write a critical essay on sanskritization

Model Answers

Q: Critically examine the concept of Sanskritization with suitable illustrations.

Question asked in UPSC Sociology 2023 Paper 2. Download our app  for last 20 year question with model answers. 

Model Answer:

Sanskritization in Sociology

Sanskritization is a term coined by Indian sociologist M.N. Srinivas in the 1950s to describe a process by which lower castes in India attempt to raise their social status by adopting the rituals, practices, ideology, and lifestyle of the higher castes. This process is often linked with upward social mobility and is seen as a mechanism for lower castes to gain social respectability and economic advantage.

Concept of Sanskritization:

Sanskritization is a process of cultural mobility that is taking place in the traditional social system of India. According to M.N. Srinivas, Sanskritization is a process by which a low or middle Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its customs, rituals, ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high and frequently twice-born caste. The process is marked by changes in lifestyle, rituals, religious practices, and even caste names. The ultimate aim of Sanskritization is to attain a higher status in the caste hierarchy.

Critique of Sanskritization:

1. Ignoring Material Aspects: Critics argue that the concept of Sanskritization focuses only on the cultural aspects of social mobility and ignores the material aspects such as wealth, occupational mobility, and political power. The process of Sanskritization does not necessarily result in economic and political upward mobility.

2. Reinforcement of Caste Hierarchies: Sanskritization often reinforces the caste hierarchies as it involves imitating the lifestyle and practices of the upper castes. It does not challenge or subvert the existing caste hierarchies, but rather legitimizes them.

3. Limited Scope: The concept of Sanskritization is limited in its scope as it applies only to the Hindu social order. It does not adequately explain the social mobility among non-Hindu communities in India.

4. Gender Bias: The process of Sanskritization often involves the adoption of patriarchal norms and practices of the upper castes. This can lead to the further marginalization and subordination of women in these communities.

Illustrations of Sanskritization:

1. The Nadars of Tamil Nadu: The Nadars, originally a lower caste community engaged in toddy tapping, adopted the vegetarian diet, teetotalism, and other Brahminical practices to raise their social status. They also built temples and employed Brahmins to perform rituals.

2. The Ezhavas of Kerala: The Ezhavas, a lower caste community in Kerala, adopted Sanskritization as a strategy for upward social mobility. They established their own temples and schools, and adopted Brahminical rituals and practices.

Conclusion:

While Sanskritization has been a significant process in understanding social mobility in Indian society, it has its limitations. It tends to reinforce existing social hierarchies and inequalities rather than challenging them. Moreover, the focus on cultural aspects often overlooks the material realities of social mobility. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of social mobility in India requires a nuanced approach that goes beyond Sanskritization.

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16 Sanskritization: The Inheritance of an Ideational Category

George Kunnath is a Research Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute, LSE. Kunnath received his PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS, University of London. His work focuses on caste and class relations; relationality of inequality, conflict, and development, and research ethics. Kunnath has published his research in Current Anthropology, Journal of Peasant Studies, and Dialectical Anthropology, among others. His book Rebels from the Mud Houses: Dalits and the Making of the Maoist Revolution in Bihar (Social Science Press, 2012; Routledge, 2017) discusses Dalit agency and the Maoist movement in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

• Published: 23 January 2024
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This chapter examines M.N. Srinivas’ conceptualization of Sanskritization, which he defined as the emulation of the beliefs and practices of upper castes, particularly those of Brahmins, by lower castes in order to raise their status in the caste hierarchy. Conversely, critics of this concept argue that it falsely represents lower castes as eager imitators of upper castes, and thereby negates their agency and consciousness. The central argument of this chapter is that Srinivas’ concept of Sanskritization presents an ideational/imagined view of Indian society, and is guided by the integrative function of the caste system. Srinivas conceived it as a unifying principle that would ensure the integration of diverse castes and communities under Hindu civilization, built on Brahminical culture. In this sense, Sanskritization seems to share a common ideology with Hindutva as both concepts view Indian civilisation as Hindu, and Sanskritic culture as its unifying force.

