A small presentation on Caste and Politics In India.

1. Caste And Politics
In India
Anusha Rizvi
BA 1 Semester 2
224174
Sociology [Minor], Regular

2. o Caste is a term that is used to define a system of social stratification
that is based on an individual's birth. The system of social
stratification based on birth is called 'Caste System'.
o This term is mostly common in India but it is also used in some
other parts of the world as well like South Asia and Africa.
o The Caste System determines your labor and your level of spiritual
purity in the society.
o The caste system in India is considered to be the world's oldest
surviving form of social stratification at around 3,000 years old.
o In India, when a child is born his/her status on the social hierarchy
gets fixed on the basis of the caste he/she is born into.
What is Caste?

3. o According to A.W. Green, “Caste is a system of stratification in which
mobility up and down the status ladder, at least ideally, may not occur.”
o According to Robert Morrison MacIver, “When the status is
wholly predetermined so that men are born to their lot without any hope
of changing it, then class takes the extreme form of caste.”
o According to Charles Coole, "When a class is somewhat strictly hereditary, we
may call it a caste."
o According to Ketkar, in his book 'History of caste in India', "Caste is a social
group having two characteristics (a) membership is confined to those who
are born of members & includes all persons no born (b) the members
are forbidden by an inexorable social law to marry outside the group."
Definition of Caste

4. o The word caste has been derived from Spanish and
Portuguese word, “Casta” which means “race, lineage, or breed”.
o Portuguese employed Casta in the modern sense when they applied it
to hereditary Indian social groups called as ‘Jati’ in India.
o Jati has been originated from the root word ‘Jana’ which means taking
birth.
o Thus, caste is concerned with the birth of an individual.
o Early written evidence about the caste system appears in the Vedas,
Sanskrit-language texts that date from as early as 1500 BCE.
Origin of Caste

5. Caste System in India
India's caste system classifies Hindus into four varnas based on
their occupation:

6. According to Hindu
scriptures, many people
believe that these four
classes originated from
Brahma, the Hindu god of
creation.
According to Rig Veda, the
first man Purush used his
body to create a human
society.
Continuation..

7. o Brahmins are priests, or spiritual
teachers.
o They are the superiors within the
social system.
o Brahmin originated from the head
of Purush, so they are at the top of
the varna system.
o They have the privilege of
interpreting religious scriptures
and sacrificing to gods and to get
the best education.
Brahmins
o They came from the arms of Purush,
and they are considered to be the
second highest caste in the varna
system.
o Kshatriyas have temporary authority
and power.
o They have the privilege of collecting
taxes, and they are in charge of the
army. They are responsible for
guarding the Brahmin class.
o They also learn weaponry, warfare,
penance, austerity, administration,
moral conduct, justice, and often start
ruling from an early age.
Kshatriyas

8. o They came from the thighs of
Purush.
o They are the commoners.
o They are economically strong as
they have close relation to
commerce and many become
traders, merchants, landowners, and
money-lenders.
o Vaishyas support Kshatriyas and
Brahmins by sacrificing, giving gifts,
providing food through agriculture,
and money through taxes.
Vaishyas
o They have come from the feet of
Purush.
o They are mainly artisans, laborers, and
high-level servants and craftsmen, and
those who serve meals and cook.
o Shudras are the most populous caste,
making up nearly half of India's
population.
o They face a lot of discrimination from
the higher castes and are not permitted
the same rights and privileges as higher
caste.
Shudras

11. o The term politics has been derived from a Greek word called
"Politika" which means "affairs of the cities".
o Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making
decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among
individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.
o Politics of India works within the framework of the
country's Constitution.
o The politics of India is based on a multi-party system, which is
modeled according to the British Westminster System of government.
o India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in
where the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India
and the prime minister of India is the head of government.
Politics In India

12. There are two Houses in the political system in India, namely, the Lok
Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
There are also three divisions in the politics of India.
o The Legislative Branch
o The Executive Branch
o The Judicial Branch
Continuation..

13. o Caste and democracy are different from each other and they cannot
co-exist as caste advocates fragmentation of society whereas
democracy stands for the unification of society.
o Caste is based on inequality by birth. Democracy is based on
principles of equality.
o Caste advocates social exclusion and democracy advocates social
inclusion.
o Caste provides wealth, power and status to specific groups but
democracy provides equal chances to all categories.
o The irony is yet they both caste system and democracy co-exist in
Indian society.
Caste and Politics In India

14. The relationship between caste and politics has been analyzed at two
levels:
o Political System Influences Caste:
• All political parties calculate caste support at the time of distribution of tickets.
• Political behavior also influences the caste people.
o Caste Influences Political System:
• Caste reserves its votes for its own members.
• People prefer to vote for a candidate of their own caste irrespective of the merits/demerits of
the candidate.
• Leader of a particular caste prefers to select his own caste people in different posts.
Relationship between Caste and Politics

15. Thank you.