SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS : CONTINUITY AND CHANGE 

Social Institutions

Institutions are means of controlling individuals with a set of rules and are there to satisfy the primary needs of man. A Social Institution is a complex, integrated set of social norms organized around the preservation of a basic societal value. Major social institutions as the family, education, religion, work, government, health care etc. Communities are sustained and regulated by social institutions and social relationships. Three institutions that are central to Indian society are:

(i). Caste (ii). Tribe (iii). Family

Caste And The Caste System

The term is derived from the Portuguese word ‘casta’ which means pure breed. The word refers to a broad institutional arrangement that in Indian languages is referred to by two distinct terms, varna and jati.

Varna, literally ‘colour’, is the name given to a four-fold division of society into brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra, though this excludes a significant section of the population composed of the ‘outcastes’, foreigners, slaves, conquered peoples and others, sometimes referred to as the panchamas or fifth category.

Jati is a generic term referring to species or kinds of anything, ranging from inanimate objects to plants, animals and human beings.

Caste In The Past 

CASTE 

- Closed system 

- Post Vedic period 

- 3000 castes and sub castes 

- No social mobility 

- Very rigid 

VARNA 

- Open system 

- Vedic period 

- 4 varnas 

- Social mobility 

- Not rigid 

Features of Caste

Ascribed Status: Determined by birth, born into status, no choice, permanent.

Hierarchy: Four fold system- brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras and untouchables. 

Endogamous Marriage: Marriage within your caste but outside ones gotra.

Membership involves rules about food, food sharing , beliefs, rituals, norms etc. the members have to follow them strictly.

Concept of Pollution and Purity: Brahmins are considered as superior and pure and shudras were considered as inferior and impure.

Segmental Division: The whole society is divided in castes and sub castes.

Traditionally linked to occupations: occupations are hereditary and no social mobility in terms of occupation.

Principles of Caste

The caste system can be understood as the combination of two sets of principles: 

(i). Difference and separation.

(ii). Wholism and hierarchy.

(i). Difference and Separation

Each caste is supposed to be different from and is therefore strictly separated from every other caste. Many of the scriptural rules of caste are thus designed to prevent the mixing of castes. Separation in each caste is distinct by itself and has its own rules and regulations like Ascribed status, Occupation, Endogamous marriage, Concept of communality, Concept of pollution and purity.

(ii). Wholism and Hierarch

Historians believe that those who were defeated in wars were often assigned low caste status. Each caste is dependent on the other caste system rather than egalitarian system. Each caste has its place in the hierarchical system. Each caste also has its own occupation, but there was no social mobility, and therefore emergence of Concept of pollution & purity and Segmental division.

Colonialism and Cast

The present form of caste as a social institution has been shaped very strongly by both the colonial period and independent India. Some scholars argue that the caste we know is a product of colonialism than of ancient Indian tradition.

Some of the efforts of British took the shape of very methodical and intensive surveys and reports on the ‘customs and manners’ of various tribes and castes all over the country. The 1901 Census under the direction of Herbert Risley was particularly important as it sought to collect information on the social hierarchy of caste.

When the British came to India, they were shocked by two things: Untouchability and the number of sub-castes. Due to which they conducted census to make sure of the number of sizes of the caste and sub-castes.

(i). They wanted to know the values, beliefs, customs, etc. of different sections of society,

(ii). Land settlements- Zamindari, Mahalwari , Ryotwari systems.

The Government of India Act, 1935 gave legal recognition to the lists or ‘schedules’ of castes and tribes marked. This is how the terms ‘Scheduled Tribes’ and the ‘Scheduled Castes’ came into being. Untouchability castes are included among the scheduled castes.

The institution of caste underwent fundamental changes during the colonial period.

Caste System and Freedom Struggle

Caste considerations have inevitably played a role in the mass mobilisations of the nationalist movement. Both ends of caste spectrum i.e., upper caste and lower caste progressive reforms everyone came together. E.g.: Mahatma Gandhi (Brahmin), BR Ambedkar (Dalit), Jyotiba Phule (Dalit), and Congress Agenda (Anti-untoubality programme). Names used for the lower caste: Shudras, untouchables, harijans, schedule castes dalits.