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Sanskritization: meaning, characteristics, models and effects.

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The concept ‘Sanskritization’ was first introduced by Prof. M.N. Srinivas the famous Indian sociologist. He explained the concept of sanskritization in his book “Religion and society among the coorgs of South India” to describe the cultural mobility in the traditional caste structure of Indian society. In his study of the coorgs of Mysore, he came to know that the lower castes were trying to raise their status in their caste hierarchy by adopting some cultural ideals of the Brahmins. As a result they left some of their ideals which are considered to be impure by the Brahmins. To explain this process of mobility, Srinivas used the term ‘Brahminization’. Later on he called it ‘Sanskritization’ in a broad sense.

Defining Sanskritization Srinivas writes, “Sanskritization is a process by which a lower caste or tribe or any other group changes its customs, rituals, ideology and way of life in the direction of a higher or more often twice-born caste.”

Characteristics of Sanskritization:

1. Sanskritization is a process of imitation in Indian society, the social status of an individual is fixed on the basis of caste hierarchy. There are many lower castes who suffer from economic, religious or social disabilities. So in order to improve the status, the lower castes people imitate the life style of the upper caste people.

2. Sanskritization is a process of cultural change towards twice-born castes. Sanskritization is a process in which the lower castes adopt the cultural patterns of the higher castes, to raise their status in the caste hierarchical order. In some societies the lower caste people followed not only the customs of the Brahmins but also the customs of the locally dominant castes like Kshatriyas and Vaisyas to raise their status.

3. Sanskritization is helpful in the social mobility of lower caste:

In this process a caste is only trying to change the status and not the social structure.

4. Sanskritization process also followed by the tribal:

Sanskritization process is not only confined to the caste people of Hindu society, it is also found among the tribal society.

5. The concept of Sanskritization has also given rise to De-sanskritization. There are some instances in modern times, some of the higher castes are imitating the behaviour pattern of lower caste, and for example Brahmins have started taking meat and liquor. This process is called De-sanskritization.

Models of Sanskritization :

Sanskritization may follow any of the following models such as:

1. Cultural model,

2. Varna Model,

3. Local Model.

1. Cultural Model:

Castes have been assigned high or low status according to cultural characteristics of Hindus. The wearing of sacred thread, denying the use of meat and liquor, observing endogamy, prohibition of widow remarriage, observing the restriction in caste system, worship according to the modes and methods described in the religious text books, giving respect to the religious and mythological stories etc. have been given sanctity in traditional culture. They are considered to be the measuring standards of sacredness and purity. Accepting these behaviour and code of highness and purity as described in religious texts in a form of Sanskritization.

2. Varna Model:

In the Varna system the highest status is given to that of a Brahmin followed by Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. Antyaj or the lowest is the fifth Varna that is the lowest and untouchable one in the Varna system. The lower castes coping the ideals and life style of the superior castes. Where the Kshatriyas enjoy superiority, the lower castes followed their life style and ideals. Simultaneously where the vaishyas enjoy superiority, the lower castes followed their life style and ideals. Only the Antyaj or lower caste copy the Sudras. That is to say emulating the life style or ideals of a Varna on the basis of honour and superiority enjoyed by that class is called Varna model or sanskritization.

3. Local Model:

In every country, some castes are considered to be more respectful than others on account of their economic power. This caste may be called the “master caste” or the “dominant caste”. So the lower caste copies the life style of the local dominant caste in order to improve their status.

Effects of Sanskritization :

1. Sanskritization in social field:

The social aspect of sanskritization is much more important from the view point of change. The low caste individuals are inclined towards sanskritization because in that way they can elevate their social status and get higher status in caste hierarchy.

2. Sanskritization in economic field:

Economic betterment and sanskritization is another related issue. The lower caste people have given up un-cleaned occupation to raise their economic status because clean trades are a symbol of social light.

