Sudhir KumarAIR 42 · CSE 2017 · 399 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
The Indian agrarian social structure is transpised by jajmani relationship, of respect, subjugation; in earlier times. It was strictly based on caste and class. Lower castes had to give services and also remained poor.
Body · points
A.M Shah and Kapadia looks into caste-class nexus and its changing form. They find in their study that agricultural labours are no longer exclusively from lower castes, rather from upper castes too. They look at forces of modernisation and their impact on relations.
Daniel Thorner through his concept of Kisan, Malik, Mazdoors explain that the group who is weak in one form (like land possession) is also normally weak in other form too (like who does work)
Bhulla and Chaddah looks at changing caste-class nexus from viewpoint of effect of Green Revolution. They observe that now family labour is used less and less and wage labour is being used more and more. The labourers are not
necessarily from lower caste of villages, rather they may be migrant workers from poor states.
Andre Beteille in his study at Tanjore explains the changing nexus between caste, class and party. One group/community is dominant in status sphere, other in economic sphere and other in power structure. And all different communities share solidarity (organic) as all are inter dependent on them.
MN Srinivas in his study in Coorg finds out that by Sanskritization, lower castes are mobilising up and thus also leaving their caste based occupations and leading to a change.
After land reforms and Green Revolution and with decrease of agriculture contribution to GDP, caste-class nexus has changed forms, though it is firmly present. Also with mechanization of farm land, the requirement of labour for petty works became low.
With advent of formal credit system to farmers, subsidies by government
has changed the power dominance of upper castes and landlords.
Andre Beteille in his study of Bengal jotedars believe that though caste is changing into class but there is no definite shape or structure of this change.
K.S. Gill highlights that mechanization is leading to depeasantisation and proletarization of peasants.
Also, a very disturbing trend is coming. Earlier, rural society used to be relatively less polar in terms of income. But capitalist MOP, is increasing the divide between rich and poor.
There is rise of intermediate castes signifying change from cumulative inequality to dispersed inequality.
Close · a summary
Thus, the caste-class nexus is growing only complex and both hierarchies exist independently.