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✅ Part 4 - Core Indian Anthropology
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✅ Part 4 - Core Indian Anthropology
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✅ Part 4 - Core Indian Anthropology

✅ Unit 4.0 - Emergence Growth & Development in India
Syllabus
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A Basic Timeline
  1. Emergence of anthropology in India is a result of British Administration Policies in India. British studied Indians in order to be able to administer India better for her diversity in cultures, people, terrains, etc
  1. 1774: Asiatic Society was established
  1. 1784: Transformed into Asiatic Society of Bengal (William Jones) This society began publishing a Journal
  1. 1793: This Journal began dedicating a particular part of it for anthropological studies
  1. 1807: The Governor General in 1807 appointed Dr Francis Buchanan as the Head of Studies related to Indian Population, specifically for Bengal to find out its society and culture. His studies were one of the significant reasons for Raja Ram Mohan Roy to find out about social evils in India.
  1. 1886: The First dedicated anthropological journal was from the anthropological society of Bombay in 1886. This era laid down the stone of foundation of anthropology in India
  1. 1850+ : In the second half of 19th century, British anthropologists were called to India to study Indian society and culture
      2. This motivated Indians to take part in such anthropological studies and take interest in studying about Indian populations and cultures
Entry of Various Anthropologists
  1. British Researchers → HH Risley, Hutton, Russell
  1. True Anthropologist Entering India → Hutton, Brown, Rivers, Seligman → ethnographic studies in India
  1. India origin researchers motivated → limited auto ethnographies
  1. Anthropological Society of Bombay and its journal
  1. Indian Anthropologists
    1. SC Roy
    2. DN Majumdar (picked up same terms used by Penniman)
    3. SC Dubey
    4. NK Bose
    5. LP Vidyarthi
    6. Surajit Sinha (gave the phases the of development of Indian anthropology)
    7. Dharani Sen
    8. GS Ghurye
    9. MN Srinivas
    10. Iravati Karve
    11. Lila Dubey
  1. Some Prominent Endologists
    1. Verrier Elwin
    2. Van Furer Haimendorf
    3. Andre Beteille
    4. Morris Opler
    5. Wiser and Wiser
Phases of Anthropology in India: (Given by Surajit Sinha and LP Vidyarthi)
Formative Phase (1774-1919)
  1. Asiatic Society
  1. Asiatic Society of Bengal + Journal
  1. Part III of Anthropological Society of Bombay
  1. 1807 Dr. Francis
  1. Various British Researchers → Hutton, Risley, Perry, Thurston & Russell
  1. True Anthropologists → Hutton, WHR Rivers, Radcliffe Brown, Seligman
  1. Contribution of Risley
    1. gave multiple monographs on tribes and castes of India. Impressed by his work, he was appointed as the head of population studies in India
    2. 1881: 1st regular census of India was conducted
    3. 1901: Risley conducted a census
    4. Risley’s most important work “The People of India”. Many Indian anthropologists consider this publication of true anthropology in India. The most prominent supporter of this is Gopal Sarana
  1. Journal of anthropological society of Bombay in 1886.
  1. EB Tylor, James Frazer & Hugsley were made honorary members of this society
  1. In the last years of this phase, we started witnessing entry of discussions of anthropology as a discipline of study in universities.
  1. In 1919, 1st section of anthropology was created under the department of sociology in university of Bombay
  1. Grierson's linguistic divisions of India
  1. Topics studied during this phase – study of tribes, study of caste and culture and study of natural history
  1. According to DN Majumdar this phase ended in 1911.
Constructive Phase (1920-1949)
  1. The 1st dedicated of department of anthropology at university of Calcutta. This was offered under post graduate studies in India. The earlier batches from this university had pioneers like NK Bose, DN Majumdar, Dharmi Sen, TC Das, Andre Beteille
  1. In 1947, University of Delhi, a department of anthropology was created. This led to spread of anthropology in different universities across the country like 1950 Lucknow, 1952 Guwahati
  1. Batch of anthropologists who studied outside of India like GS Ghurrey, Chattopadhyaya (both are students of WHR Rivers), Dr Irawati Karve (graduated, post graduate and PhD from Germany ; famous for kinship studies in India)
  1. Indian anthropologists were mainly supportive of functionalism, diffusionism and evolutionism
  1. In late 1930s, there was huge shift in Indian anthropology when Verrier Elwin began working on tribes of India. He mentioned that tribes should not be disturbed at all. Let them be incorporated & assimilated. He propagated for them to stay isolated → “Isolation” of Elwin
  1. This began the Ghurrey vs Elwin debate. Where Ghurrey did not want them to be isolated and was supportive of assimilative approach. In this debate, there was opinions given by Hutton that tribes were backward Hindus and was supported by Ghurrey.
  1. This gave rise to the Tribal Panchsheel.
Analytic Phase (1950-1990)
  1. Tilt from focus of anthropological studies from tribes to villages and caste system post-independence
  1. Impact of Industrialization, Urbanization & Globalization which led to shift from pre-literate villages to complex villages in India
  1. American anthropologists studied villages. This became immortal in the anthropological studies of India like
    1. Madhopur Village & Rampur Village studied by → Moris Oppler
    2. Rampura Village was Studied By → Andre Beteille & Oscar Lewis
    3. Karimpur Village → Wiser & Wiser
  1. Some of these villages are further studied by Indian Anthropologists like
    1. Rampura village by → MN Srinivas
    2. Mohana Village (Near Lucknow) → DN Majumdar
    3. Haveli Taluka by → GS Ghurrey & Professor Yogendra Singh
    4. Shamirpet by → SC Dubey
    5. Sripuram Village, TN → Andre Beteille
  1. This led to emergence of applied and action anthropology. When so many studies were being conducting in different parts of the country, it helped anthropologists to raise issues and problems of the people studied, usually the oppressed classes or tribals
  1. PK Bhowmick studied the villages of Lodhas (Vidisha Village), he found that based on their system of existence, we should create a society for propagation, improvement of their way of life.
  1. This led to the creation of Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology – First institution created for local people after anthropological studies
  1. In 1960s and 1970s, we witnessed a boom in anthropological studies in different parts of the country
  1. SC Dubey criticized the government for not using anthropological studies and research for formulating plans and framing policies to help the people of the country
  1. At this point, there was lack of funds for Indian anthropologists
Evaluative Phase(1990–Present)
  1. Western Anthropologists were complaining about the complexity of Indian society and culture, which made it difficult to study. To which Indian anthropologists responded saying that this is the reason why they exist. That you need an Indian approach to studying Indian people and societies. So, this period witnessed a increase in the use of blend of a western and Indian approach to anthropological studies
  1. Some Indian anthropologists tried to give modified version of theories given by western anthropologists
  1. This era witnessed an increase in applied anthropology in sports, health and medicine, better understanding of social aspects of diseases, biological basis for races, etc
  1. Increase in awareness
    1. Bauxite mine Niyamgiri hills Odisha,
    2. Tata plant WB
    3. Narmada Bachao Andolan tribal belt of MP
Important Anthropologists - To be Supplemented from Handouts
1. CVFH → Christoph Von-Furer Haimendorf
Nagas
  1. He Studied Nagas of Naga Hill Region (Nagaland, Manipur and nearby areas of Assam)
  1. He wrote a Book “Naked Nagas”. He was the one of the 1st researchers to study people of north-eastern Indian. While studying Nagas, he was accompanied by JK Mills. He studied prominently the Konyak Nagas. While studying Nagas, he found that they are virgin to any external influence, meaning that they have maintained their true/original identity and still practice certain habits considered inhuman in the modern world like killing enemy clans for revenge or not using scientific techniques of medicine like vaccination
Apatians
  1. Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
  1. he found that they are geographically isolated from mainstream society.
