Caste in India
Caste (Oxford India Short Introductions). By SURINDER S. JODHKA. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2012. xvii, 201 pp. Rs 195 (paperback).
Surinder S. Jodhka’s monograph Caste provides a concise yet very informative history of the complex reality of caste in India. At the same time, the author brings together all the major literature available on the issue into a single thread and thereby taking the reader through the timeline of the changing ideas of caste. Hence, the book, while newly engaging with caste in a contemporary perspective, ‘attempts to provide a critical introduction to different perspectives on the subject.’ (P. x)
The book is organized into five chapters and the organization is significant because it structurally follows the history of understanding caste. In the preface the author notes that the general sociological definition of caste refers to a ‘closed system’ of stratification where social groups, often divided on the basis of their occupation, strictly follow the code of behaviour prescribed by tradition regarding marriage and kinship alliances (P. xi). However, he himself does not stick to any particular definition, which essentially implies the author’s realization of the complexities of the system and his pursuit to look it through the lens of inequality. In my review, I will first discuss about two major aspects of caste- tradition and power before proceeding to a broad overview of the book and finally sharing some of my views.
The first chapter ‘Caste as Tradition’ presents the classical views on the caste system, which Jodhka calls the ‘textbook view’ and the intellectual limitations of the same. In fact, the author illustrates how the popularly accepted idea of caste as was given to the Indians and not the other way round. The term caste, with its Spanish origin meaning race, was first used by the Portuguese seafarers. The author argues that this textbook view can be attributed to the orientalist desire to see India as the
Surinder S. Jodhka’s monograph Caste provides a concise yet very informative history of the complex reality of caste in India. At the same time, the author brings together all the major literature available on the issue into a single thread and thereby taking the reader through the timeline of the changing ideas of caste. Hence, the book, while newly engaging with caste in a contemporary perspective, ‘attempts to provide a critical introduction to different perspectives on the subject.’ (P. x)
The book is organized into five chapters and the organization is significant because it structurally follows the history of understanding caste. In the preface the author notes that the general sociological definition of caste refers to a ‘closed system’ of stratification where social groups, often divided on the basis of their occupation, strictly follow the code of behaviour prescribed by tradition regarding marriage and kinship alliances (P. xi). However, he himself does not stick to any particular definition, which essentially implies the author’s realization of the complexities of the system and his pursuit to look it through the lens of inequality. In my review, I will first discuss about two major aspects of caste- tradition and power before proceeding to a broad overview of the book and finally sharing some of my views.
The first chapter ‘Caste as Tradition’ presents the classical views on the caste system, which Jodhka calls the ‘textbook view’ and the intellectual limitations of the same. In fact, the author illustrates how the popularly accepted idea of caste as was given to the Indians and not the other way round. The term caste, with its Spanish origin meaning race, was first used by the Portuguese seafarers. The author argues that this textbook view can be attributed to the orientalist desire to see India as the