CAST AS BASIS OF

STRATIFICATION
Submitted To

Mr.Uttam Kumar Panda,

Faculty, Dept. Of Sociology

Submitted by:

Aniket bhargava
Roll No.-22
Section c

Semester- I. B.A.L.LB. (Hons.)

Hidayatullah National Law University, Post Uparwara,

Abhanpur, New Raipur 493661 (Chhattisgarh)

DECLARATION

I, Aniket Bhargava hereby declare that, the project work entitled, Cast as basis of Stratification
submitted to H.N.L.U., Raipur is record of an original work done by me under the able guidance of Mr.
Uttam Kumar Panda , Faculty Member, H.N.L.U., Raipur.

Aniket Bhargava

Roll No. 22

Semester I, Sec. C

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to the Almighty who gave me the strength to accomplish the project with sheer hard work and
honesty. This research venture has been made possible due to the generous co-operation of various
persons. To list them all is not practicable, even to repay them in words is beyond the domain of my
lexicon.

This project wouldnt have been possible without the help of my teacher Mr. Uttam Kumar Panda

, Faculty, Dept. of Sociology at H.N.L.U, who had always been there at my side whenever I needed some
help regarding any information. He has been my mentor in the truest sense of the term. The
administration has also been kind enough to let me use their facilities for research work. I thank them for
this.

CONTENTS

Declaration

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

1.1 Objectives of the study

1.2 Scope of the study4

1.3 Research Methodology of the study

1.4 Organization of the study 4

1.5 Review of Literature. 5

2. Definition 6

History 9

4.

Cast as Basis social stratification around world and in India 11

Current State cast stratification in India . 14

Webliography 17

CHAPTER 1

1.INTRODUCTION:

In all societies people differ from each other on the basis of their age, sex and personal characteristics.
Human society is not homogeneous but heterogeneous. Apart from the natural differences, human
beings are also differentiated according to socially approved criteria

So socially differentiated men are treated as socially unequal from the point of view of enjoyment of
social rewards like status, power, income etc. That may be called social inequality. The term social
inequality simply refers to the existence of socially created inequalities.

Social stratification is a particular form of social inequality. All societies arrange their members in
terms of superiority, inferiority and equality. Stratification is a process of interaction or differentiation
whereby some people come to rank higher than others.

In one word, when individuals and groups are ranked, according to some commonly accepted basis of
valuation in a hierarchy of status levels based upon the inequality of social positions, social
stratification occurs. Social stratification means division of society into different strata or layers. It
involves a hierarchy of social groups. Members of a particular layer have a common identity. They
have a similar life style

The Indian Caste system provides an example of stratification system. The society in which divisions
of social classes exist is known as a stratified society. Modern stratification fundamentally differs
from stratification of primitive societies. Social stratification involves two phenomena

differentiation of individuals or groups on the basis of possession of certain characteristics whereby

some individuals or groups come to rank higher than others,

(ii) the ranking of individuals according to some basis of evaluation.

Sociologists are concerned not merely with the facts of social differences but also with their social

evaluation.

Page | 1

Social stratification is a society's categorization of people into socioeconomic strata, based upon their
occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power (social and political). As such,
stratification is the relative social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic
region, or social unit. In modern Western societies, social stratification typically is distinguished as
three social classes: (i) the upper class, (ii) the middle class, and (iii) the lower class; in turn, each
class can be subdivided into strata, e.g. the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum.
Moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship or caste, or both.

The categorization of people by social strata occurs in all societies, ranging from the complex, statebased societies to tribal andfeudal societies, which are based upon socio-economic relations among
classes of nobility and classes of peasants.

Historically, whether or not hunter-gatherer societies can be defined as socially stratified or if social
stratification began with agriculture and common acts of social exchange, remains a debated matter in
the social sciences. Determining the structures of social stratification arises from inequalities of status
among persons; therefore, the degree of social inequality determines a person's social stratum.

Generally, the greater the social complexity of a society, the more social strata exist, by way of social
differentiation

Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, non-commensality and hereditary

occupations. According toHuman Rights Watch and UNICEF, caste discrimination affects an
estimated 250 million people worldwide.

A paradigmatic, ethnographic example

is
the division
of
Indian
society into
social
groups. Historically, the caste system
in
India has consisted
of thousands of endogamous

groups called Jatis or Quoms and Biradaris (among Muslims). The Nepalese caste system resembles
the Indian Jti system with numerous Jti divisions with the theoretical Varna system superimposed
for a rough equivalence.

