Caste in the present

Many people fought against caste injustice: reformers such as Jotiba Phule, B.R. Ambedkar, Ayyankali, Sri Narayana Guru and Periyar, and Mahatma Gandhi, who campaigned against untouchability. The Constitution abolished untouchability and forbade caste discrimination.

After independence, the state tried to be caste-blind: it would ignore caste, except for reservations for SCs and STs to undo past injustice. Industry and city life weakened some caste rules: people from all castes work together in factories and offices, and eat together in restaurants.

Yet caste persisted:

• in recruitment to jobs, through networks of family and caste;
• in marriage: most marriages still take place within caste (endogamy);
• above all in politics: since the 1980s, parties based on caste groups have grown strong.

The sociologist M.N. Srinivas gave two useful ideas:

• Sanskritisation: a lower caste raises its status by adopting the customs and practices of higher castes (such as vegetarianism or certain rituals).
• Dominant caste: a caste that is numerous, owns land, and has political power in a region, such as the Yadavs (Bihar and UP), Vokkaligas (Karnataka), Reddys (Andhra Pradesh), Marathas (Maharashtra), Jats (Punjab, Haryana, western UP) and Patidars (Gujarat).

For urban, upper-caste people, caste can seem 'invisible': they have already gained its advantages (education, property, networks) and can now say caste does not matter. For SCs, STs and OBCs, caste is all too visible: it is both a burden (discrimination) and an asset (the basis of reservations and political strength).