  1. However, the society is well educated, due to the impact of Christian missionaries, so much so that thy take part in the bureaucratic system
  1. Lifestyle is similar to those of the people from the plains (or non-tribal population)
Gonds
  1. Gonds of erstwhile Bastar Kingdom, Chhattisgarh with adjoining parts of Telangana, Odisha and MP
  1. Gonds of Adilabad, Telangana
  1. Alienated form their own land due to developmental activities are economy centric and not tribal centric. From here we began with the concept of tribal centric development – pioneer of the concept. This study of Hamendorf was approved and supported by DN Majumdar in the 1980s. The reason for such alienation faced by these tribal groups is due to the fact that plainsman (non tribal population) have the backing of administration to support them
Chenchus
  1. Chenchus (PVTG), Andhra Pradesh
  1. Chenchus – still focused on hunting and gathering activities. They are being alienated from their own land due to over exploitation of forest resources, due to presence of many ores and mining activities
Statement on problems related to tribals
“Tribals are fighting a grim battle for survival. The depredation of forest contractors has upset their economic life and now their lands are sought to be snatched away by intruders and plainsmen with power of modern state behind them.”
Haimendorf retired as professor of anthropology in school of Oriental and African Studies, London
2. VE → Verrier Elwin
Came to India as a Christian Missionary but was touched by the problems of Indian population, particularly the tribals
Concept of Isolationism
  1. During the Earlier Phases of Study (while studying Baigas and Murias)
  1. Elwin was a supporter of “Isolationism” of tribal populations
  1. That they should be kept isolated from mainstream society and not enforce popular culture practices on them. Otherwise, the tribal group will lose their original identity and the larger, mainstream culture will subsume their culture
  1. Elwin’s biggest critique was GS Ghurye who was strong supporter of assimilative approach. He believed that there should not be any difference made between census data, development plans and policies of tribals and non-tribals. That there should be free influx of outsiders to tribal areas and of tribals to outside areas
Baigas Studies
  1. Books on Baigas → “The Baigas”
  1. He saw the oppression of the Baigas by outsiders, moneylenders & Christian missionaries. Government must ascertain that there is not outsider influence in their lives
Murias Studies →
  1. Murias Central India
    1. Bastar Part of Chattisgarh
    2. Chota Nagpur plateau
  1. gave concept of Youth Dormitories
  1. Book on Muriya → “Youth Dormitories Among the Murias”
      2. Due to this he was criticized by many nationalist leaders who said that even though these tribal groups were geographically isolated in the past, does not mean that it should continue that way. They are very much a part of the country and should avail all the benefits available to a citizen
  1. Called youth dormitories as social club for the youth. He found youth dormitories with the Muria tribes
  1. Elwin considered youth dormitories as a social club for youngsters, like a communal living space that were gender specific, i.e. separate male and female youth dormitories
  1. Normally, they were located at center or entry point of villages
  1. As a social institution, these dormitories impart knowledge about history and culture of group, dos and don’ts in social behaviour, skill development of youngsters like hunting, swimming, crafting,etc. Youngster are taught socially accepted norms of sexual behavior, kind of a sex education, a sense of security ensuring the lives of kids and old members of society
  1. These are kind of dormitories are found in many tribal groups across India and the world. they provide cohesive and sentiments of unity and harmony in the tribal group, making and marking them different from other groups
  1. For Example: Morung System of Nagas, Dhumkurias of Oraons
NEFA Studies →
  1. NEFA, Arunachal Pradesh
  1. In the last two studies of NEFA and NWFA, Elwin came out with limited interference into their geography, life, culture and administration in His Book “Philosophy of NEFA”.
  1. Propagated limited assimilative approach for tribal groups. This gave rise to tribal Panchsheel. They are:
      2. This led to Pandit Nehru to come out with Tribal Panchsheel
  1. People should develop along the lines of their own genius and the imposition of alien values should be avoided
  1. Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected
  1. Teams of tribals should be trained in the work of administration and development
  1. Tribal areas should not be over administered or overwhelmed with a multiplicity of schemes
  1. Results should be judged not by statistics or the amount of money spent, but by the human character that is evolved
NWFA Studies →
  1. (North Western Frontier Agency) near the Durand Line present day Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
3. Elwin-Ghurye Debate
  1. Elwin (Isolationism)
      2. No interference, no governance in tribal areas. Tribals should be allowed to retain, maintain and enjoy the very character of their culture. There should be concurrence in utilization of resources by plainsmen in tribal areas. Elwin meant that tribals and plainsmen are isolated groups
  1. Ghurrey (Assimilation)
      2. There should not be separate data like census data for tribals and non-tribal. Was supported of Hutton’s arguments that tribals are backward Hindus with only difference of geographical seclusion. Therefore, tribals should be included as a part of the mainstream society. That there should be total assimilation of tribals with non-tribal. There should be free flow of cultural elements between tribes and plainsmen
  1. Conclusion
      2. None of the approaches was fully accepted by governments across the world and India. A practical solution can be limited assimilation and tribal centric development process along with preserving tribal folklore, land rights and forest rights. This mixed approach is practically visible in the tribal Panchsheel
4. SCR → Sarat Chandra Roy
  1. Due to the influence of outsiders particularly the forces Hindus traditions in tribal population. it will lead to alienation and extinction of tribals
  1. SC roy was considered as First true anthropologist of India but he became an anthropologist by chance. He was supporter of evolutionism approach
  1. S C Roy Studied Chota Nagpur Plateau Tribes
    1. mundas
    2. oraons
    3. birhars
    4. santhals
  1. Books by S C Roy
    1. Study of Tribal Culture
    2. Study of folklore
    3. Anthropology of Caste
    4. Applied anthropology and tribal policy
  1. Study of Dhumkuria as youth dormitories related to oraons by SC roy.
      2. this was one of the first work done by him,these are the small scale
  1. He Maintained that → w/o anthropological knowledge and use of data ; governance is incomplete
  1. he defined anthro as- it’s a way of life
  1. oral description of their own stories should be listen and then studied (supporter of EMIC perspective also supporter of field work) he represented tribals populations for 2 times in Bihar legislature
  1. whenever there was dispute b/w (tribal and non tribal) and (tribal and administration) he was called to resolve the dispute
  1. Jatra festival-tribal fest. of oraons people, there was clash b/w the tribal and non tribal people as whose dictator flag will be on the bridge, so DM called SC Roy and then dispute got resolved
  1. NK Bose was trained by SC. Roy in his field work
5. DNM → Dhirendra Nath Majumdar(1903-1960)
  1. Mainly studied Ho Tribe of CNP
  1. He was functionalist & supporter of structural functionalism
  1. He criticized only one thing of SC Roy’s approach that there was no acceptance to structural functionalism and functionalism
  1. He became Ethnographer due to SC Roy
  1. He Wrote the Book: Tribal Societies and Studies
  1. He said there is a relation b/w 4 different elements which is making a society functional. Any society and culture will flourish when there will be balance and co relation b/w these 4
  1. MARC- Man ,Area ,Resources ,Cooperation
      2. For fulfilment of biological needs & physical needs. the society should flourish
    1. Area- geography needs
    2. Man in association can produce more as compared to man in isolation, resources cannot be handle by a particular individuals thus many people came together to handle it leading to cooperation
  1. He also had contribution in village studies particularly after independence
  1. When he was doing village studies in parts of UP. he got to know that tribal influence the other part and vice versa so he moved to terai belts of UK, UP, Nepal & Bihar
      2. In terai belt he studied Khasa(Himalayas) & Tharus(nepal Himalayas)
  1. He Also studied Korwas (belonged to munda ethnicity) of chhattisgarh
      2. When he studied the host, he found that their existence is under threat Amalgamation Process b/w tribals and non tribals should be not forces.”should be amalgamation instead of absorption”.
