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Social Structure and Social Change

Notes G.S.Ghurye there is no fear of the injunction of the Caste System in the near future due to the following
towing conditions.
1. Elections based on casteism
On the establishment of a democracy in India the government machinery is operated by
representatives elected by the people. The method of election has done much to encourage the
Caste System because of casteism among the voters. In this way people are asked to vote for their
caste candidate and this casteism is maintained by the elected leaders after the elections are over.
Some political parties sponsor only that candidate for elections in a particular are whose caste is
the most numerous among the voters.
2. Special constitutional provision for backward classes
The constitution provides for the protection of the backward and Scheduled Castes. Some posts
have been reserved for them in Government services. They are given all types of facilities and
special scholarships for education. All this is most welcome and even necessary and yet more
special rights have encouraged casteism in the backward classes since the caste is proving beneficial
to them because of these prerogatives.
In India, on the one hand, the caste is becoming weaker due to the influence of such factors as
industrialisation, urbanisation, increase in the means of transportation, populating of English
education, political and social awakening, democratic Government and laws abolishing
untouchability etc and on the other such new organisations as labour union, etc, on the basis of
occupation, post, capacity etc., are being established.
Due to an increase in the desire for money caused by the influences of western education the
sense of superiority or inferiority is now based on wealth and social power of rather than or caste.
The class consciousness, based on occupations, etc, is replacing the caste consciousness.
All the changes led people to believe that the Caste System will generally take on the firm of a
class system. But while, on the one hand, class consciousness seems to be progressing, on the
other one can see progress in casteism as well. For people who are specially gifted in a particular
occupation, other occupations are very limited in India and the paths to those that are available
are difficult.
Children of those parents who have a small income or who have no wealth look out only for
service. In some big business institution and sometimes even in educational institutions what
happens is that the proprietors, organisations and senior officials. Casteism of a similar type prevails
also in Government services and political elections. Hence it can not be asserted that at the caste is
disappearing and classism is increasing. Actually, in India casteism is being transformed into
classism.
8.3 Factors Moulding the Caste System

On the basis of above analysis, it cannot be assumed that the entire caste system took definite shape
at one particular time and was not later modified. Rather, we can trace diverse factors working together
with various potency at different times and places. Lawrence Ross (1968: 407–08) has identified six
such factors as follows:
1. Pre-Aryan Food and Occupational Taboos
The original pre-Dravidian inhabitants of India, that is, proto-australoids and austro-asiatics, had
prescribed many taboos for the people on sharing food, etc. with the aliens, specially with the
Dravidian-speaking strangers, long before the Aryans came to India and settled in North India. The
idea was that food and crafts touched by the strangers would offset the logical mana or magic and
thus would have dangerous magical effect on the people who eat/use it. The best representatives of
these pre-Dravidians are the present Nagas of Assam who still taboo alien food with the strangers.
2. Tribal Cohesion
The aboriginal tribes, as they became accessible, gradually entered the religious and social systems
of the Hindus with whom they came into contact. However, they retained their original unity

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