1he Ind|an caste system |s a system of soc|a| strat|f|cat|on and soc|a| restr|ct|on |n Ind|a |n wh|ch

commun|t|es are def|ned by thousands of endogamous hered|tary groups ca||ed It|s

1he It|s were hypothet|ca||y and forma||y grouped by the 8rahm|n|ca| texts under the four we||
known categor|es (the varnas) v|z 8rahm|ns (scho|ars teachers f|re pr|ests) kshatr|yas (k|ngs
warr|ors |aw enforcers adm|n|strators) Va|shyas (agr|cu|tur|sts catt|e ra|sers traders bankers
art|sans12) and Shudras (|abourers craftsmen serv|ce prov|ders) Certa|n peop|e ||ke fore|gners
nomads forest tr|bes and the chanda|as (who dea|t w|th d|sposa| of the dead) were exc|uded
a|together and treated as untouchab|es A|though |dent|f|ed w|th n|ndu|sm |n the past (1883 year
data)3Iu|| c|tat|on needed the caste||ke systems were a|so observed among fo||owers of other
re||g|ons |n the Ind|an subcont|nent |nc|ud|ng some groups of Mus||ms and Chr|st|ans most ||ke|y due
to |nher|ted cu|tura| tra|ts 1heoret|ca||y a|| fore|gners are cons|dered to be caste|ess |n the 18th
century the h|ghcaste 8rahm|ns avo|ded undertak|ng sea tr|ps as they cons|dered the Luropean
merchants as untouchab|e4

ConLenLs
1 PlsLory
11 CasLe and soclal sLaLus
12 8eforms
13 8rlLlsh rule
2 Modern sLaLus of Lhe casLe sysLem
3 CasLe sysLems among nonPlndus
4 CasLerelaLed vlolence
3 CasLe pollLlcs
6 CrlLlclsm
61 PlsLorlcal crlLlclsm
62 ConLemporary crlLlclsm
621 CasLe and race
CeneLlc analysls
8 ln popular culLure
9 See also
10 noLes
11 8eferences
12 lurLher readlng
13 LxLernal llnks


edlL PlsLoryMaln arLlcle PlsLory of Lhe lndlan casLe sysLem
1here ls no unlversally accepLed Lheory abouL Lhe orlglns of Lhe lndlan casLe sysLem 1he lndlan classes
and lranlan classes (plsLras) show slmllarlLy3 whereln Lhe prlesLs are 8rahmlns Lhe warrlors are
kshaLrlya Lhe merchanLs are valshya and Lhe arLlsans are Shudras6

lrom Lhe 8hakLl school Lhe vlew ls LhaL Lhe four dlvlslons were orlglnally creaLed by krlshna Accordlng
Lo Lhe Lhree modes of maLerlal naLure and Lhe work assoclaLed wlLh Lhem Lhe four dlvlslons of human
socleLy were creaLed8

CrlLlclsms of Lhese undersLandlngs of Lhe casLe sysLem polnL ouL LhaL varna lLself means a complexlon
and Lhese varnas are noLhlng more Lhan a soclal classlflcaLlon based on Lhe acLlvlLles LhaL Lhe lndlvldual
ls lnvolved ln 8esLrlcLlons Lo performlng rellglous rlLes were more relaLed Lo Lhe professlon raLher Lhan
Lhe casLe ln whlch Lhe person ls born le an lndlvldual born ln a 8rahmln famlly lnvolved ln sweeplng
houses would be consldered a Shudra even Lhough a 8rahmln by blrLh Such an lndlvldual would have
Lo go Lhrough a shuddhlkaran (purlflcaLlon) a baLh ln Lhe Canges or an equlvalenL procedure before
belng ellglble Lo enLer a Lemple 1here are lnsLances ln Lhe Plndu rellglous Lales lllusLraLlng blrLh dld noL
deLermlne rellglous resLrlcLlons (Shabrl valmlkl eLc)

edlL CasLe and soclal sLaLus1radlLlonally ln Lhe norLh lndlan socleLy Lhe pollLlcal power usually lay wlLh
Lhe kshaLrlyas Lhe economlc power wlLh Lhe valshyas and Shudras whlle Lhe 8rahmlns as cusLodlans
and lnLerpreLers of uharma en[oyed much presLlge and were glven many advanLages by socleLy even
Lhough Lhey were economlcally poor racLlclng 8rahmlns were ln facL prohlblLed from ownlng wealLh
9

la xlan a 8uddhlsL pllgrlm from Chlna vlslLed lndla around 400 Au Cnly Lhe loL of Lhe Chandals he
found unenvlable ouLcasLes by reason of Lhelr degradlng work as dlsposers of dead Lhey were
unlversally shunned 8uL no oLher secLlon of Lhe populaLlon were noLably dlsadvanLaged no oLher
casLe dlsLlncLlons aLLracLed commenL from Lhe Chlnese pllgrlm and no oppresslve casLe sysLem drew
forLh hls surprlsed censure10 ln Lhls perlod klngs of Sudra and 8rahmln orlgln were as common as
Lhose of kshaLrlya varna (Plndulsm) and casLe sysLem was noL wholly prohlblLlve and represslve11

1he casLes dld noL consLlLuLe a rlgld descrlpLlon of Lhe occupaLlon or Lhe soclal sLaLus of a group Slnce
8rlLlsh socleLy was dlvlded by class Lhe 8rlLlsh aLLempLed Lo equaLe Lhe lndlan casLe sysLem Lo Lhelr own
soclal class sysLemclLaLlon needed 1hey saw casLe as an lndlcaLor of occupaLlon soclal sLandlng and
lnLellecLual ablllLy12 lnLenLlonally or unlnLenLlonally Lhe casLe sysLem became more rlgld durlng Lhe
8rlLlsh 8a[ when Lhe 8rlLlsh sLarLed Lo enumeraLe casLes durlng Lhe Len year census and codlfled Lhe
sysLem under Lhelr ruleclLaLlon needed

1he Parl[ans or Lhe people ouLslde Lhe casLe sysLem had Lhe lowesL soclal sLaLus 1he Parl[ans earller
referred Lo as unLouchables by some worked ln whaL were seen as unhealLhy unpleasanL or polluLlng
[obs ln Lhe pasL Lhe Parl[ans suffered from soclal segregaLlon and resLrlcLlons ln addlLlon Lo exLreme
poverLy 1hey were noL allowed Lemple worshlp wlLh oLhers nor waLer from Lhe same sources ersons
of hlgher casLes would noL lnLeracL wlLh Lhem lf somehow a member of a hlgher casLe came lnLo
physlcal or soclal conLacL wlLh an unLouchable Lhe member of Lhe hlgher casLe was deflled and had Lo
baLhe Lhoroughly Lo purge hlm or herself of Lhe lmpurlLy Soclal dlscrlmlnaLlon developed even among
Lhe Parl[ans subcasLes among Parl[ans such as Lhe dhobl and nal would noL lnLeracL wlLh lowerorder
8hangls who were descrlbed as ouLcasLes even among ouLcasLes

SoclologlsLs have commenLed on Lhe hlsLorlcal advanLages offered by a rlgld soclal sLrucLure as well as
lLs drawbacks Whlle casLe ls now seen as anachronlsLlc ln lLs orlglnal form Lhe casLe sysLem served as
an lnsLrumenL of order ln a socleLy where muLual consenL raLher Lhan compulslon ruled13 where Lhe
rlLual rlghLs and Lhe economlc obllgaLlons of members of one casLe or subcasLe were sLrlcLly
clrcumscrlbed ln relaLlon Lo Lhose of any oLher casLe or subcasLe where one was born lnLo ones casLe
and reLalned ones sLaLlon ln socleLy for llfe where merlL was lnherlLed where equallLy exlsLed wlLhln
Lhe casLe buL lnLercasLe relaLlons were dynamlc ofLen unequal and hlerarchlcal A welldeflned
sysLem of muLual lnLerdependence Lhrough a dlvlslon of labour creaLed securlLy wlLhln a
communlLy1314 ln addlLlon Lhe dlvlslon of labour on Lhe basls of eLhnlclLy allowed lmmlgranLs and
forelgners Lo qulckly lnLegraLe lnLo Lhelr own casLe nlches13

1he casLe sysLem played an lnfluenLlal role ln shaplng economlc acLlvlLles16 where lL funcLloned much
llke medleval Luropean gullds ensurlng Lhe dlvlslon of labour provldlng for Lhe Lralnlng of apprenLlces
developmenL and proLecLlon of lnLellecLual properLy and ln some cases allowlng manufacLurers Lo
achleve narrow speclallsaLlon and global monopoly lor lnsLance produclng each varleLy of cloLh was
Lhe speclallLy of a parLlcular subcasLe buL Lhe weavers of uhaka produced Lhe renowned Muslln LhaL
was ln demand lnLernaLlonally lL has also been suggesLed LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy of people Lend Lo be
comforLable ln sLraLlfled endogamous groups as Lhey have always been slnce anclenL Llmes1

rlor Lo Lhe 8rlLlsh use of varna caLegorles for enumeraLlng and ranklng Lhe !aLls ln Lhe decennlal
Census Lhe relaLlve ranklng of Lhe !aLls and casLes was fluld and dlffered from one place Lo anoLher
based on Lhelr pollLlcal and economlc power18 SoclologlsLs such as 8ernard 8uber and MarrloLL
Mcklm descrlbe how Lhe percepLlon of Lhe casLe sysLem as a sLaLlc and LexLual sLraLlflcaLlon has glven
way Lo Lhe percepLlon of Lhe casLe sysLem as a more processual emplrlcal and conLexLual sLraLlflcaLlon
CLher soclologlsLs such as ?8 uamle have applled LheoreLlcal models Lo explaln moblllLy and flexlblllLy ln
Lhe casLe sysLem ln lndla19

Accordlng Lo Lhese scholars groups of lowercasLe lndlvlduals could seek Lo elevaLe Lhe sLaLus of Lhelr
casLe by aLLempLlng Lo emulaLe Lhe pracLlces of hlgher casLes llexlblllLy ln casLe laws permlLLed very
lowcasLe rellglous clerlcs such as valmlkl Lo compose Lhe 8amayana whlch became a cenLral work of
Plndu scrlpLure 1here ls also precedenL of cerLaln Shudra famllles wlLhln Lhe Lemples of Lhe Srl
valshnava secL ln SouLh lndla elevaLlng Lhelr casLe19 1he followlng ls a llsL of changes ln varna clLed ln
Plndu LexLs

Manu eldesL son rlyavraLa became klng a kshaLrlya CuL of hls Len sons seven became klngs whlle
Lhree became 8rahman 1helr names were Mahavlra kavl and Savana (8ef bhagwaL puran chap3)
kavash Allush was born Lo a Sudra and aLLalned Lhe varna of a 8lshl Pe became manLradrashLa Lo
numerous vedlc manLras ln 8lgveda 10Lh Mandal
!abala's son SaLyakama born from unknown faLher became 8lshl by hls quallLles
MaLanga became a 8lshl afLer hls blrLh ln low varna
Accordlng Lo some psychologlsLs moblllLy across broad casLe llnes may have been mlnlmal Lhough
subcasLes ([aLls) may have changed Lhelr soclal sLaLus over Lhe generaLlons by flsslon relocaLlon and
adopLlon of new rlLuals20

SoclologlsL M n Srlnlvas has also debaLed Lhe quesLlon of rlgldlLy ln CasLe ln an eLhnographlc sLudy of
Lhe Coorgs of karnaLaka he observed conslderable flexlblllLy and moblllLy ln Lhelr casLe
hlerarchles2122 Pe asserLs LhaL Lhe casLe sysLem ls far from a rlgld sysLem ln whlch Lhe poslLlon of
each componenL casLe ls flxed for all Llme lnsLead movemenL has always been posslble especlally ln
Lhe mlddle reglons of Lhe hlerarchy lL was always posslble for groups born lnLo a lower casLe Lo rlse Lo
a hlgher poslLlon by adopLlng vegeLarlanlsm and LeeLoLallsm le adopL Lhe cusLoms of Lhe hlgher
casLes Whlle LheoreLlcally forbldden Lhe process was noL uncommon ln pracLlce 1he concepL of
sanskrlLlzaLlon or Lhe adopLlon of uppercasLe norms by Lhe lower casLes addressed Lhe complexlLy and
fluldlLy of casLe relaLlons

1he facL LhaL many of Lhe dynasLles were of obscure orlgln suggesLs some soclal moblllLy a person of
any casLe havlng once acqulred pollLlcal power could also acqulre a genealogy connecLlng hlm wlLh Lhe
LradlLlonal llneages and conferrlng kshaLrlya sLaLus A number of new casLes such as Lhe kayasLhas
(scrlbes) and khaLrls (Lraders) are menLloned ln Lhe sources of Lhls perlod Accordlng Lo Lhe 8rahmanlc
sources Lhey orlglnaLed from lnLercasLe marrlages buL Lhls ls clearly an aLLempL aL raLlonallzlng Lhelr
rank ln Lhe hlerarchy khaLrl appears Lo be unquesLlonably a rakrlLlsed form of Lhe SanskrlL
kshaLrlya23 Many of Lhese new casLes played a ma[or role ln socleLy 1he hlerarchy of casLes dld noL
have a unlform dlsLrlbuLlon LhroughouL Lhe counLry24

edlL 8eforms1here have been challenges Lo Lhe casLe sysLem from Lhe Llme of 8uddha23 Mahavlra
and Makkhall Cosala CpposlLlon Lo Lhe sysLem of varra ls regularly asserLed ln Lhe ?oga upanlrads and
ls a consLanL feaLure of Clnacra LanLrlsm a Chlnesederlved movemenL ln Asom boLh daLe Lo Lhe
medleval era 1he nLha sysLem whlch was founded by MaLsyalndra nLha and Corakra nLha ln Lhe
same era and spread LhroughouL lndla has llkewlse been conslsLenLly opposed Lo Lhe sysLem of varna

Many 8hakLl perlod salnLs re[ecLed Lhe casLe dlscrlmlnaLlons and accepLed all casLes lncludlng
unLouchables lnLo Lhelr fold uurlng Lhe 8rlLlsh 8a[ Lhls senLlmenL gaLhered sLeam and many Plndu
reform movemenLs such as 8rahmo Sama[ and Arya Sama[ renounced casLebased dlscrlmlnaLlon 1he
lncluslon of socalled unLouchables lnLo Lhe malnsLream was argued for by many soclal reformers (see
PlsLorlcal crlLlclsm below) MahaLma Candhl called Lhem Parl[ans (chlldren of Cod) alLhough LhaL
Lerm ls now consldered paLronlzlng and Lhe Lerm uallL (downLrodden) ls Lhe more commonly used
Candhls conLrlbuLlon Loward Lhe emanclpaLlon of Lhe unLouchables ls sLlll debaLed especlally ln Lhe
commenLary of hls conLemporary ur 88 Ambedkar an unLouchable who frequenLly saw Candhls
acLlvlLles as deLrlmenLal Lo Lhe cause of upllfLmenL of hls peopleclLaLlon needed

ln Lhe souLh erlyar Lv 8amasamy had slgnlflcanLly conLrlbuLed Lo soclal and casLe reforms

1he pracLlce of unLouchablllLy was formally ouLlawed by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon of lndla ln 1930 and has
decllned slgnlflcanLly slnce Lhen Lo Lhe polnL of a socleLy allowlng former unLouchables Lo Lake hlgh
pollLlcal offlce llke former resldenL k 8 narayanan who Look offlce ln 19926 and former Chlef
!usLlce k C 8alakrlshnan2

edlL 8rlLlsh rule 1hls secLlon may be unbalanced Lowards cerLaln vlewpolnLs lease lmprove Lhe arLlcle
by addlng lnformaLlon on neglecLed vlewpolnLs or dlscuss Lhe lssue on Lhe Lalk page (uecember 2010)

1he fluldlLy of Lhe casLe sysLem was affecLed by Lhe arrlval of Lhe 8rlLlsh rlor Lo LhaL Lhe relaLlve
ranklng of casLes dlffered from one place Lo anoLher18 1he casLes dld noL consLlLuLe a rlgld
descrlpLlon of Lhe occupaLlon or Lhe soclal sLaLus of a group 1he 8rlLlsh aLLempLed Lo equaLe Lhe lndlan
casLe sysLem Lo Lhelr own class sysLem vlewlng casLe as an lndlcaLor of occupaLlon soclal sLandlng and
lnLellecLual ablllLy12 uurlng Lhe lnlLlal days of Lhe 8rlLlsh LasL lndla Companys rule casLe dlfferences
and cusLoms were accepLed lf noL encouraged28 buL Lhe 8rlLlsh law courLs dlsagreed wlLh Lhe
dlscrlmlnaLlon agalnsL Lhe lower casLes Powever 8rlLlsh pollcles of dlvlde and rule as well as
enumeraLlon of Lhe populaLlon lnLo rlgld caLegorles durlng Lhe 10 year census conLrlbuLed Lowards Lhe
hardenlng of casLe ldenLlLles29

uurlng Lhe perlod of 8rlLlsh rule lndla saw Lhe rebelllons of several lower casLes malnly Lrlbals LhaL
revolLed agalnsL 8rlLlsh rule 1hese were30

1Palba rebelllon (149)
28hopalpaLnam SLruggle (193)
38hll rebelllon (1822183)31
4aralkoL rebelllon (1823)
31arapur rebelllon (184234)
6Marla rebelllon (184263)
llrsL lreedom SLruggle (18363)
88hll rebelllon begun by 1anLya 1ope ln 8answara (1838)32
9kol revolL (1839)
10Cond rebelllon begun by 8am[l Cond ln Adllabad (1860)33
11Murla rebelllon (186)
128anl rebelllon (18882)
138humkal (1910)
edlL Modern sLaLus of Lhe casLe sysLem
**nlPS Survey esLlmaLed only Plndu C8C populaLlon 1oLal C8C populaLlon derlved by assumlng
Musllm C8C populaLlon ln same proporLlon as Plndu C8C populaLlon)
1he masslve 2006 lndlan anLlreservaLlon proLesLs by hlghercasLe Plndus1he casLe sysLem ls sLlll soclally
relevanL ln lndla even when Lhe Loplc ls avolded by general rheLorlc CasLe has become (see CasLe
pollLlcs ln lndla) an lmporLanL facLor ln Lhe pollLlcs of rural lndla alLhough elecLlons ln Lhe flrsL decade of
Lhe 21sL cenLury seem Lo have dlmlnlshed a hold LhaL was very much evldenL ln Lhe prevlous few
decades

