The Caste System
By: T.H. Marshall
Exercises: J. Geffen
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1.
The most perfect example of caste is found in India – not in our present age, but
at that point in the past when the caste system was at its height. Its principal
characteristics can be briefly summarized. Marriage takes place between members of
the same caste, and the children belong to the caste of their parents; these are the
principles of endogamy and heredity. Membership is normally lifelong; there is, in
other words, practically no social mobility. Caste members are united by distinctive
social customs, or rules, enjoining avoidance. These include restrictions on intermarriage, and also limitations on eating together, accepting food and drink from – and
even (in some cases) coming into close proximity with – members of other castes.
Such are the outward expressions of social distance. Castes form a hierarchy, being
arranged in an order of superiority and inferiority which is associated with ideas of
purity and impurity. Each caste, also, is linked with a limited range of permitted
occupations (in some cases with one only), and the classification of occupations also
brings in the idea of purity and impurity, especially at the extremes of the scale. The
prestige order of castes is not based on wealth.
2.
Clearly this is a very rigid system. It is also one which penetrates deeply into the
lives of the members of society. There is no room for any other principle of
stratification or social ranking to exist side by side with it, or to challenge its
supremacy. If the caste system is in full vigour, caste membership is an indisputable
fact by which a man’s position in the social structure is wholly determined. And, in
addition to this, the system as a whole is not regarded as something freely invented
and constructed by man, which may be changed by him, or which can be made
different by the spread of different ideas: the basic beliefs are upheld, not because
they are traditional, but because they are true. As a modern authority says: “The
general Hindu feeling about the caste system is that it has been ‘established by divine
ordinance’ or at least ‘with divine approval’.” It is rooted in the divine plan, and in the
nature of man and the universe. This is clearly seen in the doctrine of Karma,
according to which ‘a man’s condition in this life is the result of his conduct in his last
incarnation: his high or low caste is therefore the reward or punishment of his past
behaviour’ – that is, of his behaviour in a previous life on earth.
3.
The estate system, too, is marked by rigidity – but less complete, and of a
different kind. It is more difficult to find a perfect example of an estate system, but its
principles can be recognized in the middle period of feudalism and in the aristocratic
societies of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. An estate may be
defined as a group of people having the same status, in the sense in which the word is
used by lawyers. A status in this sense is a position to which is attached a bundle of
Caste System / 2
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rights and duties, privileges and obligations, legal capacities or incapacities, which are
publicly recognized, and which can be defined and enforced by public authority, and
by courts of law. The word is today so widely used by sociologists with a broader and
less exact meaning that, in order to avoid confusion, it is best to speak of ‘legal status’
when we refer to status in its original sense – the sense which has just been roughly
defined above.
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EXERCISES
Exercise I
What do the following pronouns and other words refer to?
1. its, line 2, refers to ________________________________________________
2. these, line 4, refers to ______________________________________________
3. these, line 7, refers to ______________________________________________
4. which, line 11, refers to ____________________________________________
5. it, line 16, refers to ________________________________________________
6. it, line 18, refers to ________________________________________________
7. which, line 20, refers to ____________________________________________
8. this, line 21, refers to ______________________________________________
9. which, line 22, refers to ____________________________________________
10. they, line 24, refers to ______________________________________________
11. this, line 27, refers to ______________________________________________
12. it, line 32, refers to ________________________________________________
13. its, line 32, refers to _______________________________________________
14. this sense, line 36, refers to _________________________________________
15. which, line 36, refers to ____________________________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Exercise II
Fill in the blank spaces in the sentences that follow with the appropriate words. The
first and last letters of these words are given.
Seeing that the structure of a caste society is extremely r_______d, one can
hardly expect any social m____________y.
The caste system imposes serious r_____________s upon intermarriage.
The caste members accept their position in life as i___________e.
A member of a caste will take great care to avoid p_____________y with one
belonging to a lower one.
Caste membership is very often the main principle of social s_____________n.
One’s very p_________n in the social structure may be decided by caste
membership.
Among caste members, the system seems to be accepted not merely because it is
t___________l, but also because it is true.
Hindus will often claim that the system was established by d____________e
will.
In modern India caste membership is no longer a l__________l status.
The term status as used by s________________s does not lend itself to any
exact definition.
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Exercise III
Fill in the blank spaces in the passage that follows with the appropriate words. The
first and last letters of these words are given.
Even though 20th century India is no longer what it was, its society still retains
certain important c_______________s of the caste system. Social m_____________y
is practically non-existent, custom and traditions still impose r______________s upon
intermarriage, and to a very serious extent even the physical p______________y of a
lower caste member is very often avoided. And even though these things are no longer
prescribed by law, we still find that members of certain castes will rarely be found in
o______________s traditionally a______________d with other castes. In this respect
Indian society shows how hard a t_______________l system, which obviously serves
as a means of social s________________n, dies. And so long as Indians go on
believing that the caste system was e_______________d by d________________e
will there is little hope for radical changes in the s__________________e
of Indian society and the s_______________y of the caste system will remain
unchallenged.
Exercise IVA
A. Note the following words. B. Fill in the blank spaces in the passage that follows
with the appropriate words. Be sure to use each word only once. There are more
words than you actually need.
