India is a land of complex mixing of traditions and cultures. Through its ever continuous evolution, it has developed local flavours of religions. It has adopted practices, assimilated traditions, and even transformed the religious practices that have emerged in foreign lands to the local situations and needs. One such social institution is that of caste. While, religions like Christianity and Islam treat every adhearent as equal, in India at local levels one can easily come across caste based differentiation among adherents of these religions.
In India Caste exists among Christians and Muslims. There are various ways in which such differentiation has come to exist. A large part of it is definitely due to the process of conversion / proselytisation, whereby the converts have taken their socio-religious practices with them to the other religions. But such differentiation has also been a result of legends / myth making process, whereby certain groups among the converts have developed superior claims in an imagined hierarchy.
In Kerala, the Christians are divided into the following castes – Syrian southists who claim superiority on the basis of ‘racial purity’; Syrian northists who are descendants of Namboodiri Brahmins; Latin Catholics who are classified as Other Backward Caste (Entry 37 in Kerala list of All India OBC list). Neo Christians (Puttu-kristianikal) are the dalit converts. Dalit Christians of Kerala are also listed as OBC for purpose of governemnt benefits. However the Dalit Christians are not eligible for reservation benefits as Scheduled Castes – so many Christian Dalits reconvert back to Hinduism to claim the benefits extended by Govt to Dalits. One can find on certain occasions, Dalit Christians taking out rallies to press their claim for benefits of reservation.
But, caste with its aspect of discrimination is also quite visible. Fair skin is again a passport to claims to higher position in such hierarchy, as with claims to being a ‘Syrian’. In Church – there is existence of caste segregation and discrimination eg dalit Christians are segregated by creation of separate churches like Pulaya Palli and Paraya Palli. Separate seats are assigned to dalits within a church – they occupy seats on the left. In Tamil Nadu, dalit Christians are not allowed to serve at Mass, sing in church choir or be lectors of sacred scriptures. Features like endogamy, restrictions on commensality etc. also exists. Sometimes originating from low caste also acts as deterrent to achieving higher position in Church hierarchy as higher caste christians would not like to be subordinated to those belonging to lower castes.
Among Muslims, the stratification takes the form of division into Ashrafs and non Ashrafs. Ashrafs are divided into four groups – Sayyads, Sheikhs, Pathans and Mughals. However, these in practical terms function as the division among the ‘higher’ groups of caste – something corresponding to Brahmins and Kshtriyas. The groups coming under ‘Ashrafs’ are again divided into sub groups that are largely endogamous. For example, the sub groups of the ‘Sheikhs’ are hierarchised based on principles of 1. their affiliation to Arab tribe, 2. descent from person having close affiliation to Prophet, 3. names of places of Arabia and Persia, 4. those whose ancestors have come from foreign lands during medieval times. A study among the Sheikh Siddiques of Allahabad has suggested, that while the sub group claims its origin from being descendent of Abu Bakr Siddique, historical evidence suggests that they are converts from the Kayastha caste of Hindus.
Caste among Muslims in India is also characterised by notions of ritual purity of blood, as found in caste genoelogy Shijra. Marriage relation are endogamous among such groups. And the groups and sub groups are hierarchised in terms of their relation to Arabia (purity) and Prophet (holy and santified).
We can find similar caste system among the Buddhists and Sikhs. However, Buddhism and Sikhism are religions that are indigenous to India. Moreover, even though Sikhism and Buddhism has tried hard to make their identity separate, they have continued to be influenced from Hinduism. To the extent, that Buddha has came to be regarded as one of the avtar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Also, Sikhism originated as a sect for protection / defender of Hindu religion. All these despite of the fact that today, the adherents of these religions claim to have separate religious identity. These religions have also been used as a protest against the hindu orthodoxies – as in the case of Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, as a protest converted to Buddhism alongwith his followers.
References:
1. C.J. Fuller, Kerala Christians and the Caste System, 1976
2. Imtiaz Ahmad, Caste and Social Stratification among the Muslims, 1973