  1. This amalgamation should be through creative approach Like humans and animals when they shift to other locations, gradually adaptation take place in them so the same way there should be adaption with the tribals and non tribals (way forward of tribal ) should not be abrupt entry for tribals with non tribals
  1. Bonga → based on bonga
  1. Bongaism → he studied bongaism in mundas and ho
  1. Bongaism is parallel to Animatism. Peoples considered everything(natural and manmade objects) is having bonga(soul )with in them, this is the bongas which is surviving their existence. when the bongas are not happy then you are facing -ve impacts like abortion.
  1. They Believed in soul worshipping
  1. Feed the animals with flesh and blood so that they will be happy
  1. ‘Caste and communication in an Indian village’ 1958 , after his death there was a publication in his name named as-‘Majumdars articles on villages’
  1. Prominent study done by DNM- Mohana studied in Lucknow
  1. He focused 4 aspects in villages
    1. short range history of that village
    2. caste system and inter-caste relationships
    3. religious beliefs and practices
    4. live cycle of a culture
  1. He defined Indian villages as Indian way of life and as a concept and constellation of values with a small rate of change ,broadly retaining its identity and one of the most marked feature of Indian social system
  1. He also contributed towards physical anthro with
    1. anthropometric measurements
    2. Serological surveys in parts of UP
    3. Chota Nagpur
    4. GJ
    5. Bengal
6. NKB → N K Bose
Introduction
  1. He got the training from SC Roy
  1. He was a freedom fighter, strong supporter of Gandhiji,took part in non cooperation movement, civil disobedience movement, he was one of the satyagrahis
  1. 1st satyagraha-vinoba bhave
  1. Also he was highly influenced by Karl Marx.(class less society )upper caste own the resources that’s why they are upper caste
  1. He said Caste system is the result of the economic relationship by upper caste people to maintain that economy they maintain the caste system
Caste System
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  1. 1st arrow level of purity increasing and 2nd arrow level of pollution increasing H/N -read about concept of purity and pollution, divine origin
  1. He rejected the purity and pollution and said that due to economic reasons there is caste system
  1. It enables possession of resources w/o any competition, generation per generation they are maintain the resources
  1. he was a diffusionist & functionalist
  1. the beliefs and sentiments of the people make functional society and culture
  1. different elements of culture transferred from one part to other part of India
      2. He gave Ex that typical Temple Arch of South will be in present chota Nagpur region
  1. culture is always in an unstable equilibrium. When culture is inherently unstable it is leading to social change. Due to external influences when believes and sentiments if not be able to maintain the elements of culture there will be a social change
  1. Studied slums areas of Bolpur in Bengal
      2. found these slums areas are mainly inherited by untouchables and he promoted gandhian ideology over there
  1. 4 Different Behavioural demands of India Culture
    1. Vastu (An Object)
    2. Kriya(An Habitual Action)
    3. Tatva (Elementary Knowledge)
    4. Samhiti (Social Organization)
  1. these are prominent behavioural demands of Indian culture
  1. He studied Juangs of odisha. He said these tribals are more similar to non tribal peasantry of nearby region becoz they are using same resources and are present in same environmental conditions and the rural areas are not having similar features as that of urban region(as both rural and urban are non tribal people still not have similar characteristic becoz they are harnessing different resources)
  1. When people are using different material things ,there will be differences → no matching way of live. When spiritual rituals are same there is similarities
7. MNS → M N Srinivas
  1. One of the prominent name in both sociology and anthro i.e
  1. He was a sociologist and anthropologist
  1. He was a supporter of Malinowski and Radcliffe Brown i.e he supported both functionalism and structural functionalism
  1. He worked extensively in South India
    1. Coorg of Mysore, Some parts of TN
    2. Rampur village
  1. He wrote more than 20 books (MNS and Iravati Karve)
  1. Books: Caste in Modern India && Social Change in Modern India
  1. He was a student of G.S Ghurye in field works
  1. 1940’s he worked in Coorg region
  1. 1940-43 in parts of TN
  1. 1944- in AP
  1. 1948-50 in Rampura village Mysore
  1. Based on these studies he focused on hir major theme of study → caste system and mobility in caste system
  1. Mobility-Sanskritic practices of upper caste of the region→followed by lower caste
  1. He tried explaining mobility through brahmanization, as he thought Brahmanization is very narrow and change this concept to Sanskritization and he came up with the concept of dominant caste instead of brahmins
  1. He gave some criteria related to dominant caste
      2. Book: Social systems in Mysore Event
  1. Dominant caste is not always the upper caste, also dominant caste are not generally from lower caste they are having fairly in caste hierarchy, political representation is becoz of their population is more, and due to the land ownership they are having economic powers in the region also.
  1. thus people of other groups refer them they try to emitted their lifestyle so they would not alienated /secluded from their population
  1. Like Patidars in Gujarat, Reddy’s in Andhra, Yadavs in Bihar and UP, Jats in Haryana, Rajputs in RJ,UP,MP
  1. He also did studies on Indian villages(SC Dubey and MN Srinivas Prominent Names)
  1. In village is a vertical with many horizontals with in it (village as vertical, caste systems, joint family system as verticals etc)
  1. Whether you are a sociologist /anthropologist there are 2 ways to conduct research
    1. Bookish perspective-not appropriate approach ,it was less accepted to MNS
      2. 2. Fieldview - Supporter of field view
  1. ‘Indian village ’ book by S.C Dubey → edited by MNS after his death Divided larger region into small pockets if not have resources/money, but study with fieldwork but not with the bookish perspective
8. Dr. Iravati karve(1905-1970)
  1. First Women Anthropologists of India
  1. She was sociologist ,educationist, Anthropologists and she was a wonderful writer
  1. Marathi Epic named- ‘Yuganta’.
  1. Got sahitya award for this epic in 1967
  1. She is one of the very few name who is associated with both physical and well as social anthro
  1. She is famous for ‘kinship systems in India’ also famous for normal ‘asymmetry of human’s skull and bones’ (physical anthro book)
  1. She is also prominent ethnographer, studied 8 different sub caste of brahmins in MH and compiled in the book-‘Chitpavan Brahmin’
  1. She did PHD in Physical anthro Germany in time – under Eugene Fischer (person)
  1. When she entered India she got tilted towards socio culture anthro and she studied a lot about caste system ,caste formation, caste clusters, kinship systems based on these studies.
