Is Caste System a Kind of Indigenous Knowledge System?

8/13/2019 Is Caste System a Kind of Indigenous Knowledge System?

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Ashok Das Gupta Is Caste System a Kind of Indigenous Knowledge System?

Cultural Anthropology 63 71

Is Caste System a Kind of Indigenous Knowledge System?

Ashok Das Gupta1

Abstract

The Global Knowledge can be broadly disassociated into two types: Indigenous and Modern. Indigenous or TraditionalKnowledge traits are scattered worldwide among the fol people. These are oral and undocumented! sub"ected for loss andredisco#ery! outcome of trial and error from informal e$perimentations during the course of fol life. These traits unite toform a nowledge system nown as the Indigenous Knowledge System %IKS&. IKS pro#ide us #arious 'ublic Ser#ices.This paper tries to establish the hypothesis that caste system in Indian Subcontinent is an important IKS.

Key Words: IK, IKS, Caste System, Great Tradton, !estern"Glo#al Kno$ledge System

Introdu%tonKno$ledge s a part o& %ulture and #as%ally o& t$o types' s%ent&% and tradtonal( The Tradtonal Kno$ledge)TK* s oral, undo%umented, and s%attered une+enly #ut $orld$de( TK results out through tral and errormethod as $ell as unorganed"n&ormal e-permentaton( It s there&ore treated as .eoples/ S%en%e( TK s also

treated as Indgenous Kno$ledge )IK*( The latter s #as%ally the TK o& ndgenous %ommuntes( Allthese %ommuntes shelter #eneath a huge um#rella kno$n as Indgenous .eople )I.*( 0o$e+er I. s a d&&erentssue( Indgenous %ommuntes are a#orgnals, auto%hthons, %loser to nature and l+ng n a spe%&%e%osystem &or a long perod( These TK trats are &ragle and pro#a#lty o& loosng them s +ery hgh( So,the %ommon" &olk people use ther %ulture and relgous l&e ontly as a #ook and stored all TK there( Culture#eng psy%h% unty o& manknd or result o& psy%ho2#olog%al need, %ould #e d&&used &rom the %enter)s* %reatngso many %ultural areas e-%hangng ther %ultural trats $th one another( A %ulture %enter may e-ert $orld $dempa%t or throughout a large part o& the glo#e )resultng nto &ormaton o& %ulture2%omple- or de+eloped nto%+laton*( Smlar e%osystem n d&&erent geographes pro+des smlar type o& natural resour%es, smlar modeo& e-plotaton o& them )$th or $thout &eed#a%k* and smlar pattern o& relatonshp among nature, humanand super2 nature( Ths %an #e also treated as a relatonshp among )1* mode o& produ%ton and reprodu%ton,)* so%al stru%ture and )3* mag%o2relgous"%ultural ssues( Smply sayng, ths s a relaton among nature, human

and super2nature( Communtes $ho treat %ulture as result o& ther psy%ho2#olog%al need and not mere psy%h%unty o& manknd are not so mu%h akn to %+laton #ut are mu%h %loser to ths relaton among nature, humanand super2 nature )45S*( And ths s not so hard to reale that TK"IT s %he&ly %on&ned $thn ths 45S(

TK"IT are o& t$o types' hdden and open2ended( The hdden ones are deeply rooted $thn the %ulture)s* andso%al stru%tures)s* so they seem to #e more sta#le than the open2ended ones( The latter are +gorously used #ut%ould #e loosed $th tme as they are not so mu%h systemated lke the &ormer )atta%hed to %ultural +alues andso%al norms*( !hereas the hdden ended ones sur++e e+en $hen n realty they ha+e no roles to play and #eenrepla%ed #y %ertan #etter optons( These $ell systemated, longer lastng, +alue2loaded and hdden IK trats $thso%al2%ultural em#lems de+elop Indgenous Kno$ledge System )IKS*( Kno$ledge, espe%ally tradtonalkno$ledge or IKS s related to %ulture and ualtat+e n2depth study on ths aspe%t )generally m%ro2le+el* sposs#le under So%al2 Cultural Anthropology( So, Anthropology, a holst% study o& manknd and $th #oth

1 8esear%h S%holar, Department o& Anthropology, 9n+ersty o& 4orth :engal(;mal' n#unlne ?ournal o& Anthropology @1, +ol( ( n( 1 ISS4 1B73 @ 63


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%ultural and #olog%al endo$ments, s e-%lus+e to study o& %ulture and IKS( 4o dou#t, IK"IKS results out&rom tral and error method durng unorganed e-permentaton(