Page | 2

Religious, historical and sociocultural factors have also helped define the bounds of endogamy for
Muslims in India and Pakistan. The Caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata,
similar to the Jti system found in India.

Yezidi society is hierarchical. In Yemen there exists a hereditary caste, the African-descended AlAkhdam who are kept as perennial manual workers. Various sociologists have reported caste systems
in Africa

Page | 3

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY:

Its main objectives are

To Study the Objects of stratification .

To Study The History of stratification.

To Study Cast as basis of stratification.

1.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of my study includes sections of societies , Different countries reaction and nature towards
stratification . My study revolves around various countries which include India as one of the country
and its behavior towards cast as basis of stratification .My topic cast as basis of stratification is a
dynamic topic which is widely used so scope of my study is also vast .

1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This project work is non-empirical in nature. It follows a descriptive-cum analytical in approach. It is

largely based on secondary & electronic sources of data. Books & other references as guided by
faculty of sociology are primarily helpful for the completion of this project

1.4 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY

I have divided my research paper into 4 parts. Firstly i have mentioned about what actually is
stratification how and it affects and how stratification does acts. Second chapter deals with the
definitions of stratification followed by third chapter which is the history of stratification and in last
chapter i have mentioned cast as basis of stratification

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1.5 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Definitions -:

1. Ogburn and Nimkoff :

The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in more or less enduring hierarchy of status

is known as stratification

2. Lundberg:

A stratified society is one marked by inequality, by differences among people that are evaluated by

them as being lower and higher.

3. Gisbert:

Social stratification is the division of society into permanent groups of categories linked with each

other by the relationship of superiority and subordinations.

Quotes by Authors -:

I cannot believe there is caste system in society; I cannot believe people are judged on the basis of
their prosperity.

Saina Nehwal

But in view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant,
ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here.

John Marshall Harlan

If education does not create a need for the best in life, then we are stuck in an undemocratic, rigid
caste society.

Sargent Shriver
Books -:

1.
Cast system in India
Ekta Singh
2.
Ambedkar and cast system
Lalit .k Sahay

3.
Cast and democratic politics in India
Ghanshyam Shah

Page | 5

CHAPTER 2

2. DEFINITION:

Social stratification is a term used in the social sciences to describe the relative social position of
persons in a given social group, category, geographical region or other social unit. It derives from

the Latin strtum (plural strata; parallel,

horizontal
layers) referring to
a given
societys
categorization of its people into
rankings
of socioeconomic tiers
based on
factors

like wealth, income, social status, occupation and power. In modern Western societies, stratification is
often broadly classified into three major divisions of social class:upper class, middle class, and lower
class. Each of these classes can be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. "upper middle").
Social strata may also be delineated on the basis of kinship ties or caste relations.

The concept of social stratification is often used and interpreted differently within specific theories. In
sociology, for example, proponents of action theory have suggested that social stratification is

commonly found in developed societies, wherein a dominance hierarchy may be necessary in order to
maintain social order and provide a stable social structure. So-called conflict theories, such as
Marxism, point to the inaccessibility of resources and lack of social mobility found in stratified
societies. Many sociological theorists have criticized the extent to which the working classes are
unlikely to advance socioeconomically while the wealthy tend to hold political power which they use
to exploit theproletariat (laboring class). Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, asserted that
stability and social order are regulated, in part, by universal values.

Such values are not identical with "consensus" but can as well be an impetus for ardent social conflict
as it has been multiple times through history. Parsons never claimed that universal values, in and by
themselves, "satisfied" the functional prerequisites of a society. Indeed, the constitution of society is a
much more complicated codification of emerging historical factors.

Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf alternately note the tendency toward an enlarged middle-class in
modern Western societies due to the necessity of an educated workforce in technological economies.

Page | 6

Various social and political perspectives concerning globalization, such as dependency theory, suggest
that these effects are due to change in the status of workers to the third world.

Definitions by different sociologists :

1. Ogburn and Nimkoff :

The process by which individuals and groups are ranked in more or less enduring hierarchy of status
is known as stratification

2. Lundberg:

A stratified society is one marked by inequality, by differences among people that are evaluated by
them as being lower and higher.

3. Gisbert:

Social stratification is the division of society into permanent groups of categories linked with each
other by the relationship of superiority and subordinations.

4. Williams:

Social Stratification refers to The ranking of individuals on a scale of superiority-inferiority-equality,

according to some commonly accepted basis of valuation.

5. Raymond W. Murray:

Social stratification is horizontal division of society into higher and lower social units.

Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. In
the United States, it is perfectly clear that some groups have greater status, power, and wealth than
other groups. These differences are what lead to social stratification. Social stratification is based on
four major principles:

Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences

Social stratification persists over generations

Social stratification is universal (it happens everywhere) but variable (it takes different forms across
different societies)

Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well (inequality is rooted in a society's
philosophy)

Page | 7

Why does social stratification exist, and why are some countries more stratified than others? To
analyze this question, we can look at social stratification through three major perspectives: structural
functionalism, social conflict, and symbolic interaction.

Page | 8

CHAPTER 3
3. HISTORY:

Regarding the origin of stratification many views have been given.

According to Davis, social stratification has come into being due to the functional necessity of the
social system.

Professor Sorokin attributed social stratification mainly to inherited difference in environmental

conditions.

According to Karl Mrax, social factors are responsible for the emergence of different social strata, i.e.
social stratification.

Gumplowioz and other contended that the origin of social stratification is to be found in the conquest
of one group by another.

According to Spengler, social stratification is founded upon scarcity which is created whenever
society differentiates positive in terms of functions and powers.

Racial differences accompanied by dissimilarity also leads to stratification.

Complex societies are always stratified. The development of complex societies follows a few
thousand years after the development of plant and animal cultivation. By complex societies
anthropologists mean those with many full-time specialized roles. In hunting and gathering and
simpler horticultural societies, recall that everyone engages in primary food gathering activities and
related tasks.

Typically the most significant division of labor was by sex, and almost all adults of the same sex had
the same day-to-day tasks. In complex societies, the division of labor includes many full-time
specialists, for example potters, weavers, traders, merchants, blacksmiths and so forth, in addition to
farmers.

Page | 9

This social complexity is universally accompanied by political specialization, such that formal leaders
and their full time agentssoldiers, bureaucrats and (typically) priestsmanage the collective affairs
of the society. States are thus accompanied by a tremendous increase in the division of labor, by the
suppression of small-scale violence, provision of public facilities such as roads, and by expanded
redistributive functions to move products from the farm to the full-time specialists, and to move
(some of) the products of the specialists to the farmers.

In complex societies, there is usually a system of formal, ascribed (assignment by birth) ranks, and
sharply differing access to prestige and prestige goods. Even subsistence goods are typically
maldistributed. Even in more open societies such as our own with lots of achieved roles, some roles
are accompanied by far greater rewards than others. And birth still counts for a lot. Greater rewards
are usually associated with roles in governance and high state officials are typically an elite, though
there may be other elites as well.

By about 5500 years ago the first conspicuous city-states arose in Mesopotamia, such as Sumer, from
which they spread over large parts of the Old World. In the Americas, the Far East, and Africa, as we
have come to expect, these developments were later. The Shang Dynasty was the first well developed
state in China (3500BP), Chavin, in Peru, was the first in South America (ca. 3,000BP),

Meso-America had states by ca. 2,000BP, and Sub-Sahara Africa by ca 1,000BP. The development of
states in antiquity was long the most fascinating problem for historians and archaeologists. They were
interested in the development of writing, literature, the arts, and the like, and saw the emergence of
humans from savagery and barbarism to civilization as our great evolutionary triumph.

Modern scholars, with a wealth of information about simpler societies and about the deeper human
past have not given the development of civilization quite so central a place; now we know of other
revolutions in human societies that are quite as startling as the development of states. Still, the
development of states is quite an important evolutionary/ecological problem. Even quite archaic states
left much more massive remains than any earlier types of societies.

There was a revolution in the human ability to organize large scale collective projects, usually
including religious and governmental architecture and fortifications.

Page | 10

CHAPTER 4

4. CAST AS BASIS OF STRATIFICATION

Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, non-commensality and hereditary

occupations. According to Human Rights Watch and UNICEF, caste discrimination affects an
estimated 250 million people worldwide.

A paradigmatic, ethnographic example

is
the division
of
Indian
society into
social
groups. Historically, the caste system
in
India has consisted
of thousands of endogamous

groups called Jatis or Quoms and Biradaris (among Muslims). The Nepalese caste system resembles
the Indian Jti system with numerous Jti divisions with the theoretical Varna system superimposed
for a rough equivalence.

Religious, historical and sociocultural factors have also helped define the bounds of endogamy for
Muslims in India and Pakistan. The Caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata,
similar to the Jti system found in India.

Yezidi society is hierarchical. In Yemen there exists a hereditary caste, the African-descended AlAkhdam who are kept as perennial manual workers. Various sociologists have reported caste systems
in Africa.

