Colonialism and caste

Some scholars argue that caste as we know it today is as much a product of colonialism as of ancient tradition. How could rule by foreigners change caste?

The British wanted to understand Indian society in order to rule it. Officials carried out surveys of the 'customs and manners' of castes and tribes; many were amateur ethnologists (students of cultures).

The biggest tool was the census, held regularly from 1881. The 1901 Census, directed by Herbert Risley, tried to record the rank of every caste in a social hierarchy.

This had a strong effect. Castes rushed to send petitions to the census officials, claiming a higher place and new names. Being written down in an official record made caste identities fixed.

Before this counting, caste identities had been more fluid: a group's status could shift over time, and boundaries were less sharp. Recording caste gave it a new, rigid life. The act of counting changed the thing being counted.

Colonial rule also brought special treatment. The Government of India Act, 1935, gave legal recognition to schedules (lists) of castes and tribes marked out for special help: hence the terms Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The lowest castes were then called the 'depressed classes'.

Not all colonial changes to caste were deliberate; many were side effects of new laws, land rights, education and jobs. But together they made caste a matter of official records and of politics.