1he Government of Ind|a has off|c|a||y documented castes and subcastes pr|mar||y to determ|ne
those deserv|ng reservat|on (pos|t|ve d|scr|m|nat|on |n educat|on and [obs) through the census 1he
Ind|an reservat|on system though ||m|ted |n scope re||es ent|re|y on quotas 1he Government ||sts
cons|st of Schedu|ed Castes Schedu|ed 1r|bes and Cther 8ackward C|asses

Schedu|ed castes (SC)
Schedu|ed castes genera||y cons|st of Da||t 1he present popu|at|on |s 16 of the tota| popu|at|on of
Ind|a (around 160 m||||on) Ior examp|e the De|h| state has 49 castes ||sted as SC34
Schedu|ed tr|bes (S1)
Schedu|ed tr|bes genera||y cons|st of tr|ba| groups 1he present popu|at|on |s 7 of the tota|
popu|at|on of Ind|a |e around 70 m||||on
Cther 8ackward C|asses (C8C)
1he Manda| Comm|ss|on covered more than 3000 castes under C8C Category regard|ess of the|r
aff|uence or econom|c status and stated that C8Cs form around S2 of the Ind|an popu|at|on
nowever the Nat|ona| Samp|e Survey puts the f|gure at 323S 1here |s substant|a| debate over the
exact number of C8Cs |n Ind|a |t |s genera||y est|mated to be s|zab|e but many be||eve that |t |s |ower
than the f|gures quoted by e|ther the Manda| Comm|ss|on or the Nat|ona| Samp|e Survey36
1he castebased reservat|ons |n Ind|a have |ed to w|despread protests such as the 2006 Ind|an ant|
reservat|on protests w|th many comp|a|n|ng of reverse d|scr|m|nat|on aga|nst the forward castes (the
castes that do not qua||fy for the reservat|on)

1he government |s carry|ng out caste census for 201137 It w||| he|p |n ver|fy|ng the c|a|ms and
counterc|a|ms by var|ous sect|ons of the soc|ety about the|r actua| numbers It wou|d a|so he|p the
government to reexam|ne and even undo some of the po||c|es wh|ch were formed |n haste ||ke
Manda| comm|ss|on and br|ng more ob[ect|v|ty to the po||c|es w|th contemporary rea||t|es38 Cthers
be||eve that there |s actua||y no soc|a| st|gma at a|| assoc|ated w|th be|ong|ng to a backward caste and
that because of the huge const|tut|ona| |ncent|ves |n the form of educat|ona| and [ob reservat|ons a
|arge number of peop|e w||| fa|se|y dec|are themse|ves to be from a backward caste to ava|| of the
benef|ts 1h|s w||| not on|y resu|t |n a marked |nf|at|on of the backward castes numbers but a|so |ead
to enormous adm|n|strat|ve and [ud|c|a| resources be|ng devoted to soc|a| unrest and ||t|gat|on |f such
dub|ous caste dec|arat|ons are cha||enged

ed|t Caste systems among nonn|ndusMa|n art|c|es Caste system among South As|an Mus||ms and
Caste system among Ind|an Chr|st|ans
Chr|st|ans

In some parts of Ind|a Chr|st|ans are strat|f|ed by sect |ocat|on and the castes of the|r
predecessors39 usua||y |n reference to upper c|ass Syr|an Ma|abar Nasran|s Chr|st|ans |n kera|a are
d|v|ded |nto severa| commun|t|es |nc|ud|ng Syr|an Chr|st|ans and the soca||ed Lat|n or New k|te
Chr|st|ans

kera|a

Syr|an Chr|st|ans der|ve status w|th|n the caste system from the trad|t|on that they are converted n|gh
caste n|ndus such as Nambood|r|s Na|rs and Iews (Israe||tes) who were evange||zed by St
1homas40 Wr|ters Arundhat| koy and Anand kur|an have wr|tten persona| accounts of the caste
system at work |n the|r commun|ty414243444S Syr|an Chr|st|ans espec|a||y knanaya
Chr|st|ans tend to be endogamous and not |ntermarry w|th other Chr|st|an castes41 1h|s |s because
they w|sh to preserve the|r Iew|sh her|tage

1he Lat|n k|te Chr|st|ans were among the schedu|ed castes |n the coasta| be|t of kera|a where f|sh|ng
was the pr|mary occupat|on 1hey were act|ve|y converted by m|ss|onar|es |n the 16th and 19th
centur|es 1hese m|ss|onary act|v|t|es were carr|ed out by Western Lat|n k|te m|ss|onar|es who d|d not
understand the s|gn|f|cance of the caste system |n Ind|a none of the Syr|an churches had part|c|pated
|n such act|v|t|es among the schedu|ed castes of Ind|a because they were aware of the pre[ud|ces of
the caste systemc|tat|on needed 1he government of Ind|a |ater granted th|s group C8C status Very
rare|y are there |ntermarr|ages between Syr|an Chr|st|ans and Lat|n k|te Chr|st|ans

Anthropo|og|sts have noted that the caste h|erarchy among Chr|st|ans |n kera|a |s much more
po|ar|zed than the n|ndu pract|ces |n the surround|ng areas due to a |ack of [at|s A|so the caste
status |s kept even |f the sect a||eg|ance |s sw|tched (|e from Syr|an Catho||c to Syr|an Crthodox)46

Goa

In the Ind|an state of Goa mass convers|ons were carr|ed out by ortuguese Lat|n m|ss|onar|es from
the 16th century onwards 1he n|ndu converts reta|ned the|r caste pract|ces 1he cont|nued
ma|ntenance of the caste system among the Chr|st|ans |n Goa |s attr|buted to the nature of mass
convers|ons of ent|re v|||ages as a resu|t of wh|ch ex|st|ng soc|a| strat|f|cat|on was not affected 1he
ortuguese co|on|sts even dur|ng the Goan Inqu|s|t|on d|d not do anyth|ng to change the caste
system 1hus the or|g|na| n|ndu 8rahm|ns |n Goa now became Chr|st|an 8amonns and the kshatr|ya
became Chr|st|an nob|emen ca||ed Chardos 1he Chr|st|an c|ergy became a|most exc|us|ve|y 8amon
Va|shyas who converted to Chr|st|an|ty became Gauddos and Shudras became Sud|rs I|na||y the
Da||ts or Untouchab|es who converted to Chr|st|an|ty became Maharas and Chamars the |atter an
appe||at|on of the ant|Da||t ethn|c s|ur Chamaar

Mus||ms

Desp|te Is|ams c|ear proh|b|t|ons aga|nst a caste||ke system un|ts of soc|a| strat|f|cat|on have
deve|oped among Mus||ms |n some parts of South As|a4748 Sources |nd|cate that the castes
among Mus||ms deve|oped as the resu|t of c|ose contact w|th n|ndu cu|ture and n|ndu converts to
Is|am474849S0 1he Sachar Comm|ttees report comm|ss|oned by the government of Ind|a and
re|eased |n 2006 documents the cont|nued strat|f|cat|on |n Mus||m soc|ety though strat|f|cat|on |s not
as r|g|d as the n|ndu system nor |s |t condoned by Is|am

Among Mus||ms those who are referred to as Ashrafs are presumed to have a super|or status der|ved
from the|r fore|gn Arab ancestryS1S2 wh||e the A[|afs are assumed to be converts from n|ndu|sm
and have a |ower status nowever th|s may be more accurate|y descr|bed as ethnocentr|sm s|nce no
proh|b|t|ons or ru|es are |mposed on A|[afs or the|r m|ng||ng w|th Ashrafs In add|t|on the Arza| caste
among Mus||ms was regarded by ant|caste act|v|sts ||ke Ambedkar as the equ|va|ent of untouchab|es
due to the|r |ow soc|oeconom|c statusS3S4 In the 8enga| reg|on of Ind|a some Mus||ms strat|fy
the|r soc|ety accord|ng to uoms though th|s |s a descr|pt|on of the|r men|a| |abour and |s not a r|g|d
strata of soc|ety |n str|ct|y the same manner as a casteSS Wh||e many scho|ars have asserted that
the Mus||m castes are not as acute |n the|r d|scr|m|nat|on as those of the n|ndusS0S6 some ||ke
Ambedkar argued that the soc|a| ev||s |n Subcont|nenta| Mus||m soc|ety were worse than those seen
|n n|ndu soc|ety wh|ch maybe due to the |nf|uence of n|ndu soc|ety |n wh|ch they dwe||S3S4

S|kh

1he S|kh Gurus cr|t|c|zed the h|erarchy of the caste system Wh||e some castes were w|de|y perce|ved
as be|ng better or h|gher than others they preached that a|| sect|ons of soc|ety were va|uab|e and
that mer|t and hardwork were essent|a| aspects of ||fe In the Sh|roman| Gurdwara rabandhak
Comm|ttee out of 140 seats 20 are reserved for |ow caste S|khs nowever the quota system has
attracted much cr|t|c|sm due to the |ack of mer|tocracy s|nce mer|t |s cons|dered the s|ng|e most
|mportant component of w|nn|ng a seatS7

8uddh|sts

1he 8uddha spec|f|ca||y denounced the caste system and there was no pract|ce of caste amongst h|s
|mmed|ate fo||owers So the rest of th|s sect|on has a quest|onab|e status 1he 8uddh|sts a|so had a
caste system In Sr| Lanka the kod|s m|ght have been outcast by the Sr| Lankan 8uddh|sts due to the
absence of ah|msa (nonv|o|ence) a centra| tenet of 8uddh|sm among the|r be||efs 1he wr|ter
kaghavan notes 1hat a form of worsh|p |n wh|ch human offer|ngs formed the essent|a| r|tua| wou|d
have been anathema to the 8uddh|st way of ||fe goes w|thout say|ng and |t needs no stretch of
|mag|nat|on that any c|ass of peop|e |n whom the cu|t preva||ed or surv|ved even |n an attenuated
form wou|d have been pronounced by the sangha (|e the 8uddh|st c|ergy) as ex||es from the soc|a|
order Savarkar be||eved that the status of the backward castes (eg Chamar) that performed non
v|o|encec|ar|f|cat|on needed on|y worsenedS8 When wan Chwang trave|ed to South Ind|a after
the per|od of the Cha|ukyan Lmp|re he not|ced that the caste system had ex|sted among the
8uddh|sts and Ia|nsS9

Ia|ns

Ia|ns a|so had castes |n p|aces such as 8|har Ior examp|e |n the v|||age of 8unde|a there were severa|
[aats (groups) amongst the Ia|ns A person of one [aat cannot |nterm|ng|e w|th a Ia|n or another
[aat 1hey a|so cou|d not eat w|th the members of other [aats60

8aha|

1he 8aha| Ia|th has grown to prom|nence |n Ind|a s|nce |ts ph||osophy of the un|ty of human|ty
attracted many of the |ower castes61

ed|t Castere|ated v|o|enceMa|n art|c|e Castere|ated v|o|ence |n Ind|a
Independent Ind|a has w|tnessed a cons|derab|e amount of v|o|ence and hate cr|mes mot|vated by
caste Accord|ng to a UN report approx|mate|y 110000 cases of v|o|ent acts comm|tted aga|nst Da||ts
were reported |n 200S62 Var|ous |nc|dents of v|o|ence aga|nst Da||ts a|most a|ways by other
backward castes such as kunb|s kher|an[| Massacre and Iats M|rchpur k||||ngs |n 2010 have been
reported from many parts of Ind|a Many v|o|ent protests by Da||ts such as the 2006 Da||t protests |n
Maharashtra have a|so been reported

An except|on to the norm |s the kanv|r Sena a castesupremac|st fr|nge param|||tary group based |n
8|har wh|ch comm|tted v|o|ent acts aga|nst Da||ts

hoo|an Dev| who be|onged to the Ma||ah |ower caste was m|streated and raped by uppercaste
1hakurs at a young age She became a band|t and carr|ed out v|o|ent robber|es aga|nst uppercaste
peop|e In 1981 her gang massacred twentytwo 1hakurs most of whom were not |nvo|ved |n her
k|dnapp|ng or rape Later after an amnesty scheme she became a po||t|c|an and Member of
ar||ament

ed|t Caste po||t|csMa|n art|c|e Caste po||t|cs |n Ind|a
8 k Ambedkar and Iawahar|a| Nehru had rad|ca||y d|fferent approaches to caste espec|a||y
concern|ng const|tut|ona| po||t|cs and the status of untouchab|es63 S|nce the 1980s caste has
become a ma[or |ssue |n the po||t|cs of Ind|a63

1he Manda| Comm|ss|on was estab||shed |n 1979 to |dent|fy the soc|a||y or educat|ona||y backward
and to cons|der the quest|on of seat reservat|ons and quotas for peop|e to redress caste
d|scr|m|nat|on64 In 1980 the comm|ss|ons report aff|rmed the aff|rmat|ve act|on pract|ce under
Ind|an |aw whereby add|t|ona| members of |ower castes the other backward c|asses were g|ven
exc|us|ve access to another 27 percent of government [obs and s|ots |n pub||c un|vers|t|es |n add|t|on
to the 23 percent a|ready reserved for the Da||ts and 1r|ba|s When V S|nghs adm|n|strat|on tr|ed
to |mp|ement the recommendat|ons of the Manda| Comm|ss|on |n 1989 mass|ve protests were he|d
|n the country Many a||eged that the po||t|c|ans were try|ng to cash |n on castebased reservat|ons for
pure|y pragmat|c e|ectora| purposes

Many po||t|ca| part|es |n Ind|a have open|y |ndu|ged |n castebased votebank po||t|cs art|es such as
8ahu[an Sama[ arty (8S) the Sama[wad| arty and the Ianata Da| c|a|m that they are represent|ng
the backward castes and re|y on C8C support often |n a|||ance w|th Da||t and Mus||m support to w|n
e|ect|ons6S kemarkab|y |n what |s ca||ed a |andmark e|ect|on |n the h|story of Ind|as most
popu|ated state of Uttar radeshby whom? the 8ahu[an Sama[ arty was ab|e to garner a ma[or|ty
|n the state assemb|y e|ect|ons w|th the support of the h|gh caste 8rahm|n commun|ty

ed|t Cr|t|c|sm1here has been cr|t|c|sm of the caste system from both w|th|n and outs|de of Ind|a66
Cr|t|c|sm of the Caste system |n n|ndu soc|ety came both from the n|ndu fo|d and w|thout

ed|t n|stor|ca| cr|t|c|sm8oth 8uddha and Mahav|ra preached peop|e to break the bonds of the caste
system and severe|y cr|t|c|sed untouchab|||ty that was preva|ent throughout the soc|ety Many
bhakt| per|od sa|nts |nc|ud|ng Meeraba| Guru Nanak kab|r Cha|tanya Dnyaneshwar Lknath
Subramanya 8harath| kamanu[an and 1ukaram re[ected a|| castebased d|scr|m|nat|on and accepted
d|sc|p|es from a|| the castes Many n|ndu reformers such as Swam| V|vekananda be||eve that there |s
no p|ace for the caste system |n n|ndu|sm 1he 1Sth century sa|nt kamananda accepted a|| castes
|nc|ud|ng untouchab|es |nto h|s fo|d Most of these sa|nts subscr|bed to the 8hakt| movements |n
n|ndu|sm dur|ng the med|eva| per|od that re[ected caste|sm Nandanar a |owcaste n|ndu c|er|c a|so
re[ected caste|sm and accepted Da||ts67

Some oLher movemenLs ln Plndulsm have also welcomed lowercasLes lnLo Lhelr fold Lhe earllesL belng
Lhe 8hakLl movemenLs of Lhe medleval perlod uallL pollLlcs lnvolved many reform movemenLs Lhese
arose prlmarlly as a reacLlon Lo Lhe advenL of ChrlsLlan mlsslonarles ln lndla and Lhelr aLLempLs Lo
converL uallLs who were aLLracLed Lo Lhe prospecL of escaplng Lhe casLe sysLem

ln Lhe 19Lh CenLury Lhe 8rahmo Sama[ under 8a[a 8am Mohan 8oy acLlvely campalgned agalnsL
unLouchablllLy and casLelsm 1he Arya Sama[ founded by Swaml uayanand also renounced
dlscrlmlnaLlon agalnsL uallLs Srl 8amakrlshna aramahamsa and hls dlsclple Swaml vlvekananda
founded Lhe 8amakrlshna Mlsslon LhaL parLlclpaLed ln Lhe emanclpaLlon of uallLs uppercasLe Plndus
such as MannaLhu admanabhan parLlclpaLed ln movemenLs Lo abollsh unLouchablllLy agalnsL uallLs
admanabhan opened hls famlly Lemple Lo uallLs for worshlp narayana Curu a plous Plndu and an
auLhorlLy on Lhe vedas also crlLlclzed casLelsm and campalgned for Lhe rlghLs of lowercasLe Plndus
wlLhln Lhe conLexL of Plndulsm

1he flrsL uppercasLe Lemple Lo openly welcome uallLs lnLo Lhelr fold was Lhe Srl admanabhaswamy
Lemple ln 1hlruvananLhapuram ersLwhlle 1ravancore ln Lhe year 1936 Lhe move was spearheaded by
soclal reformer Ayyankall ln 1936 Lhe Mahara[a of 1ravancore proclalmed LhaL ouLcasLes should noL
be denled Lhe consolaLlons and Lhe solace of Lhe Plndu falLh Lven Loday Lhe Srl admanabhaswamy
Lemple LhaL flrsL welcomed uallLs ln Lhe sLaLe of kerala ls revered by Lhe uallL Plndu communlLy

