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Caste and Class in India

Author(s): D. D. Kosambi
Source: Science & Society, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Summer, 1944), pp. 243-249
Published by: Guilford Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40399616 .
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COMMUNICATIONS

CASTE AND CLASS IN INDIA

Under this title,Paul Rosas (science & society, 1943,vu [1943], No.
2, p. 141-167)attemptsto give a descriptionand an explanation of the
extraordinarysocial phenomenon that passes under the name of caste
in India. Both "facts"and interpretation ard open to objection,so that
a few remarksupon them may be of use for clarification.
Almost everystatementof a general nature made by anyone about
Indian castes may be contradicted. The Brahminsare not to eat meat
nor any food derived fromthe taking of life But Vedis Brahminsate
beef,KashmiriBrahminsdo eat meat, those in Bengal fish,withoutlos-
ing caste. The Sarasvatsin Goa eat fishregularlyand venison on occa-
sion, but touching an egg or a chicken would be an incredible per-
formancefor any of them. Again, the sudra, lowest of all castes, has
no access to templesor to book learning under the traditionalsystem.
We may ignore the developing and semi-anglicizedcity schools here,
but even in otherwisevery conservativevillages, I have seen sudra
teachersinstructingBrahmin boys in book-learning;in the most sur-
prisingcase, the teacherwas autodidact, and taught even Sanskrit,the
traditionalsacred language preservedonly for the upper castes,to sons
of Brahmins,and in the precinctsof the temple. Caste is supposed to
exist only for the Hindus, but here class phenomena cut across the re-
ligious barrier. There are good Roman Catholics in Goa who regard
themselvesas Brahmin Christians,and remembertheir family before
forcibleconversionsome four centuriesago; they will prefer to take
drinkingwater or food froma Hindu Brahmin,but not froma "sudra
Christian." The point here is that these Brahmin Christiansand the
Hindu Brahminswith whom theydeal on such curious termsare both
membersof the land-owningclass by long and conservativetradition.
Seeing the great diversityof features,it will be necessaryto take a
large view of the caste institutionas such. But the view that Rosas
gives, identifyingthe four-castedivision with a class division arid the
general castes with tribal divisions is neverthelesstoo large, obliterates
too many details to be useful. There are and always have been prince-
lings,even kings,who belonged to castesother than the ksatriya,which
*4ft
244 SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

should traditionallybe the warrioror the rulingcaste. The factis, how-

ever,that any ruler or even an invader (like the ScythianRajputs) who
will extend his patronage to the Brahmins and give at least nominal
adherence to the tenetsof some kind of Hinduism will be given the
honors of a ksatriya,though his poor relativesin some distantvillage
may be shepherdswithout much status. The inclusion of tribal and
traditionalorganizationswithin the fold of caste gives the institution
its power in sodai organizationand is a developmentof the original
four-castesystemto fitnewer conditions. Finally, it is not necessarily
true that caste will disappear with modern means of production any
more than the feudal ideology disappeared fromJapanese societywith
modernmachinery. Caste has already exercised,in India, the function
of medieval trade-guilds,in that the leather workers,some kinds of
tailors,masons, etc., form in most Hindu localities, distinctcastes by
themselves. Communal differences are already provingveryconvenient
in mattersof factorymanagement. Where the unions are troublesome,
the usual custom on the part of the clever factoryowner is to recruit
people of as many different religionsand castes as possible, to prevent
theirunion. Witl> increasingproduction,this has become a forcetend-
ing to wipe out caste. But if the productiveforcescannot findan out-
let, caste could be made an excuse for economic victimization,as with
the Jewsin Germany. Some such thinghas already happened with the
untouchable in the extremesouth. Not only that, we can discern the
economic drivingforcebehind most of the great theological upheavals
in India. Within the framework of caste and of Hinduism,one has only
to see the bitterquarrels between the smarta and vaisnava Brahmins,
most of whom cannot explain the extraordinarilysubtle philosophic
differencesbetween the teachingsof their founders,but when one sect
displaced another,one has only to look a littlecloserinto such historical
recordsas are available, and it will usually be clear that therewas also
a change in the ownershipof the land.
In fact,this bringsus to the main objection to Rosas's treatmentof
the subject: the total absence of all historicalperspective. There is a
veryprofoundreason forthislack, because the castesystemis designedto
preserveIndian societyin a static mold. Its principle functionnow is
the negationof history,and therewiththe negationof progress. For ex-
ample, over large parts of the country,and side by side with very an-
cient observancesis the festivalof satyanarayana,the "true Narayana."
As faras can be ascertained,this has absolutelyno sanctionin scripture,
being adopted fromthe mid-nineteenth centurycult of a Mohammedan
pir called Satya. But if necessary,someone,a needy Brahmin of some
sort,would have arisen to writea whole book on the subject,giving the
 COMMUNICATIONS 245

