12

Social Stratification

1. INTRODUCTION

Social stratification is a process by which individuals and groups are ranked in a more or less enduring hierarchy of status. Every society is divided into higher and lower social units. Every society is divided into more or less distinct groups. Even the most primitive societies had some form of social stratification. Some individuals and groups are rated higher than others on the basis of opportunities and privileges that they enjoy. For example, in India, doctors and engineers are rated higher than teachers. As a class, the formers have a higher social prestige. The prestige attached to different positions becomes a part of the social order and that is stratification.

Stratification tends to restrict interaction so that there is more interaction of a given sort within a stratum than between strata. In a given stratification system, certain kinds of interaction may be more restricted than others. In seeking a marriage partner, in choosing a profession, in making friends, there may exist more restrictions than in the flow of automobile traffic. Social stratification involves inequality arising either from the actual functions performed by the persons involved or from the superior power and control of resources possessed by certain individuals or groups or both.

1.1. Functions of Stratification

• Stratification provides a sense of competition and thus all try to go up and find a higher place in society.
• It makes people responsible for the nature of work that they are doing.

Figure 12.1 Functions of Stratification

• It helps in deciding the roles and functions of each category of people living in the society.
• It is also needed to give recognition to those who are able and capable so that all are not clubbed together with the inefficient.
• It is also essential for locating the status of a person in society. Without stratification, it will be difficult to locate people and the degree of their wisdom, initiative, and knowledge.
• It provides for the placement and motivation of individuals to affect the performance of their necessary social duties.
• It provides a system of rewards and inducements to members for carrying out various duties associated with various positions. The rewards are usually economic. Prestige and leisure are built into social positions so that, being unequal; they result in inequality of positions.

1.2. Characteristics of Stratification

The main attributes or characteristics of stratification are given in Table 12.1.

 

TABLE 12.1 Characteristics of Social Stratification According to Tumin

Characteristic	Description
It is social	It does not represent biologically caused inequalities. For example, the principal of a college attains a dominant position neither by his physical strength nor by his age, but by having the socially defined traits. However, it is true that such factors as strength, intelligence, age, and sex can often serve as the basis on which statuses or strata are distinguished
It is ancient	The stratification system is quite old. According to historical and archaeological records, stratification was present even in the small wandering bands. Age and sex were the main criteria of stratification then. Women and children last was probably the dominant rule of order. Difference between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the humble, the freemen and the slaves was there in almost all the ancient civilizations
It is universal	The stratification system is a worldwide phenomenon. The difference between the rich and the poor or the haves and the have-nots is evident everywhere. Even in the non-literate societies, stratification is very much present. As P.A. Sorokin has said all permanently organized groups are stratified
It is in diverse forms	Stratification is not uniform in all societies. It varies from one society to another. The ancient Greek society was divided into freemen and slaves. Estate system existed during the medieval period. Class and caste are the general forms of stratification to be found in the modern world. Stratification is highly complex in modern civilized societies
It is consequential	The stratification system has its own consequences. The most important, most desired, and often the scarcest things in human life are distributed unequally because of stratification. The system leads to two main kinds of consequences: life-chances and lifestyles. Life-chances refer to such things as infant mortality, longevity, physical and mental illness, childlessness, marital conflict, separation, and divorce. Lifestyles include such matter as the modes of housing, residential area, one’s education, means of recreation, relationship between parents and children, the kind of books and magazines, and TV shows to which one is exposed, one’s mode of conveyance, and so on. Life-chances are rather involuntary, while lifestyles reflect differences in preferences, tastes and values.

1.3. Origin of Social Stratification

There are two main theories concerning the origin of social stratification (Table 12.2).

1. Karl Marx’s theory of economic determinism, which is also referred to as the conflict theory
2. The functionalist theory

TABLE 12.2 Theories Concerning Origin of Social Stratification

Type	Description
Theory of economic determinism or the conflict theory	According to Karl Marx, economic factors are responsible for the emergence of different social strata or social classes. Therefore, social classes are defined by their relation to the means of production. Thus, there are two mutually conflicting classes—the class of the capitalists and the class of workers, or the rich and the poor—in every society. Gumplowicz and Oppenheimer and others have argued that the origin of social stratification is to be found in the conquest of one group by another
Functionalist theory	Kingsley Davis, P.A. Sorokin, R.M. MacIver, and others rejected the conflict theory of Marx. P.A. Sorokin maintained that conflict may facilitate stratification but has never originated it. He attributed social stratification mainly to inherited individual differences in environment conditions. Kingsley Davis has stated that the stratification system is universal. According to him, it has come into being due to the functional necessity of the social system. Functional theory emphasizes the integrating function of social stratification based upon individual merits and rewards. Both have their own merits and demerits

1.4. Forms of Social Stratification

There are different forms of social stratification. These have been explained in the Table 12.3.