3. Sanskritization in religious field:

Sanskritization also can be observed in the religious field. Like Brahmins many of the lower castes people put on sacred thread. They also go to their temple regularly and perform Arti and Bhajan. They have left prohibited food and un-cleaned occupation. Even they have specialised in performing ceremonies like Brahmins.

4. Sanskritization in living patterns:

The living patterns of lower castes have also Sanskritized. Like higher caste they also get Pucca houses built for them. Now they sit along with the higher caste on the cots without any fear or hesitation. They also keep their houses clean and put on dresses like higher castes.

Related Articles:

• Ill Effects of Caste System in India
• Impact of Sanskritisation on Indian Society

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1.Write a critical essay on sanskritisation. Ans. •The term ‘sanskritisation’ was coined by M.N. Srinivas. It may be defined as the process by which a low caste or tribe or other group takes over the customs, ritual, beliefs, ideology and style of life of a high and, in particular, a ‘twice-born(dwija) caste’. •Its influence can be seen in language, literature, ideology, music, dance, drama, style of life and ritual. •It is primarily a process that takes place in the Hindu space though Srinavas argued that it was visible even in sects and religious groups outside Hinduism. •It operated differently in different regions. In those areas where a highly sanskritised caste was dominant, the entire region underwent a certain amount of Sanskritisation. In those areas, where non-sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger, this can be termed as the process of ‘de- sanskritisation’. •Srinivas argued that, ‘the sanskritisation of a group has usually the effect of improving its position in the local caste hierarchy. It normally presupposes either an improvement in the economic or political position of the group concerned or a higher group self-consciousness resulting from its contact with a source of the ‘Great Tradition’ of Hinduism such as a pilgrim centre or a monastery or a proselytizing sect.” •But in India, there are many obstacles to any easy taking over of the customs of the higher caste by the lower. Traditionally, the dominant castes punished those low castes, which was audacious enough to attempt it. •Sanskritisation refers to a process whereby people want to improve their status through adoption of names and customs of culturally high-placed groups. The “reference model’ is usually financially better off. In both, the aspiration to be like the higher placed group occurs only when people become wealthier. CRITICISMS OF SANSKRITISATION •It has been criticized for exaggerating social mobility or the scope of lower castes to move up the social ladder. For it leads to no structural change but only positional change of some individuals. Inequality continues to persist though some individuals may be able to improve their position within the unequal structure. •The ideology of sanskritisation accepts the ways of the upper caste as superior and that of the lower caste as inferior. Thus, the desire to imitate the upper caste is seen as natural and desirable. •Sanskritisation seems to justify a model that rests on inequality and exclusion. It appears to suggest that to believe in pollution and purity of groups of people is justifiable or all right. Therefore, to be able to look down on some groups of people just as the upper caste looked down on the lower castes, is a mark of privilege. It shows how such discriminatory ideas become a way of life. Instead of aspiring for an equal society, the exclusion and discrimination seek to give their own meaning to their excluded status. This gives rise to an undemocratic society. •Since sanskritisation results in the adoption of upper caste rites and rituals it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry practices instead of bride-price and practising caste-discrimination against other groups. •The effect of such a culture is that it erodes characteristics of dalit culture and society. For example, the very worth of labour which lower castes degraded and rendered shameful. Identities based on the basis of work, crafts, artisanal ability are regarded useless.

