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SWK DSE-2 UNIT-6 Varna JATI

Varna jati
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political science hons

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Academic year: 2023/2024
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Anjali Ahlawat
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CHAPTER-6 VARNA,JATI

INTRODUCTION

• Varna and Jati have played an important role in the social and political structure of

India since ancient times.

• Today, there are more than three thousand castes and sub-castes in India, and castes

are related to Varna.

• In India, Varna and Jati have been interrelated; from Vedic texts to Upanishads and

other ancient texts, evidence of the varna system is found.

• In the Vedic texts, it is written that it was based on labour and occupation.

• Common occupation and social relations determine caste.

• Varna divides society into four varnas:

1. Brahma

2. Kshatriya

3. Vaishya, and

4. Shudra

• The word “Varna” is believed to originate from a large metal, which means to describe

or select; this selection refers to the selection of business.

THE VARNA SYSTEM IN INDIA

• People were classified according to their Varna or castes in ancient India during the

Vedic Period (c. 1500-1000 BCE).

• 'Varna' signifies the colour, kind, order, or class of individuals and specifies their

ancestral roots.

• Different scholars have different views about the origin of the varna system.

• It is written in the Purusha Sukta of Rigveda that Brahman emerged from the mouth of

a great man, Kshatriya emerged from the arm, Vaishya emerged from the thigh, and

Shudra emerged from the feet.

• Brahmins (priests, gurus, etc.), Kshatriyas (warriors, kings, administrators, etc.),

Vaishyas (agriculturalists, traders, etc.,sometimes known as Vysyas), and Shudras

(labourers) are the four main types.

• Each Varna has its own set of life principles to follow, and infants must adhere to the

Varna's core customs, norms, behaviour, and beliefs.

• These four Varnas make up a community, and their devotion to the Varna laws

ensures that wealth and order are maintained.

• Individual interests and personal preferences are treated with equal solemnity by a

newborn in a certain Varna, in order to resolve the contradiction between personal

choice and conventional regulations.

• Each Varna citizen's rights are constantly paired with their own obligations.

• The Manu Smriti (an ancient legal treatise from the Vedic Period) and subsequent

Dharma Shastras have an extended Varna system with insights and logic.

  • In theory, Varnas are not pure and undeniable lineages, but rather categories, implying

that behaviour takes precedence over birth in determining a Varna.

  • Some scholars consider religion and karma as the basis for the emergence of the

Varna system.

  • There are four basic needs of society: - First, education, i., reading and learning:

teaching; Brahman’s work; second, work related to governance and security systems;

third, the Kshatriya’s work of economic production and development; and the Shudra’s

work of artificial service.

  • The concept that doing Varna obligations would lead to moksha is the fundamental

rationale for doing so.

  • Conviction in Karma strengthens one's belief in the Varna life values.

EVOLUTION AND NATURE OF THE VARNA SYSTEM

  • It is generally known that the system of Varna developed after the arrival of Aryans in

India aroung 1000 years ago.

  • But since then, the Varna System has existed, although there has been a change in its

form.

  • The evidence of ancient texts shows that Brahmin class has occupied the highest

position among all other civilizations on the planet.

  • The simplicity of the beginning gradually became complicated.
  • The rules and laws prescribed for all castes gave rise to a sense of sangha between

the Brahmin Kshatriyas.

  • Shudras were separated from intellectual and religious works in this.
  • During the Vedic period, which lasted from 1500 to 1000 BCE, the caste system was

implemented and recognised in ancient India.

  • 6th century BC by then, the varna’s situation had become so complex that Buddha and

Mahavira had opposed many of the evils arising in it.

  • Later, Manu also formulated elaborate rules for different classes.
  • Thus, caste was born in place of varna.
  • Some Shudras like Matang, Vidur gained a prestigious place in society at that time by

doing good deeds.

  • In the Manu smriti text, the Shakas are called “Vratya Kshatriyas,” who are generally

considered to be devout.

  • External invasions had caused chaos in society after the Gupta period, so an attempt

was made to establish the varna system by providing it with a solid foundation.

ORIGIN OF JATI (CASTE SYSTEM) IN INDIA

  • The word caste derives from the Spanish and Portuguese “casta”, means “race,

lineage, or breed”.

  • ‘Jati’ originates from the root word ‘Jana’ which implies taking birth. Thus, caste is

concerned with birth.

  • There are many theories like traditional, racial, political, occupational, evolutionary etc

which try to explain the caste system in India.

  • Occupations that were considered superior and respectable made those individuals

better than those who were engaged in dirty businesses.

  • Occupational differentiation and many subspecies, such as blacksmiths, chamars, and

Teli (oil pressers), came along with functional differentiation.

5. Developmental Theory

  • According to this theory, the caste system did not come into existence on any date.
  • It is the result of a long process of social development.
  • Family-based business
  • Brahmins want to keep themselves pure.
  • Lack of rigid unitary control of the state.
  • Reluctance of rulers to enforce a uniform standard of law and custom
  • The “Karma” and “Dharma” theories also explain the origin of the caste system.
  • Confirmation of one’s religion occurs even at birth in the rich upper caste, and the

violation gives rise to the lower and poorer castes.