 

TABLE 12.3 Forms of Social Stratification

Type	Description
Primitive communism	Primitive communism is a form of stratification characterized by a high degree of sharing and minimal social inequality. In the societies practising primitive communism, some individuals often achieve a relatively high status as chief, respected leader, medicine man, or shaman. But the level of the social inequality in general is very low. It is observed that primitive communism is common in hunting and food-gathering societies
Slavery	Slavery is a form of social stratification involving great social inequality and the ownership of some persons by others. Slavery as an established institution existed in almost all the early civilizations. It reached its peak in the early Roman Empire. It was common in early agrarian societies. It was frequently the result of a war in which the vanquished with their women and children became utterly dependent on their conquerors like any other property
Estates system	The system emerged in the ancient Roman Empire and existed in Europe until very system recent times. The estate system consisted of three main divisions: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners or the ordinary people
Caste system	The caste system as a form of social stratification is peculiar to India. Caste is a hereditary type of social group. The Hindu social order is based on the caste system. The group or caste has a common name and a traditional occupation. The membership is by birth. The members again have their own groups or sub-castes within the caste. They have to marry within their sub-castes or else be treated as outcasts
Class system	Class is a group of people having the same social status with respect to certain characteristics. These characteristics are not ascribed (given by birth) usually, but are earned through individual efforts

2. CASTE SYSTEM

2.1. Introduction

The word caste is used in everyday life, and we use it to distinguish one person from another. We say that such and such person belongs to a particular caste. In saying this, we generally mean to convey that he is born of parents or is a member of a family said to belong to a particular caste. The word caste is derived from the Spanish word casta, which means ‘breed’. Caste is a unique social institution of the Indian society that originated from the Varna system, which has been described in the Vedas.

Caste system has been the predominant form of social stratification in India, and even today, it exerts considerable influence on our lives and social interactions. Caste is a social phenomenon found in almost all human societies but nowhere had it taken such a well-defined and rigid form as it did it India. It is an institution most highly developed in India and has profoundly influenced the life of the Hindus. One’s place of residence, mode of life, personal association, the type of food which one can eat and from whom one can accept food and water, one’s occupation, and the group in which one has to find one’s mate, are determined by one’s birth.

Social interaction between castes is very strictly limited and inter-caste marriages are strictly prohibited. Caste system is always safeguarded by social laws and sanctified by religion. It is very conservative and lends great stability to society. It serves to handover skills and secrets of craftsmanship from one generation to another, but it also acts as a deterrent to the introduction of new and improved methods of production in industry and agriculture and results in an economy dependent on the interplay of a large number of segregated, sometimes conflicting, interests.

2.2. Common Features of Caste System

Kingsley Davis has mentioned certain common features or tendencies which together distinguish Indian caste from other types of groups as follows:

• The membership in the caste is hereditary.
• This inherited membership is fixed for life.
• The choice of marriage partner is strictly endogamous, for it must take place within the caste group.
• The contact with other groups is further limited by restrictions on touching, associating with, dining with and eating food cooked by the outsiders.
• The consciousness of caste membership is further emphasized by the caste name.
• The caste is united by a common traditional occupation.
• The relative prestige of the different castes in any locality is well established and jealously guarded.

2.3. Differences between Caste and Class

The differences between caste and class are highlighted in Table 12.4.

 

TABLE 12.4 Differences between Caste and Class

Caste	Class
Determined by birth	Determined by economic status
Untouchability	Free from the stigma of untouchability
Closed system	Open system
Restrictions on food and social intercourse	No restrictions on food or social intercourse
Social distance between castes	No social distance between classes
Hereditary occupation	Classes do not have hereditary occupation
Endogamy	No endogamy
Definite inter-caste relationship; for example, Jajmani	No inter-class relationship
Status is ascribed	Status is achieved
Social distance between castes is more	Social distance is very less
In caste there is no caste-consciousness	In class there is class-consciousness
Caste is based on inequalities and so is not in favour of democratic values	Class believes in equalities and favours democratic
In caste system, there are comparatively stricter restrictions in marriage	An individual has comparatively greater freedom in a class
Caste system hinders democracy	Class system does not hinder democracy