Theores and methodologes pra%t%ed n Anthropology may help a lot espe%ally on humantaran ground tounderstand the &olk perspe%t+e( >n%e atta%hed $th norms o& so%al stru%ture and +alues o& %ulture IK#e%omes more sta#le $th n%reased longe+ty and there&ore, &rom open2ended type %hanges nto %losed one

deeply rooted nsde %ulture( 5ateral %ulture and so%al nsttutons %hange $th tme, so open ended IK may #esu#e%ted to mmedate loss and reds%o+ery( !hereas %lose2ended IK atta%hed $th ntang#le %ulture, non2su#ssted nsttutons and &olk l&e are the most sta#le and %onsttute !orld e$ o& a %ommunty' these thngs%ould only #e degraded through trans&ormaton, mgraton and"or %hange n geo2e%olog%al settngs( Ths se%ondone $orks n a ute systemat% manner n the &olk l&e and hen%e treated as Indgenous Kno$ledge System)IKS*' o&ten #eng treated as summaton o& so many Tradtonal Kno$ledge Systems )TKS*( Interpersonal%ommun%aton )n&ormal and &ormal* helps n transmsson o& TK(IK"IKS %an #e +e$ed &rom another angle' TK"IK %on&ned $thn nature, human and super2nature $ell takesthe shape nto Tradtonal Kno$ledge System )TKS* or IKS( :ut $hen summaton o& so many TKS takespla%e, t s de&ntely the IKS( A %ommunty s%attered n +arous e%osystems or se+eral %ommuntes n apart%ular e%osystem g+e rse to +arous TKS $th %ertan %ommon &eatures as $ell as +ared attr#utesamong them( 0o$e+er, summaton o& all these TKS, & poss#le and & ne%essary, %an laun%h a huge

kno$ledge system that %an pro+de us pu#l% ser+%es at large( Glo#al .u#l% Ser+%e s there&ore %omng &romths generaled or summed up kno$ledge system( Ths knd o& kno$ledge system n%orporates huge terrtory)may #e more than one e%osystems* and +arous %ommuntes )%ross %ultural stuaton and %ultural d+ersty*( Insu%h $der sense, kno$ledge system o& %ommon people %an not #e ust treated as TKS #ut .eoples S%en%e or;thno S%en%e or IKS(

Is Caste System in Indian Subcontinent a Kind of IKS?Caste system, a knd o& d+son o& la#or, s an mportant IKS &or Indan Su#%ontnent( There arennumera#le types o& d+son o& la#or n tradtonal agraran rural stru%tures so &ar de+eloped and e-sted &ormllenna n Ganget% plans o& 4orth Inda( That +araton may o%%ur due to the &a%t that Ganget% plans o&4orth Inda or northern Indan Su#%ontnent %omprses o& so many e%osystems( ;+en d+son o& la#or n ea%h

o& the thousands o& +llages there s unue n t ha+ng %ertan o%%upatonal or ser+%e groups )#ased on&amly, lneage and other nsttutons re&le%tng the so%al stru%ture*( These ser+%e groups &un%ton through ther%ommun%aton or ser+%e e-%hange systems and sur++e due to relgous %um %ultural em#lems )su%h as%lan e-ogamy, %aste endogamy, nternal strat&%atons and lo%al le+el herar%hy, +arous ta#oos, %ustoms and#ele&s n &olk relgon, +alues and norms n &olk l&e*( These people tradtonally ha+e &ath, &ear and #ele& n l&eand soul, tradtonal med%al pra%ttoner, sprt o& the departed past, #ene+olent and male+olent sprts,ghost, spe%al personaltes $ho %an ntera%t $th these, mag%ans, %on%ept o& 9n+erse, spread o& soulthroughout the 9n+erse )anmsm*, %on%entraton o& soul n part%ular natural o#e%ts )anmatsm*, dol $orshp,Super2nature, $eather &ore%astng mag%o2relgous personaltes, and emnent people $ho are o#lged tomantan rgdty n d+son o& la#or" soldarty" "so%al order" strat&%aton" herar%hy( In ths $ay de+elopsthe prestly %ategory &ollo$ed #y lo%al rulng %ategory, +arous so%al rankngs &or the rest ser+%e"o%%upatonalgroups, superorty and n&erorty %omple-, soldarty and &a%tonalsm, and +llage %lusters( These

%ountrymen"&olk peoples atta%hed to peasantry are &ound $orshppng nature, agr%ultural detes, &ertlty%ults )#oth male and &emale* and 5other Goddesses( As these rural %ommuntes are ndgenous or long2stayngpeoples o& the regon $ho may #etter kno$ &rom them a#out the natural resour%es there, the most appre%a#leand nature &rendly $ays to e-plot these resour%es, ho$ to stru%ture the so%ety on the #ass o& d+son o& la#or)soldarty and &a%tonalsm* and $hat $ould #e the relgous and %ultural $ay to sta#le the spe%&% nature2human relatonshp These ser+%e groups are spoken o&& as %aste or at( ;a%h o& these d+sons o& la#or%omposed o& se+eral %astes s TKS(So%al mo#laton %ompels these people &or &urther mpro+ements( They gradually sh&t &rom relat+ely solatedstatus to %onne%t+ty $th outsde $orld( Ea%tors may #e so many' gender strat&%aton, #gger settlements, state&ormaton, ra%sm, $ars, mgraton, pre2 agraran e%onom% l&e, post2agraran e%onom% l&e, alternat+e o&agraran e%onom% l&e, &eudalsm, estate system, sla+ery, trade and %+laton, ethn% dentty, relgous denttes,loosenng n the rgdty o& &ormal d+son o& la#or, n%reasng e-ternal lnks, %on%ept o& natonal2

transnatonal2nternatonal, &ormaton o& #g %enters o& +arous knds, net$orkng among %enters $th small

