CASTE SYSTEM: Characteristics of a dominant caste; सवर्ण जाति की पहचान कैसे की जाती है ?

 

Characteristics of a dominant caste

It was in 1962 that M.N. Srinivas specified the following three characteristics of a dominant caste: 

1. A caste dominates when it wields economic and political power. 

2. It has a high rank in caste hierarchy. 

3. Numerical strength. 

सवर्ण जाति की पहचान कैसे की जाती है ?

The earlier definition of dominant caste was reviewed by writers of several village studies. Srinivas also looked into the field and the comments made by the others. 

In 1966, he reviewed his earlier definition which runs below: 

For a caste to be dominant, it should own a sizable amount of the arable land locally available, have strength of numbers, and occupy a high place in the local hierarchy. When a caste has all the attributes of dominance, it may be said to enjoy a decisive dominance. 

Characteristics: 

On the basis of the definitions of dominant caste given by Srinivas and the comments offered by other sociologists, a construct could be made which includes the ideal type of dominant caste.

 1. Economic and political power: The power of a particular caste lies in the owning of land. The caste which has larger portion of the land in the village wields greater power. First, his agricultural income increases. The size of the land is also related to irrigation. 

In case of larger landowning and adequate irrigation facilities, naturally the wields of the casteman increase. Second, the larger landowning caste also provides jobs to the landless farmers and marginal farmers. Such a situation renders the super-ordinated landless labourers as the ‘servants’ of the large landowning caste. These castes also apply modern techniques of agriculture such as chemical manure, improved implements and new patterns of cropping. 

2. High rank in caste hierarchy: 

Normally, the caste which is traditionally higher in the caste hierarchy enjoys the status of dominance. The Brahmins and the Rajputs have traditionally been dominant in the villages. The Brahmins have at the top of the caste hierarchy and they officiate at the religious festivals and rituals of the village. The Rajputs have been the feudal thakurs in the village. 

They have traditionally occupied larger portions of the village land. The economic and political power, thus, in the village has given the dominant status to the Brahmins and Rajputs.

 Recently, the criterion, namely, economic and political power, has undergone a change. The reservations made for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women have given a new attribute to the concept of dominant caste. 

3. Numerical strength: 

Before the advent of modernisation and development, numerical strength did not have any strength of the dominance of a caste. Recently, numerical strength of a caste, assumes importance because of the vote bank created by adult suffrage. The castes which have larger number of voters, naturally, determine the fate of a candidate contesting elections. What is called these days as caste-war is actually the importance of a caste to determine the fate of a candidate. 

4. A sizeable amount of the arable land: 

Normally, in India’s villages, smaller number of big landowners occupy larger portion of land. In other words, the caste which has larger portion of village land wields power. The big landowners, thus, are patrons of the bulk of the poor villagers. In villages, those castes which have larger portion of land enjoy power and prestige. Srinivas says that landownership is a crucial factor in establishing dominance. 

He observes: Landownership confers not only power but prestige, so much so that, individuals who have made good in any walk of life tend to invest in land. If landownership is not always an indispensable passport to high rank, it certainly facilitates upward mobility.