The English word "caste" derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, which the Oxford English
Dictionary quotes John Minsheu's Spanish dictionary (1599) to mean, "race, lineage, or breed".

When the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a "clan or lineage."

However, it was the Portuguese who employed casta in the primary modern sense when they applied
it to the thousands of in-marrying hereditary Indian social groups they encountered upon their arrival
in India in 1498. The use of the spelling "caste," with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English
in 1613

Page | 11

Historically, the caste system in India has consisted of thousands of endogamous groups called Jatis
or Quoms (among Muslims). Starting with the British colonial Census of 1901 led by Herbert Hope
Risley, all the Jatis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories. According to political
scientist Lloyd Rudolph, Risley believed that varna, however ancient, could be applied to all the
modern castes found in India, and "[he] meant to identify and place several hundred million Indians
within it." The terms varna (conceptual classification based on occupation) and jti (caste) are two
distinct concepts: while varna is the idealised four-part division envisaged by the Twice-Borns, jti
(community) refers to the thousands of actual endogamous groups prevalent across the subcontinent.
The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas, as it provided a convenient
shorthand; but a problem arises when even Indologists sometimes confuse the two.

Independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. In 2005 government statistics recorded
approximately 110,000 cases of reported violent acts, including rape and murder, committed against
Dalits

[15]

( A more recent data of year 2012 may be used to replace outdated 2007 data.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes - the most disadvantaged groups - in a separate category. These crimes are grievously underreported, but even so the figures for 2012 are revealing: 651 cases of murder, 3,855 cases where
people were hurt, 1,576 cases of rape, 490 cases of kidnapping and abduction, and 214 cases of arson.

The economic significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization
and positive discrimination programs.

Upon independence from the British rule, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the
country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination. The Untouchable communities are
sometimes called Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature. In 2001, the proportion of Dalit
population was 16.2 percent of India's total population. The majority of the 15 million bonded child
workers in India are from the lowest castes.

The caste system in India is a system of social stratification which has pre-modern origins, was
transformed by the British Raj, and is today the basis of reservation in India. It consists of two
different concepts, varna and jti, which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this
system.

Page | 12

Varna may be translated as "class," and refers to the four social classes which existed in the Vedic
society, namely Brahmins, Kshatriyas,Vaishyas and Shudras. Certain groups, now known as Dalits,
were historically excluded from the varna system altogether, and are still ostracised as untouchables.

Jti may be translated as caste, and refers to birth. The names of jtis are usually derived from
occupations, and considered to be hereditary and endogamous, but this may not always have been the
case.

The jtis developed in post-Vedic times, possibly from crystallisation of guilds during its feudal era.
The jtis are often thought of as belonging to one of the four varnas.

Although the varnas and jatis have pre-modern origins, the caste system as it exists today is the result
of developments during the collapse of Mughal era and the British colonial regime in India. The
collapse of Mughal era saw the rise of powerful men who associated themselves with kings, priests
and ascetics, affirming the regal and martial form of the caste ideal, and it also reshaped many
apparently casteless social groups into differentiated caste communities.

The British Raj furthered this development, making rigid caste organisation a central mechanism of
administration. Between 1860 and 1920, the British segregated Indians by caste, granting
administrative jobs and senior appointments only to the upper castes. Social unrest during 1920s led
to a change in this policy. From then on, the colonial administration began a policy of positive
discrimination by reserving a certain percentage of government jobs for the lower castes.

New developments took place after India achieved independence, when the policy of caste-based
reservation of jobs was formalised with lists of Scheduled Castes (Dalit) andScheduled Tribes
(Adivasi). Since 1950, the country has enacted many laws and social initiatives to protect and
improve the socioeconomic conditions of its lower caste population.

These caste classifications for college admission quotas, job reservations and other affirmative action
initiatives, according to the Supreme Court of India, are based on heredity and are not changeable.
[a]

[16]

Discrimination against lower castes is illegal in India under Article 15 of its constitution, and India
tracks violence against Dalits nation wide.

Though caste is considered as dominant feature of Hinduism, in Indian context, it has influenced
other religions too like Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism in the Indian subcontinent.

Page | 13

5. CURRENT STATE OF CAST STRATIFICATION

The leaders of independent India decided that India will be democratic, socialist and secular country.
According to this policy there is a separation between religion and state. Practicing untouchability or
discriminating a person based on his caste is legally forbidden. Along with this law the government
allows positive discrimination of the depressed classes of India.