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%enters and su#2%enters( These thngs generally result nto rural %osmopoltansm( .eople outsde ths agraranrural stru%tures, not sel& &ttng nto rgd d+son o& la#or )as usually pra%t%ed*, $th other relgous %on%epts)o&ten pre2agraran* and $th any tradtonal non2agraran e%onomy )no$ margnaled* are g+en the lo$estso%al rankng, %onsdered pro&ane and desgnated untou%ha#le( That $ould %ontnue unless and untl theyundergo relgous re&ormaton or pur&%aton pro%ess, %hange ther relgous denttes, shed o&& ther

tradtonal thnkng pattern" mnd stru%ture" %ognton" !orld e$, a%%ept pure e%onomy or a #etter optonthan %on+entonal rural e%onomy and e+en su#e%ted to ra%sm( Despte rgdty n e-stng d+sons o& la#orthese margnaled tr#es, untou%ha#les, depr+ed se%tons, negle%ted"ungrouped #ulk, lo$er ranked groupsand su#ordnate ser+%e groups are not totally de+od o& status mo#lty( They mght %ondtonally mtate%ulture)s* o& the hgher groups" %ertan re&eren%e groups $th %ertan restr%tons( I& the mtaton pro%ess getssu%%ess, these people are re&erred to +arous so%al pro%esses( Some o& them are a#sorpton o& lo%altes undera $der so%al stru%ture $th ne$er dentty, knds o& negotaton and %ontnuum, so%al and %ultural %hanges,preser+aton o& ttle Tradtons &ollo$ed #y %ultural lag, un+ersalaton o& these ttle Tradtons,&ormaton o& Great Tradtons n maor %enters, paro%halaton o& these Great Tradtons up to the +llage le+el,&ormaton o& 5ultple Tradton, status o& transnatonal %ommuntes, mult%ulturalsm, deatonal andstru%tural %hange, trans&ormaton, progress, s%ent&% approa%h, ne$ phlosophes and so &orth(

These people n some %ases a+od a%%eptng the e-stng d+sons o& la#or n agraran rural stru%ture(

They mght %onsder #etter stayng outsde agraran stru%tures $th sel& dgnty and o$n hertage( These groupsmore emphase on autonomous trade #lo%ks and dumpng grounds on %on+entonal trade routes( ;lte se%tonso& these groups along $th progress+e se%tons o& agraran rural stru%tures together or n d&&erent $ayspro%eed to$ards $esternaton durng the %olonal perod( Ths s e+entually &ollo$ed #y ratonalaton,ur#anaton, ndustralaton, %lass &ormaton, %lass struggle, pure e%onomy, modernty, nternatonal lo##es,%losed so%etes, sem2%losed so%etes, l#eral so%etes, #ureau%ra%y, %orrupton, %onsumersm, e%onom%#oom, n&laton, pr%e rse, ta-aton, #ankng system, share market, euty n+estment, dre%t &oregnn+estment, agent system, stag&laton, e%onom% re%esson, glo#alaton, unpolar and multpolar $orld,ant2 glo#alaton, tradtonalaton and lo%alaton(Castes or ats n ths long run are $ell sur++ed( So many %astes are there n so many names s%attered throughoutthe Ganget% plans( Castes are there n ea%h and e+ery relgous group n ths regon( Castes are nsttutonaledand ranked nto so many strata( Caste strat&%atons #e%ome herar%h%al mostly $thn those agraran

%ommuntes that are less pro+ded $th alternat+e e%onomy, su%h as trade( Eurther, su%h a stuaton o%%urs$hen these people are &ound not pro+ded $th #etter eupments, modern &a%ltes and proper te%hnolog%alassstan%e( They n ther tradtonal nature2orented less2pollutng &olk l&e are de+od o& so many thngs and atthe same tme %apa#le o& pro+dng so many n&ormaton trats unkno$n or &orgotten n the modern age(0o$e+er, %aste system has #een loosened among the %ommuntes $ho #ele+e n trade orented relgons lke:uddhsm, ?ansm, ashna+sm, Islam, Su&sm, Chrstanty and so &orth( At least, &or these se%tons %astesystem has #een dluted to some e-tent )%aste2lke stuaton* and remans ust non2 herar%h%alstrat&%aton( Erom Ganget% plans o& 4orth Inda, %aste system s spread throughout $hole o& the IndanSu#%ontnents e+en n the trade #lo%ks and trade routes( In the latter %ase, t #e%omes pass+e due to the presen%eo& alternat+e e%onomes( Agraran rural stru%ture n ths $ay turns nto e-tra2%aste and %annot deny &rom the&a%t o& %aste2%lass ne-us #ut %aste stll remans a %ru%al &a%tor &or t(

Caste System in Great Traditions;p%s, myths, &ary tales and relgous te-ts are &ull o& hnts a#out su%h %ultures and kno$ledge trats n a #tmod&ed $ay( These thngs along $th undo%umented &olk lteratures are %ru%al se%ondary data &ormultds%plnary study on( And %aste system s not #eyond ths( Caste holder rural %ommuntes $th tradtonalrelgous #ele&s are &ond o& 0ndusm, #e%ause ths relgon #a%ks tradtonal agraran e%onomy so $ell( Castesystem n true sense %ould #e a #as% attr#ute o& the 0ndus n Inda"Indan Su#%ontnent %onsttutngthe maorty se%ton o& populaton( 0ndus not only %on&ne ths %aste system $thn ther &olk relgon, #ut norder to make t large and omnpotent also g+e t a shape o& Great Tradton #y relatng ths to ther sa%redte-ts( 0ndus ho$e+er ha+e some uas2 egaltaran se%tons that are more akn to trade or other alternat+ee%onomes( ashna+sm s the #est e-ample( arous tr#al groups ha+e nternal strat&%atons on the #ass o&ther o$n d+sons o& la#or, not typ%al to the %aste system( 9ntou%ha#les are also ser+%e groups they are

