Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
What changes did colonialism bring about in the caste system?
Solution
The institution of caste underwent major changes during the colonial period.
Present status of caste in India is more a product of colonialism than of ancient Indian tradition.
The British administrators tried to understand the complexities of caste in an effort to leam how to govern the country efficiently.
The most important official effort to collect information on caste was through census. It began in 1860s.
The 1901 census under the direction of Herbert Risley was particularly important as it sought to collect information on the social hierarchy of caste i.e. the social order of precedence in particular regions, as to the position of each caste in the rank order.
The counting of caste and to officially recording of caste made this institution of caste identity became more rigid in India.
The land revenue settlements and laws gave legal recognition to the caste based rights of the upper caste.
Large scale irrigation schemes were accompanied by efforts to settle population there, and these also had caste dimension.
So colonialism brought about major changes in the institution of caste. In short the Britishers took initiative in following areas:
- Census-to make sure of number and sizes of the castes and sub-castes.
- To understand the values, beliefs and customs of different sections of society.
- Land settlement.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
What are some of the rules that the caste system imposes?
The hierarchical ordering of castes is based on the distinction between ____________.
The ____________ sociologist and social anthropologists were known for his works on the caste system and terms such as 'sanskritisation' and 'dominant caste'.
Caste is determined by ____________.
Who gave the concept of "Dominant Caste"?
Who is the founder of the Satyashodhak Samaj?
Which of the following factors is not responsible for the caste system to become invisible for the upper caste, urban middle and upper classes in the contemporary period?
Which of the following is not true about the intervention of the colonial state and its impact on the institution of caste?
Identify the concept that does not agree with sanskritisation.
Castes are not only unequal to each other in ritual terms, but they are also supposed to be complementary and non-competing groups. In other words, each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste. Since caste is also linked with occupation, the system functions as the social division of labour, except that, in principle, it allows no mobility.
What is not the characteristic of caste?
Castes are not only unequal to each other in ritual terms, but they are also supposed to be complementary and non-competing groups. In other words, each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste. Since caste is also linked with occupation, the system functions as the social division of labour, except that, in principle, it allows no mobility.
Caste is never a matter of ________.
What do castes involve within themselves?
What brought about major changes in the institution of caste?
Who contributed to the development of sanskritisation and the dominant caste?
What are the features of caste?
- Caste is determined by birth.
- Membership in a caste involves strict marriage.
- Caste membership involves rules about food and food sharing.
- There is a segmental organisation in caste system.
How did the British understand the caste system's complexity?
Practice of marrying within the caste is known as
Who gave the concept of dominant Caste'?
Which of the following makes the Dominant Castes dominant?
- small population
- land rights
- intermediate caste
- the decisive role in regional politics
Not all of the changes in Social Institutions brought about by the British were intended or deliberate. Give an example to justify the statement.
Assertion (A): Caste groups are endogamous, i.e. marriage is restricted to members of the group.
Reason (R): Membership in a caste involves strict rules about marriage.
Identify the two sets of principles used to understand the caste system. Define any one set.
Assertion (A): Castes are not only unequal to each other in ritual terms they are also supposed to be complementary and noncompeting groups.
Reason (R): Each caste has its own place in the system which cannot be taken by any other caste.
Caste system stood for different connotations in different time periods. Do you agree with the given statement? Give reasons for your answer.