2.4. Characteristics of the Caste System

• Determined by birth: One’s caste is determined by one’s birth. No matter what status, occupation, education, or wealth one achieves, the membership of one’s caste cannot be changed.
• Occupations are determined: The Hindu scriptures determined the occupations of all the Varnas. According to Manu, the functions of Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra were defined. This tradition was extended to the caste system also. In Hindu society even today, it is not uncommon to see the son of a washer man become a washer man and the son of a carpenter become a carpenter.
• Endogamous: The members of each of the many castes marry only within their own caste. Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra all marry within their respective castes. Westermarck considers this to be the chief characteristic of the caste system. Hindu society does not sanctify inter-caste marriage even today.
• Untouchability: Being a rigid system of hierarchy, the caste system prescribed certain distances to be maintained between those in the higher echelons and those at the bottom of the ladder. This led to the latter, that is, the lowest castes, being branded as untouchables. These castes were not allowed to live in the vicinity of the higher castes. Nor could they make use of common places, such as temples, schools, roads, hostels, and so on. The vice of untouchability was much more pronounced in the southern part of India.
• Food habits: There are laws governing food habits in the caste. Every individual caste has its own laws regarding these. Generally, there are no restrictions on fruits, milk, butter, dry fruits, and so on.

2.5. Conditions Favouring the Caste System

• Religion: The Hindu religion has been the most important factor in the perpetuation of the caste system, which is looked upon as a divine institution. It is believed that the violators of caste system will incur the wrath of God. This inherent fear of the masses has often stymied the efforts of the reformers advocating for an egalitarian system.
• Distantly situated: If a society is situated at a distance from other societies, it falls victim to geographical isolation. This happens, especially, because of the absence of adequate means of transport. Such aloofness acts as a catalyst to fostering old customs, mores, traditions and superstitions, and the deepening of these creates a perfect recipe for the caste system.
• Stagnation: For a long time, the Indian society became the proverbial frog in the well. In the absence of foreign contacts, a sort of stagnation prevailed in both the political situation and the economic conditions. Social mores, customs, and traditions refused to change along with the times. Such a cloistered mindset encouraged the caste system.
• Uneducated society: The Hindus became enveloped in darkness. There was lack of education and this led to a furthering of the stagnation talked about in the previous paragraph. Caste system found a fertile soil in such circumstances.
• Rigidity of villagers: The villagers were rigid in the maintenance of their social structure. They respected traditions and resisted change. Today, with increasing urbanization in the country, the rural social structure has begun to weaken. This in turn has led to the caste system becoming weaker.
• Foreign aggression: There is a school of thought that holds foreign aggression responsible for the caste system in India. Many scholars believe that the caste system started in India when the Aryans invaded the country. The fair-skinned Aryans emerged the victors. The dark-skinned natives of India were the victims. This difference in colour and mindset led to caste system taking roots.
• Existence of several groups: There have existed several races and religions within the country. Each group made efforts to maintain its own purity. This led to formation of strict laws, which were gradually incorporated into the caste system. In the medieval period, stringent laws concerning caste were framed to protect the Hindu society from the influence of the Muslims.

2.6. Conditions Unfavourable to Caste System

• Modern education: Modern education has played a major role in the weakening of the caste system. It steers clear from religious fundamentalism, when the children of all castes go to the same school, it promotes egalitarianism among the children. Besides, Western education has encouraged scientific and independent thinking and emphasized democratic values such as liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• Industrialization: Industrialization acts as a great leveller. In a factory there are persons from various castes working together. Public means of transport like buses and trains are used by persons from all castes. Observing untouchability is hardly possible in such crowded places. Nor can discrimination be practiced on the basis of caste in these places.
• Social movements: Modern education has led to a veritable flood of movements for social emancipation. These movements make the people aware that God did not make us high or low. Such hierarchical mindset perpetrated by the caste system was an artificial imposition and should therefore be discarded.
• Political movements: Freedom could not have been achieved by a divided India. The leaders of our freedom movement sensed this. As a result, the various political movements that started on the political front also had an underlying current of putting an end to discrimination on the basis of caste for, only then could democracy be allowed to take roots.