%onsdered out2%astes and treated %ommunty $se(0ndus are $ell a$are o& numerous %astes" ats that they ha+e dent&ed, %lass&ed, ntegrated or summared,

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managed them &rom nnumera#le to %ounta#le order, and also tred to generale usng &our2&old so%alstrat&%aton system o& 0ndusm )arna system*( 9ntou%ha#les, out2%astes and tr#es are %onsdered%ommunty %entr% and hen%e pla%ed outsde the arna system )non2arna" Ara+na*( Traders are mportant &orall and hen%e they are present $thn 0ndus and non20ndus, %aste groups and non2%aste groups( Tradtonallytrade n Inda depended on re%pro%ty, #arter system, knd, %attle hard, %rop, %o$ and goat( The Indo2Aryan

tr#es entered nto Inda a#out 3H@@ years #a%k strat&ed themsel+es nto the &our2&old arna system':rahmn":rahman ).rest*, Kshattrya )$arror %um 8uler* and %ommon people $ere the man strata nInda they %hanged ther l+elhood &rom nomad%"sem2nomad% to settled agraran stru%ture and hen%e theprodu%ng se%ton &rom the %ommon people $ere %alled n as asya the de&eated #ulk ser+ng all the threesuperor se%tons as Sudra( Indo2Aryans prayng to male detes, &re and sun understood the mportan%eo& %aste system n Ganget% plans they &urther realed the &a%t that ho$ the system #eng guded #y the prestly%ategores smlar to the :rahmans( Apart &rom ed% segment o& 0ndusm, they tred to n%orporate thsCaste system #y o+erlappng that $th ther &our2&old arna system( In ths $ay, :rahmn%al segment o& the0ndus gre$ up n Ganget% plans that &urther dealt $th ne$ types o& relgous te-ts( The great ;p%s o&8amayana and 5aha#harata ha+e n&ormed us o& presen%e o& agraran and trade hertages n South Asa, lo%alsand trans2natonals, patrar%hal and matrar%hal %ommuntes, patrar%hy runnng #ehnd matrar%hy, matrar%hy#ehnd patrar%hy, patrar%hy #ehnd matrar%hy shado$ng another patrar%hy, #rother2sster relatonshps,

an%ent trade routes, mag%o2 relgous, ed%, :rahmn%al, De+a, Datya, 5ana+a, Dana+a, Sura, Asura, Arya,Anarya, Snake )4aga*, ;agle )Garura*, 8aksha, aksha, Apsara, Gandhar+a, Knnara, anara, ama, Ku#era,aruna, Indra, :rahma, Sh+a, shnu $th 0s ten A+ataras )Esh, Tortose, :oar, 4rsmha" Dare $ol& J,amana"D$ar&":antuJ, .arasurama, 8ama, :alarama, Krshna":uddha and Kalk*, &emale and male %ults,+llage detes, home detes, agr%ultural detes and +arous o+erlappng( ;p%s, myths, legends, &ary talesand other relgous te-ts are &ull o& hnts a#out su%h TKS n a #t mod&ed $ay and +a sym#ol%aldo%umentatons( :esdes eda, there are other 0ndu sa%red te-ts lke .urana, Aranyak, Smrt, Samhta,:rahman and Geeta( Certan %on%epts lke Dharma dynam%s and 4shkama Karma( Dharma dynam%s sall a#out ren%arnaton' la#or d+son" o%%upaton" ser+%e" %aste s as%r#ed and hen%e so%alstrat&%aton n o%%upatonal ground s herar%h%al the degree o& per&orman%e throughout the $hole l&e o& aperson #elongng to a part%ular %aste $ould #e hs Karma )$ork* dong the o# $thout any hestaton and nthe most a%%urate $ay $ould #e hs"her Dharma )duty* & the person o#ey the Dharma and the Karma n a

proper $ay, that $ould &urther de%de hs"her herar%h%al poston n the %aste strat&%aton &or the ne-t l&e)hgher or lo$er, sa%red or pro&ane &rom the e-stng one*( Ths &ear o& Dharma dynam%s s e-%lus+ely help&uln %onstant supply o& la#or nto tradtonal Indan agraran rural stru%ture through the %aste system( !hereas4shkama Karma lterally means $ork $thout any e-pe%taton' so dong your duty n a proper $ay, #ut $thoutany su%h e-pe%taton &or the ne-t l&e( :uddhsm s also %on%entrated on ren%arnaton and the phlosophy o&Dharma Dynam%s, #ut t agan hghlghts on ho$ to get &reedom &rom all the pans and su&&erngs and sorro$e-peren%ed #y a l+ng #eng( The only $ay s to #e es%ape &rom ths Dharma Dynam%s( That s n anothersense a sear%h &or a #etter alternat+e o& the agraran e%onomy, so no need o& agraran rural stru%ture and hen%epostulaton o& %aste2lke or %aste &ree so%ety( That mght #e an nd%aton to$ards trade and nterestngly:uddhsm has a trans2natonal spread lke Islam and Chrstanty( Another %on%ept s o& .urty and .ro&ane(Certan %aste ser+%es are hghly appre%ated espe%ally that o& the prests enoyng hegemony n rural set up(>nly they %an #rng #lessngs o& the nature #y appeasng the Super 4ature ne%essary &or a good %rop yeld(