1. Geographical isolation of the Indian peninsula

2. Foreign invasions

3. Rural social structure

  • The caste system developed strongly after the Mauryan period, mainly after the

establishment of the Shunga dynasty by Pushyamitra Shunga,; this dynasty was the

strong protector of “Brahmanism.”

FEATURES OF THE JATI (CASTE SYSTEM) IN INDIA

1. Division of Society

  • Society is divided into various small social groups called castes.
  • Each of these races is a well-developed social group, the membership of which is

determined by birth.

2. Hierarchy

  • According to Louis Dumont, castes teach us a fundamental social theory of hierarchy.
  • At the top of this hierarchy is the Brahmin caste, and at the bottom is the untouchable

caste.

  • There are intermediate castes in the middle, whose relative status is not always clear.

3. Endogamy

  • Endogamy is the chief characteristic of caste, i. the members of a caste or sub-caste

should marry within their own caste or sub-caste.

  • The violation of the rule of endogamy would mean ostracism and loss of caste.
  • However, hypergamy and hypogamy (marriage with a person of lower social status)

were also prevalent.

4. Hereditary status and occupation

  • The Greek traveller Megasthenes of India in 300 BC mentioned hereditary occupation

as one of the two characteristics of the caste system, the other being endogamy.

5. Restrictions on food and drink

  • The taboo of cooking, which defines individuals who can cook food.
  • The taboo of eating can determine the ritual to be followed in the meal.
  • A prohibition that relates to the person with whom one can take food.
  • Brahmins in North India only accepted cooked food (cooked in ghee) from certain

castes below them.

  • However, no person will accept raw (cooked in water) food prepared by the lower

caste.

  • Beef was not allowed by any caste except Harijans.

6. A special name

  • Every race has a special name, although we can recognise it. Sometimes, a business

is also associated with a particular caste.

7. Caste Panchayat

  • The status of each caste is carefully protected not only by caste laws but also by

conventions.

  • These are implemented openly by the community through a governing body or board

called a caste panchayat.

MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF THE JATI (CASTE SYSTEM)

  • It continued the traditional social organization of India.
  • It has accommodated multiple communities by ensuring each of them a monopoly of a

specific means of livelihood.

  • Provided social security and social recognition to individuals. It is the individual’s caste

that canalizes his choice in marriage, plays the roles of the state-club, the orphanage

and the benefits society.

INDIA HAS A DISTINCT JATI (CASTE SYSTEM) AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM

  • There has been a cultural continuity in India that no other civilization has had.
  • Ancient systems, religions, and cultures of other civilizations are mostly gone.
  • In India, history exists, and even external empires co-opted the system rather than

replacing it.

  • Caste has been merged into a modern religion, making it difficult to remove it.
  • India has integrated many systems more easily. What is known as “caste” in

Portuguese or English is actually composed of 3 different components: caste, mass,

and character. Caste is a commercial identity. The mass is an ethnic identity.

Character is a philosophical identity. They have been more tightly mixed over the

centuries.

  • In the world’s most transformative period—the last 3 centuries—India spent most of it

under European colonialism. As a result, India has changed numerous times. Most of

the changes in the system came only in 1950, when India became a republic.

  • Theoretically, caste as a cultural phenomenon (i., as a matter of ideology or value

system) is found only in India, whereas when it is seen as a structural phenomenon, it

is also found in other societies.

  • The structural-specific view of caste states that the caste system is confined to Indian

society.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VARNA AND JATI

VARNA CASTE

Varna’s are only four in number i. Brahmin,

Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra

Castes are very large in number. Castes also

have many subdivisions known as sub-

castes.

Literally ‘Varna’ means colour and originates

from the world ‘Vri’ meaning the choice of

one’s occupation. Hence Varna is concerned

with one’s colour or occupation.

Caste or ‘Jati’ originates from the root word

‘Jana’ which implies taking birth. Thus, caste

is concerned with birth.

It is an all-India phenomenon

Presence of regional variations mostly based

on linguistic differences.

Mobility pattern Varna’s are relatively flexible

with one’s talent and knowledge, compared

with the castes.

It is based on rigid principles and mobility is

less. It is a closed type of stratification

Varna-class correlation is mostly positive

Caste-class correlation is not always positive,

there may be variations in the placement due

to economic, political arid educational status

of various groups.

CONCLUSION

  • Despite differing views on the origins of caste, society accepts this system.
  • In practice, the concept of high and low stratification in the caste system is reflected.
  • The Constitution forbids discrimination based on caste and caste, but some traditions

in society are based on caste and caste.

  • Therefore, it can be said that varna and caste are a medium for understanding Indian

society, whose existence can be seen from the Vedic era.

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SWK DSE-2 UNIT-6 Varna JATI

Course: political science hons

999+ Documents
Students shared 1058 documents in this course

University: Creighton University

Was this document helpful?
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