The Indians have also become more flexible in their caste system customs. In general the urban
people in India are less strict about the caste system than the rural. In cities one can see different caste
people mingling with each other, while in some rural areas there is still discrimination based on castes
and sometimes also on untouchability. Sometimes in villages or in the cities there are violent clashes
which, are connected to caste tensions. Sometimes the high castes strike the lower castes who dare to
uplift their status. Sometimes the lower caste get back on the higher castes.

In modern India the term caste is used for Jat and also for Varna. The term, caste was used by the
British who ruled India until 1947. The British who wanted to rule India efficiently made lists of
Indian communities. They used two terms to describe Indian communities. Castes and Tribes. The
term caste was used for Jats and also for Varnas. Tribes were those communities who lived deep in
jungles, forests and mountains far away from the main population and also communities who were
hard to be defined as castes for example communities who made a living from stealing or robbery.
These lists, which the British made, were used later on by the Indian governments to create lists of
communities who were entitled for positive discrimination.

The castes, which were the elite of the Indian society, were classified as high castes. The other
communities were classified as lower castes or lower classes.

The lower classes were listed in three categories. The first category is called Scheduled Castes. This
category includes in it communities who were untouchables. In modern India, untouchability exists at
a very low extent. The untouchables call themselves Dalit, meaning depressed. Until the late 1980s
they were called Harijan, meaning children of God. This title was given to them by Mahatma
Gandhi who wanted the society to accept untouchables within them.

The second category is Scheduled Tribes. This category includes in it those communities who did not
accept the caste system and preferred to reside deep in the jungles, forests and mountains of India,
away from the main population. The Scheduled Tribes are also called Adivasi, meaning aboriginals.

Page | 14

The third category is called sometimes Other Backward Classes or Backward Classes.

This category includes in it castes who belong to Sudra Varna and also former untouchables who
converted from Hinduism to other religions. This category also includes in it nomads and tribes who
made a living from criminal acts.

According to the central government policy these three categories are entitled for positive
discrimination. Sometimes these three categories are defined together as Backward Classes. 15% of
India's population are Scheduled Castes. According to central government policy 15% of the
government jobs and 15% of the students admitted to universities must be from Scheduled Castes.
For the Scheduled Tribes about 7.5% places are reserved which is their proportion in Indian
population. The Other Backwards Classes are about 50% of India's population, but only 27% of
government jobs are reserved for them.

Along with the central government, the state governments of India also follow a positive
discrimination policy.

Different states have different figures of communities entitled for positive discrimination based on the
population of each state. Different state governments have different lists of communities entitled for
positive discrimination.

Sometimes a specific community is entitled for rights in a particular state but not in another state of
India

In modern India new tensions were created because of these positive discrimination policies. The
high caste communities feel discriminated by the government policy to reserve positions for the
Backward Classes. In many cases a large number of high caste members compete for a few places
reserved for them. While the Backward Classes members do not have to compete at all because of the
large number of reserved places for them compared to the candidates. Sometimes in order to fill the
quota, candidates from the lower classes are accepted even though they are not suitable. Sometimes
some reserved positions remain unmanned because there were few candidates from the lower classes
causing more tension between the castes. Between the lower castes there are also tensions over
reservation.

In the order of priority for a reserved place of the Backward Classes, candidate from the Scheduled
castes is preferred over a candidate from the Scheduled Tribes who is preferred over a candidate from
the other Backward Classes. As stated earlier Other Backward Classes are about 50% of India's

population but only 27% of the Other Backward Classes are entitled for positive discrimination
according to central government policy.

Some Other Backward Classes communities are organizing politically to be recognized as Backward
Classes entitled for positive discrimination.

The Scheduled Tribes who are seen as the aborigins of India got ownership and certain rights over
Indian land. Many communities in India claim also to be aborigins of India and they are claiming the
same rights as the Scheduled Tribes.

The caste identity has become a subject of political, social and legal interpretation. Communities who
get listed as entitled for positive discrimination do not get out of this list even if their social and
political conditions get better. In many cases the legal system is involved to decide if a certain person
is entitled for positive discrimination.

But with all this positive discrimination policy, most of the communities who were low in the caste
hierarchy remain low in the social order even today. And communities who were high in the social
hierarchy remain even today high in the social hierarchy. Most of the degrading jobs are even today
done by the Dalits, while the Brahmans remain at the top of the hierarchy by being the doctors,
engineers and lawyers of India.

Page | 16

WEBLIOGRAPHY

http://adaniel.tripod.com/modernindia.htm

https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociologytextbook/global-stratification-and-inequality-8/global-stratification68/global-stratification-and-inequality-401-10459/

http://study.com/academy/lesson/social-status-caste-vs-class-andsocial-stratification.html

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