Superordnaton o& $arror %ategores and traders %um maor produ%ers s also ute %ommon #ut the prestly%ategory has the authorty to make them e-%luded &rom ther hgh rankng status( >ther addtonal %aste groups,out2%astes and non2%astes &rom ths agraran pont o& +e$ are pro&ane and su#ordnate( :rahmns are theprestly %ategory here and determnant &a%tor on the entre %aste system( >nly alternat+e e%onomy and#etter te%hnology %ould redu%e ther hegemony( >ther$se, they are lnkmen )?aman* to the God and hen%eplayng %ru%al role n agr%ultural &est+als, relgous &est+als, dsease %ure and the most mportant rtes2de2passage( All other %astes try to mantan good relatonshp $th them( Ser+%e e-%hanges among them orser+%ng n e-%hange o& knd &rom the ?aman plus other superordnates are no dou#t re%pro%ty generallykno$n as the ?aman system( So, %aste mo#lty s poss#le $hen t s permss#le #y a :rahmn/s +erd%t( :oth2

$ay ?aman system o&ten turns nto one2$ay )su# to superordnate* and hen%e #e%omes too mu%h e-plotat+e(Change n arna system s not poss#le, #ut %ertan suppressed %aste groups may arrange %ertan alternat+ee%onom% optons and agtate aganst the e-stng order n %aste system( These groups sho$ng soldarty may

turn nto Domnant Caste domnatng upon all )e+en upon the 9pper Castes and :rahmns*( They many say yes

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to &eudalsm, #g &arm house, estate system, employer2employee relatonshp, ur#an2ndustral set up and%on+ert nto trade2orented relgon or su%h a uas2egaltaran relgous se%t or sho$ o&& atta%hment tosyn%retsm( They may e+en propagate a ne$ relgon not merely &olk #ut $th %ertan Great

Traditions and Religious TextsThese sa%red te-ts along $th +arous undo%umented oral &olk lteratures are %ru%al se%ondary data &ormultds%plnary study on TK"TKS that %an pro+de us +arous types o& pu#l% ser+%es, proper utlaton o&natural resour%es and en+ronmental management, %on+entonal %ommun%aton system and transmsson o&message, ho$ strong s the so%al stru%ture and d+son o& la#or"so%al nsttutons, $hat s gong on peoples/mnd, ho$ to manage human resour%e, $hat $ould #e the #est polt%o2e%onom% approa%h, outlne o&sustana#le de+elopment and so &orth(0ere, so many d+sons o& la#or, so many %astes, and so many TKS s%attered n a $der regon turn nto theCaste system as an ndgenous attr#ute o& )4orth* Indan so%ety rangng &rom ttle to Great Tradtons( Thssystem makes ts $ay deep nsde the mnd stru%ture o& the %ommon people( It has ts elegant pla%e n agraranrural stru%ture and ts stronghold n %ultures o& all types )&rom psy%ho2#olog%al to psy%h% unty o&manknd*( Caste system s &ollo$ed #y a ont2e-tended type o& &amly system( As %aste people n tradtonal l&e

ha+e had to depend more on manual la#or rather than ma%hnes2on2ad+an%ed te%hnologes due to theruna+ala#lty, ther &amles turn nto ont2e-tended type( Caste system has turned nto the most +a#le IKSregardng d+son o& la#or at agraran rural stru%tures n Ganget% plans"Indan Su#%ontnent" South Asa(

Can be Caste System iewed from Western!Global Knowledge System?IKS &lls the gap n the Glo#al Kno$ledge System that so &ar has #een kept #lank #y !estern" 5odernKno$ledge System( Caste as a termnology $as &rst used #y the .ortuguese to des%r#e nherted %lassstatus n ther o$n ;uropean so%ety( ;nglsh %aste s &rom atn castus$h%h means pure, %ut o&&, segregated(

Appl%aton to 0ndu so%al groups )at* orgnates n the 17th %entury +a .ortuguese castameanng #reed, ra%e,or %aste( :ut a%tually %aste or at n Indan so%ety s pro#a#ly the #est e-ample o& IKS( So, the modern $orld%ould %on%eptuale %aste as a d+son o& la#or, a so%al strat&%aton and also a so%al system"so%al organaton