1. occupation(s)
2. impurity
3. prestige
4. membership
5. mobility
6. superiority
7. restrictions
8. inferiority
9. proximity
10. indisputable
11. structure
12. traditional
13. divine
14. customs
15. associated
To a Brahmin the ___________________ of the lower castes is an
__________________ fact. By his very behaviour this Indian aristocrat will manifest
his unshaken belief in the __________________ of his own priestly caste.
__________________ with the lower castes will be avoided, and ________________
imposed by custom and religion will be rigidly observed. And though it may appear
strange to us, in the minds of the Brahmins _______________ of a lower caste is
indeed _______________ with inferior quality and in a good many cases with
downright physical _______________. Such an Indian blue blood will accept the
system as not merely ___________________ but a clear manifestation of a
_______________ order. Given such an attitude social __________________ must be
discouraged since it would challenge God’s will and the __________________ of
society must be preserved as it is.
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Exercise IVB
The same words as in the previous exercise to be used in a passage not directly related
to the text.
It has been said that in the democratic world _________________ class
distinctions are gradually disappearing. With ever growing social _______________,
inevitable in a fast expanding economy, people of humble beginnings are entering
_________________ which had always been _________________ with the middle or
even upper middle classes. It has been further claimed that positions which always
afforded a certain amount of _________________ are no longer exclusively held by
the privileged groups. The same optimists argue that in our democratic communities,
the well to do are no longer confident of their _________________, and social
_________________ and conventions, which had reigned unchallenged for hundreds
of years, are no longer observed. But I doubt whether this ideal picture of our
democratic society will withstand closer scrutiny. Truly enough, no legal
_________________ are imposed upon the lower classes, but so long as the basic
social _________________ remains unchanged there are still countless extra-legal
devices to prevent the social gaps from being closed. Under such circumstances not
even the possibility of _________________ in what were previously considered high
class institutions can compensate for the massive social inequalities that still divide
our society.
Exercise V
A. Note the following expressions. B. Fill in the blank spaces in the passage that
follows with one of these expressions. Be sure to use each only once.
a. principal characteristics
b. membership is lifelong.
c. distinctive social customs.
d. challenging the supremacy.
e. one’s position in the social structure
f. established by divine ordinance.
g. the reward or punishment.
h. marked by extreme rigidity.
i. privileges and obligations.
j. has little to do with.
The assumption that a given social order has been _______________________
would automatically imply that the principles governing such a society are sacred, and
hence ________________________ of these principles is tantamount to heresy or
impiety. And once such an assumption has been accepted, it makes no sense at all to
rebel against _____________________, seeing that this is no longer ______________
_____________________ for one’s deeds in our world, but simply an unexplained
whim of powers beyond our control. In such a society social position
_____________________ with one’s abilities, and _______________________ are
not a matter of social convention. Small wonder then that a community resting on
such beliefs is ________________________. Those born into a higher or lower social
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group realize that ________________________ and no human effort can change this
indisputable fact. Naturally classes that are rigidly separated from the other groups in
the community soon develop ________________________ which set them apart from
the rest. Obviously, a high degree of social conservatism is one of the ____________
_____________________of such societies.
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Exercise VI
Answer the question below.
1.
In what way does present day India differ from what it once was?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence below.
2.
Under the caste system it would have been inconceivable for a member of a
given caste to marry ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Answer the question below.
3.
How was caste membership determined in the case of children?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________
Choose the best answer.
4.
“Rules enjoining avoidance” is closest in meaning to
a. customs to be observed.
b. prohibitions.
c. fasts to be observed.
d. special dispensations.
Answer the question below.
5.
How did the caste system affect social mobility?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________
Complete the sentence below.
6.
The practice of marrying only members of your caste, clan, or extended family
is called _____________________.
7.
List some of the restrictions imposed upon members of one or another caste.
a.
b.
c.
Choose the best answer.
8.
Essentially, the caste system is a manifestation of social
a. prejudices
b. suspicions.
c. mobility.
d. stratification.
9.
The fact that each caste is linked with a limited range of permitted occupations
suggests that the system may serve as a device to _____________________
certain social and economic conditions.
a. alleviate
b. change
c. worsen
d. perpetuate
e. challenge
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Complete the sentences below.
10. The notion of purity and impurity is inextricably linked with caste belonging.
Thus, the inferior castes will be viewed as ____________________________ , while
the more highly placed ones will be considered _____________________________ .
11. In a perfect caste system, paragraph 2, the only factor determining one’s social
status would be _______________________________________________________ .
Answer the questions below.
12. Long habit is obviously a powerful element; however, this could not possibly
account for the fact that millions of Indians would meekly resign themselves to
the lowliest of states decreed by caste belonging; what additional factor
contributed to the strength and persistence of the caste system?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________
13.
How does the Karma doctrine account for caste belonging?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________
Choose the best answer.
14. The estate system, paragraph 3, affords the various members of the community
a greater degree of ________________________ than the caste system.
a. happiness
b. economic security
c. segregation
d. social mobility
Answer the question below.
15. What were the two things all members belonging to an estate, paragraph 3,
shared?
Answer: _____________________________________________________________