Mahatma Gandhi’s work/views :

Harijans should not be ill-treated which includes removal of untouchability and other social evils. Upliftment of Harijans was required. Even when Harijans are uplifted, the rights and superiority of the Brahmins will remain. They should be included in the national movement.

Caste in the Contemporary India

Abolition of Untouchability : The state was committed to the abolition of caste and explicitly wrote this into the Constitution ( Article-17). 

Constitution : People should be given jobs without considering castes etc., it should be based on achievements. Now there are reservations for SCs and STs therefore successful SCs and STs become a part of the mainstream leading to the upliftment of the SCs and STs.

Modern industry and urbanisation were encouraged and job opportunities were given to people irrespective of their caste and based on their skill and qualification.

Modern educated Indians are attracted to the liberal ideas of individualism and meritocracy which began to abandon the more extreme caste practices.

Marriage: Endogamy, or the practice of marrying within the caste, remained largely unaffected by modernisation and change.

Politics: Democratic politics has been deeply conditioned by caste. While its functioning has become more and more complex and hard to predict, it cannot be denied that caste remains central to electoral politics.

Sanskritisation: It refers to a process whereby members of a (usually middle or lower) caste attempt to raise their own social status by adopting the ritual, domestic and social practices of a caste (or castes) of higher status.

The patterns for emulation chosen most often were the brahmin or kshatriya castes; practices included adopting vegetarianism, wearing of sacred thread, performance of specific prayers and religious ceremonies, and so on. 

Sanskritisation usually accompanies or follows a rise in the economic status of the caste attempting it, though it may also occur independently. Disadvantages of sanskritisation are that their own culture gets eroded, change in position rather than structure, by copying others they are losing their own identity. Advantages of sanskritisation are , hope of better livelihood, and social status.

Dominant Caste: After independence, because of land reforms the zamindar’s land was sold off to marginal, small and/or landless farmers due to the Land Ceiling Act. Thus the middle/medium landowners acquired the land (intermediate castes).

These intermediate castes in turn depended on the labour of the lower castes including specially the ‘untouchable’ castes for tilling and tending the land. However, once they got land rights, they acquired considerable economic power. Their large numbers also gave them political power.

Thus these intermediate castes became the dominant castes in the country and played a decisive role in regional politics and the agrarian economy. Eg: Yadavs of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Jats of Punjab & Haryana & western uttar pradesh, Vokkaligas of Karnataka, Kammas and Reddys of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Marathas of Maharashtra, and Patidars of Gujarat.

Upper Caste : They have benefited from developmental policies , therefore caste became invisible to them.. Achieved status is given more importance than the ascribed status. Life chances are better. Education also plays a very important role. Had resources available (technological and educational). Qualifications will be considered.

Lower Caste : They were adversely affected by the developmental policies, therefore caste became more visible than before. For education there are reservations and it leads to upliftment of the castes. In rural areas especially in occupation more importance is given to ascribed status. The lower castes take advantage of reservations using caste to push themselves forward. They did not have life clauses before but now they use their caste to power themselves. 

Tribal Communities

Tribes were communities that did not practice a religion with a written text; did not have a state or political form of the normal kind; did not have sharp class divisions; and, most important, they did not have caste and were neither Hindus nor peasants. The term ‘Tribes’ was introduced in the colonial era.

Classification of Tribal Societies

Tribes have been classified according to their permanent traits and acquired traits.

Permanent Traits

Population: About 85% of the tribal population lives in ‘middle India’, a wide band stretching from Gujarat and Rajasthan in the west to West Bengal and Orissa in the east, with Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh forming the heart of this region. Of the remaining 15%, over 11% is in the North Eastern states, leaving only a little over 3% living in the rest of India.

Share of tribals in the state population : The North Eastern states have the highest concentrations, with all states except Assam having concentrations of more than 30%, and some like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland with more than 60% and up to 95% of tribal population. In the rest of the country, however, the tribal population is very small, being less than 12% in all states except Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

Languages :

Aryans: North Indians-Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit.