necessarysanction. It is as if a book had been writteninto the Bible

enjoiningthe worshipof Allah, but to the true Brahmanicalmind,
thereis nothingout of thewayin sucha performance, combinedwith
all theritualof an exaggerated conservatism. This also is a featureof
the system.The Hinduismwe have todayis not of the Hinduismof
theVedas,norof theoriginalAryanswhoevertheywere. The modern
Hinduism,and therewith the moderncaste,have not onlysurvivedin
inroadsof Islam and of Christianity (fromthedaysof St. Thomasand
Nestorius) but are themselves entirelytransformed by a religionthat
prevailed almost universally in India for centuries,that is, Buddhism.
The riseof Buddhismhas a date and a locality:Magadha (modern
Bihar) in the sixthcenturyB.C. A greatdeal is said about the new
philosophy;Buddhistnon-killing or non-violence, ahimsa,is now an
integralpart of Hinduism, and has been sharpenedto a politicaltool
on a classas well as a nationalistic basisby MahatmaGandhi. It was
originallyborrowedfromJainism,a mucholder religion. The ques-
tionsthat no one troublesto answerare: why did Buddhismstart
whereit did?Whydid it spreadso rapidly? And whydid it die out?
The reasons,naturally, are notto be foundin thephilosophy of theday
butin theproductive relations,in the historical tendencies of the period.
Buddhismspreadfar beyondIndian frontiers, to China, Japan,Asia-
minor. It is therulingforceofreactionin Tibet and evenMongoliato
this day Rosas, however,fails to considerwhy Buddhismmanaged
to crossthe geographicalisolationof India whereasthe caste system,
accordingto him,was effectively prevented by thosesamebarriersfrom
spreading outside the country.
Castein thedays theBuddhawas,probably,
of quitenearto theclass
systemthatRosas ascribes to the jati. But its stronghold was nearer
theIndusvalley than to Magadha, and it was extremely rigidand con-
servative.It was bound inseparably to the old trade channel to the
west,throughIran,along the route exploredby Stein and followed by
Alexander's army. This system did notallow forexpansion,and it did
notpermitunification.On thecontrary, it opposedunityin thepoliti-
cal and economicsense. The Brahmin,alwaysthekingpinof thecaste
svstem,was thenpurely the sacrificial priest,and his main sourceof
livelihoodseemsto have been the fee at thesacrifice.The purposeof
the sacrifice was propitiation of the gods,and naturally,the grandest
ceremonies
sacrificial would be for success in war. The priestsgaineda
greatdeal fromtheconstantwarfareof pettyprincelings in thedaysof
Buddha. That at leastis thepicturewe get fromthe storiesassociated
withthe oldestBuddhisticcanonicalliterature.As therewas no pay-
246 SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