  1. She Wrote Many Books Like
    1. Hindu society and interpretation
    2. Yuganta
    3. Social dynamics of a growing town and its surrounding area
    4. Group relations in a village community
  1. She Defined - Caste is nothing but an extended grp of relations that members of the same caste are relative to each other. Also gave some features of the caste
    1. there is a caste endogamy prevalent in max parts in India
    2. in general caste is scattered in nearby geographical locations
    3. with every caste there are specific 1⁄2 professions associated with them
    4. members are well aware of whether they belong to upper caste/lower caste
    5. Caste is a grp of families with marital ties
  1. He explained caste cluster also → one particular caste people connected with each other even if they are not located in nearby geographics ,they are connected through rituals/networks
  1. Like some upper caste group. Ex: Tamil, Bengal, MH Brahmins not having very common geography and genetic ancestry may greatly differ from one another but are always connected by caste cluster of matching rituals / practises
  1. Caste clusters of different caste within a same geographical region can be because of common geography/genetic ancestry. Many anthropologists considered this 5 features by hiravati karvare as belonging to the sub caste or jati
  1. She divided India in different kinship zones based on marital practices/ties and the subsequent kinship
  1. Northern zone, southern zone and western and eastern zone. After this she compared the caste with tribe. Said both have limited geographical spread ,like we have caste assemblies and panchayats the same why we have the tribe assembled an panchayats. Both are secluded in one or more aspects.
  1. She said that caste system is an outcome of social system of ancient tribes which was present even before the advent of Aryans, when Aryans came to India ,varna system was introduced by them and a blend of caste system and varna system became a complex system and a rigid group
9. Leela Dubey (1923-2012)
  1. First Feminist anthropologist from India and is credited with inclusion of women in anthropology. She was celebrated as women personality who advocated for rights of women by national commission for women in 2021
  1. Even in researcher gender issue are as a barrier to research so she became feminist. Her activities was of so prominence that she had commissions formed by parliament, state gov. etc related to women
  1. Towards Equality Report - A committee formed on the status of women in India by parliament. She was the member in this committee who gave the report
  1. Basic Theme of the Report was that females as the disadvantaged gender are susceptible to gender issues in all the domains
  1. Political, Social, Economic, hereditary, academic research
  1. She gave prominent concept of SEED AND EARTH (IMP 10 M). She considered seed as the males sperms and earth is females worms and earth is always expected to yield a son as the produce Seed is germinated on earth still earth do not have right on produce.
      2. Earth is being ignored totally property land ,prestige all associated with son
  1. Male sperms is considered as good seed and females womb as good yield and there is no right of the mother for the ownership of the produce
  1. Explained Indian patriarchal society by seed and earth concept. Basically seed and earth was a metaphor used for patriarchal society of India
  1. GOI formed a panel to study declining sex ratio of India and that panel was chaired by leela Dubey.
  1. She also studied the daily life of girls and women in traditional patriarchal hindu family and highlighted the biases at all the levels even before the birth and after the death and she completed her work in an Essay : “On the construction of gender; Hindu girls in Patrilineal India”
  1. She studied Gond Tribes in Eastern India - outcome - large scale gender disparities ,nothing in the name of freedom of women ,gender issues prevalent from the most simplest aspect of daily life to the most complex kinship ties.in her study she found that protection and management of women’s sexuality is directly connected to prestige and recognition of the family/the group/the clan /tribe
      2. Widow is been secluded, confined, abounded to safeguard the sexuality
Summary
  1. SC Dubey → Village Studies
  1. B.S Guha → ethnic classification/division of India
  1. L.P Vidyarthi → Religion & Tribal
  1. G.S Ghurye → Caste
  1. K.S Singh → Regionalism and secessionist movement - he is considered as intellectual father of Jharkhand movement
  1. H.D Sankhliya and V Mishra → Indian Archaeology
✅ Unit 5.1 - Indian Villages
Syllabus
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Indian Villages & Significance of Village Studies
  1. Origin of Indian village can be traced far back in history with the timeline matching with history of civilization in India
  1. In arthashastra, kautilya mentioned that it is the duty of every ruler or the king to maintain the administrative affairs of villages so that a stability and balance can be maintained
  1. In medieval times kitab-al-hind(11 cent) by Al Baruni ,gives an account of caste occupations and subsequent bases for organization of villages British colonial perspective related to India was guided mainly by villages and the majority view was that Indian villages are independent and self sufficient units
  1. James Mill and Charles Metcalf considered India as land of villages
  1. 1801: Tagged Indian villages as Little republics with as social harmony and economic balance based on intra and inter caste relationships and jajmani system. Thomas Monro he also referred them as mini republics
  1. The social harmony and economic balance due to division of labour provided a practical functionality to village as a unit and is a self sufficient entity
  1. Multiple civilizations ,rulers ,disasters happened from time to time but village as a unit survived in India
  1. Late 19 cent and early 20th cent witnessed emergence of number of village studies to figure out the social transformations and also to study the divisiveness ,inequality and operation of lower caste in a village system
  1. In the words of Gandhiji ‘soul of India lives in its villages’ and if a representative of Indianness has to be visualized it can be reflected in India’s villages only
  1. Gandhiji was in favour of self sustained ,self ruled villages i.e gram swaraj through promoting the panchayats
  1. Dr. BR Ambedkar was of the view that Indian village is a cesspool (collection) of factionalism and then of inequality due to prevalent caste system. Were the lower caste are being suppressed in all the aspects of daily life
Post Independent India
  1. Indian village(1955) Book of S.C Dubey edited by MNS
  1. Louis Dumont → book ‘Village community’
  1. Machin Marriott → book ‘Village India’
  1. DN. Majumdar → book ‘Rural profile’
  1. Andre beteille → book ‘Caste, Class and Power’
  1. The village community given by louis dummo was considering villages and its systems as the foundation of present economy not only in India but in Asia and this present economy is the economic foundation of India so village community can be considered as the foundation of India
  1. Little community by Robert Redfield based on his studies of Mexican villages was correlated by him with village community of Dumont with an explanation that this village community of Dumont is nothing but a parallel of little community ,can be referred as Indian little community
  1. Village studies which started in 1950s after independence, reached its Zenith in 1960 and 70s not only by Indian anthropologist and sociologist but also entry of outsiders particularly American anthropologist
  1. SC Dubey did extensive fieldworks in villages of different parts of India and found some salient features of Indian villages and described in detailed village settlement patterns ,population composition, caste and class grps, economic organization and Jajmani system ,customs and rituals, family life, intra and inter caste relationship
  1. SC Dubey opined that urban and administrative influences have long affected India’s villages and now those impacts can be visualised and there is dilution of villageness in villages of India