Figure 12.2 Conditions Unfavourable to Caste System

• New laws: The laws of the British government had the same punishment for offenders from all castes. The establishment of judicial courts deprived the caste panchayats of their power to punish the criminals. Thus, caste-based laws gradually became obsolete.
• Independence of the country: The Independence of the country dealt a severe blow to the caste system. We adopted a new Constitution that declared every citizen equal. The Untouchability Act of 1955 made it a crime to prevent anyone from using a public place.
• Importance of wealth: In an age when the power of wealth is supreme, a rich man will be more respected than a high-caste one. Besides, everyone has a claim to becoming rich. So, it is not necessary to consider caste as the criterion in the choice of occupation. What is valued today is one’s ability to make wealth. Such changes have rendered caste system rather meaningless.
• New social classes: New social classes are appearing in the society in a changed economic order. Thus, the division of society is now based more on classes than on castes. The class system does not have the same hierarchical organization as the caste system.

2.7. Trends in Caste System

From the beginning, caste system was opposed by Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, and later by Islam and Christianity. Various social and religious movements in medieval period, such as the Bhakti movement and Vaishnavism, also condemned the rigidities of caste system, the supremacy of high castes, and the principles of ritual purity and impurity. Several reformers such as Yogi Veerabrahmam in Andhra Pradesh, Basavanna and Kanakadasa in Karnataka, Narayanaguru in Kerala, Kabir in North India, and modern reformers ranging from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar tried to abolish the evils of caste system, particularly untouchability, in India. But their efforts also failed.

According to G.S. Ghurye, there is no fear of extinction of the caste system in the near future due to the following two conditions:

1. Election: Since democracy has been established in India, the legislative machinery is operated by the representatives elected by the people. And it is in the election of these representatives that casteism plays such a crucial role. People are asked to vote for the candidate from their own caste.

   Political parties regard particular castes as their vote-banks and sponsor candidates from these particular castes. In such a scenario, politicians are likely to strive to promote casteism.

2. Protection of certain castes: The Indian Constitution provides for the protection of the backward and scheduled castes (SCs). They have been given reservation in government service as well as in the legislature. They are given several facilities and scholarships for education. When caste bestows so many favours on a large section of the population, it is unlikely that its beneficiaries would like to get rid of the caste system.

2.8. Modern Trends of Caste System

Caste system is showing signs of change. Table 12.5 presents these modern trends.

 

TABLE 12.5 Modem Trends in Caste System

Trend	Description
Class-consciousness	Class is gradually becoming more important in India than caste. The changes in society brought about by urbanization, industrialization, Western education, means of transport, political and social reforms, and the advent of democracy, have weakened the caste system. At the same time, labour unions and other such associations are being formed on the basis of occupation, post, and so on. This is giving rise to class-consciousness among people
Casteism	However, it cannot be denied that there is evidence of a contrary trend also. Casteism is still holding roots when it comes to employment and elections. People who are employed in various posts belong to the castes of the proprietors, organizers, and senior officials. In elections, people often vote en masse for the candidate who belongs to their own caste

2.9. Caste in Modern India

The political independence of the country, besides the progress of industrialization, urbanization, secularization, and so on, brought in a series of changes in the caste system.

3. CHANGES IN THE CASTE SYSTEM

• Earlier, there was a belief that caste system had a divine sanction. Tampering with it would be tantamount to sinning. But now the religious interpretation is being substituted by a social and secular one.
• The individual has now become more important than the caste he belongs to. Caste does not act as an impediment in individual progress or freedom.
• The one-to-one relationship between caste and occupation is now disappearing. You may come across the son of a Brahmin pulling the rickshaw you are riding. Or, you may come across a CEO who belongs to one of the lower castes.
• Social intercourse has increased between the castes. Although we still read news about untouchability coming from certain rural areas, it would be safe to conduce that such incidents are now more of an aberration.
• Although food taboos still exist, especially in the rural areas, food restrictions have by and large become less rigid. Concepts such as kachcha and pakka food are on their way out. With more and more people eating out, food untouchability seems to be a thing of the past.
• There are constitutional provisions made to remove the legal, political, educational, economical, and other disabilities from the people of lower castes as the suffering of people there for long period, term an important change in the caste system.
• Although the caste hierarchy continues, Sanskritization and Westernization have made it possible to move both within and outside the framework of caste.
• Earlier, caste panchayats exercised an authority on the behaviour of caste members. Today, we don’t hear much about them.
• However, to a large extent, caste is still endogamous. Inter-caste marriages may have a legal sanction, but they are still far and few. As long as endogamy continues, caste system will continue in some way or the other.
• The Jajmani system, which has been discussed later in the chapter, has become very weak.