n agraran rural stru%ture( Caste system s #as%ally a d+son o& la#our $here +arous ser+%e groups )%astes* na +llage or %luster o& +llages e-%hange ther ser+%es generaton a&ter generaton on &amlal ground( It lookslke a post+e re%pro%ty and also a mode o& alternat+e e%onomy( arna s also one type o& IKS &llng the gapsn Glo#al Kno$ledge System( >n hypothet%al ground, ero %ould #e #etter treated as the God( There e-stsome #ele&s' $e %annot +suale the God, so 0e"She s no$here e-%ept n emptness"hollo$ness"+a%uum, (e(,ero( :rahmans are thought to #e the %losest to ero and ther &un%tonng s there&ore deal( So, :rahmans enoya poston tendng to ero #ut ne+er ero( The other three arnas must ha+e ther o$n postons and &un%tons n%omparson to that o& the :rahmans(:rahmans are supposed to enoy the hghest poston n deal stage and hen%e ther #eha+or the dealmost( So,postons o& three others (ernas"(arnas $ould #e &ar, &arther and the &arthest and ther &un%tons $ould #ed&&erent &rom that o& the :rahmans( I& $e %onsder the deal stage as the ero )@*, then :rahmans are +ery %loseto ero #ut ne+er at ero( Kshattrya, ashya and Surda are the other three (arnas and they are stuated at dstant

lo%atons &rom ero( !e %an regard t a %lear $ay o& ds%rmnaton( 0o$e+er, deal #eha+or o& a person n aposton +ery %lose to ero s %alled Sanskrt%( So%o2%ultural mo#laton $here a group mtates the Sansriticmode o& #eha+or s Sansriti)ation( It does not mean that you ha+e to &ollo$ the :rahmans #ut the deal modeo& #eha+or( The re&eren%e group to #e &olo$ed %ould #e the :rahmans or any other so%al group $ho ha+ealready mo#led to the deal stage( So, one %an &ollo$ ether the :rahmans or other Sanskrted groups( Su%hgroups are generally %alled Domnant Castes enoyng so many &a%ltes( Any :rahman or other Sanskrtedpeople %an agan de+ate &rom the deal statge #e%ause o& other optons su%h as Trade and prosparty, uas2egaltaran +ersons, other relgous gudan%e, syn%retsm, !esternaton and 5odernaton( In la%k o& su%halternat+es, people ha+e to &ollo$ ths &our2&old %losed stru%ture o& (arnasystem and n %ertan %ases %ouldmo#le n terms o& Sansriti)ation( :ut t s not sure that ho$ &ar a group %ould #e su%%ess&ul n statusmo#laton as #e%ause n due %ourse there $ould #e so many o#sta%les( A%%epta#lty o& a group )su%h as ano%%upatonal group* s dre%tly related to $hat s gong on nsde the polt%al organaton and the e%onom%

nsttuton $th an o+erlappng o& so%o2relgous system( And (arna,*ati, %aste and su%h thngs n South Asa are



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"ublic Serices from Caste System:.olt%aton o& ths &olk perspe%t+e n the name o& ndgnty s there&ore a #as% &a%t and %aste system s ne+erout o& ths and protest aganst undre%tonal de+elopment, %ulture loss, and hamper to so%al2%ulturalphenomena ha+e a%ted lke stmul n polt%ng the %aste system ether o& negat+e and post+e senses(De+elopment s ntens+ely %onne%ted $th polt%al and e%onom% aspe%ts( In Indan perspe%t+e, most people

l+e n rural so%ety segregated nto +arous agraran rural stru%tures( 0ere, the e%onomy %ould #e #roadly%lass&ed nto produ%ton orented and trade related types and smultaneously %ategored nto Tradtonal,4atonaled, 5-ed, 5a%ro and Glo#al #esdes 5%ro e%onomy and 5%ro2&nan%ng )n a &e$ po%kets*( Agan,the polty %ould #e strat&ed nto F types' Internatonal .olty, 4atonal .olty, 8egonal or State .olty and

Tradtonal .olt%al Systems( In ths glo#al era, $hat should #e the mode o& de+elopmentJ >ptons arethere' a* Gettng dre%tly nto the glo#al system through proper $ay or #y hooks and %rooks #* )& ressted*,returnng #a%k to Tradtonal or other earler e%onom% systems )on %ho%e* and ntaton &rom the#egnnng %* de+elopment n a sustana#le $ay' people $ould #e negotated rather than remanng solated orntegrated( !hen the &rst t$o are not su&&%ent, the thrd s %hosen #y people( .er%eptons o& .ol%y .lanners atGlo#al" 4atonal"8egonal stages may reure help &rom mult2ds%plnary approa%h, espe%allyanthropology $h%h s holst% study o& manknd and also emphases on so%o2%ultural aspe%ts throughualtat+e n2depth m%ro study )%ommunty $se or %ross %ultural syn%hron% and"or da%hron%*( .eople n

tradtonal polt%o2e%onom% system should mo+e n the dre%ton o& %+laton, #ut ths s a &a%t that they are%on&ned $thn 4ature20uman2Super4ature relatonshp( The latter s related to %ulture $h%h s .sy%h% 9ntyo& 5anknd or results out &rom .sy%ho2:olog%al need( :ut study o& %ulture no$ more emphases onsym#ols, %ognton"!orld e$ and .ost25odernsm"4e$ ;thnography( Culture o& the su#e%t group plusde+elopment pro%ess )nput* result nto sustana#le de+elopment )output*' de+elopment n su%h %ase s morenature2&rendly and pro2 people ma-mum people are attra%ted to t and #ene&ted &rom the pol%y( Statuso& stakeholders and ;ntrepreneurshp are added here $th the demands o& Compensaton, 8eha#ltaton and;mployment( Certan matters are also to #e resol+ed' * pure money2 #ased e%onomy +ersus tradtonal propertyorented system * ratonal +ersus %ultural +alues and * one $ay de+elopment +ersus sustana#le de+elopment(I& these three pro#lems %ould not #e sol+ed, then these $ould #e%ome the #ase o& outsders/ nter&eren%e $herea pol%y $ould #e al$ays %hallenged #y another and there&ore no de+elopment $ork %ould #e per&ormedor #e slo$ do$n &rom a steady or &aster pa%e( A de+elopment #e%omes sustana#le $hen t n%ludes