Dravidians: Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, South Indian, Chenclurs and Kotas.

Austric: Influenced from Austria, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North belt.

Tibeto-Burman: Nagas and Bodos and North East.

Size: Total population of tribes in India is 8.6% (according to the 2011 census, which was 8.2% in 2001 census). The biggest tribes are the Gonds, Bhils, Santhals, Oraons, Minas, Bodos and Mundas, all of whom are at least a million strong.

Acquired Traits

Classifications based on acquired traits use two main criteria – mode of livelihood, and extent of incorporation into Hindu society – or a combination of the two.

On the basis of livelihood, tribes can be categorised into fishermen, food gatherers and hunters, shifting cultivators, peasants and plantation and industrial workers.

Assimilation can be seen either from the point of view of the tribes, from the point of view of the dominant Hindu mainstream.

From the tribe’s point of view, apart from the extent of assimilation, attitude towards Hindu society is also a major criterion, with differentiation between tribes that are positively inclined towards Hinduism and those who resist or oppose it.

From the mainstream point of view, tribes may be viewed in terms of the status accorded to them in Hindu society, ranging from the high status given to some, to the generally low status accorded to most. 

Tribe - The Career of a Concept

During the 1960s scholars debated whether tribes should be seen as one end of a continuum with caste-based (Hindu) peasant society, or whether they were an altogether different kind of community.

The argument for a tribe-caste distinction was founded on an assumed cultural difference between Hindu castes, with their beliefs in purity & pollution and hierarchical integration, and ‘animist’ tribes with their more egalitarian and kinship based modes of social organisation.

The tribe-peasantry distinction did not hold in terms of any of the commonly advanced criteria( size, isolation, religion, and means of livelihood) due to which any definition of tribes becomes faulty.

The discussion on caste-tribe differences was accompanied by a large body of literature on the mechanisms through which tribes were absorbed into Hindu Society.

The whole span of Indian history is often seen as an absorption of different tribal groups into caste Hindu society at varying levels of the hierarchy.

The early school of anthropologists tended to emphasise the cultural aspects of tribal absorption into the mainstream, while the later writers have concentrated on the exploitative and political nature of the incorporation.

They propose instead that tribes should really be seen as “secondary” phenomena arising out of the exploitative and colonialist contact between pre-existing states and non-state groups like the tribals. This contact itself creates an ideology of “tribalism” – the tribal groups begin to define themselves as tribals in order to distinguish themselves from the newly encountered others.

Adivasis were not always the oppressed groups as they are now like there were several Gond kingdoms in Central India, Rajput kingdoms of central and western India actually emerged through a process of stratification among adivasi communities themselves.

They also occupied a special trade niche, trading forest produce, salt and elephants.

Moreover, the capitalist economy's drive to exploit forest resources and minerals and to recruit cheap labour has brought tribal societies in contact with mainstream society a long time ago.

CASTE 

- All India character 

- Do not have any particular name 

- Don't have their own religion 

- Hierarchical society 

- Occupation based on ascribed status 

TRIBES

- Different tribes in different geographical areas 

- Have their own nature 

- Have their own religion i.e., Totemism 

- Egalitarian society 

- Occupation based on geographical 

Mainstream Attitude Towards Tribes

Following the various rebellions in tribal areas in the 18th & 19th centuries, the colonial government set up ‘excluded’ and ‘partially excluded’ areas, where the entry of non-tribals was prohibited or regulated. In these areas, the British favoured indirect rule through local kings or headmen. 

The isolation versus integration debate of the 1940s built upon this standard picture of tribal societies as isolated wholes.

Isolationists : Let the tribals have their privacy, but they should not be exploited by moneylenders.

Integrationists : They are a part of society, integrate them and treat them as lower classes castes and give them the facilities

The subsequent schemes for tribal development – five year plans, tribal sub-plans, tribal welfare blocks, special multipurpose area schemes all continue with this mode of thinking.

The integration of tribes has neglected their own needs or desires; integration has been on the terms of the mainstream society and for its own benefit ( in the name of development).