  1. He studied villages of Telangana, Odisha, Bihar & Bengal
Significance of Village Studies
  1. In the words of Gandhiji the soul of India lives in its villages so understanding of Indian society is based on the studies of its villages
  1. Andre Beteille considered India’s villages as a design or architecture reflecting basic values of Indian civilization and it remained as the basic unit from ancient to post independent times .despite the impact of westernization ,industrialization, modernization etc
  1. India’s village retained their identity and as a unit remained intact As per 2001 censes more than 72 % of India’s population and as per 2011 census 68.9 % is rural and is largely dependent agriculture activities so village studies are significant to study India and hence in 1950s and 60s anthropologists and sociologist significantly entered into village studies and these village studies forms the bases for formulation of developmental programs and policies after the independence
  1. In the words of MNS Indian society is fast changing and villages cannot remain isolated from that and it’s the duty anthropologists and sociologist to record the details of traditional social structure of Indian village before its too late
  1. Das gupta in 1978 highlighted that villages have been there for 1000’s of the yrs surviving of the war making and breaking of empress ,folds ,flamins, epidemics etc and remained intact in all the conditions so it became almost mandatory to study Indian villages
  1. Sachidanand argued that Indian village is not merely and administrative or revenue unit but is the basic unit of social policy so village studies should be an integral part of any anthropological /social research
  1. Conclusion: As India is a land of agriculture with long history of complex ,social organization, religious beliefs etc and if these complexities have to be studied village studies became an obligation also flip side of village social system i.e the critical aspects(as noticed by andre bete in caste class and power found some departure in Indian studies so the additional village structure its functionality and changing forms must be studied in detailed
Indian Village as a Social System
  1. Social life in villages is organized around caste ,kinship, intra and inter caste relations, livelihood based on local resources and a defined pattern of political system
  1. Along with caste ,class is another imp stratification which can be witnessed in Indian villages. So caste is the ascribed status by birth and class is achieved status. At the same time with the caste and class based division, there is a marked social solidarity amongst the villagers
  1. MNS was strong supporter of this solidarity and argued that irrespective of the differences villagers consider an insult to the village as an insult to the family and individuals
  1. India can be rightly considered as the land of the villages and hence social structure in village studies is the most important aspect to understand India at large. Rampura studies by MNS /the Telangana villages studies by SC Dubey and various other studies of IP Desai(sociologist) and AM shah(sociologist) supported the social solidarity in Indian villages
  1. Contrasting views were given by Andre Bette (Shri Puram Village) and FG Bailey while studying Indian villages ,they explicitly criticized the views about social solidarity and argued that only physical and geographical solidarity can be witnessed
  1. Every village has its distinct identity based on caste ,economic system, ritual ties b/n the villagers and interdependence b/n the members making the village as a unit highlighted by mani anthro’st as the self sufficient unit
  1. Caste and class define identity of individual in the villages. Caste is by birth but class can be achieved based on individual efforts
  1. MN Srinivas & Das → Prestigious of village is considered as individual village, latter supported by SC Dubey(he studied Telangana villages). – in villages division is there based on caste and class but till there is solidarity in them
  1. Andre Beitteil → Village is not harmony unit ,there is differences in the people of villages they opposed idea of above anthropologists
  1. They talked about settlements, in villages they will have resources based on geographical aspects
Components of Village Social Structure
Agrarian Society
Many studies highlight about roughly 55 to 65 % depended on agriculture activities.
Male political leaders are having the authority are not ready to leave their position from basic unit to parliament. Panchayat patis are biggest critics in the governance of local bodies
Even today maximum population in villages is dependent of agriculture and allied activities for their livelihood ,at the time of independence more than 75 % of the rural population was dependent on agriculture and allied activities which is nearly 55 % today.
In the words of andre betteille considering pleasantry as the only part of agrarian society is an over simplification and he expanded agrarian setup associated with technological economic and social parameters also. Various economic and social relations of the village, cultural elements, fairs and festivals etc are governed by agriculture
Caste System
One of the most significant component of village live and social structure, leading to stratification in the society with certain rules associated with it ,like the occupational restrictions ,endogamy.
 
Jajmani System
Already Discussed
Joint Family Structure
One of the most prominent identity of family structure in India is an extended or joint family structure with joint ownership of property and resources, common kitchen, a male head, a common place of worship etc
Patriarchy & Gender Differences
  1. Various village studies provided the detailed account of the relationship b/n the 2 genders and it was a kind of limited field work related to households basic purpose was to study the participation of women in various activities
  1. There was a well marked division of labour within the family ,household activities and rearing of kinds are the duties associated with women and outdoor activities and dominance in public sphere with men SC, Dubey while studying Telangana villages said that women are secluded from the public sphere
  1. In the words of MNS the world of females is synonymous to family and kinship Meyer argued that as compared to men women are having very less opportunities to meet the outsiders
Power Structure and Dominance
  1. Indian village is characterised by a defined power structure based on caste, class and ownership of land.
  1. Historically upper caste controlled the land the ownership and backward and lower caste worked as tenants and labourers with land reforms these relations changes
Changes in Social System of Villages
  1. Due to the impact of British rule the traditional caste based division was diluted but maintained its form in broader sense ,due to the impact of westernization modern education, globalization ,industrialization and urbanization the social structure of Indian villages is changing
  1. Due to the principles of democracy ,constitutionalism, FRs ,land reforms, education and legislative measures, villages witness significant changes in the social system
  1. Changes in the caste system started in the British rule due to the laws framed by British ,economic policies by British ,traditional caste panchayats ,loosened due to constitutional provisions of PRIs
  1. Rigidity related to occupations with a caste ,restrictions on fooding and dressing habits etc were removed through various legislative and constitutional measures
  1. Changed forms of caste system in villages of india, changed the inter caste relations, occupations dependency and the social divide decreased to significant levels in many parts of the country but casteism as a social evil is a prominent feature of Indian village even today due to ill motivated caste based vote bank politics, politics of reservation etc
  1. Changes in Jajmani system-due to the influx of economic opportunities in cities after UIG(urbanization ,industrialization,globalization ) has pulled villages communities out of villages and the grips of traditional occupations with a particular caste became week.
