Yaksh ChaudharyAIR 6 · CSE 2021 · 188 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a definition
Caste system has a clear cut hierarchy based on ritual purity and pollution. While tribes have general characteristics of isolated living, unique language and customs, strong kinship ties and non-hierarchical social system.
Body · points and prose
Nexus of caste and Tribe
- Ghurye argued that tribes are nothing but the "backward Hindus". They need to be Hinduised for their development.
- Surjit Sinha sees this nexus based on tribe-peasant continuum, where tribes take on the role in farming and are slowly merged into caste system.
- SC Roy gives the jana-jati continuum.
- FG Bailey through caste-tribe continuum says that tribes and caste can't be categorised into two distinct categories but must be seen on a continuum of caste-tribe.
- MN Srinivas argued that tribes by emulating the lifestyle of upper caste Hindus are sanskriticised and merged into caste system.
- Elvin gave a classification based on this nexus.
[Tribes]
|
+-------+-------+
| |
[Hinduised [Contact with castes,
tribes] but retained traditions]
| |
[purest of pure] [Forming lower rungs
of Caste system]
Close · a summary
The British Scholars like Herbert Risley differentiated between both Caste and Tribe.
Majumdar and Madan suggest that tribes have some common feature and should be seen different from castes.
Hence, caste and tribes have some common features but also differ on several.