mentto the farmerforthe sacrificial animals,and as robbersgrewin

numberbetweenpopulatedcities,both the peasantand the tradersuf-
fered.There musthave been pre-Buddhistic protest, forwhichJainism
was too passivebecauseof its extremeformof ahimsato be of general
use. We can traceotherformsfromthe literarytraditionthatcalled
MagadhanBrahminsbrahmabandhu, a termof contempt.Buddhist
ahimsais practical,directednot againstmeat-eating as suchbut against
thecostly royal sacrifices. Buddhism did not touch the olderritual,nor
set up a new one of its own,it workedout a newsocial schemewhich
wouldmakepeoplemorecivilized,makeit possibleforthemto coexist
withlessfriction.Problemssuchas theexistenceof a soul weresimply
and deliberately leftaside as of no moment. Nevertheless, thissystem
spread not because of its greaterattractiveness, but because it gave the
necessary to
impetus (or was the expression of) thecraving for a strong,
centralized monarchy thatwould stop the constant, pettywarfareand
maketraderoutessafe. The personwho tookthefirst stepin thisdirec-
tion was not Buddha'sroyal pupil Bimbisara,but his parricideson
Ajatasattu.One of hismostdifficult victories was theelimination of an
oligarchic democracy not farremoved from parallelcontemporary states
in Greece,namelythetribalgovernment of theLicchavisor Vajjis. This
was highlypraisedby the Buddha forthe humanityand goodnessof
theirinstitutions, and it retaineda traditional gloryfora thousandyears,
so thatthe firstGupta kingwas proud to claim a "Licchaviprincess"
hashismother, whileforgetting to mentionhisfatherin theinscriptions
So, Buddhism is not the
altogether victory of good overevil thatit has
usually been considered to be. It is remarkable thatit is a proselyting
religion as Hinduism was not, and that the principalfunctionof its
monkswas originally to spreadthe doctrine.We hear of monks,even
in thetimeof theBuddha,goinghalfwaydownthepeninsula,and not
towardsthe Indus,thoughthe religionas suchhad not spreadbeyond
the Gangeticbasin at the timeof his death,and the totalnumberof
monkscouldnothavebeenmorethanfivehundred. Readingtheolder
Pali Buddhistcanon,one is struckby thefactthatthoughtheBuddha
was froman old and proud,thoughsomewhat decayedKsatriyafamily,
his mostardentlay followersseem to have been merchants, traders,
men of wealth-aclass thatis absolutelysilentin Indian historyas we
have receivedit fromrecordsand inscriptions.Now, was it purelya
negligibleaccidentthatBuddhismspreadswiththe Mauryanempire,
withoutbecomingits official religiontill the empireis consolidated by
the lastconquest of Asoka? Was it also a coincidence thatthougha cul-
turerichin naturalwealthis knownin thepeninsulaproperin supposed
"prehistoric" times,the firstcoins foundthere (withthe possibleex-
 COMMUNICATIONS 247

ception of a few harborson the westerncoast) are certainlyMauryan?

The firstarmies to overrunsouth India, as far as the modern state of
Mysore,were those of Asoka's grandfatherSandragupta,who was not
a Buddhist,but is supposed to have died in the other non-violentre-
ligion, Jainism. That is, Buddhist non-violencedid not interferewith
great wars in India, any more than it did with those of the Buddhist
JenghisKhan, but it did help stop the pettyones, and it was, in a way
the older caste systemcould not have been, an influencemaking for
unity. Still more important,it opened up the Indian peninsula, till
then a terraincognita.
If so, why did caste come back in a changed form? Partly because
of the ritual, which was exclusivelythe possessionof Brahmins.Partly
because the salient featuresof Buddhism had been absorbed by Brah-
minism,which went so far as to admit Buddha as an incarnation of
Vishnu. But mainly because it was uneconomic,because its historical
usefulnesswas exhaustedin India, though not in the othercountriesto
whichit had spread. That is, the largermonasteriesheld too much land,
which was appropriatedby kings like Sasanka under the Brahminical
reformation. The Buddhist monk had no longer to beg for his liveli-
hood or to preach to the people, who had all been converted;the one
who ministeredto the spiritualneeds of the people was now the village
priest,always a Brahmin,who might not know much philosophy,but
who could as always officiateat all ceremonies,bless the crops, and so
combinethe functionsof priestand medicine-manin general. Afterthe
Mauryan conquest, local influencebecame strongagain, separate pro-
vincial kingdomsagain coming into existence and fightingfor power,
though on a verymuch largerscale than in Magadha of the sixth cen-
turyB.C. So, the Brahmanical methodshave again their needs, kings
again celebratehuge sacrificesforvictoryin battle,though these do not
cause theloss theyused to as the numberof kings,or at least theirdensity
is less. And foreigninvasionsare no longerresistedwith the opposition
that stopped Alexander, and defeatedSeleucus. Nevertheless,what re-
sistance there is comes from those followingthe Brahmanical and not
the Buddhisticphilosophy. The monk could affordto stay in his mon-
asteryand ignorethe fighting, whereasthe Brahminhad a family,and in
general closer ties with the people.
We can get a ratherfaintglimpseof the four-castesystemin its most
remote (pre-Buddhistic)origins,and it is, as far as can be seen, pre-
Aryan, probably associated with the ancient civilization of Mohenjo
Darò and the Indus valley,and with destructionin or about the second
millemmiumB.C. by the Aryans. It may reasonablybe conjecturedthat
the conqueringwarriorsswept a civilizationwhich had accurate weights
248 SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

