Sociology · Ch 2 — Social Institutions: Continuity and Change
Colonialism and Caste
Colonialism and Caste
The caste system we see today is not an unchanged relic of ancient India. Its present form was powerfully shaped by the colonial period — roughly the 150 years from around 1800 to 1947 — and then by the rapid changes that followed Independence in 1947. In fact, many scholars argue that what we now know as caste is more a product of colonialism than of ancient Indian tradition. The key point is that the institution of caste underwent fundamental, often unintended, changes under British rule.
How the British Studied Caste
Initially, British administrators tried to understand caste simply to govern the country efficiently. They conducted methodical surveys and wrote reports on the ‘customs and manners’ of various tribes and castes. Many British officials were amateur ethnologists who took a keen personal interest in these studies.
But the single most important official effort to collect information on caste was the census. First begun in the 1860s, it became a regular ten-yearly exercise from 1881 onwards.
The 1901 Census, directed by Herbert Risley, was especially significant. It tried to record the social hierarchy of caste — that is, the social order of precedence in each region, showing the rank of every caste. This had a huge impact. Hundreds of petitions were sent to the Census Commissioner by representatives of different castes, each claiming a higher position and offering historical and scriptural evidence to back their claim.
Scholars believe that this direct attempt to count caste and officially record its status changed the institution itself. Before the census, caste identities were much more fluid and less rigid. Once they were counted and recorded, caste began to take on a new, more fixed life.
The Creation of ‘Scheduled Castes’ and ‘Scheduled Tribes’
The British administration also took an interest in the welfare of downtrodden castes, then called the ‘depressed classes’. As part of these efforts, the Government of India Act of 1935 was passed. This Act gave legal recognition to lists — or ‘schedules’ — of castes and tribes marked out for special treatment by the state.
This is how the terms ‘Scheduled Tribes’ and ‘Scheduled Castes’ came into being. Castes at the very bottom of the hierarchy — those that suffered severe discrimination, including all the so-called ‘untouchable’ castes — were included among the Scheduled Castes.