1he casLe sysLem has also been crlLlclzed by many lndlan soclal reformers Some reformers such as
!yoLlrao hule and lyoLhee 1hass argued LhaL Lhe lower casLe people were Lhe orlglnal lnhablLanLs of
lndla who had been conquered ln Lhe anclenL pasL by 8rahmln lnvaders MahaLma Candhl colned Lhe
Lerm Parl[an a euphemlsLlc word for unLouchable llLerally meanlng Sons of Cod 8 8 Ambedkar born
ln Plndu uallL communlLy was a heavy crlLlc of Lhe casLe sysLem Pe ploneered Lhe uallL 8uddhlsL
movemenL ln lndla and asked hls followers Lo leave Plndulsm and converL Lo 8uddhlsm lndlas flrsL
rlme MlnlsLer !awaharlal nehru based on hls own relaLlonshlp wlLh uallL reformer Ambedkar
supporLed Lhe eradlcaLlon of unLouchablllLy for Lhe beneflL of Lhe uallL communlLy

edlL ConLemporary crlLlclsmCrganlzaLlons such as Lhe 8ashLrlya Swayamsevak Sangh have acLlvely
crlLlclzed Lhe casLe sysLem68

Some acLlvlsLs conslder Lhe casLe sysLem a form of raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon69 AL Lhe unlLed naLlons
Conference AgalnsL 8aclsm ln uurban SouLh Afrlca ln March 2001 parLlclpanLs condemned
dlscrlmlnaLlon based on Lhe casLe sysLem and Lrled Lo pass a resoluLlon declarlng casLe as a basls for
segregaLlon and oppresslon a form of aparLheld Powever no formal resoluLlon was passed0

1he alleged malLreaLmenL of uallLs ln lndla has been descrlbed by some auLhors as lndlas hldden
aparLheld12 CrlLlcs of Lhe accusaLlons polnL Lo subsLanLlal lmprovemenLs ln Lhe poslLlon of uallLs
ln posLlndependence lndla consequenL Lo Lhe sLrlcL lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe rlghLs and prlvlleges
enshrlned ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlon of lndla as lmplemenLed by Lhe roLecLlon of Clvll rlghLs AcL 19333
1hey also noLe LhaL lndla has had a uallL presldenL k8 narayanan and argue LhaL Lhe pracLlse had
dlsappeared ln urban publlc llfe4

Accordlng Lo Wllllam A Pavlland however

AlLhough lndlas naLlonal consLlLuLlon of 1930 soughL Lo abollsh casLe dlscrlmlnaLlon and Lhe pracLlce of
unLouchablllLy Lhe casLe sysLem remalns deeply enLrenched ln Plndu culLure and ls sLlll wldespread
LhroughouL souLhern Asla especlally ln rural lndla ln whaL has been called lndlas hldden aparLheld
enLlre vlllages ln many lndlan sLaLes remaln compleLely segregaLed by casLe 8epresenLlng abouL 13
percenL of lndlas populaLlonor some 160 mllllon peopleLhe wldely scaLLered uallLs endure near
compleLe soclal lsolaLlon humlllaLlon and dlscrlmlnaLlon based excluslvely on Lhelr blrLh sLaLus Lven a
uallLs shadow ls belleved Lo polluLe Lhe upper classes 1hey may noL cross Lhe llne dlvldlng Lhelr parL of
Lhe vlllage from LhaL occupled by hlgher casLes drlnk waLer from publlc wells or vlslL Lhe same Lemples
as Lhe hlgher casLes uallL chlldren are sLlll ofLen made Lo slL ln Lhe back of classrooms3

SoclologlsLs kevln 8ellly SLephen kaufman and Angela 8odlno whlle crlLlcal of casLelsm conclude LhaL
modern lndla does noL pracLlce any aparLheld slnce Lhere ls no sLaLesancLloned dlscrlmlnaLlon6
1hey wrlLe LhaL casLelsm ln lndla ls presenLly noL aparLheld ln facL unLouchables as well as Lrlbal
people and members of Lhe lowesL casLes ln lndla beneflL from broad afflrmaLlve acLlon programmes
and are en[oylng greaLer pollLlcal power/ref 1he ConsLlLuLlon of lndla places speclal emphasls on
ouLlawlng casLe dlscrlmlnaLlon especlally Lhe pracLlce of unLouchablllLy

edlL CasLe and raceAllegaLlons LhaL casLe amounLs Lo race were addressed and re[ecLed by 88
Ambedkar an advocaLe for uallL rlghLs and crlLlc of unLouchablllLy Pe wroLe LhaL 1he 8rahmln of
un[ab ls raclally of Lhe same sLock as Lhe Chamar of un[ab 1he CasLe sysLem does noL demarcaLe
raclal dlvlslon 1he CasLe sysLem ls a soclal dlvlslon of people of Lhe same race8

Such allegaLlons have also been re[ecLed by soclologlsLs such as Andre 8eLellle who wrlLes LhaL LreaLlng
casLe as a form of raclsm ls pollLlcally mlschlevous and worse sclenLlflcally nonsenslcal slnce Lhere ls
no dlscernlble dlfference ln Lhe raclal characLerlsLlcs beLween 8rahmlns and Scheduled CasLes Pe
sLaLes Lvery soclal group cannoL be regarded as a race slmply because we wanL Lo proLecL lL agalnsL
pre[udlce and dlscrlmlnaLlon9

1he lndlan governmenL also re[ecLs Lhe clalms of equlvalency beLween casLe and raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon
polnLlng ouL LhaL Lhe casLe lssues are essenLlally lnLraraclal and lnLraculLural lndlan ALLorney Ceneral
Soll Sorab[ee lnslsLed LhaL Lhe only reason lndla wanLs casLe dlscrlmlnaLlon kepL off Lhe agenda ls LhaL
lL wlll dlsLracL parLlclpanLs from Lhe maln Loplc raclsm CasLe dlscrlmlnaLlon ln lndla ls undenlable buL
casLe and race are enLlrely dlsLlncL69

Many scholars dlspuLe Lhe clalm LhaL casLelsm ls akln Lo raclsm SoclologlsL M n Srlnlvas has debaLed
Lhe quesLlon of rlgldlLy ln casLe2122 CLhers have applled LheoreLlcal models Lo explaln moblllLy and
flexlblllLy ln Lhe casLe sysLem ln lndla19 Accordlng Lo Lhese scholars groups of lowercasLe lndlvlduals
could seek Lo elevaLe Lhe sLaLus of Lhelr casLe by aLLempLlng Lo emulaLe Lhe pracLlces of hlgher casLes

ln her book uemocracy and AuLhorlLarlanlsm ln SouLh Asla aklsLanlAmerlcan soclologlsL Ayesha !alal
wrlLes As for Plndulsm Lhe hlerarchlcal prlnclples of Lhe 8rahmanlcal soclal order have always been
conLesLed from wlLhln Plndu socleLy suggesLlng LhaL equallLy has been and conLlnues Lo be boLh valued
and pracLlced80

ln lndla some observers felL LhaL Lhe casLe sysLem musL be vlewed as a sysLem of explolLaLlon of poor
lowranklng groups by more prosperous hlghranklng groups81 ln many parLs of lndla land ls largely
held by hlghranklng properLy owners of Lhe domlnanL casLes lncludlng Lhe pollLlcally prlvlleged oLher
backward classes (C8Cs) who economlcally explolL lowranklng landless labourers and poor
arLlsansclLaLlon needed

MaLL Cherry clalms LhaL karma underplns Lhe casLe sysLem whlch LradlLlonally deLermlnes Lhe poslLlon
and role of every member of Plndu socleLy CasLe deLermlnes an lndlvlduals place ln socleLy Lhe work
he or she may carry ouL and who he or she may marry and meeL Accordlng Lo hlm Plndus belleve LhaL
Lhe karma of prevlous llfe wlll deLermlne Lhe casLe an lndlvldual wlll be (re)born lnLo82

Cn 29 March 200 Lhe Supreme CourL of lndla as an lnLerlm measure sLayed Lhe law provldlng for 2
reservaLlon for CLher 8ackward Classes ln educaLlonal lnsLlLuLlons 1hls was done ln response Lo a publlc
lnLeresL llLlgaLlon Ashoka kumar 1hakur vs unlon of lndla 1he CourL held LhaL Lhe 1931 census could
noL be a deLermlnaLlve facLor for ldenLlfylng Lhe C8Cs for Lhe purpose of provldlng reservaLlon 1he
courL also observed 8eservaLlon cannoL be permanenL and appear Lo perpeLuaLe backwardness83
Powever Lhe Supreme CourL laLer upheld Lhe reservaLlon84

edlL CeneLlc analysls1here have been several sLudles examlnlng casLe members as dlscreLe
populaLlons examlnlng Lhe hypoLhesls LhaL Lhelr ancesLors have dlfferenL orlglns A 200203 sLudy by 1
klvlslld eL al concluded LhaL Lhe lndlan Lrlbal and casLe populaLlons derlve largely from Lhe same
geneLlc herlLage of lelsLocene souLhern and wesLern Aslans and have recelved llmlLed gene flow from
exLernal reglons slnce Lhe Polocene83 SLudles polnL Lo Lhe varlous lndlan casLe groups havlng slmllar
geneLlc orlglns86 and havlng negllglble geneLlc lnpuL from ouLslde souLh Asla86 8ecause Lhe lndlan
samples for Lhls sLudy were Laken from a slngle geographlcal area lL remalns Lo be lnvesLlgaLed wheLher
lLs flndlngs can be safely generallzed8

An earller 1993 sLudy by !oanna L MounLaln eL al of SLanford unlverslLy had concluded LhaL Lhere was
no clear separaLlon lnLo Lhree geneLlcally dlsLlncL groups along casLe llnes alLhough an lnferred Lree
revealed some clusLerlng accordlng Lo casLe afflllaLlon88 A 2006 sLudy by lsmall 1hanseem eL al of
CenLre for Cellular and Molecular 8lology (lndla) concluded LhaL Lhe lower casLe groups mlghL have
orlglnaLed wlLh Lhe hlerarchlcal dlvlslons LhaL arose wlLhln Lhe Lrlbal groups wlLh Lhe spread of neollLhlc
agrlculLurallsLs much earller Lhan Lhe arrlval of Aryan speakers and Lhe lndoLuropeans esLabllshed
Lhemselves as upper casLes among Lhls already developed casLellke class sLrucLure wlLhln Lhe
Lrlbes89 1he sLudy lndlcaLed LhaL Lhe lndlan casLe sysLem may have lLs rooLs long before Lhe arrlval of
Lhe lndoAryans a rudlmenLary verslon of Lhe casLe sysLem may have emerged wlLh Lhe shlfL Lowards
culLlvaLlon and seLLlemenLs and Lhe dlvlslons may have become more welldeflned and lnLenslfled wlLh
Lhe arrlval of lndoAryans90

A 2006 geneLlc sLudy by Lhe naLlonal lnsLlLuLe of 8lologlcals ln lndla LesLlng a sample of men from 32
Lrlbal and 43 casLe groups concluded LhaL Lhe lndlans have acqulred very few genes from lndo
Luropean speakers91 More recenL sLudles have also debunked Lhe 8rlLlshwho? clalms LhaL socalled
Aryans and uravldlans have a raclal dlvldeclLaLlon needed A sLudy conducLed by Lhe CenLre for Cellular
and Molecular 8lology (Pyderabad lndla) ln 2009 (ln collaboraLlon wlLh Parvard Medlcal School
Parvard School of ubllc PealLh and Lhe 8road lnsLlLuLe (of Ml1 and Parvard) analyzed half a mllllon
geneLlc markers across Lhe genomes of 132 lndlvlduals from 23 eLhnlc groups from 13 sLaLes ln lndla
across mulLlple casLe groups 1hls 2009 sLudy esLabllshes based on Lhe lmposslblllLy of ldenLlfylng any
geneLlc lndlcaLors across casLe llnes LhaL casLes ln SouLh Asla grew ouL of LradlLlonal Lrlbal organlzaLlons
durlng Lhe formaLlon of lndlan socleLy and was noL Lhe producL of any Aryan lnvaslon and sub[ugaLlon
of uravldlan people92 A 2001 sLudy says Analysls of Lhese daLa demonsLraLed LhaL Lhe upper casLes
have a hlgher afflnlLy Lo Luropeans Lhan Lo Aslans and Lhe upper casLes are slgnlflcanLly more slmllar Lo
Luropeans Lhan are Lhe lower casLes 93

ln 2001 some researchers from lndla Lurope and Lhe uS clalm LhaL geneLlc slmllarlLles Lo Luropeans
were more common ln members of Lhe hlgher ranks93 1helr flndlngs publlshed ln Cenome
8esearchln 2001 clalmed Lhe ldea LhaL members of hlgher casLes are more closely relaLed Lo Luropeans
Lhan are Lhe lower casLes9493

CeneLlc varlaLlons are reLalned ln Lhe casLe lor example many members of Lhe Arya valsya CheLLlyar
clan are faLally allerglc Lo some anaesLheLlcs such as SuxameLhonlum also known Scollne96

edlL ln popular culLureMulk 8a[ Anands debuL novel unLouchable (1933) based on Lhe Lheme of
unLouchablllLy Plndl fllm AchhooL kanya (unLouchable Malden 1936) sLarrlng Ashok kumar and uevlka
8anl was an early reformlsL fllm 1he debuL novel of ArundhaLl 8oy 1he Cod of Small 1hlngs (199) also
has Lhemes surroundlng Lhe casLe sysLem 1he novel became conLroverslal over a scene ln whlch an
unLouchable and a Louchable have an affalr wlLh eachoLher desplLe Lhe facL LhaL Lhe novel also feaLures
lncesL and molesLaLlon of a young chlld9













kac|sm |s the be||ef that |nherent d|fferent tra|ts |n human rac|a| groups [ust|fy d|scr|m|nat|on In the
modern Lng||sh |anguage the term rac|sm |s used predom|nant|y as a pe[orat|ve ep|thet It |s
app||ed espec|a||y to the pract|ce or advocacy of rac|a| d|scr|m|nat|on of a pern|c|ous nature (|e wh|ch
harms part|cu|ar groups of peop|e) and wh|ch |s often [ust|f|ed by recourse to rac|a| stereotyp|ng or
pseudosc|ence

Modern usage often equates rac|sm and rac|a| d|scr|m|nat|on and def|nes the |atter term on|y as
app|y|ng to pern|c|ous pract|ces D|fferent|a| treatment of rac|a| groups that |s |ntended to ame||orate
past d|scr|m|nat|on rather than to harm goes by other names (eg aff|rmat|ve act|on) the
character|zat|on of th|s pract|ce as rac|sm rac|a| d|scr|m|nat|on or reverse d|scr|m|nat|on |s
norma||y on|y done by |ts opponents and typ|ca||y |mp||es a be||ef |n the harmfu| nature of the
pract|ce w|th respect to the groups not rece|v|ng ass|stance
kac|sm |s popu|ar|y assoc|ated w|th var|ous act|v|t|es that are |||ega| or common|y cons|dered harmfu|
such as extrem|sm hatred xenophob|a (ma||gnant or forced) exp|o|tat|on separat|sm rac|a|
supremacy mass murder (for the purpose of genoc|de) genoc|de den|a| v|g||ant|sm (hate cr|mes
terror|sm) etc

kac|sm and rac|a| d|scr|m|nat|on are often used to descr|be d|scr|m|nat|on on an ethn|c or cu|tura|
bas|s |ndependent of the|r somat|c (|e rac|a|) d|fferences Accord|ng to the Un|ted Nat|ons
convent|ons there |s no d|st|nct|on between the term rac|a| d|scr|m|nat|on and ethn|c|ty
d|scr|m|nat|on

ConLenLs
1 usage of Lhe Lerm and relaLed Lerms
2 ueflnlLlons
21 Legal
22 Soclologlcal
23 xenophobla
24 Supremaclsm
23 SegregaLlonlsm
3 1ypes
31 8aclal dlscrlmlnaLlon
32 lnsLlLuLlonal
33 Lconomlc
34 ueclaraLlons and lnLernaLlonal law agalnsL raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon
4 ldeology
41 LLhnlc naLlonallsm
3 LLhnlc confllcLs
6 Academlc varlanLs
61 SclenLlflc varlanLs
611 PeredlLy and eugenlcs
612 olygenlsm and raclal Lypologles
613 Puman zoos
LvoluLlonary Lheorles abouL Lhe orlglns of raclsm
8 As sLaLesponsored acLlvlLy
9 ln hlsLory
91 ln AnLlqulLy
92 Mlddle Ages and 8enalssance
93 19Lh cenLury
94 20Lh cenLury
93 ConLemporary
10 lnLermlnorlLy varlanLs
11 lnLernaLlonal uay for Lhe LllmlnaLlon of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon
12 See also
13 8eferences noLes
14 lurLher readlng
13 LxLernal llnks


usage of Lhe Lerm and relaLed Lermsln Lhe 19Lh cenLury many sclenLlsLs subscrlbed Lo Lhe slmple bellef
LhaL human populaLlons are dlvlded lnLo separaLe races1 1hls was ofLen used Lo [usLlfy Lhe bellef LhaL
some races were lnferlor Lo oLhers and LhaL dlfferenLlal LreaLmenL was consequenLly [usLlfled234
Such Lheorles are generally Lermed sclenLlflc raclsm When Lhe pracLlce of LreaLlng cerLaln groups
preferenLlally or denylng oLhers rlghLs or beneflLs based on raclal characLerlsLlcs ls lnsLlLuLlonallzed lL ls
Lermed lnsLlLuLlonal raclsm

nowadays mosL blologlsLs anLhropologlsLs and soclologlsLs re[ecL a slmple Laxonomy of races ln favor
of more speclflc and/or emplrlcally verlflable crlLerla such as geography eLhnlclLy or a hlsLory of
endogamy3

1hose who subscrlbe Lo Lhe proposlLlon LhaL Lhere are lnherenL dlsLlncLlons among people LhaL can be
ascrlbed Lo membershlp ln a raclal group (and who may use Lhls Lo [usLlfy dlfferenLlal LreaLmenL of such
groups) Lend Lo descrlbe Lhemselves uslng Lhe Lerm raclallsm raLher Lhan raclsm Lo avold Lhe
negaLlve connoLaLlons of Lhe laLLer word 8aclallsm ls assumed Lo be more valueneuLral Lermlnology
and more approprlaLe for (sclenLlflcally) ob[ecLlve communlcaLlon or analysls

