DOMINANT CASTE
M. N. Srinivas (1916-1999) was a world-renowned Indian sociologist. He is mostly known for his work on caste and caste systems, social stratification, and sankritization in southern India. He is also famous for his ideas on the concept of “Dominant Caste” which was written after his study of the village Rampura.
The term dominant caste is used to refer to a caste which “wields economic or political power and occupies a fairly high position in the hierarchy.” These castes are accorded high status and position in all the fields of social life. The people of other lower castes look at them as their ‘reference group’ and try to imitate their behaviour, ritual pattern, custom, and ideology. In this way, the dominant caste of a particular locality plays an important role in the ‘process of cultural transmission’ in that area. The members of a dominant caste have the upper hand in all the affairs of the locality and enjoy many special opportunities as well as privileges.
Srinivas has defined the following six major characteristics of Dominant caste:-
Land Ownership:
In Indian society, the land is the most precious possession in a rural area since it is the principal source of income. Generally, a vast area of land is owned by rich minorities and the big landowners who come from higher castes. They employ the people of other castes as their laborers and also give land for rent. As a result, the entire population of the locality remains obliged to the few land owners of a particular caste.
These few landlords of a caste exercise a considerable amount of power over all other castes and become the dominant caste of that locality. Srinivas cites the examples of landowning jats treating Brahmins as their servants in Punjab. Thakur landlords also deny cooked food from all Brahmins except their gurus and religious teachers.
Numerical Strength:
The numerical strength of a caste also contributes to its dominance. The more the number, the greater the power. In many areas, the Kshyatriyas, due to their large population, are able to exercise their control and power even over the few rich Brahmins of a locality and are able to dominate the socio-political situation.
High place in local hierarchy:
Indian Society has been stratified into various groups on the basis of a caste system organized according to the beliefs and ideas of purity and pollution. In every locality, certain caste is accorded high status owing to their ritual purity. They always enjoy social superiority over all other castes in every aspect of social life.
Education:
The caste, members of which are highly educated, is naturally looked up to by the members of other castes. Due to their high education, they win the morale of others. The illiterate people have to take their help on many occasions owing to the complexities of modern social life. The educated people, due to their adequate information and knowledge about various developmental activities, plans and programmes, are also in a better position to utilize them, which aids in their prosperity, making them dominant in a particular area.
Job in administration and urban sources of income:
The caste, the majority members of which are in government bureaucracy or have sound economic strength, always finds itself in an advantageous position. Its members hold legal and administrative powers by virtue of their being government officials. They help their other caste fellows to have different sources of urban income like supplying food grains to urban dwellers and doing various types of business.
Political involvement:
The dominant place of politics in contemporary Indian Society can hardly be undermined. The caste being more involved in political affairs of the state or locality automatically raises its position and exercises control in all fields of social life.
Caste becomes dominant in a locality due to its attributes, but dominance is no longer a purely local phenomenon. The caste may or may not have attributes of dominance in a particular locality or village; nevertheless, it can contribute to being a dominant caste if the same caste occupies a dominant position in that wider region. In such a case, the network or relationship and friendship ties of the members of locally unimportant caste with the dominant relatives of that region make them dominant.
Post a Comment