National Development vs Tribal Development

Forests are rich in mineral resources and mining projects take place. This displaced tribals, tribals have paid a disproportionate price for the development of the rest of Indian society.

Non-tribals who come in for setting up resorts, hotels for recreation disrupt the life of tribals, due to which the tribal culture gets coded and diluted. E.g: North Eastern states, Jharkhand are most affected.

Building up of hydroelectric projects by cutting the forests, like Sardar Sarovar Dam on river Narmada, Polavaram Dam on river Godavari etc. It prevents floods, generates electricity and irrigation facilities. Taking away land and occupation from natural habitat. No rehabilitation for occupation.

The most dramatic cases are probably in the North-East. A state like Tripura had the tribal share of its population halved within a single decade, reducing them to a minority. Similar pressure is being felt by Arunachal Pradesh.

Tribal Identity Today

Forced incorporation of tribal communities into mainstream processes has had its impact on tribal culture and society as much as its economy.

Tribal identities today are formed by this interactional process rather than any primordial (original ancient) characteristics peculiar to tribes.

This has resulted in a few changes : Achievement of statehood - Jharkhand from Bihar, Uttarakhand from UP, Chhattisgarh from MP . In some states in North East in Manipur and Nagaland are declared as disturbed areas.

The civil rights have been curtailed and tribals do not enjoy the same freedom as the rest of the country as they do not have the same rights.

The political situation of the newly formed states is still not in the control of the tribals as they don't have any political experience. This is because the non tribals are more politically powerful, knowledgeable and still in control. Actual decisions are taken by the non-tribals, central government.

A new educated middle class of tribals has emerged today. Because of reservation, they have been educated. The job opportunities have increased, improved standard of living, status improved. This tribal elite influenced the lower class tribals to educate themselves. They are creating awareness among the tribal community, occupying jobs.

Assertion of tribal identity is on the rise. Because the tribals are being educated they want to be part of the development taking place in their areas.

They want control over all aspects of life (social, economic, political and cultural). At the same time, they want to maintain their tribal identity, their culture to develop a 'tribal consciousness'.

Family and Kinship

Family : A group of people who are related to each other either legally (by marriage) or biologically (by blood). A unit of people living together as sanctioned by society. Bond of togetherness, security and a sense of sacrifice, belongingness. It is a universal and permanent relationship. The structure of the family can be studied both as a social institution in itself and also in its relationship to other social institutions of society. In itself a family can be defined as nuclear or extended. The line of descent can be matrilineal or patrilineal.

Kinship : A person related to the other biologically or legally. - Biologically (blood)-consanguineous e.g. parents. Legally (marriage)-allinal e.g. spouse in laws

Nuclear and Extended Family

Size:

Nuclear - small family (Parents and children) 

Joint - 2 or 3 generations live together

Extended - 2 or more siblings live together with their families.

Descent:

Patrilineal: Males surname is adopted, Lineage is traced through the father, Property is inherited by the males.

Matrilineal: Mother's surname is used, Lineage is traced through the mother, Property is inherited by the females.

Bilinear: Property is shared, Movable property goes to girls (the jewellery and money), Immovable property goes to the boy (land, house).

Patrilocal - After marriage, the girl goes to the boy's house.

Matrilocal - After marriage, the boy goes to the girl’s house.

Neolocal - Couple sets up their own house.

The Diverse Forms of the Family

Patriarchal : Power and authority is with the male who makes all the important decisions.

Matriarchal: Power and authority is given to the female of the house.

Matrilineal and Matriarchal Society is found in Meghalaya-Khasi, Jaintia, Garo tribes

Kerala - Nayyar family (Property goes from mother to daughter inheritance (mother to daughter) control (uncle to nephew)).

Matriarchy – Unlike patriarchy – has been a theoretical rather than an empirical concept.

There is no historical or anthropological evidence of matriarchy – i.e., societies where women exercise dominance. However, there do exist matrilineal societies, i.e., societies where women inherit property from their mothers but do not exercise control over it, nor are they the decision makers in public affairs.  

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