2. Westernisation is often just about adoption of western attire and life style. Are there other aspects to being westernised or Is that about modernisation? Discuss. Ans. • M.N. Srinivas defines westernisation as “the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the term subsuming changes occurring at different levels…. technology, institutions, ideology and values.” •There were different kinds of westernisation: — One kind refers to the emergence of a westernised sub-cultural pattern through a minority section of Indian who first came in contact with the western culture. This included the sub-culture of Indian intellectuals who not only adopted many cognitive patterns or ways of thinking but also styles of life and supported its expansion, — There has been a general spread of western cultural traits such as the use of new technology, dress, food and changes in general. •Westernisation does involve the imitation of external forms of culture. It does not necessarily mean that people adopt modem values of democracy and equality. •Apart from western ways of life and thinking, the west influenced Indian art and literature. The painting of Krishna Menon family in matrilineal community in Kerala but it reflects the very typical patrilineal nuclear family of the modern west consisting of the mother, father and children. •Srinivas suggested that while lower castes’ sought to be sanskritised the “upper caste’ sought to be westernized. But this generalization is difficult to maintain. For example, the Thiyyas (by no means considered an upper caste) in Kerala show conscious efforts to westernize. Elite Thiyyas appropriated British culture as a move towards a more cosmopolitan life that criticised caste. Also, western education opens up new opportunities for different groups of people. MODERNISATION •Modernity assumes that local ties and parochial perspectives give way to universal commitments and cosmopolitan attitudes; •That the truths of utility, calculation, and science takes precedence over those of the emotions, the sacred, and the non-rational; •That the individual rather that the group be the primary unity of society and politics; •That the associations in which men live and work be based on choice and not birth; •That mastery rather than fatalism orient their attitude toward the material and human environment; •That the identity be chosen and achieved, not ascribed and affirmed; •That work be separated from family, residence, and community in bureaucratic organization. It would be simplistic to state that complex combinations are just a mix of tradition and modernity as though tradition and modernity themselves are fixed entities. Or as though India has or had only one set of traditions. Modernity and tradition are constantly being modified and redefined.

3.Write short notes on: (a)Rites and secularisation (b)Caste and secularisation (c)Gender and sanskritisation Ans. (a) Rites and secularisation: •It usually means a process of decline in the influence of religion. •Indicators of secularisation have referred to levels of involvement with religious organisations (like church attendance), the social and material influence of religious organization, and the degree to which people hold religious beliefs. •But the general assumption that modem societies are increasingly becoming secular may not entirely be hue. •A considerable part of ritual in India has direct reference to the pursuit of secular ends. •Rituals have secular dimensions i.e. they provide men and women occasions for socializing with their peers and superiors. •They get an opportunity to show off family’s wealth, clothing and jewellery. •During the last few decades in particular, the economic, political and status dimensions of ritual have become increasingly conspicuous. (b)Caste and Secularisation: •In traditional India, caste system operated within the religious framework. •Belief systems of purity and pollution were centred to its practice. India has seen such formation of caste associations and caste based political parties. They seem to press upon the state their demands. •Such a changed role of caste has been described as secularisation of caste. •The traditional social system in India was organised around caste structures and caste identities. In dealing with the relationship between caste and politics, however the doctrinaire moderniser suffers from a serious xenophobia. •Politicians mobilise caste groupings and identities in order to organise their power…. where there are other types of groups and other bases of association, politicians approach them as well. And as they everywhere change the form of such organizations, they change the form of caste as well. (c)Gender and Sanskritisation: •Sanskritisation supports traditional way of life for women and it is more liberal for modernization or westernization for men. •Most of the supporters of Sanskritisation support the women life within the four walls of the houses. They support or prefer the role of women as a mother, a sister and a daughter. •They like women to follow the traditional way of marriage with the consent of parents. Kumud Pawade as a student could enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say about women and the Dalits. As she proceeds with her studies, she meets with varied reactions ranging from surprise to hostility, from guarded acceptance to brutal rejection. As she says “I remember an expression I heard somewhere: “What comes by birth, but can’t be cast off by dying—that is caste?”

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Essay on sanskritization.

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In this essay you will learn about Sanskritization.

“Sanskritization is the process by which a ‘low’ Hindu caste, or tribal or other group, changes its customs, ritual, and way of life in the direction of a high, and frequently twice-born, caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to a claimant caste by the local community. The claim is usually made over a period of time, in fact, a generation or two, before the ‘arrival’ is conceded”.

Srinivas, however, points out that “there has been not one model of sanskritization but three or four and during the early period of Indian history there was some rivalry between the different models”. That is, apart from Brahminical model there were other models, such as, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.

Srinivas also points out the role of the dominant castes in setting the model for the majority of people living in rural areas including, occasionally, Brahmins.