Powever Lhls dlsLrlbuLlon of meanlngs beLween Lhe Lwo Lerms used Lo be preclsely lnverse aL Lhe Llme
Lhey were colned 1he Cxford Lngllsh ulcLlonary deflned raclallsm as bellef ln Lhe superlorlLy of a
parLlcular race and glves a 190 quoLe as Lhe flrsL recorded use 1he shorLened Lerm raclsm dld noL
appear ln Lhe Lngllsh language unLll Lhe 1930s6 lL was flrsL deflned by Lhe CLu as Lhe Lheory LhaL
dlsLlncLlve human characLerlsLlcs and ablllLles are deLermlned by race whlch glves 1936 as Lhe flrsL
recorded use AddlLlonally Lhe CLu records raclsm as a synonym of raclallsm bellef ln Lhe superlorlLy
of a parLlcular race 8y Lhe end of World War ll raclsm had acqulred Lhe same supremaclsL
connoLaLlons former assoclaLed wlLh raclallsm raclsm now lmplled raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon raclal
supremaclsm and a harmful lnLenL (1he Lerm race haLred had also been used by soclologlsL lrederlck
PerLz ln Lhe laLe 1920s)

Modeled on Lhe Lerm raclsm a large number of pe[oraLlve lsm Lerms have been creaLed Lo descrlbe
varlous Lypes of pre[udlce sexlsm agelsm ablelsm specleslsm eLc 8elaLed concepLs are anLlsemlLlsm
chauvlnlsm and homophobla (whlch ln Lurn has led Lo Lerms such as lslamophobla)

ueflnlLlons8aclsm lnvolves Lhe bellef ln raclal dlfferences whlch acLs as a [usLlflcaLlon for nonequal
LreaLmenL (whlch some regard as dlscrlmlnaLlon) of members of LhaL race2 1he Lerm ls commonly
used negaLlvely and ls usually assoclaLed wlLh racebased pre[udlce vlolence dlsllke dlscrlmlnaLlon or
oppresslon Lhe Lerm can also have varylng and conLesLed deflnlLlons 8aclallsm ls a relaLed Lerm
someLlmes lnLended Lo avold Lhese negaLlve meanlngs

As a word raclsm ls an lsm a bellef LhaL can be descrlbed by a word endlng ln Lhe sufflx lsm
perLalnlng Lo race As lLs eLymology would suggesL lLs usage ls relaLlvely recenL and as such lLs deflnlLlon
ls noL enLlrely seLLled 1he Cxford Lngllsh ulcLlonary deflnes raclsm as Lhe bellef LhaL all members of
each race possess characLerlsLlcs ablllLles or quallLles speclflc Lo LhaL race especlally so as Lo dlsLlngulsh
lL as lnferlor or superlor Lo anoLher race or races and Lhe expresslon of such pre[udlce89 whlle Lhe
MerrlamWebsLers ulcLlonary deflnes lL as a bellef LhaL race ls Lhe prlmary deLermlnanL of human LralLs
and capaclLles and LhaL raclal dlfferences produce an lnherenL superlorlLy or lnferlorlLy of a parLlcular
raclal group and alLernaLlvely LhaL lL ls also Lhe pre[udlce based on such a bellef10 1he Macquarle
ulcLlonary deflnes raclsm as Lhe bellef LhaL human races have dlsLlncLlve characLerlsLlcs whlch
deLermlne Lhelr respecLlve culLures usually lnvolvlng Lhe ldea LhaL ones own race ls superlor and has
Lhe rlghL Lo rule or domlnaLe oLhers

Legal1he un does noL deflne raclsm however lL does deflne raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon Accordlng Lo Lhe
unlLed naLlons ConvenLlon on Lhe LllmlnaLlon of All lorms of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon

Lhe Lerm raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon shall mean any dlsLlncLlon excluslon resLrlcLlon or preference based on
race colour descenL or naLlonal or eLhnlc orlgln LhaL has Lhe purpose or effecL of nulllfylng or lmpalrlng
Lhe recognlLlon en[oymenL or exerclse on an equal fooLlng of human rlghLs and fundamenLal freedoms
ln Lhe pollLlcal economlc soclal culLural or any oLher fleld of publlc llfe11

1hls deflnlLlon does noL make any dlfference beLween dlscrlmlnaLlon based on eLhnlclLy and race ln parL
because Lhe dlsLlncLlon beLween Lhe Lwo remalns debaLable among anLhropologlsLs12 Slmllarly ln
8rlLlsh law Lhe phrase raclal group means any group of people who are deflned by reference Lo Lhelr
race colour naLlonallLy (lncludlng clLlzenshlp) or eLhnlc or naLlonal orlgln13

SoclologlcalSome soclologlsLs have deflned raclsm as a sysLem of group prlvllege ln orLralLs of WhlLe
8aclsm uavld Wellman has deflned raclsm as culLurally sancLloned bellefs whlch regardless of
lnLenLlons lnvolved defend Lhe advanLages whlLes have because of Lhe subordlnaLed poslLlon of raclal
mlnorlLles"14 SoclologlsLs noel A Cazenave and uarlene Alvarez Maddern deflne raclsm as a hlghly
organlzed sysLem of racebased group prlvllege LhaL operaLes aL every level of socleLy and ls held
LogeLher by a sophlsLlcaLed ldeology of color/race supremacy Sellers and ShelLon (2003) found LhaL a
relaLlonshlp beLween raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon and emoLlonal dlsLress was moderaLed by raclal ldeology and
publlc regard bellefs 1haL ls raclal cenLrallLy appears Lo promoLe Lhe degree of dlscrlmlnaLlon Afrlcan
Amerlcan young adulLs percelve whereas raclal ldeology may buffer Lhe deLrlmenLal emoLlonal effecLs of
LhaL dlscrlmlnaLlon 8aclsL sysLems lnclude buL cannoL be reduced Lo raclal blgoLry"13 SoclologlsL
and former Amerlcan Soclologlcal AssoclaLlon presldenL !oe leagln argues LhaL Lhe unlLed SLaLes can be
characLerlzed as a LoLal raclsL socleLy16

ollce harassmenL and bruLallLy dlrecLed aL black men women and chlldren are as old as Amerlcan
socleLy daLlng back Lo Lhe days of slavery and !lm Crow segregaLlon Such pollce acLlons across Lhe
naLlon Loday reveal lmporLanL aspecLs of Lhe commonplace dlscrlmlnaLory pracLlces of lndlvldual
whlLes and whlLe domlnaLed lnsLlLuLlons LhaL allow or encourage such pracLlces1

Some soclologlsLs have also polnLed ouL wlLh reference Lo Lhe uSA and elsewhere LhaL forms of raclsm
have ln many lnsLances muLaLed from more blaLanL expresslons hereof lnLo more coverL klnds (albelL
LhaL blaLanL forms of haLred and dlscrlmlnaLlon sLlll endure) 1he newer" (more hldden and less easlly
deLecLable) forms of raclsm whlch can be consldered as embedded ln soclal processes and sLrucLures
are more dlfflculL Lo explore as well as challenge

xenophoblaMaln arLlcle xenophobla
ulcLlonary deflnlLlons of xenophobla lnclude deeprooLed anLlpaLhy Lowards forelgners (Cxford Lngllsh
ulcLlonary CLu) unreasonable fear or haLred of Lhe unfamlllar especlally people of oLher races
(WebsLers)18 1he ulcLlonary of sychology deflnes lL as a fear of sLrangers19

SupremaclsmMaln arLlcle Supremaclsm
CenLurles of Luropean colonlallsm of Lhe Amerlcas Afrlca and Asla was excused by whlLe supremaclsL
aLLlLudes20 uurlng Lhe early 20Lh cenLury Lhe phrase 1he WhlLe Mans 8urden was wldely used Lo
[usLlfy lmperlallsL pollcy as a noble enLerprlse2122


A rally agalnsL school lnLegraLlon ln 1939SegregaLlonlsmMaln arLlcle 8aclal segregaLlon
8aclal segregaLlon ls Lhe separaLlon of humans lnLo raclal groups ln dally llfe lL may apply Lo acLlvlLles
such as eaLlng ln a resLauranL drlnklng from a waLer founLaln uslng a baLh room aLLendlng school
golng Lo Lhe movles or ln Lhe renLal or purchase of a home23 SegregaLlon ls generally ouLlawed buL
may exlsL Lhrough soclal norms even when Lhere ls no sLrong lndlvldual preference for lL as suggesLed
by 1homas Schelllngs models of segregaLlon and subsequenL work

1ypes8aclal dlscrlmlnaLlon8aclal dlscrlmlnaLlon refers Lo Lhe separaLlon of people Lhrough a process of
soclal dlvlslon lnLo caLegorles noL necessarlly relaLed Lo races for purposes of dlfferenLlal LreaLmenL
8aclal segregaLlon pollcles may formallze lL buL lL ls also ofLen exerLed wlLhouL belng legallzed
8esearchers Marlanne 8erLrand and Sendhll MullalnaLhan aL Lhe unlverslLy of Chlcago and Ml1 found ln
a 2004 sLudy LhaL Lhere was wldespread dlscrlmlnaLlon ln Lhe workplace agalnsL [ob appllcanLs whose
names were merely percelved as soundlng black 1hese appllcanLs were 30 less llkely Lhan
candldaLes percelved as havlng whlLesoundlng names Lo recelve callbacks for lnLervlews uevah
ager a soclologlsL aL rlnceLon unlverslLy senL maLched palrs of appllcanLs Lo apply for [obs ln
Mllwaukee and new ?ork ClLy flndlng LhaL black appllcanLs recelved callbacks or [ob offers aL half Lhe
raLe of equally quallfled whlLes2423 ln conLrasL lnsLlLuLlons and courLs have upheld dlscrlmlnaLlon
agalnsL whlLes when lL ls done Lo promoLe a dlverse work or educaLlonal envlronmenL even when lL was
shown Lo be Lo Lhe deLrlmenL of quallfled appllcanLs262 1he researchers vlew Lhese resulLs as
sLrong evldence of unconsclous blases rooLed ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes long hlsLory of dlscrlmlnaLlon (le !lm
Crow laws eLc)28


SLudenLs proLesLlng agalnsL raclal quoLas ln 8razll 1he slgn reads WanL a vacancy? ass Lhe
vesLlbular!lnsLlLuLlonallurLher lnformaLlon lnsLlLuLlonal raclsm SLaLe raclsm AfflrmaLlve acLlon 8aclal
proflllng and 8aclsm by counLry
lnsLlLuLlonal raclsm (also known as sLrucLural raclsm sLaLe raclsm or sysLemlc raclsm) ls raclal
dlscrlmlnaLlon by governmenLs corporaLlons rellglons or educaLlonal lnsLlLuLlons or oLher large
organlzaLlons wlLh Lhe power Lo lnfluence Lhe llves of many lndlvlduals SLokely Carmlchael ls credlLed
for colnlng Lhe phrase lnsLlLuLlonal raclsm ln Lhe laLe 1960s Pe deflned Lhe Lerm as Lhe collecLlve
fallure of an organlzaLlon Lo provlde an approprlaLe and professlonal servlce Lo people because of Lhelr
colour culLure or eLhnlc orlgln29

Maulana karenga argued LhaL raclsm consLlLuLed Lhe desLrucLlon of culLure language rellglon and
human posslblllLy and LhaL Lhe effecLs of raclsm were Lhe morally monsLrous desLrucLlon of human
posslblllLy lnvolved redeflnlng Afrlcan humanlLy Lo Lhe world polsonlng pasL presenL and fuLure
relaLlons wlLh oLhers who only know us Lhrough Lhls sLereoLyplng and Lhus damaglng Lhe Lruly human
relaLlons among peoples30

Lconomlc 1hls secLlon needs addlLlonal clLaLlons for verlflcaLlon lease help lmprove Lhls arLlcle by
addlng clLaLlons Lo rellable sources unsourced maLerlal may be challenged and removed (november
2010)

PlsLorlcal economlc or soclal dlsparlLy ls alleged Lo be a form of dlscrlmlnaLlon caused by pasL raclsm
and hlsLorlcal reasons affecLlng Lhe presenL generaLlon Lhrough deflclLs ln Lhe formal educaLlon and
klnds of preparaLlon ln prevlous generaLlon and Lhrough prlmarlly unconsclous raclsL aLLlLudes and
acLlons on members of Lhe general populaLlon

A hypoLhesls embraced by classlcal economlsLs ls LhaL compeLlLlon ln a caplLallsL economy decreases Lhe
lmpacL of dlscrlmlnaLlon 1he Lhlnklng behlnd Lhe hypoLhesls ls LhaL dlscrlmlnaLlon lmposes a cosL on Lhe
employer and Lhus a proflLdrlven employer wlll avold raclsL hlrlng pollcles


nazl boycoLL of !ewlsh buslnesses Cermany 1933AlLhough a caplLallsL economy would avold
dlscrlmlnaLlon ln order Lo avold exLra cosL Lhls can be avolded ln oLher ways A caplLallsL company for
example may use raclsL hlrlng pollcles as lL devlaLes Lowards Lhe culLural norm lor example ln a
predomlnanLly whlLe socleLy hlrlng a person of colour lnLo a poslLlon of managemenL may Lhen cause
dlspuLes and damage communlcaLlons beLween oLher employers 1hus Lhe company would be
economlcally puL ln a deflclL because of Lhe dlscrlmlnaLlon of oLher companles as Lhey lnvoke
dlscrlmlnaLlon and lsolaLe LhaL company AlLhough Lhls may be a radlcal over exaggeraLed polnL of vlew
lL porLrays how pervaslve raclsm ls and how companywho? wlll some Llme devlaLe Lowards raclsL hlrlng
pollcles ln order Lo henceforLh be noL lsolaLed Lhus prevenLlng Lhe company from golng lnLo an
economlc deflclL (8urLon 20091)

lor decades Afrlcan Amerlcan farmers sald Lhey were un[usLly belng denled farm loans or sub[ecLed Lo
longer walLs for loan approval because of raclsm31 and accused Lhe uS ueparLmenL of AgrlculLure
(uSuA) of noL respondlng Lo Lhelr complalnLs32

uurlng Lhe Spanlsh colonlal perlod Spanlards developed a complex casLe sysLem based on race whlch
was used for soclal conLrol and whlch also deLermlned a persons lmporLance ln socleLy33 Whlle many
LaLln Amerlcan counLrles have long slnce rendered Lhe sysLem offlclally lllegal Lhrough leglslaLlon
usually aL Lhe Llme of Lhelr lndependence pre[udlce based on degrees of percelved raclal dlsLance from
Luropean ancesLry comblned wlLh ones socloeconomlc sLaLus remaln an echo of Lhe colonlal casLe
sysLem AlmosL unlformly people who are darkersklnned and of lndlgenous descenL make up Lhe
peasanLry and worklng classes whlle llghLersklnned SpanlshdescenL LaLln Amerlcans are ln Lhe rullng
ellLe3433

ueclaraLlons and lnLernaLlonal law agalnsL raclal dlscrlmlnaLlonln 1919 a proposal Lo lnclude a raclal
equallLy provlslon ln Lhe CovenanL of Lhe League of naLlons was supporLed by a ma[orlLy buL noL
adopLed ln Lhe arls eace Conference 1919 ln 1943 !apan and lLs allles declared work for Lhe
abollLlon of raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon Lo be Lhelr alm aL Lhe CreaLer LasL Asla Conference36 ArLlcle 1 of Lhe
1943 un CharLer lncludes promoLlng and encouraglng respecL for human rlghLs and for fundamenLal
freedoms for all wlLhouL dlsLlncLlon as Lo race as un purpose


An anLldlscrlmlnaLlon posLer ln a Pong kong subway sLaLlon 2003ln 1930 unLSCC suggesLed ln 1he
8ace CuesLlon a sLaLemenL slgned by 21 scholars such as Ashley MonLagu Claude LevlSLrauss
Cunnar Myrdal !ullan Puxley eLc Lo drop Lhe Lerm race alLogeLher and lnsLead speak of eLhnlc
groups 1he sLaLemenL condemned sclenLlflc raclsm Lheorles LhaL had played a role ln Lhe PolocausL lL
almed boLh aL debunklng sclenLlflc raclsL Lheorles by popularlzlng modern knowledge concernlng Lhe
race quesLlon and morally condemned raclsm as conLrary Lo Lhe phllosophy of Lhe LnllghLenmenL and
lLs assumpLlon of equal rlghLs for all Along wlLh Myrdals An Amerlcan ullemma 1he negro roblem
and Modern uemocracy (1944) 1he 8ace CuesLlon lnfluenced Lhe 1934 uS Supreme CourL
desegregaLlon declslon ln 8rown v 8oard of LducaLlon of 1opeka3 Also ln 1930 Lhe Luropean
ConvenLlon on Puman 8lghLs was adopLed wldely used on raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon lssues38