  1. Educational attainments, learnt skills and equality of opportunity weaken the jamani system and now jobs are based on individuals calibre instead of caste and the traditional exchange of goods and services through jajmani system is replaced by currency also the traditional relations of jajmans and kamins have faded due to elements of modernization and globalization
  1. Changes in family structure-from extended family structures moving towards nuclear families due to better opportunities in cities, control over its members in all the decisions like diet ,dress ,job etc is getting weak ,educational opportunities to girls and participation in workforce ,administration ,politics etc is improving the position of women in the family also
  1. Change in the family witnesses, intra khaf ,inter caste, inter clan marriages are witnessing due to freedom of choosing the life partners, still significant number of marriages are arranged and within the caste only. child marriage as an institution is prohibited by law and there is a significant decline in the cases. leading to improvement in the educational standards of both boys and girls Educational attainment by ruler youth, skill development, urban industries, and expansion of nearby urban clusters led to changes in the traditional economic system of villages
  1. Agriculture is transforming from subsistence to commercial traditional jajmani system based on inter-caste relations has become week, migration of Ruler youth from villages to nearby cities and towns, hegemony of money lenders diluted as emergence suppliers, emergence of schedule regional banks, self help groups ,RRBs, MFIs, contributed towards financial inclusion ,financial inclusion also contributing towards the social inclusion
  1. Economic Change - Micro Finance institutions(Paytm etc) Bhamashah Yojana - First scheme in country all the-prioritizing womens. For female head extra subsidies Improvement in the educational levels of females in villages of different part of the country is increasing and hence economic and political participation beginning at the most basic level of the family
  1. Involvement in the decision making ,social status ,as well as economic independency has witnessed a positive trend which is further improved through 1/3rd reservation to women in Panchayati Raj Institutions
  1. Various states they are coming up with programs and policies supporting females as the leaders beginning at the family level and reaching upto the heads of the village panchayats, like the bhamashah yojana of RJ Gov
Conclusion of Changes in Social System of Villages
After independence adoption of land reform methods like land ceiling and redistribution changed the tradition economic setup of villages ,which was followed by a series of changes triggered by various factors like globalization ,urbanization ,industrialization, constitutional and legislative measures etc ,all these factors transformed the traditional look of Indian villages with associated socio economic ,political ,cultural and institutional changes from the larger unit village to the smaller unit family
Rapid industrialization and urbanization attracted ruler population towards the cities but still majority of population in India is rural
Case Study on Inter Caste Relations by Andre Betteil
  1. In Tanjore village in Thanjavur district of tamil nadu,in 1960s In his study Beittel mentioned that education which was a virtual monopoly of brahaminas and upper caste before independence and more specifically in pre British periods ,filtrated into all the sections of the society after independence due to constitutional and legislative measures
  1. Educational system had become far more open both in principle and practise, children from all the caste even the earlier labelled untouchables were attending the classes together and due to these factors even the lower caste /the adi dravidas became the part of the educational system
  1. In studies of Sripuram Village ,he came to the conclusion that these changes are not only restricted to the schools but also filtered to the overall social setup, redistribution of resources led to changes in the power structure of a village
  1. Led to changes in inter-caste relation diluting the dominance of upper caste and emergence of numerically significant and land owning dominant caste
  1. Adi-dravidas (children's of adi dravidas were not allowed to attain the schools after independence, constitutional measure ,legislative measures they were allowed)
  1. When he visited to schools all the kinds of all caste → upper, lower caste, untouchables all were studying together
  1. Transformation from rigid system to elements of modernization.
Rural Settlement Pattern
Along with these 5 prominent types there can be many other categories also like the Y Shaped ,T Shaped even the Scattered Settlements
Introduction
  1. There Are Two Types of Rural Settlement Pattern
    1. Traditional Conventional Patterns Change
    2. Transformed Patterns
  1. Patterns of Rural Settlement reflect the way houses are situated in relation to each other, the location of the village ,the surrounding topography, terrain, availability of resources influence the shape and size of the village.
  1. Like - different shapes and sizes of village settlements can be witnessed in plain areas ,plateau, forest ,desert ,coastal villages
  1. Also based on the functional activities of people the shapes can be defined like the farming villages, fisherman villages, grassing lodging pastorals etc.
  1. There are 5 traditional ruler settlement patterns recognized in India
Nucleated Clustered Settlements
notion image
A tight cluster of houses is surrounded by a farming area of the village and the inner areas /central part of the settlement is intentionally kept open for keeping the domesticated animals, schools, playground panchayats ,maybe the local pound this settlement can be found throughout the country
When the houses are located along road/railway line/canal river and sometimes the edges of a valley, farming areas can be situated near or a bit far away from the houses based on topography can be found in any part of the country
Lineal Pattern
When the houses are located along road/railway line/canal river and sometimes the edges of a valley, farming areas can be situated near or a bit far away from the houses based on topography can be found in any part of the country
3 - Rectangular Pattern-Found in Rectangular
notion image
inter mountain valleys ,roads are rectangular and crossing each other at right angles, nearly half of the ruler population of the world is settled in this way
In India they are developed in productive alluvial plains ,stretching from indo gangetic to ganga Brahmaputra plains - Yangtze Plains of China, Mississippi Plains of America
Circular Pattern
develop around lakes /tanks/ponds or maybe the mining area and sometimes the circular settlement is planned intentionally so that the central part remains open and protected from the attacks of outsiders and wild animals. can be found in villages of any part of the country
Star Like Pattern
notion image
found in areas where several roads they converge and start shaped development takes place besides the roads, here the construction of the houses takes place in all the directions from the roads and it’s a common pattern found in both ruler as well as urban areas
Example: Satluj & Yamuna Plains in northern parts of the country particularly the parts of Punjab and Haryana are having this Settlement Pattern
Conclusion
In different types of ruler settlement a social distance was maintained b/n upper and lower caste and a different cluster of houses was allocated to population of upper and lower caste ,like in studies of Tanjore village Andre betteill highlighted that -moving from northern part of village to southern part of the village and also from northeast to south west of village - the caste status decline
Changing Pattern of Rural Settlement
  1. Multiple factors led to changes in rural settlements like urbanization and expansion of cities towards villages, conversion of agricultural land or non-agricultural purposes, unscientific and uncontrolled construction activities etc
  1. Population explosion and rise in population density led to compactness and clustering of settlements w/o a define structure
  1. Faster rate of infrastructure development like the new roads and highways or the canals or railway tracks come up with new economic opportunities and pulled the settlements from the traditional pattern towards more linear forms
  1. Due to expansion of industries towards the ruler areas new settlements are getting formed near to the production units which is changing the traditional ruler settlement patterns
  1. Conversion of rural areas into suburban towns and expansion of cities towards the ruler areas i.e development of rural urban fringe is diluting the socio cultural divisions in residences like no segregated settlements for upper and lower caste people Development projects like interlining of river and subsequent multiple canals emerging out of that also led to development of new aspects of rural settlements
  1. Conclusion
      2. due to all these changes taking place in the settlement patterns, social distance is decreasing if not in social cultural perspectives but at least in settlements of upper and lower caste
✅ Unit 5.2 - Linguistic and Religious Minorities & Social, Political, Economic Status
Syllabus
notion image
Introduction
Article 29
Any person residing in any part of India having language, culture of their own shall have the right to maintain and conserve that, after the interpretation of apex court section of citizens in this articles includes both minorities and majority
Article 30
Is about 2 specific categories of minorities recognized by COI i.e religious and linguistic minorities ,that all the minorities shall have the right to established and administer educational institutions of their choice
Article 350 A
facilities for instruction in mother tongue at primary education stage
Article 350 B
President can point special officer for linguistic minorities
UNHRC Understanding
As per UNHRC in common understanding expression minority means ,less than half of the population, less than 50%, maybe having different language, culture, religion, fairs and festivals
UN established in UN-1945
UNHRC
  1. committee formed by UNHRC in 1946 to study the problems of minorities.
