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Unit 6 : Caste

of his own caste within it. But Freed did not find it to be so. In his study of twenty-five Notes
respondents in 1957-58 selected from twelve castes in Shantinagar village (pseudonym) near
Delhi, he found that most of the respondents ranked their own castes close to the ranks
accorded to them by others. He, thus, concluded that caste membership has little effect upon
a person’s overall views of the caste hierarchy.
In recent years, though there has been a change in some characteristics of the caste system
but there has been no change at all in the hierarchical characteristic.

What do you understand by ‘opinion-assessing’ method ?

(b) Commensal Restrictions
Detailed rules are laid down with regard to the kind of food that can be accepted by a person
from different castes. According to Blunt (1911 : 90), there are seven important taboos in this
respect : (i) commensal taboo, which determines rules regarding persons in whose company
a man may eat; (ii) cooking taboo, which lays down rules regarding persons who may cook
food that a man may eat; (iii) eating taboo, which prescribes rituals to be observed at the time
of eating; (iv) drinking taboo, which prescribes rules regarding accepting water etc., from
other persons; (v) food taboo, which prescribes rules regarding the kind of food (kachcha,
pucca, green vegetables, etc.) a man may eat with members of other castes; (vi) smoking
taboo, which lays down rules regarding persons whose pipe (hukka) a man may smoke; and
(vii) vessels taboo, which determines the types of vessels to be used or avoided for cooking
food to protect oneself from being polluted.
Blunt believes that the commensality restriction is the result of marriage restriction, but
Hutton (1963 : 73) claims it is the other way round, if one comes before the other at all. On
the basis of the severity of the food taboo, Blunt (Ibid : 90) has classified castes into five
groups : (i) castes which take the kachcha (cooked with water) and pucca (cooked with ghee)
food cooked only by a member of their own endogamous group; (ii) castes which eat food
cooked by the members of own caste and also by Brahmins; (iii) castes which take food
cooked by the members of own caste or by Brahmins or by Rajputs; (iv) castes which take
food cooked by the members of own caste or by Brahmins or Rajputs or by lower castes of
rank which they regard as at least equal to their own; and (v) castes which eat food cooked
by almost anyone. Hutton (Ibid: 75) has criticized this classification because of the distinct
restrictions on the kachcha andpucca food. Some which fall into one group as regards the
kachcha food will fall into another in regard to the pucca food about which they are not so
strict. For example, some Brahmin castes and Kachhi (vegetable sellers) and Kumhar (potters)
castes will fall into the first category on all accounts but some castes like Kalwar (distiller
and liquor-seller) will fall into group (i) for the kachcha food and group (iii) for the pucca
food. Halwai (sweatmeat seller) likewise falls into group (i)for the kachcha and group (iv) for
the pucca; Kayasth into group (ii) for both; Kahar into group (iv) for the kachcha and group
(iii) for the pucca food. These instances clearly show that each caste almost has a law to itself.
The various castes, thus, do not fall into uniform groups.
In the last few decades, however, we find these commensal restrictions are no longer rigidly
observed. In other words, there is change in the commensal characteristic of the caste system.
(c) Compelling Religious Sanctions on Social Participation
Restrictions on social interaction have been imposed because of the belief that pollution can
be carried by mere bodily contact. It is because of such beliefs that the low caste people

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