This has dealt a blow to the symbiotic relationship between castes.

3.1. Changes in Caste Role

• Castes are getting organized: There may have been a decrease in caste-consciousness as far as interactions are concerned. But the Indians of today have tried to extract the organizational power of caste. Every caste tries to protect its interests. People know that this protection is possible only when there is a better organization of their caste.
• Vote-bank politics: The organizational role talked about in the above paragraph is taken full advantage of by the politicians in the elections. They depend on their caste vote-banks. Often, caste becomes a decisive factor in the elections from the beginning to the end. Political parties take caste into consideration not only at the level of selection of candidates but also at such crucial levels as distribution of ministerial portfolios.
• Protection for the background: The Constitution of India had a reservation policy for the SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from the very beginning. Later on, it was extended to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as well on the basis of the Mandal Commission recommendations. There is reservation in education and there is reservation in employment. In the parliament too, there is a reservation for the SCs and STs. All these reservations enjoy the support of political parties across the spectrum.
• Competition between castes: With the disappearing of institutions like the Jajmani system, the equilibrium between the various castes was lost. Mutual interdependence has become a thing of the past and each caste looks at the other with suspicion, contempt, and jealousy. There has been created an atmosphere of challenge and competition, which gets only reinforced with excessive caste-mindedness and caste-patriotism.
• Rise of the backward classes: The Brahmins enjoyed unchallenged supremacy for long. There was a feeling among the lower castes that they were being unduly subordinated. So, they launched various movements to destabilize the status quo. These movements against the Brahmin supremacy by the lower castes came to be known as the backward classes’ movements. As a result, the Brahmins have become politically weak, especially in certain states.

Figure 12.3 Changes in Caste Role

• Sanskritization and Westernization: Sanskritization denotes a process in which the lower castes tend to imitate the values, practices, and other lifestyles of some dominant upper castes. Westernization is a process in which the upper-caste people tend to mould their lifestyles on the model of the Westerners. Eminent Indian sociologist M.N. Srinivas pointed out these two important trends witnessed in caste.

3.2. Origin of Caste System in India

The caste system of the Indian society is considered as an offshoot of the fourfold division of the society in varnas on the basis of occupation. However, when we examine the scriptural, historical, and ethnographic explanations, we find multifarious factors influencing the genesis and development of caste in India. The different views of the thinkers have led many theories (see Table 12.6 regarding the origin of caste system).

 

TABLE 12.6 Theories Regarding the Origin of Caste System

Origin	Description
Traditional theory	It is based on the ancient literature of Hindu traditional. Purusha Sukta of the Rigveda explains that the four varnas—Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra—came into existence from Brahma’s mouth, arms, rights, and feet respectively. These four divisions are assigned different duties. The traditional theory explains the functions of the four varnas
Political theory	The emergence of Aryans on the land of India, their concern about maintaining purity, and the rising power of Brahmins are some of the factors that have generally crystallized into the formation of castes. Brahmins as a priestly class exercised authority over other classes. They imposed restrictions on food, drink, and marriages. They enjoyed special privileges, position, and high ritual status
Occupational theory	John C. Nesfield holds that caste is mainly occupational in origin. He maintains that the technical skills, particularly various artisan and craftsmen skills, were passed on from generation to generation hereditarily. The occupations were practised for a long period and inherited. So each occupational group carne to be known as a caste. These occupations have been socially graded on the basis of superiority and inferiority or clean and unclean occupations
Racial theory	Herbert Risley is the chief protagonist of the racial theory of caste origin. He showed that caste and race are inseparable. His books The People of India and The Tribes and Casus of Bengal prove that physical aspects are related with social aspects. Human being can be classified into several racial groups on the basis of biological traits. The biological traits can be measured by anthropometric methods. The Aryans were considered to belong to a superior race and the Dravidians to an inferior one
The theory of Mana	J.H. Hutton has analysed that the caste system in India came into existence because of the primitive conception of Mana. It is a kind of secret mysterious power found in individuals, objects, or places. It has powers to harm people. Therefore, as a protective measure, people avoid all those individuals or objects in which the Mana exists. This is called the practice of taboo
Religious theory	Some thinkers explained that the beliefs in Dharma, Karma, Varna, and other Hindu religious factors are considered as the bases of caste system
Evolution theory	According to the evolution theory, the Indian caste system evolved gradually because of multifarious factors, like the Varna system, racial factors of Aryans and non-Aryans, the belief in the doctrine of karma, the occupational divisions of society, and the selfish and clever designs of the Brahmins. The rules and regulations introduced by different kings, the geographical and economic conditions, and so on, are the other factors that contributed to the evolution of the caste system