  1. Defined minorities as non dominant groups in population which poses a wish to preserve their stable, ethnic, religious and linguistic traditions/characteristics
  1. Markley different from those of the rest of the population
Minorities
  1. Hindus → 79.8%
  1. Muslims → 14.2%
  1. Christians → 2.3%
  1. Sikhs → 1.7%
  1. Parisis < 1%
  1. Jains → 0.4%
  1. Buddhists → 0.7%
ORP
  1. Other Religions including Parsi
  1. After 2014 → 6 Religious Minorities in India
  1. Earlier → Muslims, Christians, Sikhs
  1. States and UT where Hindus are Minorities
    1. Arunachal Pradesh
    2. Meghalaya
    3. Mizoram
    4. Punjab
    5. Manipur
    6. J&K
    7. Lakshadweep
TMA Pi Case
S.C said that purpose of article 30 is to provide rights to minorities to established educational institutions and these rights have to be considered on state wise bases
Bal Patil v/s state of Maharashtra 2005
  1. Here SC referred about TM Pai case ruling and clarified that. Henceforth the unit for determining there religious and linguistic minorities should be state
  1. Recently in march 2022,union gov. accepted ,that state gov can now declared and grant minority status to any religious /linguistic communities within their state including Hindus
  1. CAMPA is under public account of india. and every state has its own campa fund under respective PAGs
  1. Compensatory fund was introduced in India 1st time in conservation of forest act, in 2003 SC ordered to form CAMPA
  1. In case of linguistic minority-no religious /linguistic status accorded at union level; status has to be accorded at the state/UT level
  1. National commission for minority act 1992: It statutory status for national commission for minorities
To Evaluate the progress and development of minorities and to setup the working mechanism
  1. For Safeguarding the rights of minorities under constitution and various Act - NCM was created
  1. 1978 SC created minority commission which was a non-statutory body, in 1992 it got the statutory status
  1. Read about PM 15 point program →a holistic development approach safeguarding the Rights of People
  1. Quasi - Judicial → Apart from judiciary other bodies which have judicial powers
  1. UN declaration on rights of minorities is to protect the existence ,indent of minority within their respective territories and encourage the conditions for promotion of their unique identity
Minorities
Muslim
Introduction
  1. 14.2 % of India’s population as per 2011 census Significant Population → UP, Knk, Assam,Bihar,Telangana, Kerala
      2. Other States → MP, MH, GJ & Ktk, RJ are also having scattered pockets of Muslim population
  1. Social status/situations /challenges of Muslims in India Social hierarchy in Muslims is quit resembling with that of Hindus i.e caste system is an equally accepted norm in Muslims also but it is more of a social context and less of a religious context. In every grouping like Ashrafs, Ajlafs, Arzals → Membership is by birth like different caste of
  1. Hindu society and strict endogamy is followed like hindu society there is a hierarchy /ranking based on the social status of different groups in Muslims
Prominent 3 stage divisions of Muslims
Ashrafs →
  1. Sayyids, Mughals, Pathans(all are upper caste)
  1. They are considered as the nobles like the upper caste Hindus Upper caste hindus getting converted into Islam are in category in Ashrafs.
  1. Within ashrafs their is the divisions like the sayyids at the top hierarchy then Mughals and pathans. Sayyaid’s are considered to be Arabic origin and direct descendants of prophet.
Ajlafs →
  1. Are parallel to vaish of traditional hindu society,these are backwards Muslims
Arzals →
  1. are parallel to outcaste, untouchables and SC the arzals are the dalit Muslims
  1. SC hindus and other backward community converting into islam are generally kept in the category of Arzals,like caste based
  1. occupations in traditional hindu society ,the occupational associations in different groups can be witnessed in muslims also like the lowest strata of arzals are involved in occupations like scavenging, cobblers, barbers etc and they are kept at a social distance by Ashrafs and other muslims
  1. there is no question of marital ties b/n Ashrafs and Arzals and is strongly denounced
Over All View of Division in Muslims
  1. The Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra committee report highlighted about discriminations faced by Arzals and Ajlafs on day to day basis within the social sphere
  1. Among the muslims especially in the ruler areas of northern plains (UP & Bihar)
  1. Jajmani System can be found similar to that of hindus and there is an exchange of goods and services based on caste and occupations
  1. Even though muslims saints of ancient times considered all human beings as equal this equality could not be achieved and the preaching of saints could not prevent the percolation of evils like untouchability ,caste based discrimination and social stigmas in realms of Muslim society
  1. Dalit Muslims like involved in scavenging activities may enter the mosque to offer the prayers but not for maximum other purposes like social gatherings celebrations, marital rituals etc
  1. It can be said that untouchability in Muslims is more of social and less of religious context
      2. There is no restriction of lower caste Muslims in mosque prayers other than that there is a discrimination
Economic Status of Muslims
  1. Nearly 45% to 50% population of Muslims is below poverty line and as a religious minority muslims are with minimum economic prosperity as compared to other minorities
  1. After independence Muslims had to forgo many earlier gains like the ownership of land or participation in the services
  1. For Ex: The reservation given by British Indian gov. in services and in political representation
  1. The overwhelming majority of Muslims are at the lowest step of economic ladder and more than 95% or the workforce is part of unorganised sector, due to low literacy levels Muslims middle class is emerging slowly and thence very less representation in bureaucracy, judiciary and political post
  1. As per 2011 census-43 to 45 % of Muslims are totally illiterate Situation is ruler areas is even more problematic, majority of Muslim population is involved in agriculture as small landlords /labourers or as a skilled work force like wipers ,carpenters, barbers etc
  1. RJ having minimum literacy rate acc. To 2011,male literacy rate minimum in RJ overall literacy rate minimum in Bihar. Due to rampant/low literacy participation in organized workforce of muslim is not there.
  1. Famous artistic work of Muslims in different parts of India
    1. Firozabad Muslims → For Bangel and Glassware
    2. Saharanpur Muslims → Are recognized not only in India but in world for wood
    3. Bengal Muslims → for Cloth Art-Muslins
Problems in Muslims within and faced by Muslims
  1. Low levels of literacy in Muslims at large and extremely low level of literacy in females
  1. Communal Violence & Riots like → Delhi & Godhra
  1. Preservation of traditional art and heritage prevalent in Muslims
  1. High population growth rate and very less adoption of family planning norms due to less awareness and religious binding
  1. Very Low Representation in Bureaucracy, Judiciary, Political Post
  1. Politicization of minorities by political parties for gain in elections
  1. Very Low representation of females in the workforce ,educational institutions
  1. Role of Social Media & Anti-Social Groups (Those saints and Political Groups, social groups, Religious Groups who are radicalizing are anti social) in spreading the hatred ,miss info. And rumours ,triggering alienation in
  1. Muslims like the issues of love jihad, Ghar Wapsi, Beef Ban, CAA etc
  1. Implementation of uniform civil code(a constitutional provision-DPSP) with confidence building measures taken into consideration and confidence of religious, Political and Social leaders amongst the Muslims
Christian
Basic Data
  1. 2011 Census → 2.3% of India population are Christians
  1. ~2.75 Cr → More than 60% of C. population→TN, Kerala, AP
  1. N.E States →
    1. ~70 % of Naga’s Population is Christians
    2. 50 % of Meghalaya’s is Christians
    3. > 1/3rd population of Goa
  1. Scattered in Central India, Karnataka ,Maharashtra
Social Status
of Christians is diffuse one ,more than 80% christians are SC converts to avoid the exploitation cause by caste system, mass convergence took place due to the movement caused by Christian missionaries in British India times, ironically the pre convergence caste status is still persisting in many Christian community like the upper caste christens the sudhra christens the Reddy christians etc, but even after these discrimination it is less in India as compared to other religions specifically Hinduism and Islam ,christians are not politically organized and active in India due to the trend of modern Christianity of the west which is accepting a separation b/n state ,church and religion also the scattered population in different different parts does not favour a consolidated political activism
Andre bette
during his study in sripuram village tamil nadu highlighted religious differences and biases in church operations b/n and upper and lower caste Christians in church services ,SC christians are segregated and are not allowed to read religious text, scripts and they are last one to receive the holy sacraments during many ceremonies,the marriage and funeral gatherings of Christians and of lower caste are not allowed to pass through the streets of upper caste settlements, SCs converted to Christianity have separate symmetries and the church well does not toll for their deaths, also for maximum times the death body cannot be taken to the church for funeral Rituals
  1. The Bishabs of Tamil Nadu in the annual meeting noted that SC Christians continue to suffer from extreme social and educational and economic backwardness which are the new version of untouchability
  1. Even today in many parts of south India SC Christians are having different settlements at an distance from the upper class
  1. Open Doors - International Monitoring Organization Open Doors in its 2017 world watch list ranked India at number 15 in terms of persecution of Christians amongst all the countries of the world, 4 yrs ago as per 2013 report India was at Rank 31, implying that persecution, discrimination and crime against Christians in India has risen in the past year(Rank 1 - Country which is not in Better Position)
  1. As around 2/3rd of the Christians population is there in rural areas, more than 50% are not associated with occupations with higher prestige but upper class Christians are service oriented, settled in urban areas with high literacy rate and due to all these are better represented in bureaucracy judicial services ,industry ,health and educational services etc
Conclusion
In the recent past hardliners and extremist are attempting to forcefully convert Christians to dominant fate of Hinduism and is often leading to violent classes and nonviolent operations also the SC converts are still facing discrimination and caste based operation matching with the earlier levels that has to be addressed at top priority
Buddhist
  1. 0.7 % of India Population, around 8.5 million is the population of Buddhist Maharashtra is having the maximum population of Buddhist India becoz of BR Ambedkar.