%ommon people, ther per%eptons, ther relaton $th nature, ther kno$ledge on so many thngs, ther modes o&produ%ton $th or $thout &eed#a%k, ther lo%al te%hnologes, ther dsaster mtgaton system, ther#od+ersty management system, ther populaton #ulk and demograph% pro&le n the regon, ther so%alstru%tures, ther $ays o& %ommun%aton, mnd stru%ture, ther !orld e$, ther thought pattern, ther &olk l+es,ther tradtonal polt%o2e%onom% attr#utes, ther #ele& n super nature, ther mag%o2relgous #eha+ors, therphlosophes, ther ethno s%en%es, ther so%al norms and %ultural +alues, %ustoms and #ele&s, sym#ol%e-pressons o& ther nner perspe%t+es, ther %onnpton and ther ;thnograph% .ro&le as an e-tra2s%ent&% and a least #ased do%umentaton(

TK"IK"IKS %an %ontr#ute nto .o+erty Alle+aton, Communty De+elopment, 0uman 8esour%e5anagement, Dsaster 5anagement and so many thngs that are all parts o& De+elopment Study(Eurther, IK"IKS s %hara%tered #y ;thno2s%en%e $here the ssue s e-tra2s%ent&%, not typ%ally ratonal, not

+ery mu%h o#e%t+e, +alue2loaded, generally #ased and humantaran( ;thno2s%en%e rather emphases on

the +ery relatonshp #et$een the ethn% groups and ther nno+atons on +arous grounds )te%hnolog%al,#od+ersty, nature, et%(*( So, %aste system s an mportant IKS and the n&ormaton set as $ell as .u#l% Ser+%es&rom the same %ould make the de+elopment agen%es per%ng nto the %entral dogma o& Indan Su#%ontnentthat no$2a2days s llustrated as one o& the maor glo#al destnaton &or &oregn n+estment(

Conclusion: Caste System a Way of #iingCaste s a so%al nsttuton lke &amly, lneage, knshp, %lan and tr#e and all these dependent up on %ertanso%al organaton or %ommun%aton system' gesture, language, po$er o& $ord, slogan are %ertan &reuentlyused %ommun%aton systems $hereas marrage, nterpersonal relatonshp loaded $th %ultural +alues andso%al norms, anmatsm, o#lgaton"proh#ton"&olk$ays"morals, ser+%e e-%hange system and sense o&soldarty are #ehnd organng the so%ety( Tradtonally, e%onom% and polt%al nsttutons are organed #yrelgous sentments $th a sense o& &ear and o#eden%e that are dluted $th tme #y a%t+e n+ol+ement o&

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+arous ne$ phlosophes and State &ormaton( Smultaneously, relgous organaton &or l&e, l+elhoodand #etter l+elhood are sh&tng &rom mag%, mag%o2relgous &ath, relgous n+ol+ements, tradtonalhealng, tradtonal med%al pra%t%es and modern medal system( All these together %onsttute a huge part o&the so%ety or so%al stru%ture( In Indan Su#%ontnent, peoples %ould #e grouped nto %ertan %ategores on%ertan grounds as &ollo$s' 1* Agr%ultural %ommuntes, %aste groups and hegemony o& prestly %ategory *

5ega Stru%ture #ulders 3* 5ega Stru%ture destroyers F* o%aled &emnnty )n general* and H* ;-pandngmaleness(.olt%ally, Indans o&ten ds%uss a#out .re2Colonal, Colonal and .ost2Colonal .erods $th dsputed tme&rames( Agan, ther ds%usson gro$s &rom lo%al to natonal and nternatonal le+els( A%tually, they %ould hardly#e rsen &rom ther sel&2%on%eptons o& 9pper Caste, Domnant Caste and Domnant Communtes atground"rural"lo%al le+els( These three %ategores negotate $th one another a%%ordng to +arous lo%al ssues'#ut o&ten t s sho$n that 9pper Castes try to domnate ualtat+ely, $hereas Domnant Communtesnumer%ally sold&ed $hen they thnk that they are #eng suppressed or margnaled not #y nternal so%alstru%ture #ut #y any o& outsde &a%tors' trans2natonal trade or Glo#alaton hamperng the tradtonal set2ups(4atonal and Internatonal poltes %ould not rule out these &a%tors( A %on%ept o& Shah )&rom Sassand ;mpreo& Iran* $as de+eloped n post2 Aryan s%enaro among the Indans $ho $ere $ell a$are o& e-sten%e o& somany pre2Aryan, Indo2Iranan, Indo2Aryan, ed%, :rahmn%al, and Tantra2:rahmn%al elements( Ths Shah