3.2.1. Advantages of Caste System

• Caste system helps in maintaining purity of blood. People from each caste married within their own caste and, thus, purity of blood were maintained.
• Each caste took pride in its customs, rituals, traditions, ceremonies, and so on. It has rightly been said that if today India has been in a position to preserve its ancient culture, it is primarily due to the caste system.
• Caste system also helped in maintaining social and professional discipline.
• It developed a sense and spirit of co-operation in the society.

3.2.2. Demerits of Caste System

• Caste system is against national unity. It does not make the people feel that they are one.
• It is against the democratic spirit. Democracy believes in human equality. But caste system believes in inequality.
• It creates a false sense of prestige among the higher castes. They feel that all other castes should work according to their advice.

4. JAJMANI SYSTEM

The Jajmani system is governed by relationship based on reciprocity in inter-caste relations in villages. The functional interdependence of castes is a marked feature of the Indian caste system in the villages. The Jajmani system is an inter-family, inter-caste relationship pertaining to the patterning of superordinate–subordinate relations between the patrons and the suppliers of service. Jajmani relations entail ritual matters and social support as well as economic exchanges. The servicing castes perform the ritual and ceremonial duties at the Jajman’s houses on occasions, such as birth, marriage, and death. Jajman originally referred to the client for whom a Brahmin priest performed rituals, but later on it came to be referred to the patron or recipient of specialized services.

4.1. Meaning of Jajmani System

Jajmani system refers to the distribution whereby high-caste land-owning families (called Jajmans) are provided services and products by various lower castes, such as carpenters (badhai), barbers (nai), potters (kumbars), blacksmiths (lohars), washermen (dhobis), and so on. The servicing people called Kamins are paid in cash or in kind (grains, fodder, clothes, animal products such as milk, butter, etc.).

4.2. Features of Jajmani System

• Jajmani system is hereditary.
• The Jajmani rights are property rights and hence are inherited according to the law of inheritance.
• Jajmani relations are permanent.
• The Jajmani links are between families rather than castes. Thus, a family of Rajputs gets it metal tools from a particular family of the Lohar (blacksmith) caste and not from all Lohar castes in the village.
• Jajmani system, once useful in the Indian society, has gradually been reduced into exploitation of the lower castes. The higher castes exploit the lower caste people, who find themselves helpless before the money power of their patrons.

4.3. Advantages of Jajmani System

• Jajmani system provides security of occupation, the occupation being hereditary.
• It provides economic security as the Jajman looks after all the needs of the serving family.
• It reinforces the relations between the Jajman and his Parjan, which are more personal then economic.

5. SOCIAL CLASS SYSTEM

The word class is by no means an unusual word. It is said that classism is increasing, or that new classes are coming into being in India. The word class lends itself to a variety of uses, in the form of the landlord class and business class at one end, and the Brahmin class and capitalist class at the other. Every society has many classes, the individual interests of all of which do not coincide. Each social class has its status in society; in accordance with which it receives prestige in the society.

5.1. Different Bases of Social Class

• Occupational basis: Richard Centers considers occupation to be the basis of class division. According to him, individuals in superior occupations are treated as superior while those in inferior occupations are treated as inferior.
• Basis of manual labours: Torstein Veblen looks upon manual labour as the basis of class-consciousness. People involved in manual labour are looked upon as belonging to an inferior class while those in superior classes are engaged in administration, sport, war, religion, and other activities.
• Various factors: Raymond B. Cattell believes class consciousness to be the sum total of five factors—prestige, means IQ, average income, education of some years, and the amount of birth restrictions. But class-consciousness is not based on these five factors only. It continually changes according to circumstances.

5.2. Principles of Class System

• The class of an individual is determined by his occupation, power, and wealth. One caste escapes from a class or falls into it.

Figure 12.4 Different Bases of Social Class

• The class of an individual is based on the achievement of the individual and the social labour, that is, the right amount of award and appreciation the he got for his hardwork.
• In the class system, there is no restriction on marriage outside one’s own class.