1he unlLed naLlons use Lhe deflnlLlon of raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon lald ouL ln Lhe lnLernaLlonal ConvenLlon on
Lhe LllmlnaLlon of All lorms of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon adopLed ln 1966

any dlsLlncLlon excluslon resLrlcLlon or preference based on race color descenL or naLlonal or eLhnlc
orlgln LhaL has Lhe purpose or effecL of nulllfylng or lmpalrlng Lhe recognlLlon en[oymenL or exerclse on
an equal fooLlng of human rlghLs and fundamenLal freedoms ln Lhe pollLlcal economlc soclal culLural
or any oLher fleld of publlc llfe(arL 1 of ArLlcle 1 of Lhe un lnLernaLlonal ConvenLlon on Lhe
LllmlnaLlon of All lorms of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon)39

ln 2001 Lhe Luropean unlon expllclLly banned raclsm along wlLh many oLher forms of soclal
dlscrlmlnaLlon ln Lhe CharLer of lundamenLal 8lghLs of Lhe Luropean unlon Lhe legal effecL of whlch lf
any would necessarlly be llmlLed Lo lnsLlLuLlons of Lhe Luropean unlon ArLlcle 21 of Lhe charLer
prohlblLs dlscrlmlnaLlon on any ground such as race color eLhnlc or soclal orlgln geneLlc feaLures
language rellglon or bellef pollLlcal or any oLher oplnlon membershlp of a naLlonal mlnorlLy properLy
dlsablllLy age or sexual orlenLaLlon and also dlscrlmlnaLlon on Lhe grounds of naLlonallLy40

ldeology
A raclsL pollLlcal campalgn posLer from Lhe 1866 ennsylvanla gubernaLorlal elecLlon
A slgn on a raclally segregaLed beach ln SouLh Afrlca durlng Lhe SouLh Afrlca under aparLheldAs an
ldeology raclsm exlsLed durlng Lhe 19Lh cenLury as sclenLlflc raclsm whlch aLLempLed Lo provlde a
raclal classlflcaLlon of humanlLy41 AlLhough such raclsL ldeologles have been wldely dlscredlLed afLer
World War ll and Lhe PolocausL raclsm and raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon have remalned wldespread around Lhe
world Some examples of Lhls ln presenL day are sLaLlsLlcs lncludlng buL noL llmlLed Lo Lhe raclal
breakdown of Lhe prlson populaLlon versus Lhe naLlonal populaLlon physlcal ablllLles and menLal ablllLy
sLaLlsLlcs and oLher daLa gaLhered by sclenLlflc groups Whlle Lhese sLaLlsLlcs may be accuraLe and can
show Lrends lLs lnapproprlaLe ln mosL counLrles Lo assume LhaL because a parLlcular race has a hlgh
crlme or low llLeracy raLe LhaL Lhe enLlre race of people are lnherenL crlmlnals or lnherenLly
unlnLelllgenL

lL was already noLed by uu8ols LhaL ln maklng Lhe dlfference beLween races lL ls noL race LhaL we Lhlnk
abouL buL culLure a common hlsLory common laws and rellglon slmllar hablLs of LhoughL and a
consclous sLrlvlng LogeLher for cerLaln ldeals of llfe"42 LaLe 19Lh cenLury naLlonallsLs were Lhe flrsL Lo
embrace conLemporary dlscourses on race eLhnlclLy and survlval of Lhe flLLesL Lo shape new
naLlonallsL docLrlnes ulLlmaLely race came Lo represenL noL only Lhe mosL lmporLanL LralLs of Lhe
human body buL was also regarded as declslvely shaplng Lhe characLer and personallLy of Lhe
naLlon43

Accordlng Lo Lhls vlew culLure ls Lhe physlcal manlfesLaLlon creaLed by eLhnlc grouplngs as such fully
deLermlned by raclal characLerlsLlcs CulLure and race became consldered lnLerLwlned and dependenL
upon each oLher someLlmes even Lo Lhe exLenL of lncludlng naLlonallLy or language Lo Lhe seL of
deflnlLlon ureness of race Lended Lo be relaLed Lo raLher superflclal characLerlsLlcs LhaL were easlly
addressed and adverLlsed such as blondness 8aclal quallLles Lended Lo be relaLed Lo naLlonallLy and
language raLher Lhan Lhe acLual geographlc dlsLrlbuLlon of raclal characLerlsLlcs ln Lhe case of
nordlclsm Lhe denomlnaLlon Cermanlc became vlrLually equlvalenL Lo superlorlLy of race

8olsLered by some naLlonallsL and eLhnocenLrlc values and achlevemenLs of cholce Lhls concepL of raclal
superlorlLy evolved Lo dlsLlngulsh from oLher culLures LhaL were consldered lnferlor or lmpure 1hls
emphasls on culLure corresponds Lo Lhe modern malnsLream deflnlLlon of raclsm 8aclsm does noL
orlglnaLe from Lhe exlsLence of 'races' lL creaLes Lhem Lhrough a process of soclal dlvlslon lnLo
caLegorles anybody can be raclallsed lndependenLly of Lhelr somaLlc culLural rellglous
dlfferences44

1hls deflnlLlon expllclLly lgnores Lhe blologlcal concepL of race sLlll sub[ecL Lo sclenLlflc debaLe ln Lhe
words of uavld C 8owe A raclal concepL alLhough someLlmes ln Lhe gulse of anoLher name wlll remaln
ln use ln blology and ln oLher flelds because sclenLlsLs as well as lay persons are fasclnaLed by human
dlverslLy some of whlch ls capLured by race43

unLll recenLly Lhls raclsL abuse of physlcal anLhropology has been pollLlcally explolLed AparL from belng
unsclenLlflc raclal pre[udlce became sub[ecL Lo lnLernaLlonal leglslaLlon lor lnsLance Lhe ueclaraLlon on
Lhe LllmlnaLlon of All lorms of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon adopLed by Lhe unlLed naLlons Ceneral Assembly
on november 20 1963 address raclal pre[udlce expllclLly nexL Lo dlscrlmlnaLlon for reasons of race
colour or eLhnlc orlgln (ArLlcle l)46

8aclsm has been a moLlvaLlng facLor ln soclal dlscrlmlnaLlon raclal segregaLlon haLe speech and
vlolence (such as pogroms genocldes and eLhnlc cleanslngs) uesplLe Lhe perslsLence of raclal
sLereoLypes humor and eplLheLs ln much everyday language raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon ls lllegal ln many
counLrles

lronlcally anLlraclsm has also become a pollLlcal lnsLrumenL of abuse Some pollLlclans have pracLlsed
race balLlng ln an aLLempL Lo wln voLes ln a reversal of values anLlraclsm ls belng propagaLed by
despoLs ln Lhe servlce of obscuranLlsm and Lhe suppresslon of women hllosopher ascal 8ruckner
clalmed LhaL AnLlraclsm ln Lhe un has become Lhe ldeology of LoLallLarlan reglmes who use lL ln Lhelr
own lnLeresLs4

LLhnlc naLlonallsmlurLher lnformaLlon LLhnlc naLlonallsm and 8omanLlc naLlonallsm
AfLer Lhe napoleonlc Wars Lurope was confronLed wlLh Lhe new naLlonallLles quesLlon leadlng Lo
reconflguraLlons of Lhe Luropean map on whlch Lhe fronLlers beLween Lhe sLaLes had been dellmlLed
durlng Lhe 1648 eace of WesLphalla naLlonallsm had made lLs flrsL appearance wlLh Lhe lnvenLlon of
Lhe levee en masse by Lhe lrench revoluLlonarles Lhus lnvenLlng mass conscrlpLlon ln order Lo be able
Lo defend Lhe newly founded 8epubllc agalnsL Lhe Anclen 8eglme order represenLed by Lhe Luropean
monarchles 1hls led Lo Lhe lrench 8evoluLlonary Wars (1921802) and Lhen Lo Lhe napoleonlc
conquesLs and Lo Lhe subsequenL Luropeanwlde debaLes on Lhe concepLs and reallLles of naLlons and
ln parLlcular of naLlonsLaLes 1he WesLphalla 1reaLy had dlvlded Lurope lnLo varlous emplres and
klngdoms (CLLoman Lmplre Poly 8oman Lmplre Swedlsh Lmplre klngdom of lrance eLc) and for
cenLurles wars were waged beLween prlnces (kablneLLskrlege ln Cerman)

Modern naLlonsLaLes appeared ln Lhe wake of Lhe lrench 8evoluLlon wlLh Lhe formaLlon of paLrloLlc
senLlmenLs for Lhe flrsL Llme ln Spaln durlng Lhe enlnsula War (18081813 known ln Spaln as Lhe
lndependence War) uesplLe Lhe resLoraLlon of Lhe prevlous order wlLh Lhe 1813 Congress of vlenna
Lhe naLlonallLles quesLlon became Lhe maln problem of Lurope durlng Lhe lndusLrlal Lra leadlng ln
parLlcular Lo Lhe 1848 8evoluLlons Lhe lLallan unlflcaLlon compleLed durlng Lhe 181 lrancorusslan
War whlch lLself culmlnaLed ln Lhe proclamaLlon of Lhe Cerman Lmplre ln Lhe Pall of Mlrrors ln Lhe
alace of versallles Lhus achlevlng Lhe Cerman unlflcaLlon

Meanwhlle Lhe CLLoman Lmplre Lhe slck man of Lurope was confronLed wlLh endless naLlonallsL
movemenLs whlch along wlLh Lhe dlssolvlng of Lhe AusLrlanPungarlan Lmplre would lead Lo Lhe
creaLlon afLer World War l of Lhe varlous naLlonsLaLes of Lhe 8alkans wlLh naLlonal mlnorlLles ln Lhelr
borders48 LLhnlc naLlonallsm whlch advocaLed Lhe bellef ln a heredlLary membershlp of Lhe naLlon
made lLs appearance ln Lhe hlsLorlcal conLexL surroundlng Lhe creaLlon of Lhe modern naLlonsLaLes

Cne of lLs maln lnfluences was Lhe 8omanLlc naLlonallsL movemenL aL Lhe Lurn of Lhe 19Lh cenLury
represenLed by flgures such as !ohann Perder (1441803) !ohan llchLe (1621814) ln Lhe Addresses
Lo Lhe Cerman naLlon (1808) lrledrlch Pegel (101831) or also ln lrance !ules MlcheleL (198
184) lL was opposed Lo llberal naLlonallsm represenLed by auLhors such as LrnesL 8enan (18231892)
who concelved of Lhe naLlon as a communlLy whlch lnsLead of belng based on Lhe volk eLhnlc group
and on a speclflc common language was founded on Lhe sub[ecLlve wlll Lo llve LogeLher (Lhe naLlon ls a
dally pleblsclLe 1882) or also !ohn SLuarL Mlll (1806183)49


A carlcaLure from Lhe Cerman anLlsemlLlc uer SLurmer around ChrlsLmas 1929 lL urged Cermans Lo
avold buylng from !ewlsh shopsLLhnlc naLlonallsm blended wlLh sclenLlflc raclsL dlscourses as well as
wlLh conLlnenLal lmperlallsL (Pannah ArendL 193130) dlscourses for example ln Lhe panCermanlsm
dlscourses whlch posLulaLed Lhe raclal superlorlLy of Lhe Cerman volk 1he anCerman League
(AlldeuLscher verband) creaLed ln 1891 promoLed Cerman lmperlallsm raclal hyglene and was
opposed Lo lnLermarrlage wlLh !ews AnoLher popular currenL Lhe vlklsch movemenL was also an
lmporLanL proponenL of Lhe Cerman eLhnlc naLlonallsL dlscourse whlch comblned wlLh modern
anLlsemlLlsm Members of Lhe vlklsch movemenL ln parLlcular Lhe 1hule SocleLy would parLlclpaLe ln
Lhe foundlng of Lhe Cerman Workers arLy (uA) ln Munlch ln 1918 Lhe predecessor of Lhe nSuA nazl
parLy anCermanlsm and played a declslve role ln Lhe lnLerwar perlod of Lhe 1920s1930s30

1hese currenLs began Lo assoclaLe Lhe ldea of Lhe naLlon wlLh Lhe blologlcal concepL of a masLer race
(ofLen Lhe Aryan race or nordlc race) lssued from Lhe sclenLlflc raclsL dlscourse 1hey conflaLed
naLlonallLles wlLh eLhnlc groups called races ln a radlcal dlsLlncLlon from prevlous raclal dlscourses
LhaL poslLed Lhe exlsLence of a race sLruggle lnslde Lhe naLlon and Lhe sLaLe lLself lurLhermore Lhey
belleved LhaL pollLlcal boundarles should mlrror Lhese alleged raclal and eLhnlc groups Lhus [usLlfylng
eLhnlc cleanslng ln order Lo achleve raclal purlLy and also Lo achleve eLhnlc homogenelLy ln Lhe naLlon
sLaLe

Such raclsL dlscourses comblned wlLh naLlonallsm were noL however llmlLed Lo panCermanlsm ln
lrance Lhe LranslLlon from 8epubllcan llberal naLlonallsm Lo eLhnlc naLlonallsm whlch made
naLlonallsm a characLerlsLlc of farrlghL movemenLs ln lrance Look place durlng Lhe ureyfus Affalr aL Lhe
end of Lhe 19Lh cenLury uurlng several years a naLlonwlde crlsls affecLed lrench socleLy concernlng
Lhe alleged Lreason of Alfred ureyfus a lrench !ewlsh mlllLary offlcer 1he counLry polarlzed lLself lnLo
Lwo opposlLe camps one represenLed by Lmlle Zola who wroLe !accuse ln defense of Alfred ureyfus
and Lhe oLher represenLed by Lhe naLlonallsL poeL Maurlce 8arres (18621923) one of Lhe founders of
Lhe eLhnlc naLlonallsL dlscourse ln lrance31 AL Lhe same Llme Charles Maurras (18681932) founder
of Lhe monarchlsL AcLlon franalse movemenL Lheorlzed Lhe anLllrance composed of Lhe four
confederaLe sLaLes of roLesLanLs !ews lreemasons and forelgners (hls acLual word for Lhe laLLer belng
Lhe pe[oraLlve meLeques)) lndeed Lo hlm Lhe flrsL Lhree were all lnLernal forelgners who LhreaLened
Lhe eLhnlc unlLy of Lhe lrench people

LLhnlc confllcLslurLher lnformaLlon LLhnlclLy
uebaLes over Lhe orlglns of raclsm ofLen suffer from a lack of clarlLy over Lhe Lerm Many use Lhe Lerm
raclsm Lo refer Lo more general phenomena such as xenophobla and eLhnocenLrlsm alLhough
scholars aLLempL Lo clearly dlsLlngulsh Lhose phenomena from raclsm as an ldeology or from sclenLlflc
raclsm whlch has llLLle Lo do wlLh ordlnary xenophobla CLhers conflaLe recenL forms of raclsm wlLh
earller forms of eLhnlc and naLlonal confllcL ln mosL cases eLhnonaLlonal confllcL seems Lo owe lLself Lo
confllcL over land and sLraLeglc resources ln some cases eLhnlclLy and naLlonallsm were harnessed Lo
rally combaLanLs ln wars beLween greaL rellglous emplres (for example Lhe Musllm 1urks and Lhe
CaLhollc AusLroPungarlans)


lcLure showlng Armenlans kllled durlng Lhe Armenlan Cenoclde of 1913noLlons of race and raclsm
ofLen have played cenLral roles ln such eLhnlc confllcLs 1hroughouL hlsLory when an adversary ls
ldenLlfled as oLher based on noLlons of race or eLhnlclLy (ln parLlcular when oLher ls consLrued Lo
mean lnferlor) Lhe means employed by Lhe selfpresumed superlor parLy Lo approprlaLe LerrlLory
human chaLLel or maLerlal wealLh ofLen have been more ruLhless more bruLal and less consLralned by
moral or eLhlcal conslderaLlons Accordlng Lo hlsLorlan uanlel 8lchLer onLlacs 8ebelllon saw Lhe
emergence on boLh sldes of Lhe confllcL of Lhe novel ldea LhaL all naLlve people were lndlans LhaL all
LuroAmerlcans were WhlLes and LhaL all on one slde musL unlLe Lo desLroy Lhe oLher (8lchLer laclng
LasL from lndlan CounLry p 208) 8asll uavldson lnslsLs ln hls documenLary Afrlca ulfferenL buL Lqual
LhaL raclsm ln facL only [usL recenLly surfacedas laLe as Lhe 19Lh cenLury due Lo Lhe need for a
[usLlflcaLlon for slavery ln Lhe Amerlcas

1he ldea of slavery as an equalopporLunlLy employer was denounced wlLh Lhe lnLroducLlon of
ChrlsLlan Lheory ln Lhe WesL MalnLalnlng LhaL Afrlcans were subhuman was Lhe only loophole ln Lhe
Lhen accepLed law LhaL men are creaLed equal LhaL would allow for Lhe susLenance of Lhe 1rlangular
1rade new peoples ln Lhe Amerlcas posslble slaves were encounLered foughL and ulLlmaLely
subdued buL Lhen due Lo Luropean dlseases Lhelr populaLlons drasLlcally decreased 1hrough boLh
lnfluences Lheorles abouL race developed and Lhese helped many Lo [usLlfy Lhe dlfferences ln poslLlon
and LreaLmenL of people whom Lhey caLegorlzed as belonglng Lo dlfferenL races (see Lrlc Wolfs Lurope
and Lhe eople wlLhouL PlsLory)

!uan Clnes de Sepulveda argued LhaL durlng Lhe valladolld conLroversy ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe 16Lh
cenLury Lhe naLlve Amerlcans were naLural slaves because Lhey had no souls ln Asla Lhe Chlnese and
!apanese Lmplres were boLh sLrong colonlal powers wlLh Lhe Chlnese maklng colonles and vassal sLaLes
of much of LasL Asla LhroughouL hlsLory and Lhe !apanese dolng Lhe same ln Lhe 19Lh20Lh cenLurles ln
boLh cases Lhe Aslan lmperlal powers belleved Lhey were eLhnlcally and raclally preferenced Loo

Academlc varlanLs
urawlngs from !oslah C noLL and Ceorge Cllddons lndlgenous races of Lhe earLh (183) whlch
suggesLed black people ranked beLween whlLe people and chlmpanzees ln Lerms of lnLelllgenceCwen
Allk Shahadah commenLs on Lhls raclsm by sLaLlng PlsLorlcally Afrlcans are made Lo sway llke leaves
on Lhe wlnd lmpervlous and lndlfferenL Lo any form of clvlllzaLlon a people absenL from sclenLlflc
dlscovery phllosophy or Lhe hlgher arLs We are lefL Lo belleve LhaL almosL noLhlng can come ouL of
Afrlca oLher Lhan raw maLerlal32