and good cities,but no weapons to speak ok Afteryears,probablycen-

turies,of a fearfullyhungryexistencein the forests,one clan of the con-
quered becomes the priest-casteof the conquerors: the Bhargava Brah-
mins. The conquerorsbecome the ksatriyacaste, being warriors. The
tradersare presentfromolder times,and the restof the population sinks
to a regularizedslaverybut withoutlarge-scaletradingin human beings
as in the west,being the sudra caste. The prohibitionagainst a suàra
learningthe trade of weapons and against his education in the Sanskrit
language,therefore, is a precautionaryor a police measureagainsthelots.
This system,crude as it sounds,was still a powerfuladvance over what
existed before: helpless cities and almost savage barbarianswho sacked
them.It is;this systemthat enabled otherregionsto be opened up, that
allowed a more vigorous if less decorative civilization to advance into
the interiorof India. Its flexibility,its post-Buddhisticdevelopment
into a methodformaintainingthe statusof any rule that made nominal
concessionsto Hinduism, enabled it to survive great changes. These
changes,it did its best to denyaltogetherby absorption (when compelled
to absorb the changes) and by promotion to an indefiniteantiquity.
Afterthe vedas, it is verydifficultto findany Indian textthatis generally
known and is neverthelessfixedwith certainty. This "fluidity"that tor-
mentsany scholarwho looks into Indian manuscriptsis a social feature
of the country. The change-overfromBuddhism also laid the founda-
tions of later communal and religious quarrels in some provinces.The
Muslimsin Bengal forexample, are mostlyconvertedfromthe Buddhist
peasants, who were the poorest and the most oppressed class for cen-
turies.
With the developmentof the countryas a whole, and the foundation
of its economyon the village unit with the familyas a sub-unit,the
progressivefunctionof caste may be said to have ended, so that caste
itselfmust thereafterattemptto be static. But the fundamentalneed
of the country,food, could not be regularlysatisfiedby a static system.
As no real productivechanges occurreduntil the advent of European
"civilization," (though usines without machine power had developed
by the seventeenthcentury),which followed the Buddhistic patternin
sendingits missionaries,traders,ad armies,the sole methodof ameliora-
tion was to dull the pain of living. Thus it is that so much of Indian
philosophyand literature,which went on developing,had to follow the
religiouspath. This "opium of the people" was needed if life were to
be worth living. Even today, the Indian peasant woman, who has to
work in the fieldsand cannot tend the infantshe has borne, drugs it
with ordinaryopium to preventits cryingfromillness or hunger.With-
out thinkingof the consequencesof their action, our philosophersfol-
 COMMUNICATIONS 249

lowed thispattern,whichwill have to be discardedwhen the productive

systemof the countryreaches a stage of maturity.
D. D. KOSAMBI
FergussonCollege
Poona, India

NOTES ON LITERARY TRENDS UNDER HITLER

I. FURTHER COMMENTS ON CONTEMPORARY NAZI WRITERS

In his recentarticle on "LiteraryTrends Under Hitler" (Science &

Society for Spring, 1944), Dr. Lyman R. Bradley has performeda valu-
able serviceto studentsand criticsof literature. He has presentedthe
subject of National Socialist writing-I am myselfaverse to calling it lit-
erature-in the light of German literaryhistory. Such a systematic
and definitiveanalysis was long overdue. It should serve to reveal to
us certainstigmata,indicativeof pre-fascist, undemocratictendenciesin
any national literature. Out of my own experienceas a reader of Ger-
man books fora publishinghouse, I am able to supplementDr. Bradley's
remarks. My observationson the subject were presentedin an informal
reportfor a round-tablediscussionof the League of American Writers
in 1936. Since then, from time to time, I have added furthernotes
and comments,but the chief categorieswere already apparent by that
time. The materialfell into threemain groups: (1) thoseworksseeking
to give direct expression to a "steely romanticism,"or what may be
termedthe Hitler spiritin general; (2) those expressingvarious special
phases of the Hitler "ideology" such as the mythof das Volk, the Nazi
attitudes toward the church, the agrarian question, the family,etc.,
oftenthinlyveiled (under this head would come rewritingsof German
historyand of the historyof othernations); (3) thoseworksrepresenting
one formor another of escape fromsocial-economic-political thinking,
including stories,plays and poems glorifyingthe rusticor the primitive
life, tales of adventurein foreignlands, literaryimportationsthrough
the medium of translations,and the like.
Before discussingthe firstgroup, it may be well to see just what
that "steelyromanticism"of Dr. Goebbels is supposed to be. He him-
self has stated it as follows: "German art of the next decade is to be
heroic; it is to be steelyand romantic,objective and freeof sentimental-
ity,deeplynational in feeling... ; it is to be this,or it is to be nothing."
Commentingon thisstatementin his addressbeforethe All-Union Con-