5.3. Characteristics of Social Class

• Class a status group: Social class is related to social status. There are different statuses in a society because of different kinds of vocation and different kinds of activities being done by different kinds of people. The consideration of the class as a status group makes it possible to apply it to any society which has many strata.
• Elements of prestige: We have seen that social class is related to status, and status is associated with prestige. Therefore, social class is related to the degree of prestige attached to the status. Thus, the status and prestige enjoyed by the running classes or rich classes in every society is superior to that by the class of commoners or the poor.
• Universal: Class system is found almost everywhere. It has become an inherent future of modern complex societies across the world.
• Social class an open group: Social classes are open groups. They represent an open social system. This means there are no restrictions, or at most only very mild ones, imposed on the upward and downward movement of the individuals in the social hierarchy.
• Class consciousness: Class consciousness is the statement that characterizes the relations of men towards the members of their own class and towards those of other classes.

Figure 12.5 Characteristics of Social Class

• Mode of feeling: In a class system, we may observe three modes of feeling: (1) there is a feeling of equality in relation to the members of one’s own class; (2) there is a feeling of inferiority in relation to those who occupy a higher status in the socio—economic hierarchy; and (3) there is a feeling of superiority in relation to those who occupy a lower status it. The hierarchy.
• Achieved status and not ascribed status: In a class system, status is achieved and not ascribed. The status of an individual is not determined by the family he was born in, but by what he has achieved. Factors such as income, occupation, wealth, education, lifestyle, and so on, decide the status of an individual.
• Social class not merely an economic group: It is true that social classes have primarily an economic basis. But to say that social classes are mere economic groups or divisions would be a simplistic statement. Besides economic criteria such as wealth, property, and income, other criteria such as education and occupation are equally important.
• Mode of living: Lifestyles or the modes of living include such matters as the modes of dress, the kind of house, and neighbourhood one lives in; the means of recreation one resorts to; the cultural products one is able to enjoy; the relationship between parents and children; the kinds of book, magazine, and TV show to which one is exposed; one’s friends; one’s mode of conveyance and communication; one’s way of spending money; and so on. They are important determinants of a social class.
• Element of stability: A social class is relatively a stable group. It is neither transitory nor unstable like a crowd or a mob.

6. UNTOUCHABILITY AND DISCRIMINATION

The cruelest feature that is prominent in the caste system is untouchability; it forms an important strong racist phenomenon throughout the world. The people who are involved in occupations of cleaning activities are categorized as untouchables. They were not provided with any basic rights in the society, and treated differently in other parts of India. In some areas they were treated like animals and in most of the regions their situation was better.

Four varnas communities formed the orthodox communities and considered themselves superior to untouchables. Untouchables were not supposed to touch even the shadow of any varnas; they were organized to reside far away from the varnas; they were not allowed to enter the house of the varnas, nor touch anything and not to use the wells of the varnas. If the varnas touched the untouchables they were considered to be defiled and they purified themselves by dipping themselves in the water. If untouchables entered the house of varnas, then cleaning and washing of the house was carried after they left. Some hierarchy jats had servants to inform the untouchables that varnas are arriving and not to stand on the way as the varnas arrive. As per orthodox Hindus, people who do not belong to any of the four varnas are considered as foreigners or untouchables.

7. CASTE AND HEALTH

Caste system had major impact on the health due to lot of social restrictions and social stratifications, common among the Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and Muslims. Although the Indian Constitution demands equality of outcomes, there is more focus on the educational institutions and employment but not on the equality in distribution of health-care facilities.

The important barrier to streamlining health care is basically caste inequality due to different socio-cultural issues. With systematic difference of lower caste, culture, tradition, and religion such issues should be tackled to provide equal health care to all.

Some of the important principles given by WHO are as follows:

• To improve the socioeconomic conditions of daily life.
• To tackle the inequality in distribution of money, manpower, and resources.
• To raise public awareness on such issues.
• To measure and evaluate the interventions done to solve those issues.
• To provide good supplemental nutrition, better psychosocial stimulation with a goal to improve physical, psychological growth of underprivileged and stunted children.
• To provide compulsory primary and secondary education and accessible health care regardless of ability to pay cardinal issues.
• To improve the under developed urban areas with affordable housing, safe drinking water, and sanitation.
• There should be provision for good and better employment opportunities with fair universal public distribution system.
• Improving the mid-day meal schemes, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, implementing Right to Education Act, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Food and Security Act, and following all the goals of National Rural Health Mission.
• There should be no difference shown in lower or higher caste people in terms of providing equal health care. There should be gender equality and no difference in approaching for poor or rich. All should be treated equally in terms of providing accessible health care in policy decision-making.
• Better food distribution policy when implemented can eradicate poverty with good focus on food production and trade.