%on%ept has #een utled agan and agan #y +arous n+aders &rom or through Turan"Central Asa)also kno$n as K$aram"5a+erannahar"Turkstan* n post2Aryan phase +a Iran( That led to Turk&%atono& a huge part o& the Su#%ontnent under the #anner o& 0ndusm, :uddhsm and Islam or n a heterogeneous%ondton( Ths pro%ess s o&ten %rt%ed &or #eng so ra%al( 0o$e+er, ra%sm seems to #e nothng ne$ &or theIndans $ho #etter pre&er to stay along $th ther ethn%ty( Turk2Kushan Shah, 8aput Shah )%enterngon Ch$a 0uns" !hte 0uns and Shshoda*, Islam% Turk2A&ghans )a&ter de&eatng the Kdartes* and Turko25ongols )5oguls* are maor ones along $th +arous %olla#orator tr#es( u%kno$ Shah n 4orth IndanGanget% plan, Gorkha Shah n Central 0malayas and De%%an Shah n :la%k Sol South Inda are re&erred to#e the mnor ones( Certan +assal states $ere also there and post+st domnant %ommuntes $ere treatedgenerally Su#2 Shahs( There $ere some autonomous trade po%kets" trade #lo%ks" dumpng grounds that $eretamed #y the Shahs through negotaton $th $estern ;uropean traders )Cathol% and .rotestant* %olonng ahuge part o& the glo#e( They sear%hed ne$ trade routes and 4e$ !orld so as to o+er%ome the so %alled ne-us

among Ara#s, :uddhsts and 5ag%al !orld a+odng the 0oley 8oman ;mpre, :yantum, .rotestantStates, >ttoman Turks and :alkans( :rtsh 8a )1H721BF7* n Indan Su#%ontnent $as esta#lshed ust a&terthe 5ogul Shah and +arous transnatonal"nternatonal ne-us $ere &ormed &rom tme to tme' 8ussan29#ek2Indan and manland ;urope( In ndependent Inda, the most pre+alent ne-us among Inda, Iranand 8ussa $as ressted n .akstan2A&ghanstan regon )the &amous Cold !ar* leadng to the pro#lems lke

Tal#anaton and Glo#al Terrorsm( Indan so%ety hen%e ha+e %ho%es lke gong #a%k n tradtonal l&e andagan returnng #a%k, m%ro2 &nan%ng, mag%o2relgous pra%t%es, #eralaton, Sem2Closed and Closedsystems, and lastly Glo#alaton su%%um#ed to Glo#al 5eltdo$n or enoyng ;%onom% :oom &eltthrough n&laton, pr%e rse, stag&laton, demo%ra%y n a mult%ultural stuaton, undemo%rat% $ays, #ureau%ra%y,n%reasng pur%hasng po$er, e%onom% dsparty and re2utlaton o& IKS( IKS s not aganst the pro%ess o&glo#alaton on Glo#al 5arket ;%onomy( 8ather t has tred to pre+ent the deleterous mpa%ts o& the same ando&ten t pro+des a proper prote%ton aganst out%ome o& any other alternat+e( It mght #e %rt%ed as a %le+erly

step n &a+or o& pro+dng sa&eguard to the Glo#al 5arket ;%onomy( The pro+ders o& IKS and the su&&erers&rom Glo#al 5arket ;%onomy are the same( There&ore, to %on+n%e these people, %ertan rghts at the glo#alle+el ha+e to #e pro+ded and Internatonal a#or >rganaton )I>* s here playng the man role allyng $th9nted 4atons and !orld :ank( I> has llustrated the #lue prnt o& su%h un+ersally appl%a#le Indgenous8ghts( Indgenous 8ghts en%ompass the domans lke general pol%y, land, re%rutment and %ondtons o&employment, +o%atonal tranng, hand%ra&ts and rural ndustres, so%al se%urty and health, edu%aton and meanso& %ommun%aton, %ontra%ts and %o2operatons a%ross #orders, admnstraton, and general pro+sons( Allthese %rtera should #e appl%a#le to all the ndgenous %ommuntes #rought under the %ommon um#rella o&Indgenous .eoples(

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$ibliogra%&y:

:ayly, S( 1BBB( Caste, So%ety and .olt%s n Inda &rom the ;ghteenth Century to the 5odern Age( Cam#rdge9n+ersty .ress(

:Ltelle, A( 1B6B( Castes' >ld and 4e$, ;ssays n So%al Stru%ture and So%al Strat&%aton, Asa .u#lshng0ouse(2222222 1B7F( Studes n Agraran So%al Stru%ture, >-&ord 9n+ersty .ress(Danel, T( 1BB6( ;%olog%al and Agraran 8egons o& South Asa, Cr%a 1B3@( Kara%h' >-&ord 9n+ersty .ress(Desa, A(8( @@H( 8ural So%ology n Inda( Inda' .opular .rakashan(5andel#aum, D(G( 1B7@( So%ety n Inda )ol( I Contnuty and Change ol( II Change and Contnuty*(:erkeley and os Angeles' 9n+ersty o& Cal&orna .ress(Sharma, K(( 1BB7( So%al Strat&%aton n Inda' Issues and Themes( Inda' Sage .u#l%atons .+t( td(Srn+as, 5( 4( 1BH( 8elgon and So%ety among the Coorgs o& South Inda( >-&ord(


Documents

Is Caste System a Kind of Indigenous Knowledge System?