as a system anymore. 

Now that the context of caste as a system versus caste as a phenomenon is clear, we can move forward answering those questions. Following will be my perception of the nature of caste prevailing in urban settings, does caste persists as a system or as a phenomenon based on my observations and field experience in the city of Patna, Bihar in 2019. The sample was stratified into three different types of localities depicting three different classes. The authorized and planned locality represents the upper middle class, slums represent the lower class and urban villages represent the lower middle class. The following observations cannot be generalized for all urban settings in the country but can provide a starting point for further research and discussion. I interviewed a total of 85 respondents with the help of a well-structured questionnaire. My observations will be purely based on the responses of those 85 respondents. To conclude that caste has not transformed from a system to a phenomenon, I take into account the three main characteristics of the caste system, division of labour, endogamy and, untouchability and commensality. 

According to the caste system, different castes are supposed to do different jobs. Brahmins, who are at the top of the caste ladder enjoy various privileges and entitlements and are the priestly caste. The untouchables are engaged in inhumane jobs like manual scavenging, sewage cleaners, and sweepers. The hierarchy set by the caste system paves the path for the division of labour. The caste system with its linkage with occupations makes Indian society immobile. A quote by Michael Young defines the above argument as he says “the soil grows caste, the machines make classes”. The quote also implies that caste was a pre-modern phenomenon associated with agriculture and hardly has any space in this era of machines and technology. A lot of scholars have also argued that with the advent of technology, the relationship between caste and occupations has deteriorated.

It has been argued that with economic reforms and neoliberalism, the association between caste and occupation has disrupted over time. There is no doubt that new occupations have emerged and people have given up their caste-based occupation in urban India but according to my observations, to say that the association between caste and occupation has weakened in Patna does not show us a true picture. It is true only to an extent. The statement loses its gravity as we move down the ladder of the caste hierarchy. The statement doesn’t even hold a hundred per cent true in the case of upper castes as many brahmins still preferred being priests. 

Problems arise as we move down the ladder because people who are at the bottom are assigned jobs that are callous in nature. To comprehend the upcoming arguments, one needs to be clear about the difference between lower castes and Dalits. The lower castes enjoy some privileges because there are castes beneath them. They have a better opportunity to uplift themselves than Dalits. Lower castes weren’t assigned inhumane jobs according to their caste. They have been able to uplift themselves through new economic opportunities and Sanskritization. They classify into the OBC (other backward classes) category in contemporary India. Patna, unlike Delhi, has two subcategories for OBC, OBC – 1 and OBC – 2. OBC – 2 represents the forward among backward. Upward mobility has been seen in the case of lower castes in Patna. They have also been able to become what MN Srinivas calls as the dominant caste in some areas of Patna. However, castes in OBC – 2 have only been able to do so because of political mobilization and turnaround of politics in Bihar. This has led them to economic opportunities that were formerly occupied by the forward castes. It will be perfectly okay to say that the association between caste and occupation has deteriorated in the case of lower castes in Patna according to my observations.

While lower castes constitute the OBC category, the Dalits constitute the Schedule Caste (SC) category. The SC category constitutes the untouchables or to glorify the contemporary society, the ex – untouchables. The only thing which can wane the association between caste and occupation for the SCs is the reservation policy. Hierarchy has paved its way in the schedule caste group too. People who are discriminated against further discriminate against others, which results in the continuation of hierarchy. Two particular castes which are the most discriminated against are ‘Mehtar’ and ‘Dom’. These two castes are discriminated against by the upper castes, lower castes, and also by other scheduled castes. Discrimination against them is both a cause and the result of the caste assigned occupation. Mehtars and Doms are assigned the work of cleaning sewers. The reason why I argued that the statement ‘association between caste and occupation has weakened’ loses its gravity as we move down the ladder is because of all the respondents belonging to these two castes were still engaged in their caste-based occupation, i.e cleaning sewers. There was also no sign of upward mobility for the past 20 years. I would like to substantiate my argument with some real-life experiences of respondents belonging to the castes mentioned above. 

A respondent belonging to the Mehtar caste was denied jobs other than being a sweeper and sewerage cleaner only and only because of his caste. The person was overqualified for being a sweeper but still was forced to engage in such activities because of his caste. 

Another person belonging to the same caste was supposedly promoted from being a sweeper to being a peon in a government office in the city of Patna. However, this promotion meant nothing to him and his superiors as he was still forced to do the work of a sweeper. He was uninterruptedly harassed by his superiors because of his caste. It may count as upward mobilization but only on papers and not in real terms. This case also reflects how upward mobilization can also be overestimated by some studies without a background check.

The second property which makes caste so discriminatory and unique is commensality i.e the practice of eating together. The practice of commensality not being followed is one of the most discriminatory practices in the world as it is based on the concept of untouchability. The caste system does not stop at not practicing commensality but moves one step ahead. It completely ostracizes a certain section of people who happen to be at the lowest of the caste ladder from all social activities. Untouchables are then not allowed at social gatherings and are restricted to enter temples and homes of upper-caste Hindus. In short, untouchables are denied human rights.  