• Social interaction is governed by social stratification. Social stratification occurs when people accept the fact that families or individuals do not have equal access to the same privileges, power, prestige, occupation, or wealth.
• Human society is stratified and ranked in categories according to the distribution of privileges, power, and prestige or on the basis of status.
• A caste system refers to a level or stratum of people whose statuses are fixed for their lifetime (ascribed status).
• Status is determined by birth. Mobility is not allowed in the caste system. A class system, on the other hand, allows social mobility between the various classes.
• A social class is defined as the aggregate of persons having essentially the same social status in a given society.

I. LONG ESSAY

• Define social stratification, and explain the functions and characteristics of social stratifications.
• Define caste, and explain theories of caste and factors influences caste on health.

II. SHORT ESSAY

• Describe the theories concerning origin of social stratification.
• Discuss the forms of social stratification.
• Explain the difference between caste and class.
• Enumerate the conditions favouring caste system.
• Describe the conditions not favouring the caste system.
• Explain the trends in caste system.
• Enumerate the changes in caste system.
• Explain the Jajmani system.

III. SHORT ANSWERS

• Explain common features of caste system.
• Explain modern trends in caste system.
• Explain demerits of caste system.
• Explain different bases of class system.
• Explain characteristics of social class.
• Explain untouchability.

IV. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following are characteristics of the social structure of a society?
   1. Society has a structure of interrelated roles.
   2. Society is a special type of group within a social system.
   3. A sociology tends to survive for a longer period.
   4. A society is economically self-sufficient.
2. Stratification means
   1. division of society into higher and lower social units
   2. equality of status for all the groups in society
   3. a system of integrated social relationships
   4. equal distribution of duties and privileges
3. Basic criterion of social class is
   1. status
   2. occupation
   3. residence
   4. peer group
4. Social stratification implies
   1. social justice
   2. social inequality
   3. social injustice
   4. social equality
5. The distinction between upper class, middle class and lower class is based on
   1. wealth
   2. birth
   3. education
   4. polity
6. The clerk occupies higher status than a cobbler because
   1. he does an honourable occupations.
   2. the functional importance of his occupation is greater.
   3. he puts on white collar clothes.
   4. he sits in an office.
7. Class differentiation is socially useful because
   1. it simplifies the operation of society.
   2. it supplies motivation to a class to perform its functions readily.
   3. it satisfies man’s ego.
   4. it is a means of social interaction.
8. Caste is
   1. a system of stratification in which mobility up and down the status ladder at least ideally may not occur.
   2. an endogamous group membership of which is hereditary.
   3. a class somewhat strictly hereditary.
   4. there is no real general definition of caste.
9. The growth of consciousness among the members of class depends upon
   1. ease and amount of social mobility
   2. rivalry and conflict
   3. common traditions
   4. all of the above
10. Which of the following is not a characteristic of caste?
    1. social and religious hierarchy
    2. restrictions in social intercourse
    3. freedom of marriage
    4. endogamy
11. Caste system in India would not have survived for centuries if
    1. the religious system had not made it sacred and inviolable
    2. Indian would not been a slave country
    3. India had been an industrial country
    4. India had been an agricultural country
12. Members of the caste under caste system
    1. are free to choose their occupations
    2. are not free to choose their occupations
    3. can choose only low occupations
    4. cannot carry priestly occupations
13. Caste system is useful system because
    1. it provides every individual with a fixed social environment.
    2. it provides stability to social structure.
    3. it maintains purity of caste.
    4. it provides occupation to every individual.
14. A leisure class is a group of persons who
    1. do not contribute to the production of social satisfaction
    2. come from noble blood
    3. occupy high administrative offices
    4. exploit the working class
15. Social stratification means
    1. classification of society into castes
    2. classification based on economic conditions
    3. classification based on power
    4. existence of group and intergroup

ANSWERS

1. a 2. a 3. a 4. a 5. a 6. d 7. a 8. a 9. d 10. d 11. a 12. a 13. a 14. c 15. a

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