Page 202 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Unit 8: Changing Trends and Future of Caste System

• Kautilya, a Brahmin minister of Chandragupta Maurya, a Sudra ruler, tried to remove various Notes
restrictions imposed by the Brahmins on the Sudras by declaring that the royal law would
supersede the dharma law.
• The last Maurya ruler was killed by his Brahmin commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga who
later on became the ruler himself in 184 B.C. and established a new dynasty called Sunga dynasty
which ruled for 112 years (184–72 B.C.).
• After the collapse of the Gupta empire, northern India again became a congeries of small states
and many petty kingdoms arose in the course of next fifty years. But under Harsha Vardhana
(606-647 A.D.), these disintegrating units were brought under the central authority and the
political unity of India was restored.
• When foreign armies attacked India, they were more often than not met singly, each individual
clan in its turn, with disastrous results for the country. A large number of new castes and sub-
castes sprang up. The Brahmins tightened their bonds of caste and defended themselves by the
increased rigidity of caste associations.
• The aboriginal tribes, as they became accessible, gradually entered the religious and social
systems of the Hindus with whom they came into contact.
• The gradual development of industry brought division of labour. The Aryans, with better paying
occupations, protected the interests of their children by assigning them the traditional family
occupation, combined with guild endogamy.
• After the political independence of the country, the important factors, besides industrialization
and urbanization, which have affected the caste system are: the merger of varios states, enactment
of several laws, spread of education, socio-religious reform, westernization, growth of modern
professions, spatial mobility, and the growth of market economy.
• Durkheim has suggested that the function of division of labour is to give an individual more
freedom because it substitutes mechanical economy with an organic economy. The caste system
created the division of labour which denied freedom to an individual.
8.9 Key-Words

1. Chauffeurs : car drivers
2. Julaha : weavers
3. Teli : oil- pressers
8.10 Review Questions

1. Discuss the changing structure of caste.
2. What are the new trends found in the caste system of modern India?
3. Explain the factors and functions of caste system.
4. What are merits and demerits of caste system? Discuss.
5. Briefly explain the present structure of the caste system.
Answers: Self-Assessment
1. (i)(a) (ii)(a) (iii)(c) (iv)(b) (v)(a)
8.11 Further Readings

1. Ahuja, Ram, 1994: Indian Social System, Rawat Publication.
2. Srinivas, M.N., 1963: Social Change in Modern India, University of California
Press.
3. Sharma, K.L., 2007: Indian Social Structure and Change, Rawat Publication.

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