  1. In Nagpur - Diksha Bhoomi is a scared is a scared monument, for neo-buddhism navyan Buddhism were with more than 6 L followers with Ambedkar embraced Buddhism with more than 6 L of this followers mainly SCs in 1956 to avoid the discrimination and operation caused by caste system in hindu society, so maximum Buddhist in central ,western and southern part of the country are SC converts and rest are traditionally Buddhist communities in Himalayan Region & North East
  1. No Stratification / Caste Based Division in Buddhism, 2 divisions are their based on doctrinal differences – Hinayana and Mahayana Maximum of Buddhist particularly in Himalayan region and north east followed traditional occupations like Yoga Naturopathy, Tibetan Medicine, Sova-Rigpa etc
  1. But the Lower Economic Strata is particularly the SC converts of MH ,UP and Andhra Pradesh, stay in poor conditions working as daily wage labourers
  1. It is the only minority whose population is declining -2001 census more than 0. 8 percent of India’s population, and 2021 census around 0.7% of India’s population In Karnataka a decline of 75 % of Buddhist population was witnessed.
  1. Buddhist extremism in some parts of north-eastern states due to conflicts of Rohingyas and Buddhists of Burma of Myanmar is creating impact of the ethnic sentimental balance in those states
  1. Poverty and unemployment is very high in neo Buddhist ,religious violence b/n Dalits converted to Buddhism and Hinduism
      2. Ex: Bhima Koregaon violence in MH is causing alienations of scared Buddhist populations in some parts of the country
Sikhs
Introduction
  1. according to 2011 -1.7% of India’s population
  1. Maximum are there in Punjab followed by Haryana ,UP ,Delhi ,RJ
  1. Maximum population before independence was involved in agriculture and allied activities but significant shift has taken place towards business activities particularly in the urban clusters
  1. It was less than 50% population so this was biggest challenge for GOI is there is less than 50% population was of that community how can be dive the state when demand for separate state was demanded by the Sikhs
  1. When Sikhism embraced as separate religion it emphasized of egalitarian but due to the impact of caste based divisions of Hinduism and Islam.
  1. Sikhism has not been able to avoid the shadow of caste system ,social stratification in Sikhism ,resembles the caste system of Hinduism.
  1. The higher caste people who embraced Sikhism are referred as sardars and the lower caste Sikhs / the Dalit Sikhs who were primarily involved in manual scavenging are referred as Mazhabi/Ravi Dasis/Ram Dasi
  1. they live in the separate hamlets in the village away from the settlements of village/sardars
  1. However all the Sikhs weather upper /lower caste pray in the same sikh gurdwara and get food in the same temple complex and even the lowest of the lower grp in Sikhism is not considered as polluting
Economic Status of Sikhs
  1. One of the most prosperous minority /community in India before independence maximum Sikhs were involved in agricultural activities that can be seen even today but along with agriculture ,a significant representation of Sikhs in defence forces is another prominent way of occupational life
  1. Sikhs are well represented in modern industry corporate ,business, bureaucracy and judiciary. Due to the impact of green revolution and natural existence in one of the most fertile belts of India and significant contribution of remittances from outside, Sikhs are one of the most prosperous community in India
Political Representation
Sikh contributed roughly 1/3rd population of joint Punjab and as it was roughly 21 % became a significant hurdle in pressing a separate homeland for Sikhs but linguistic organizations of states in 1956 encourage the sikh demand and finally a Punjabi speaking state was form in 1966
Significant Political Representations at National Level
were witnessed from sikh community, attaining the highest positions of president ,PM, Cabinet Ministers to the top bureaucrats
Conclusion
Khalistan movement lead by some extremist created alienation amongst the sikh community and recent reports by ministry of home affairs highlight about trials of resurgence of such movement from foreign funding ,a big challenge to be handled
Overall situation of Sikhs
as minority in economic and political spheres is far better than maximum other communities in India but the historical blots of caste system leading to caste based discrimination and violence amongst the Sikhs is the cause of concern
Jains
  1. 0.37 % of India’s population,6th officially recognised minority(2014) Maximum scattered in -RJ,GJ,MH,Karnataka,MP and parts of UP,Haryana,Bengal and Delhi
  1. Maximum populations urban based, no formal restrictions based on caste hierarchy or divisions as not significant hierarchy is attached with Jainism
  1. Most of the Jains are identified as Vaish and are involved in business activities ,very high literacy rate more than 97 % and has significant representation in bureaucracy ,judicial services and higher administration
  1. Biggest Social Challenge → Is the very less representation of females in the workforces 2 biggest socio cultural challenges associated with Jains criticised by human rights activist and child rights activist are - Santhara/Sallekhana(gradually reducing the intake of food and water to reach upto the death -it is an ethical code of conduct a kind of religious practices of voluntary fasting to death) and Bal Diksha (induction of minors in monastic courts/orders)
  1. Solutions
      2. Experts are of the opinion that Jain community must introspect on social issues like Sallekhana and Bal Diksha, Jain Monks and Preachers, intellectuals and social influencers must reform from within to make a balance b/w traditions, human rights and modality
Problems and Challenges of Minorities in India
  1. In Adequate representation at political post starting from state level to the national level, also in top administrative and bureaucratic positions
  1. free will for religious practises is not full field due to extremism and majority
  1. Facing Discrimination on day to day basis at personal level, Society Level, administrative level
  1. Problem of alienation and separation of minority populations within minority.
      2. Ex: Muslims in Kashmir, Christians in Nagaland, Buddhist in Vidarbha Region of MH
  1. Use of minorities as vote bank
  1. Within minorities some separatist or fundamental ideologies are leading to elements of alienation in filtering in social harmony
  1. Women in minorities are facing discrimination at multiple levels being discriminated as well as minority
 
 
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