ScoLLlsh phllosopher and economlsL uavld Pume sald l am apL Lo suspecL Lhe negroes Lo be naLurally
lnferlor Lo Lhe WhlLes 1here scarcely ever was a clvlllsed naLlon of LhaL complexlon nor even any
lndlvldual emlnenL elLher ln acLlon or ln speculaLlon no lngenlous manufacLure among Lhem no arLs
no sclences33 Cerman phllosopher lmmanuel kanL sLaLed 1he yellow lndlans do have a meagre
LalenL 1he negroes are far below Lhem and aL Lhe lowesL polnL are a parL of Lhe Amerlcan people34

ln Lhe 19Lh cenLury Lhe Cerman phllosopher Ceorg Wllhelm lrledrlch Pegel declared LhaL Afrlca ls no
hlsLorlcal parL of Lhe world Pegel furLher clalmed LhaL blacks had no sense of personallLy Lhelr splrlL
sleeps remalns sunk ln lLself makes no advance and Lhus parallels Lhe compacL undlfferenLlaLed mass
of Lhe Afrlcan conLlnenL (Cn 8lackness WlLhouL 8lacks Lssays on Lhe lmage of Lhe 8lack ln Cermany
8osLon CW Pall 1982 p 94)

lewer Lhan 30 years before nazl Cermany lnsLlgaLed World War ll Lhe AusLrlan CLLo Welnlnger
clalmed A genlus has perhaps scarcely ever appeared amongsL Lhe negroes and Lhe sLandard of Lhelr
morallLy ls almosL unlversally so low LhaL lL ls beglnnlng Lo be acknowledged ln Amerlca LhaL Lhelr
emanclpaLlon was an acL of lmprudence (Sex and CharacLer new ?ork C uLnam 1906 p 302)

1he Cerman conservaLlve Cswald Spengler remarked on whaL he percelved as Lhe culLurally degradlng
lnfluence of Afrlcans ln modern WesLern culLure ln 1he Pour of ueclslon Spengler denounced Lhe
happy endlng of an empLy exlsLence Lhe boredom of whlch has broughL Lo [azz muslc and negro
danclng Lo perform Lhe ueaLh March for a greaL CulLure (1he Pour of ueclslon pp 22228) uurlng
Lhe nazl era Cerman sclenLlsLs rearranged academla Lo supporL clalms of a grand Aryan agenL behlnd
Lhe splendors of all human clvlllzaLlons lncludlng lndla and AnclenL LgypL34


eople Show (vlkerschau) ln SLuLLgarL (Cermany) ln 1928SclenLlflc varlanLsMaln arLlcle SclenLlflc
raclsm
lurLher lnformaLlon unlllneal evoluLlon
1he modern blologlcal deflnlLlon of race developed ln Lhe 19Lh cenLury wlLh sclenLlflc raclsL Lheorles
1he Lerm sclenLlflc raclsm refers Lo Lhe use of sclence Lo [usLlfy and supporL raclsL bellefs whlch goes
back Lo Lhe early 18Lh cenLury Lhough lL galned mosL of lLs lnfluence ln Lhe mld19Lh cenLury durlng Lhe
new lmperlallsm perlod Also known as academlc raclsm such Lheorles flrsL needed Lo overcome Lhe
Churchs reslsLance Lo poslLlvlsL accounLs of hlsLory and lLs supporL of monogenlsm Lhe concepL LhaL all
human belngs were orlglnaLed from Lhe same ancesLors ln accordance wlLh creaLlonlsL accounLs of
hlsLory

1hese raclsL Lheorles puL forLh on sclenLlflc hypoLhesls were comblned wlLh unlllneal Lheorles of soclal
progress whlch posLulaLed Lhe superlorlLy of Lhe Luropean clvlllzaLlon over Lhe resL of Lhe world
lurLhermore Lhey frequenLly made use of Lhe ldea of survlval of Lhe flLLesL a Lerm colned by PerberL
Spencer ln 1864 assoclaLed wlLh ldeas of compeLlLlon whlch were named soclal uarwlnlsm ln Lhe
1940s Charles uarwln hlmself opposed Lhe ldea of rlgld raclal dlfferences ln 1he uescenL of Man (181)
ln whlch he argued LhaL humans were all of one specles sharlng common descenL Pe recognlsed raclal
dlfferences as varleLles of humanlLy and emphaslsed Lhe close slmllarlLles beLween people of all races ln
menLal faculLles LasLes dlsposlLlons and hablLs whlle sLlll conLrasLlng Lhe culLure of Lhe lowesL
savages wlLh Luropean clvlllzaLlon3336

AL Lhe end of Lhe 19Lh cenLury proponenLs of sclenLlflc raclsm lnLerLwlned Lhemselves wlLh eugenlcs
dlscourses of degeneraLlon of Lhe race and blood heredlLy PenceforLh sclenLlflc raclsL dlscourses
could be deflned as Lhe comblnaLlon of polygenlsm unlllneallsm soclal uarwlnlsm and eugenlsm 1hey
found Lhelr sclenLlflc leglLlmacy on physlcal anLhropology anLhropomeLry cranlomeLry phrenology
physlognomy and oLhers now dlscredlLed dlsclpllnes ln order Lo formulaLe raclsL pre[udlces

8efore belng dlsquallfled ln Lhe 20Lh cenLury by Lhe Amerlcan school of culLural anLhropology (lranz
8oas eLc) Lhe 8rlLlsh school of soclal anLhropology (8ronlslaw Mallnowskl Alfred 8adcllffe8rown
eLc) Lhe lrench school of eLhnology (Claude LevlSLrauss eLc) as well as Lhe dlscovery of Lhe neo
uarwlnlan synLhesls such sclences ln parLlcular anLhropomeLry were used Lo deduce behavlours and
psychologlcal characLerlsLlcs from ouLward physlcal appearances

1he neouarwlnlan synLhesls flrsL developed ln Lhe 1930s evenLually led Lo a genecenLered vlew of
evoluLlon ln Lhe 1960s Accordlng Lo Lhe Puman Cenome ro[ecL Lhe mosL compleLe mapplng of human
unA Lo daLe lndlcaLes LhaL Lhere ls no clear geneLlc basls Lo raclal groups Whlle some genes are more
common ln cerLaln populaLlons Lhere are no genes LhaL exlsL ln all members of one populaLlon and no
members of any oLher3

PeredlLy and eugenlcslurLher lnformaLlon Lugenlcs
1he flrsL Lheory of eugenlcs was developed ln 1869 by lrancls CalLon (18221911) who used Lhe Lhen
popular concepL of degeneraLlon Pe applled sLaLlsLlcs Lo sLudy human dlfferences and Lhe alleged
lnherlLance of lnLelllgence foreshadowlng fuLure uses of lnLelllgence LesLlng by Lhe anLhropomeLry
school Such Lheorles were vlvldly descrlbed by Lhe wrlLer Lmlle Zola (18401902) who sLarLed
publlshlng ln 181 a LwenLynovel cycle Les 8ougonMacquarL where he llnked heredlLy Lo behavlor
1hus Zola descrlbed Lhe hlghborn 8ougons as Lhose lnvolved ln pollLlcs (Son Lxcellence Lugene
8ougon) and medlclne (Le uocLeur ascal) and Lhe lowborn MacquarLs as Lhose faLally falllng lnLo
alcohollsm (LAssommolr) prosLlLuLlon (nana) and homlclde (La 8Le humalne)

uurlng Lhe rlse of nazlsm ln Cermany some sclenLlsLs ln WesLern naLlons worked Lo debunk Lhe
reglmes raclal Lheorles A few argued agalnsL raclsL ldeologles and dlscrlmlnaLlon even lf Lhey belleved
ln Lhe alleged exlsLence of blologlcal races Powever ln Lhe flelds of anLhropology and blology Lhese
were mlnorlLy poslLlons unLll Lhe mld20Lh cenLury38 Accordlng Lo Lhe 1930 unLSCC sLaLemenL 1he
8ace CuesLlon an lnLernaLlonal pro[ecL Lo debunk raclsL Lheorles had been aLLempLed ln Lhe mld1930s
Powever Lhls pro[ecL had been abandoned 1hus ln 1930 unLSCC declared LhaL lL had resumed

up agaln afLer a lapse of flfLeen years a pro[ecL LhaL Lhe lnLernaLlonal lnsLlLuLe for lnLellecLual Co
operaLlon has wlshed Lo carry Lhrough buL LhaL lL had Lo abandon ln deference Lo Lhe appeasemenL
pollcy of Lhe prewar perlod 1he race quesLlon had become one of Lhe plvoLs of nazl ldeology and
pollcy Masaryk and 8enes Look Lhe lnlLlaLlve of calllng for a conference Lo reesLabllsh ln Lhe mlnds and
consclences of men everywhere Lhe LruLh abouL race nazl propaganda was able Lo conLlnue lLs baleful
work unopposed by Lhe auLhorlLy of an lnLernaLlonal organlsaLlon

1he 1hlrd 8elchs raclal pollcles lLs eugenlcs programs and Lhe exLermlnaLlon of !ews ln Lhe PolocausL
as well as 8omanl people ln Lhe orra[mos (Lhe 8omanl PolocausL) and oLhers mlnorlLles led Lo a change
ln oplnlons abouL sclenLlflc research lnLo race afLer Lhe war Changes wlLhln sclenLlflc dlsclpllnes such as
Lhe rlse of Lhe 8oaslan school of anLhropology ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes conLrlbuLed Lo Lhls shlfL 1hese
Lheorles were sLrongly denounced ln Lhe 1930 unLSCC sLaLemenL slgned by lnLernaLlonally renowned
scholars and LlLled 1he 8ace CuesLlon

olygenlsm and raclal LypologleslurLher lnformaLlon olygenlsm and 1ypology (anLhropology)
Works such as ArLhur de Coblneaus An Lssay on Lhe lnequallLy of Lhe Puman 8aces (18331833) may
be consldered as one of Lhe flrsL LheorlzaLlons of Lhls new raclsm founded on an essenLlallsL noLlon of
race whlch opposed Lhe former raclal dlscourse of 8oulalnvllllers for example whlch saw ln races a
fundamenLally hlsLorlcal reallLy whlch changed over Llme Coblneau Lhus aLLempLed Lo frame raclsm
wlLhln Lhe Lerms of blologlcal dlfferences among humans glvlng lL Lhe leglLlmacy of blology Pe was one
of Lhe flrsL LheorlsLs Lo posLulaLe polygenlsm sLaLlng LhaL Lhere were aL Lhe orlglns of Lhe world varlous
dlscreLe races

Coblneaus Lheorles would be expanded ln lrance by Ceorges vacher de Lapouge (18341936)s
Lypology of races who publlshed ln 1899 1he Aryan and hls Soclal 8ole ln whlch he clalmed LhaL Lhe
whlLe Aryan race dollchocephallc was opposed Lo Lhe brachycephallc race of whom Lhe !ew
was Lhe archeLype vacher de Lapouge Lhus creaLed a hlerarchlcal classlflcaLlon of races ln whlch he
ldenLlfled Lhe Pomo europaeus (1euLonlc roLesLanL eLc) Lhe Pomo alplnus (AuvergnaL 1urklsh
eLc) and flnally Lhe Pomo medlLerraneus (neapollLan Andalus eLc) Pe asslmllaLed races and soclal
classes conslderlng LhaL Lhe lrench upper class was a represenLaLlon of Lhe Pomo europaeus whlle Lhe
lower class represenLed Lhe Pomo alplnus Applylng CalLons eugenlcs Lo hls Lheory of races vacher de
Lapouges selecLlonlsm almed flrsL aL achlevlng Lhe annlhllaLlon of Lrade unlonlsLs consldered Lo be a
degeneraLe second creaLlng Lypes of man each desLlned Lo one end ln order Lo prevenL any
conLesLaLlon of labour condlLlons Pls anLhroposoclology Lhus almed aL blocklng soclal confllcL by
esLabllshlng a flxed hlerarchlcal soclal order39

1he same year Wllllam Z 8lpley used ldenLlcal raclal classlflcaLlon ln 1he 8aces of Lurope (1899) whlch
would have a greaL lnfluence ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes CLher sclenLlflc auLhors lnclude PS Chamberlaln aL
Lhe end of Lhe 19Lh cenLury (a 8rlLlsh clLlzen who naLurallzed hlmself as Cerman because of hls
admlraLlon for Lhe Aryan race) or Madlson CranL a eugenlclsL and auLhor of 1he asslng of Lhe CreaL
8ace (1916)

Puman zoosPuman zoos (called eople Shows) were an lmporLanL means of bolsLerlng popular
raclsm by connecLlng lL Lo sclenLlflc raclsm Lhey were boLh ob[ecLs of publlc curloslLy and of
anLhropology and anLhropomeLry6061 !olce PeLh an Afrlcan Amerlcan slave was dlsplayed by 1
8arnum ln 1836 a few years afLer Lhe exhlblLlon of SaarL[le 8aarLman Lhe PoLLenLoL venus ln
Lngland Such exhlblLlons became common ln Lhe new lmperlallsm perlod and remalned so unLll World
War ll Carl Pagenbeck lnvenLor of Lhe modern zoos exhlblLed anlmals beslde humans who were
consldered savages6263

Congolese pygmy CLa 8enga was dlsplayed ln 1906 by eugenlclsL Madlson CranL head of Lhe 8ronx Zoo
as an aLLempL Lo lllusLraLe Lhe mlsslng llnk beLween humans and oranguLans Lhus raclsm was Lled Lo
uarwlnlsm creaLlng a soclal uarwlnlsL ldeology LhaL Lrled Lo ground lLself ln uarwlns sclenLlflc
dlscoverles 1he 1931 arls Colonlal LxhlblLlon dlsplayed kanaks from new Caledonla64 A Congolese
vlllage was on dlsplay as laLe as 1938 aL Lhe 8russels World lalr

LvoluLlonary Lheorles abouL Lhe orlglns of raclsmSee also LLhnocenLrlsm
8lologlsLs !ohn 1ooby and Leda Cosmldes were puzzled by Lhe facL LhaL race ls one of Lhe Lhree
characLerlsLlcs mosL ofLen used ln brlef descrlpLlons of lndlvlduals (Lhe oLhers are age and sex) 1hey
reasoned LhaL naLural selecLlon would noL have favoured Lhe evoluLlon of an lnsLlncL for uslng race as a
classlflcaLlon because for mosL of human hlsLory humans almosL never encounLered members of oLher
races 1ooby and Cosmldes hypoLheslzed LhaL modern people use race as a proxy (roughandready
lndlcaLor) for coallLlon membershlp slnce a beLLerLhanrandom guess abouL whlch slde anoLher
person ls on wlll be helpful lf one does noL acLually know ln advance

1helr colleague 8oberL kurzban deslgned an experlmenL whose resulLs appeared Lo supporL Lhls
hypoLhesls uslng Lhe Memory confuslon proLocol Lhey presenLed sub[ecLs wlLh plcLures of lndlvlduals
and senLences allegedly spoken by Lhese lndlvlduals whlch presenLed Lwo sldes of a debaLe 1he errors
LhaL Lhe sub[ecLs made ln recalllng who sald whaL lndlcaLed LhaL Lhey someLlmes mlsaLLrlbuLed a
sLaLemenL Lo a speaker of Lhe same race as Lhe correcL speaker alLhough Lhey also someLlmes
mlsaLLrlbuLed a sLaLemenL Lo a speaker on Lhe same slde as Lhe correcL speaker ln a second run of
Lhe experlmenL Lhe Leam also dlsLlngulshed Lhe sldes ln Lhe debaLe by cloLhlng of slmllar colors and
ln Lhls case Lhe effecL of raclal slmllarlLy ln causlng mlsLakes almosL vanlshed belng replaced by Lhe color
of Lhelr cloLhlng ln oLher words Lhe flrsL group of sub[ecLs wlLh no clues from cloLhlng used race as a
vlsual gulde Lo guesslng who was on whlch slde of Lhe debaLe Lhe second group of sub[ecLs used Lhe
cloLhlng color as Lhelr maln vlsual clue and Lhe effecL of race became very small 63

Some research suggesLs LhaL eLhnocenLrlc Lhlnklng may have acLually conLrlbuLed Lo Lhe developmenL of
cooperaLlon ollLlcal sclenLlsLs 8oss Pammond and 8oberL Axelrod creaLed a compuLer slmulaLlon
whereln vlrLual lndlvlduals were randomly asslgned one of a varleLy of skln colors and Lhen one of a
varleLy of Lradlng sLraLegles be colorbllnd favor Lhose of your own color or favor Lhose of oLher colors
1hey found LhaL Lhe eLhnocenLrlc lndlvlduals clusLered LogeLher Lhen grew unLll all Lhe non
eLhnocenLrlc lndlvlduals were wlped ouL66

ln 1he Selflsh Cene evoluLlonary blologlsL 8lchard uawklns wrlLes LhaL 8loodfeuds and lnLerclan
warfare are easlly lnLerpreLable ln Lerms of PamllLons geneLlc Lheory uawklns wrlLes LhaL raclal
pre[udlce whlle noL evoluLlonarlly adapLlve could be lnLerpreLed as an lrraLlonal generallzaLlon of a
klnselecLed Lendency Lo ldenLlfy wlLh lndlvlduals physlcally resembllng oneself and Lo be nasLy Lo
lndlvlduals dlfferenL ln appearance6 SlmulaLlonbased experlmenLs ln evoluLlonary game Lheory
have aLLempLed Lo provlde an explanaLlon for Lhe selecLlon of eLhnocenLrlcsLraLegy phenoLypes68

As sLaLesponsored acLlvlLyMaln arLlcles nazlsm and race 8aclal pollcy of nazl Cermany Ceneralplan
CsL Lugenlcs ln Showa !apan AparLheld ln SouLh Afrlca 8aclal segregaLlon ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
keLuanan Melayu and AnLlChlnese leglslaLlon ln lndonesla

uS governmenL posLer from World War ll feaLurlng a !apanese soldler deplcLed as a raLSLaLe raclsm
LhaL ls lnsLlLuLlons and pracLlces of a naLlonsLaLe LhaL are grounded ln raclsL ldeology has played a
ma[or role ln all lnsLances of seLLler colonlallsm from Lhe unlLed SLaLes Lo AusLralla Lo lsrael lL also
played a promlnenL role ln Lhe nazl Cermany reglme and fasclsL reglmes ln Lurope and ln Lhe flrsL parL
of !apans Shwa perlod 1hese governmenLs advocaLed and lmplemenLed pollcles LhaL were raclsL
xenophoblc and ln case of nazlsm genocldal6901 1he pollLlcs of Zlmbabwe promoLe
dlscrlmlnaLlon agalnsL whlLes ln an efforL of eLhnlcally cleanslng Lhe counLry2