The interview tackled commensality by asking the respondents about their relations with their neighbors and also their preference if they had a choice of hiring a cook. Everyone answered that their relations with their neighbors are good and they frequently eat at each other’s place. It is better to see this aspect of caste with class because cities are usually spatially segregated based on class and in India and it is very difficult to separate class from caste. Poverty in India has a caste. 

Commensality or untouchability played a different role in all three localities. Without taking nuances into considerations, based on my experience, I would have concluded that untouchability and commensality are not practiced in upper-class neighborhoods, but it would have been wrong to do so.

It is very easy to accept the argument that economic relations break the caste system as far as commensality and untouchability are concerned in urban India. It is easy to accept such a notion because Indian cities are spatially segregated and you do not observe people of lower castes residing in upper-class neighborhoods. I did not observe commensality and untouchability being practiced in upper-class neighborhoods because no Dalit was living in those neighborhoods. However, some lower castes were residing in those neighborhoods. I observed that lower castes were not outrightly discriminated against but one could sense prejudice against them in upper-class localities filled with upper castes. This shows that caste is a mental state and cannot be eradicated through economic mobility or capitalism. When asked about their preference for hiring a cook, most people admitted that they would deny a person belonging to the SC category to enter their kitchen. This shows that untouchability has not faded away totally but has found subtle ways to exist. It shows how old rules of exclusion are often replaced by more subtle and flexible codes whose social effects are similar.

Initially, I thought questions related to untouchability and commensality would have little significance in slums where almost every household belongs to people from the SC category. But during the course, I realized the hierarchy between scheduled castes. As mentioned earlier, people belonging to Mehtar and Dom castes were discriminated against by their schedule caste counterparts. Some SCs belonging to castes other than Mehtar and Dom would not allow them to be cooks in their house too. As far as untouchability is considered, a man belonging to the Mehtar caste who was a resident of the Yarpur Ambedkar Colony slum was beaten when he accidentally touched an upper caste person at work. 

Commensality and untouchability were most witnessed in urban villages. Urban villages had a specific spatial setting as well which is normally seen in villages. The spatial setting was divided based on caste. The core areas of the Urban villages were dominated by upper castes or the dominant caste in that village and the schedule castes were residing in the periphery of the village. The question related to their preference for a cook had a striking response. People were not only upset for asking such a question but some were infuriated at me when I took the name of Mehtar and Dom castes. They would angrily reply “UNKO KYUN RAKHENGE”. 

The third aspect of caste as a system relates to marriage. The questionnaire dealt with this aspect in a nuanced manner by asking about the things people consider before arranging a marriage. It further went on asking the respondent’s views on inter-caste marriages and whether the family will accept an inter-caste marriage or not. Many would argue that endogamy is not peculiar to Indian society, having its trace all over the world. However, Dr. B R Ambedkar would argue otherwise. His argument would take the following course. Endogamy is practiced when societies are culturally different. However, peoples of India form a homogenous whole. Indian society according to him is a culturally united yet endogamous society. He differentiates the caste system from racism as whites and blacks do not share the same culture but two different castes may share the same culture and still be endogamous. Indian society is not only endogamous but also exogamous. Endogamy is supposed to be followed by different castes (jatis) while exogamy is supposed to be followed by different clans (gotras).

Responses related to inter-caste marriages did not change much across different classes. The striking thing is that almost every respondent said caste matters while arranging marriages. Initially, when asked about their preference for a bride or a groom, no one mentioned caste but when I specifically asked about it, they said ‘jaati? Vo toh hai hi’. It showed that they assumed I would be aware of it because it is the norm. It also shows that marrying outside one’s caste is unthinkable. Not only were people of Patna totally against inter-caste marriages but inter-caste marriages also attracted punishments. A respondent when asked about his views on inter-caste marriages, answered: “ agar Ghar main ladki ne inter-caste marriage kar li, toh usko kaat kar Ganga Ji main baha dunga”. Rebellious men can marry girls from different castes but for a girl to do the same attracts huge punishments. We all witnessed such a scene recently when the daughter of a BJP MLA demanded security after marrying a Dalit. It shows the intersection of caste and gender and how hypergamy is treated differently from hypogamy. Hypergamy allows men to marry a girl of lower caste while hypogamy which is the opposite is strictly prohibited. Hypogamy attracts serious punishments and shows that the control of female sexuality is central to brahminical patriarchy.

All three characteristics of the caste system are well intact today and only an upper-caste scholar or an armchair activist/philosopher can say that caste as a system is dying while it is significant only as a phenomenon. To accept caste as a phenomenon is to deny how caste still perpetuates into the lives of Dalits. It is to ridicule their struggles and to weaken their movement against caste. The advocates of Caste as a phenomenon are also the ones who blame Dalits for being casteist when they talk about caste. It is significant for us to realize that after 70 years of freedom(or transfer of ownership), things haven’t changed a bit. Yes, caste exists, it exists in cities and people who deny it are the ones who play a major role in its existence. It is sad to realize that after 70 years of independence we are still in the denial phase regarding the caste question.