SLaLe raclsm conLrlbuLed as well Lo Lhe formaLlon of Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllcs ldenLlLy 3 and vlolenL
acLlons encouraged by uomlnlcan governmenLal xenophobla agalnsL PalLlans and PalLlan looklng
people CurrenLly Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc employs a de facLo sysLem of separaLlsm for chlldren and
grandchlldren of PalLlans and black uomlnlcans denylng Lhem blrLh cerLlflcaLes educaLlon and access Lo
healLh care4

ln hlsLory 1he neuLrallLy of Lhls arLlcle ls dlspuLed lease see Lhe dlscusslon on Lhe Lalk page lease do
noL remove Lhls message unLll Lhe dlspuLe ls resolved (CcLober 2010)

ln AnLlqulLyLdlLh Sanders clLed Lhe 8abylonlan 1almud whlch dlvldes manklnd beLween Lhe Lhree sons
of noah sLaLlng LhaL Lhe descendanLs of Pam are cursed by belng black and lL deplcLs Pam as a slnful
man and hls progeny as degeneraLes3 8ernard Lewls has clLed Lhe Creek phllosopher ArlsLoLle who
ln hls dlscusslon of slavery sLaLed LhaL whlle Creeks are free by naLure barbarlans (nonCreeks) are
slaves by naLure ln LhaL lL ls ln Lhelr naLure Lo be more wllllng Lo submlL Lo despoLlc governmenL6
1hough ArlsLoLle does noL speclfy any parLlcular races he argues LhaL people from ouLslde Creece are
more prone Lo Lhe burden of slavery Lhan Lhose from AnclenL Creece

Mlddle Ages and 8enalssancelurLher lnformaLlon Llmpleza de sangre
ln Lhe Mlddle LasL and norLh Afrlca reglon raclsL oplnlons were expressed wlLhln Lhe works of some of
lLs hlsLorlans and geographers8 lncludlng AlMuqaddasl Al!ahlz AlMasudl Abu 8ayhan 8lrunl naslr
aluln al1usl and lbn CuLaybah9 ln Lhe 14Lh cenLury CL Lhe 1unlslan lbn khaldun wroLe

beyond known peoples of black WesL Afrlca Lo Lhe souLh Lhere ls no clvlllzaLlon ln Lhe proper sense
1here are only humans who are closer Lo dumb anlmals Lhan Lo raLlonal belngs 1hey llve ln LhlckeLs and
caves and eaL herbs and unprepared graln 1hey frequenLly eaL each oLher 1hey cannoL be consldered
human belngs 1herefore Lhe negro naLlons are as a rule submlsslve Lo slavery because (negroes)
have llLLle LhaL ls (essenLlally) human and possess aLLrlbuLes LhaL are qulLe slmllar Lo Lhose of dumb
anlmals as we have sLaLed8980

1hough Lhe Curan expresses no raclal pre[udlce such pre[udlces laLer developed among Arabs for a
varleLy of reasons681 Lhelr exLenslve conquesLs and slave Lrade Lhe lnfluence of ArlsLoLellan ldeas
regardlng slavery whlch some Musllm phllosophers dlrecLed Lowards Zan[ (LasL Afrlcan) and 1urklc
peoples6 and Lhe lnfluence of !udeoChrlsLlan ldeas regardlng dlvlslons among humanklnd82 ln
response Lo such vlews Lhe AfroArab auLhor Al!ahlz hlmself of LasL Afrlcan descenL wroLe a book
enLlLled SuperlorlLy Cf 1he 8lacks 1o 1he WhlLes83 and explalned why Lhe Zan[ were black ln Lerms of
envlronmenLal deLermlnlsm ln Lhe Cn Lhe Zan[ chapLer of 1he Lssays84 8y Lhe 14Lh cenLury a
slgnlflcanL number of slaves came from subSaharan Afrlca leadlng Lo Lhe llkes of LgypLlan hlsLorlan Al
Abshlbl (13881446) wrlLlng lL ls sald LhaL when Lhe black slave ls saLed he fornlcaLes when he ls
hungry he sLeals83 Accordlng Lo ! hlllppe 8ushLon Arab relaLlons wlLh blacks whom Lhe Musllms
had dealL as slave Lraders for over 1000 years could be summed up as follows

AlLhough Lhe Curan sLaLed LhaL Lhere were no superlor and lnferlor races and Lherefore no bar Lo
raclal lnLermarrlage ln pracLlce Lhls plous docLrlne was dlsregarded Arabs dld noL wanL Lhelr daughLers
Lo marry even hybrldlzed blacks 1he LLhloplans were Lhe mosL respecLed Lhe Zan[ (8anLu and oLher
negrold Lrlbes from LasL and WesL Afrlca souLh of Lhe Sahara) Lhe leasL respecLed wlLh nublans
occupylng an lnLermedlaLe poslLlon86 "


13Lh cenLury slave markeL ln ?emen ?emen offlclally abollshed slavery ln 1962 ln Lhe sLruggle for
emanclpaLlon of slaves ln Lhe lslamlc world Lhere was doublelayered raclsm LhaL favored Lhe whlLe
slaves8lL should be noLed LhaL eLhnlc pre[udlce among some ellLe Arabs was noL llmlLed Lo darker
sklnned black people buL was also dlrecLed Lowards falrersklnned ruddy people (lncludlng erslans
1urks Caucaslans and Luropeans) whlle Arabs referred Lo Lhemselves as swarLhy people88
Accordlng Lo Arnold ! 1oynbee 1he exLlncLlon of race consclousness as beLween Musllms ls one of Lhe
ouLsLandlng achlevemenLs of lslam and ln Lhe conLemporary world Lhere ls as lL happens a crylng need
for Lhe propagaLlon of Lhls lslamlc vlrLue89

8lchard L nlsbeLL has sald LhaL Lhe quesLlon of raclal superlorlLy may go back aL leasL a Lhousand years
Lo Lhe Llme when Lhe umayyad CallphaLe lnvaded Plspanla occupylng mosL of Lhe lberlan enlnsula for
slx cenLurles where Lhey founded Lhe advanced clvlllzaLlon of AlAndalus (111492) AlAndalus
colnclded wlLh La Convlvencla an era of rellglous Lolerance and wlLh Lhe Colden age of !ewlsh culLure ln
lberla (912 Lhe rule of Abdar8ahman lll 1066 Cranada massacre)90 lL was followed by a vlolenL
8econqulsLa under Lhe 8eyes CaLollcos (CaLhollc Monarchs) lerdlnand v and lsabella l 1he CaLhollc
Spanlards Lhen formulaLed Lhe Cleanllness of blood docLrlne lL was durlng Lhls Llme ln hlsLory LhaL Lhe
WesLern concepL of arlsLocraLlc blue blood emerged ln a hlghly raclallzed and lmpllclLly whlLe
supremaclsL conLexL as auLhor 8oberL Lacey explalns

lL was Lhe Spanlards who gave Lhe world Lhe noLlon LhaL an arlsLocraLs blood ls noL red buL blue 1he
Spanlsh noblllLy sLarLed Laklng shape around Lhe nlnLh cenLury ln classlc mlllLary fashlon occupylng land
as warrlors on horseback 1hey were Lo conLlnue Lhe process for more Lhan flve hundred years clawlng
back secLlons of Lhe penlnsula from lLs Moorlsh occuplers and a nobleman demonsLraLed hls pedlgree
by holdlng up hls sword arm Lo dlsplay Lhe flllgree of blueblooded velns beneaLh hls pale sklnproof
LhaL hls blrLh had noL been conLamlnaLed by Lhe darksklnned enemy Sangre azul blue blood was Lhus
a euphemlsm for belng a whlLe manSpalns own parLlcular remlnder LhaL Lhe reflned fooLsLeps of Lhe
arlsLocracy Lhrough hlsLory carry Lhe raLher less reflned spoor of raclsm91

lollowlng Lhe expulslon of mosL Sephardlc !ews from Lhe lberlan penlnsula Lhe remalnlng !ews and
Musllms were forced Lo converL Lo 8oman CaLhollclsm becomlng new ChrlsLlans whlch were desplsed
and dlscrlmlnaLed by Lhe Cld ChrlsLlans An lnqulslLlon was carrled ouL by members of Lhe uomlnlcan
Crder ln order Lo weed ouL converLs LhaL sLlll pracLlced !udalsm and lslam ln secreL 1he sysLem and
ldeology of Lhe llmpleza de sangre osLraclzed ChrlsLlan converLs from socleLy regardless of Lhelr acLual
degree of slncerlLy ln Lhelr falLh

ln orLugal Lhe legal dlsLlncLlon beLween new and Cld ChrlsLlan was only ended Lhrough a legal decree
lssued by Lhe Marquls of ombal ln 12 almosL Lhree cenLurles afLer Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe raclsL
dlscrlmlnaLlon 1he llmpleza de sangre docLrlne was also very common ln Lhe colonlzaLlon of Lhe
Amerlcas where lL led Lo Lhe raclal separaLlon of Lhe varlous peoples ln Lhe colonles and creaLed a very
lnLrlcaLe llsL of nomenclaLure Lo descrlbe ones preclse race and by consequence ones place ln socleLy
1hls preclse classlflcaLlon was descrlbed by Lduardo Caleano ln Lhe Cpen velns of LaLln Amerlca (191)
lL lncluded among oLhers Lerms mesLlzo (30 Spanlard and 30 naLlve Amerlcan) casLlzo (3
Luropean and 23 naLlve Amerlcan) Spanlard (83 Luropean and 123 naLlve Amerlcan) MulaLLo
(30 Luropean and 30 Afrlcan) Albarazado (433 naLlve Amerlcan 29683 Luropean and
263623 Afrlcan) eLc


1he flag of Sardlnla popularly known also as Lhe lour Moors flag wlLh a maure (moors cuL head) ln
each quarLerAL Lhe end of Lhe 8enalssance Lhe valladolld debaLe (13301331) concernlng Lhe
LreaLmenL of naLlves of Lhe new World opposed Lhe uomlnlcan frlar and 8lshop of Chlapas 8arLolome
de Las Casas Lo anoLher uomlnlcan phllosopher !uan Clnes de Sepulveda 1he laLLer argued LhaL
lndlans were naLural slaves because Lhey had no souls and were Lherefore beneaLh humanlLy 1hus
reduclng Lhem Lo slavery or serfdom was ln accordance wlLh CaLhollc Lheology and naLural law 1o Lhe
conLrary 8arLolome de Las Casas argued LhaL Lhe Amerlndlans were free men ln Lhe naLural order and
deserved Lhe same LreaLmenL as oLhers accordlng Lo CaLhollc Lheology lL was one of Lhe many
conLroversy concernlng raclsm slavery and LurocenLrlsm LhaL would arlse ln Lhe followlng cenLurles

AlLhough anLlSemlLlsm has a long Luropean hlsLory relaLed Lo ChrlsLlanlsm (anLl!udalsm) raclsm lLself
ls frequenLly descrlbed as a modern phenomenon ln Lhe vlew of Lhe lrench phllosopher and hlsLorlan
Mlchel loucaulL Lhe flrsL formulaLlon of raclsm emerged ln Lhe Larly Modern perlod as Lhe dlscourse of
race sLruggle a hlsLorlcal and pollLlcal dlscourse whlch loucaulL opposed Lo Lhe phllosophlcal and
[urldlcal dlscourse of soverelgnLy92 loucaulL Lhus argued LhaL Lhe flrsL appearance of raclsm as a
soclal dlscourse (as opposed Lo slmple xenophobla whlch some mlghL argue has exlsLed ln all places and
Llmes) may be found durlng Lhe 1688 Clorlous 8evoluLlon ln CreaL 8rlLaln ln Ldward Coke or !ohn
Lllburnes work

Powever Lhls dlscourse of race sLruggle as lnLerpreLed by loucaulL musL be dlsLlngulshed from Lhe
19Lh cenLury blologlcal raclsm also known as race sclence or sclenLlflc raclsm lndeed Lhls early
modern dlscourse has many polnLs of dlfference wlLh modern raclsm llrsL of all ln Lhls dlscourse of
race sLruggle race ls noL consldered a blologlcal noLlon whlch would dlvlde humanlLy lnLo dlsLlncL
blologlcal groups buL as a hlsLorlcal noLlon Moreover Lhls dlscourse ls opposed Lo Lhe soverelgns
dlscourse lL ls used by Lhe bourgeolsle Lhe people and Lhe arlsLocracy as a mean of sLruggle agalnsL Lhe
monarchy 1hls dlscourse whlch flrsL appeared ln CreaL 8rlLaln was Lhen carrled on ln lrance by people
such as 8oulalnvllllers nlcolas lrereL and Lhen durlng Lhe 189 lrench 8evoluLlon Sleyes and
afLerward AugusLln 1hlerry and CournoL 8oulalnvllllers whlch creaLed Lhe maLrlx of such raclsL
dlscourse ln medleval lrance concelved Lhe race as someLhlng closer Lo Lhe sense of naLlon LhaL ls
ln hls Llmes Lhe people

Pe concelved lrance as dlvlded beLween varlous naLlons Lhe unlfled naLlonsLaLe ls of course here
an anachronlsm whlch Lhemselves formed dlfferenL races 8oulalnvllllers opposed Lhe absoluLe
monarchy who Lrled Lo bypass Lhe arlsLocracy by esLabllshlng a dlrecL relaLlonshlp Lo Lhe 1hlrd LsLaLe
1hus he creaLed Lhls Lheory of Lhe lrench arlsLocraLs as belng Lhe descendanLs of forelgn lnvaders
whom he called Lhe lranks whlle Lhe 1hlrd LsLaLe consLlLuLed accordlng Lo hlm Lhe auLochLhonous
vanqulshed Callo8omans who were domlnaLed by Lhe lranklsh arlsLocracy as a consequence of Lhe
rlghL of conquesL Larly modern raclsm was opposed Lo naLlonallsm and Lhe naLlonsLaLe Lhe ComLe de
MonLlosler ln exlle durlng Lhe lrench 8evoluLlon who borrowed 8oulalnvllllers dlscourse on Lhe
nordlc race as belng Lhe lrench arlsLocracy LhaL lnvaded Lhe plebelan Cauls Lhus showed hls
desplse for Lhe 1hlrd LsLaLe calllng lL Lhls new people born of slaves mlxLure of all races and of all
Llmes

Whlle 19Lh cenLury raclsm became closely lnLerLwlned wlLh naLlonallsm leadlng Lo Lhe eLhnlc naLlonallsL
dlscourse LhaL ldenLlfled Lhe race Lo Lhe folk leadlng Lo such movemenLs as panCermanlsm
Zlonlsm pan1urklsm panArablsm and panSlavlsm medleval raclsm preclsely dlvlded Lhe naLlon lnLo
varlous nonblologlcal races whlch were LhoughL as Lhe consequences of hlsLorlcal conquesLs and
soclal confllcLs Mlchel loucaulL Lraced Lhe genealogy of modern raclsm Lo Lhls medleval hlsLorlcal and
pollLlcal dlscourse of race sLruggle Accordlng Lo hlm lL dlvlded lLself ln Lhe 19Lh cenLury accordlng Lo
Lwo rlval llnes on one hand lL was lncorporaLed by raclsLs blologlsLs and eugenlclsLs who gave lL Lhe
modern sense of race and even more Lransformed Lhls popular dlscourse lnLo a sLaLe raclsm (eg
nazlsm) Cn Lhe oLher hand MarxlsLs also selzed Lhls dlscourse founded on Lhe assumpLlon of a pollLlcal
sLruggle LhaL provlded Lhe real englne of hlsLory and conLlnued Lo acL underneaLh Lhe apparenL peace
1hus MarxlsLs Lransformed Lhe essenLlallsL noLlon of race lnLo Lhe hlsLorlcal noLlon of class sLruggle
deflned by soclally sLrucLured poslLlon caplLallsL or proleLarlan ln 1he Wlll Lo knowledge (196)
loucaulL analyzed anoLher opponenL of Lhe race sLruggle dlscourse Slgmund lreuds psychoanalysls
whlch opposed Lhe concepLs of blood heredlLy prevalenL ln Lhe 19Lh cenLury raclsL dlscourse

19Lh cenLuryAuLhors such as Pannah ArendL ln her 1931 book 1he Crlglns of 1oLallLarlanlsm have sald
LhaL Lhe raclsL ldeology (popular raclsm) LhaL developed aL Lhe end of Lhe 19Lh cenLury helped leglLlmlze
Lhe lmperlallsL conquesLs of forelgn LerrlLorles and Lhe acLs LhaL accompanled Lhem (such as Lhe Perero
and namaqua Cenoclde of 1904190 or Lhe Armenlan Cenoclde of 1913191) 8udyard klpllngs
poem 1he WhlLe Mans 8urden (1899) ls one of Lhe more famous lllusLraLlons of Lhe bellef ln Lhe
lnherenL superlorlLy of Lhe Luropean culLure over Lhe resL of Lhe world Lhough also lL ls also LhoughL Lo
be a saLlrlcal appralsal of such lmperlallsm 8aclsL ldeology Lhus helped leglLlmlze sub[ugaLlon and Lhe
dlsmanLllng of Lhe LradlLlonal socleLles of lndlgenous peoples whlch were regarded as humanlLarlan
obllgaLlons as a resulL of Lhese raclsL bellefs


An lllusLraLlon from Parpers Weekly shows an alleged slmllarlLy beLween lrlsh lberlan and negro
feaLures ln conLrasL Lo Lhe hlgher Anglo1euLonlcPowever durlng Lhe 19Lh cenLury WesL Luropean
colonlal powers were lnvolved ln Lhe suppresslon of Lhe Arab slave Lrade ln Afrlca93 as well as ln
suppresslon of Lhe slave Lrade ln WesL Afrlca94 CLher colonlallsLs recognlzed Lhe depravlLy of Lhelr
acLlons buL perslsLed for personal galn some Luropeans durlng Lhe Llme perlod ob[ecLed Lo Lhe
ln[usLlces caused by colonlallsm and lobbled on behalf of aborlglnal peoples 1hus when Lhe PoLLenLoL
venus was dlsplayed ln Lngland ln Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe 19Lh cenLury Lhe Afrlcan AssoclaLlon publlcly
opposed lLself Lo Lhe exhlblLlon 1he same year LhaL klpllng publlshed hls poem !oseph Conrad
publlshed PearL of uarkness (1899) a clear crlLlclsm of Lhe Congo lree SLaLe owned by Leopold ll of
8elglum

Lxamples of raclal Lheorles used lnclude Lhe creaLlon of Lhe PamlLlc eLhnollngulsLlc group durlng Lhe
Luropean exploraLlon of Afrlca lL was Lhen resLrlcLed by karl lrledrlch Lepslus (181018) Lo non
SemlLlc AfroAslaLlc languages93

1he Lerm PamlLe was applled Lo dlfferenL populaLlons wlLhln Afrlca malnly comprlslng LLhloplans
LrlLreans Somalls 8erbers and nublans PamlLes were regarded as Caucasold peoples who probably
orlglnaLed ln elLher Arabla or Asla on Lhe basls of Lhelr culLural physlcal and llngulsLlc slmllarlLles wlLh
Lhe peoples of Lhose areas96998 Luropeans consldered PamlLes Lo be more clvlllzed Lhan 8lack
Afrlcans and more akln Lo Lhemselves and SemlLlc peoples99 ln Lhe flrsL LwoLhlrds of Lhe 20Lh
cenLury Lhe PamlLlc race was ln facL consldered one of Lhe branches of Lhe Caucaslan race along wlLh
Lhe lndoLuropeans uravldlans SemlLes and Lhe MedlLerranean race

Powever Lhe PamlLlc peoples Lhemselves were ofLen deemed Lo have falled as rulers whlch was
usually ascrlbed Lo lnLerbreedlng wlLh negroes ln Lhe mld20Lh cenLury Lhe Cerman scholar Carl
Melnhof (1831944) clalmed LhaL Lhe 8anLu race was formed by a merger of PamlLlc and negro races
1he PoLLenLoLs (nama or khol) were formed by Lhe merger of PamlLlc and 8ushmen (San) races boLh
belng Lermed nowadays as kholsan peoples)


Cne ln a serles of posLers aLLacklng 8adlcal 8epubllcans on Lhe lssue of black suffrage lssued durlng Lhe
ennsylvanla gubernaLorlal elecLlon of 1866ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln Lhe early 19Lh cenLury Lhe Amerlcan
ColonlzaLlon SocleLy was esLabllshed as Lhe prlmary vehlcle for proposals Lo reLurn black Amerlcans Lo
greaLer freedom and equallLy ln Afrlca100 1he colonlzaLlon efforL resulLed from a mlxLure of moLlves
wlLh lLs founder Penry Clay sLaLlng unconquerable pre[udlce resulLlng from Lhelr color Lhey never
could amalgamaLe wlLh Lhe free whlLes of Lhls counLry lL was deslrable Lherefore as lL respecLed Lhem
and Lhe resldue of Lhe populaLlon of Lhe counLry Lo draln Lhem off101 8aclsm spread LhroughouL Lhe
new World ln Lhe laLe 19Lh cenLury and early 20Lh cenLury WhlLecapplng whlch sLarLed ln lndlana ln
Lhe laLe 19Lh cenLury soon spread LhroughouL all of norLh Amerlca causlng many Afrlcan laborers Lo
flee from Lhe land Lhey worked on ln Lhe uS durlng Lhe 1860s raclsL posLers were used durlng elecLlon
campalgns ln one of Lhese raclsL posLers (see above) a black man ls deplcLed lounglng ldly ln Lhe
foreground as one whlLe man ploughs hls fleld and anoLher chops wood Accompanylng labels are ln
Lhe sweaL of Lhy face shalL Lhou eaL Lhy bread and 1he whlLe man musL work Lo keep hls chlldren and
pay hls Laxes 1he black man wonders Whar ls de use for me Lo work as long as dey make dese
approprlaLlons Above ln a cloud ls an lmage of Lhe lreedmans 8ureau! negro LsLlmaLe of lreedom!
1he bureau ls plcLured as a large domed bulldlng resembllng Lhe uS CaplLol and ls lnscrlbed lreedom
and no Work lLs columns and walls are labeled Candy 8um Cln Whlskey Sugar lums
lndolence WhlLe Women ApaLhy WhlLe Sugar ldleness and so on

Cn !une 3 183 Slr lrancls CalLon dlsLlngulshed Lngllsh explorer and cousln of Charles uarwln wroLe
ln a leLLer Lo 1he 1lmes

My proposal ls Lo make Lhe encouragemenL of Chlnese seLLlemenLs of Afrlca a parL of our naLlonal
pollcy ln Lhe bellef LhaL Lhe Chlnese lmmlgranLs would noL only malnLaln Lhelr poslLlon buL LhaL Lhey
would mulLlply and Lhelr descendanLs supplanL Lhe lnferlor negro race l should expecL LhaL Lhe Afrlcan
seaboard now sparsely occupled by lazy palaverlng savages mlghL ln a few years be LenanLed by
lndusLrlous orderlovlng Chlnese llvlng elLher as a semldeLached dependency of Chlna or else ln
perfecL freedom under Lhelr own law 102
20Lh cenLurylurLher lnformaLlon PolocausL 8aclal segregaLlon ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes and 8wandan
Cenoclde

naked SovleL CWs ln MauLhausen concenLraLlon camp 8eLween !une 1941 and !anuary 1942 Lhe
nazls kllled an esLlmaLed 28 mllllon 8ed Army CWs whom Lhey vlewed as subhuman103
urlnklng founLaln from mld20Lh cenLury wlLh AfrlcanAmerlcan drlnklng1he nazls consldered !ews
Cypsles oles and oLher Slavlc people such as Lhe 8usslans ukralnlans Czechs and anyone else who
was noL an Aryan accordlng Lo Lhe conLemporary nazl race Lermlnology Lo be subhuman
(unLermensch) 1he nazls raLlonallzed LhaL Lhe Cermans belng a super human (ubermenschllch) race
had a blologlcal rlghL Lo dlsplace ellmlnaLe and enslave lnferlors104 Some 6 mllllon !ews were kllled
by Lhe nazls durlng Lhe PolocausL ln Lhe longer Lerm103 Lhe nazls wanLed Lo exLermlnaLe some 30
43 mllllon Slavs106

AfLer Lhe war under Lhe 8lg lan Ceneralplan CsL foresaw Lhe evenLual expulslon of more Lhan 30
mllllon nonCermanlzed Slavs of LasLern Lurope Lhrough forced mlgraLlon as well as some of Lhe 8alLs
beyond Lhe ural MounLalns and lnLo Slberla ln Lhelr place Cermans would be seLLled ln an exLended
llvlng space (Lebensraum) of Lhe 1000?ear Lmplre (1ausend[ahrlges 8elch) PerberL 8acke was one of
Lhe orchesLraLors of Lhe Punger lan Lhe plan Lo sLarve Lens of mllllons of Slavs ln order Lo ensure
sLeady food supplles for Lhe Cerman people and Lroops10

Pelnrlch Plmmler speech Lo abouL 100 SS Croup Leaders ln osen occupled oland 1943

WhaL happens Lo Lhe 8usslans whaL happens Lo Lhe Czechs ls a maLLer of uLLer lndlfference Lo me
WheLher Lhe oLher peoples llve ln comforL or perlsh of hunger lnLeresLs me only ln so far as we need
Lhem as slaves for our culLure aparL from LhaL lL does noL lnLeresL me WheLher or noL 10000 8usslan
women collapse from exhausLlon whlle dlgglng a Lank dlLch lnLeresLs me only ln so far as Lhe Lank dlLch
ls compleLed for Cermany We Cermans who are Lhe only people ln Lhe world who have a decenL
aLLlLude Lo anlmals wlll also adopL a decenL aLLlLude Lo Lhese human anlmals buL lL ls a crlme agalnsL
our own blood Lo worry abouL Lhem and Lo brlng Lhem ldeals l shall speak Lo you here wlLh all
frankness of a very serlous sub[ecL We shall now dlscuss lL absoluLely openly among ourselves
neverLheless we shall never speak of lL ln publlc l mean Lhe evacuaLlon of Lhe !ews Lhe exLermlnaLlon
of Lhe !ewlsh race108
Serlous race rloLs ln uurban beLween lndlans and Zulus erupLed ln 1949109 ne Wlns rlse Lo power ln
8urma ln 1962 and hls relenLless persecuLlon of resldenL allens led Lo an exodus of some 300000
8urmese lndlans110 1hey mlgraLed Lo escape raclal dlscrlmlnaLlon and wholesale naLlonallsaLlon of
prlvaLe enLerprlse a few years laLer ln 1964111 1he Zanzlbar 8evoluLlon of !anuary 12 1964 puL an
end Lo Lhe local Arab dynasLy112 1housands of Arabs and lndlans ln Zanzlbar were massacred ln rloLs
and Lhousands more were deLalned or fled Lhe lsland113 Cn 4 AugusL 192 ldl Amln resldenL of
uganda eLhnlcally cleansed ugandas Aslans glvlng Lhem 90 days Lo leave Lhe counLry114

ConLemporaryuurlng Lhe Congo Clvll War (19982003) ygmles were hunLed down llke game anlmals
and eaLen 8oLh sldes of Lhe war regarded Lhem as subhuman and some say Lhelr flesh can confer
maglcal powers un human rlghLs acLlvlsLs reporLed ln 2003 LhaL rebels had carrled ouL acLs of
cannlballsm Slnafasl Makelo a represenLaLlve of MbuLl pygmles has asked Lhe un SecurlLy Councll Lo
recognlse cannlballsm as a crlme agalnsL humanlLy and an acL of genoclde113 A reporL released by Lhe
unlLed naLlons CommlLLee on Lhe LllmlnaLlon of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon condemns 8oLswanas LreaLmenL
of Lhe 8ushmen as raclsL116 ln 2008 Lhe Lrlbunal of Lhe 13naLlon SouLhern Afrlcan uevelopmenL
CommunlLy (SAuC) accused Zlmbabwean resldenL 8oberL Mugabe of havlng a raclsL aLLlLude Lowards
whlLe people11118 ln Llberla Lhe consLlLuLlon resLrlcLs clLlzenshlp Lo only people of black Afrlcan
descenL119

1he mass demonsLraLlons and rloLs agalnsL Afrlcan sLudenLs ln nan[lng Chlna lasLed from uecember
1988 Lo !anuary 1989120 8ar owners ln cenLral 8el[lng had been forced noL Lo serve black people or
Mongollans" durlng Lhe 2008 Summer Clymplcs121 Some nelghborhood commlLLees ln Cuangzhou
bar Afrlcans from llvlng ln resldenLlal complexes122 ln november 2009 8rlLlsh newspaper 1he
Cuardlan reporLed LhaL Lou !lng of mlxed Chlnese and Afrlcan parenLage had emerged as Lhe mosL
famous LalenL show conLesLanL ln Chlna and has become Lhe sub[ecL of lnLense debaLe because of her
skln colour123 Per aLLenLlon ln Lhe medla opened serlous debaLes abouL raclsm ln Chlna and raclal
pre[udlce124

ln Asla and LaLln Amerlca llghL skln ls seen as more aLLracLlve123 1hus skln whlLenlng cosmeLlc
producLs are popular ln LasL Asla126 and lndla12

Some 0000 black Afrlcan MaurlLanlans were expelled from MaurlLanla ln Lhe laLe 1980s128 ln Lhe
Sudan black Afrlcan capLlves ln Lhe clvll war were ofLen enslaved and female prlsoners were ofLen used
sexually129 1he uarfur confllcL has been descrlbed by some as a raclal maLLer130 ln CcLober 2006
nlger announced LhaL lL would deporL Lhe Arabs llvlng ln Lhe ulffa reglon of easLern nlger Lo Chad131
1hls populaLlon numbered abouL 130000132 Whlle Lhe CovernmenL collecLed Arabs ln preparaLlon
for Lhe deporLaLlon Lwo glrls dled reporLedly afLer fleelng CovernmenL forces and Lhree women
suffered mlscarrlages133

1he LLhloplan !ewlsh communlLys lnLegraLlon lnLo lsraell socleLy has been compllcaLed by raclsL
aLLlLudes on Lhe parL of some elemenLs of lsraell socleLy and Lhe offlclal esLabllshmenL134133 1he
lsraell medla reporLed LhaL resldenLs of lsgaL Zeev a large !ewlsh seLLlemenL ln LasL !erusalem had
formed a vlgllanLesLyle paLrol Lo sLop lnLerraclal daLlng beLween Arab men and local !ewlsh glrls ln Lhe
200 poll more Lhan half of lsraell !ews sald LhaL lnLermarrlage should be equaLed wlLh naLlonal
Lreason"136


1he burnL ouL remalns of Covlndas lndlan 8esLauranL ln ll[l May 20001he !akarLa rloLs of May 1998
LargeLed many Chlnese lndoneslans13 1he anLlChlnese leglslaLlon was ln Lhe lndoneslan consLlLuLlon
unLll 1998 xenophobla agalnsL Chlnese mlgranLs ls currenLly on Lhe rlse ln Afrlca138139140 and
Cceanla141142 AnLlChlnese rloLlng lnvolvlng Lens of Lhousands of people143 broke ouL ln apua
new Culnea ln May 2009144 1he ll[l coup of 2000 has provoked a vlolenL backlash agalnsL Lhe lndo
ll[lans143 ll[l clLlzens of lndlan Luropean mlxed race or oLher lsland herlLage have become second
class clLlzens14614 8aclal dlvlslons also exlsL ln Cuyana148 Malaysla149 or 1rlnldad and
1obago130

lnLermlnorlLy varlanLsre[udlced Lhlnklng among and beLween mlnorlLy groups does occur for example
confllcLs beLween Afrlcan Amerlcans and korean Amerlcans (noLably ln Lhe Los Angeles rloLs of 1992) by
blacks Lowards !ews (such as Lhe rloLs ln Crown PelghLs ln 1991) beLween new lmmlgranL groups (such
as LaLlnos) or Lowards whlLes131132133134 Cne parLlcularly pernlclous form of raclsm ln Lhe
unlLed SLaLes ls raclal segregaLlon whlch lL can be argued conLlnues Lo exlsL Loday133dublous
dlscuss

1here has been a longrunnlng raclal Lenslon beLween Afrlcan Amerlcans and Mexlcan
Amerlcans13613138 1here have been several slgnlflcanL rloLs ln Callfornla prlsons ln whlch
Mexlcan Amerlcan lnmaLes and Afrlcan Amerlcans have speclflcally LargeLed each oLher based on raclal
reasons139160 1here have been reporLs of raclally moLlvaLed aLLacks agalnsL Afrlcan Amerlcans who
have moved lnLo nelghborhoods occupled mosLly by Mexlcan Amerlcans and vlce
versa161162163164 ln Lhe laLe 1920s ln Callfornla Lhere was anlmoslLy beLween Lhe llllplnos and
Lhe Mexlcans and beLween Luropean Amerlcans and llllplno Amerlcans slnce Lhey compeLed for Lhe
same [obs163 8ecenLly Lhere has also been an lncrease ln raclal vlolence beLween Afrlcan lmmlgranLs
and 8lacks who have already llved ln Lhe counLry for generaLlons166

1he AzLlan movemenL has been descrlbed as raclsL 1he movemenLs goal ls repossesslon of Lhe
Amerlcan souLhwesL lL has also been called Lhe Mexlcan reconqulsLa (reconquesL) whose name was
lnsplred by Lhe Spanlsh reconqulsLa whlch led Lo Lhe expulslon of Lhe Moors from Spaln16 Accordlng
Lo gang experLs and law enforcemenL agenLs a longsLandlng race war beLween Lhe Mexlcan Mafla and
Lhe 8lack Cuerllla famlly a rlval Afrlcan Amerlcan prlson gang has generaLed such lnLense raclal haLred
among Mexlcan Mafla leaders or shoL callers LhaL Lhey have lssued a green llghL on all blacks A sorL of
gangllfe faLwa Lhls amounLs Lo a sLandlng auLhorlzaLlon for LaLlno gang members Lo prove Lhelr meLLle
by Lerrorlzlng or even murderlng any blacks slghLed ln a nelghborhood clalmed by a gang loyal Lo Lhe
Mexlcan Mafla168

ln 8rlLaln Lenslons beLween mlnorlLy groups can be [usL as sLrong as Lhose beLween mlnorlLles and Lhe
ma[orlLy populaLlon ln 8lrmlngham Lhere have been longLerm dlvlslons beLween Lhe 8lack and SouLh
Aslan communlLles whlch were lllusLraLed ln Lhe PandsworLh rloLs and ln Lhe smaller 2003 8lrmlngham
rloLs ln uewsbury a ?orkshlre Lown wlLh a relaLlvely hlgh Musllm populaLlon Lhere have been Lenslons
and mlnor clvll dlsLurbances beLween kurds and SouLh Aslans16910

ln lrance home Lo Lurope's largesL populaLlon of Musllms abouL 6 mllllon as well as Lhe
conLlnenL's largesL communlLy of !ews abouL 600000 anLl!ewlsh vlolence properLy desLrucLlon and
raclsL language has been lncreaslng over Lhe lasL several years !ewlsh leaders percelve Lhe Musllm
populaLlon as lnLenslfylng anLlSemlLlsm ln lrance malnly among Musllms of Arab or Afrlcan herlLage
buL also Lhls anLlSemlLlsm ls percelved as also growlng among Carlbbean lslanders from former
colonles1112


lnLernaLlonal uay for Lhe LllmlnaLlon of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlonunLSCC marks March 21 as Lhe yearly
lnLernaLlonal uay for Lhe LllmlnaLlon of 8aclal ulscrlmlnaLlon ln memory of Lhe evenLs LhaL occurred on
March 21 1960 ln Sharpevllle SouLh Afrlca where pollce kllled sLudenL demonsLraLors peacefully
proLesLlng agalnsL Lhe aparLheld reglme

See alsoAllporLs Scale
lasclsm
lndex of raclsmrelaLed arLlcles
Labellng Lheory
neonazlsm
8aclal segregaLlon
8esearch MaLerlals Max lanck SocleLy Archlve
8everse dlscrlmlnaLlon
Soclal lnLerpreLaLlons of race
Soclology of race and eLhnlc relaLlons
?ellow erll