“The mediation of the various models of sanskritization through the locally dominant caste stresses the importance of the latter in the process of cultural transmission. Thus if the locally dominant caste is Brahmin or Lingayat, it will tend to transmit a Brahminical model of sanskritization, whereas if it is Rajput or Bania, it will transmit Kshatriya or vaishya models. Of course, each locally dominant caste has its own conception of Brahmin, Kashtriya or Vaishya models”.

If the locally dominant caste belongs to the lower stratum of caste hierarchy, the upper caste, people may try to conform to or abide by the ways of living of the former.

While referring to this aspect, Srinivas observes as follows:

“The representatives of the Great Tradition may succumb to the Little Traditions, and this seems to have happened occasionally”.

(A note on Great Tradition and Little Tradition: In his book Peasant Society and Culture, Redfield postulates that civilizations, as distinguished from primitive societies and cultures, are made up of distinct but inter-related parts or levels that have special contents and styles associated with them.

In its simplest form, Redfield identifies a great tradition, embodying the thought, values, customs and world-view of the reflective few in society. The great tradition is associated with specialists in the maintenance and development of the tradition, the literati, the priests and ritual specialists, the cultural consumers of the cities, the royal courts, and the ritual centres. The little traditions are found among the unreflective masses, the illiterate, the uneducated, the unreflective).

While emphasizing the role of centres of pilgrimage and monasteries as sources of sanskritization, Srinivas observes as follows:

“Each pilgrimage centre had its own hinterland……… a pilgrim centre as well as a monastery managed to influence the way of life of everyone in its hinterland. When section of a dominant caste came under the influence of a centre or monastery, Sanskritization spread vertically to non-dominant castes in the area and horizontally to members living elsewhere. Such spreading has been greatly facilitated in recent years by a variety of forces, technological, institutional and ideological”.

While referring to the possibility of upper class people conforming to the ways of living of tribals, Srinivas observes as follows:

“S.L. Kalia has described the process of ‘tribalization’ occurring in Janusar-Bawar in U.P. and in the Bastar region of M.P., according to which high-caste Hindus temporarily resident among tribal people take over the latter’s mores, ritual and beliefs which are in many respects antithetical to their own”.

Srinivas also characterizes conformity to Western ways of living as sanskritization. Thus, he observes:

“Westernization, like sanskritization, is a blanket term: it includes Western education as well as the adoption of Western ways of life and outlook…. westernization helps to spread Sanskritization through the products of its technology— newspapers, radio and films”.

In order to bring out the implications of sanskritization vis-a-vis the social structure, he observes as follows:

“Mobility associated with sanskritization results only in positional changes in the system and does not lead to any structural change”.

Some observations on the concept of sanskritization, as developed by Srinivas, will be in order. In the first place, the term ‘sanskritization’ is likely to convey a wrong impression in­asmuch as there are no Sanskritic rituals. Sanskrit is simply a language and does not imply a way of life or a set of rituals. There are rituals associated with Brahmins, Kshatriyas or Vaishyas.

When upper caste people conform to or accept the ways of living of comparatively low caste people, the process is also characterised as ‘sanskritization’.

Srinivas himself says:

“The agents of socialization were (and are) not always Brahmins”. In this context the use of the term ‘sanskritization’ is misleading.

Secondly, the process of change, which Srinivas sought to explain in terms of ‘sanskritization’, can be adequately explained in terms of ‘reference group’ concept, without the complexities created by the use of the term ‘sanskritization’.

Srinivas himself is conscious of this when he observes:

“The usefulness of sanskritization as a tool in the analysis of Indian society is greatly limited by the complexity of the concept as well as its looseness”.

Thirdly, the complexity of the concept becomes apparent when his concept of sanskritization also subsumes what he characterizes as ‘westernization’. The close association of Indians with the British for over a century and a half created in the former “certain value preferences” for “western technology, institutions, ideology and values”.

“Thus, the process termed as westernization is not very different from that termed as sanskritisation.

He attempts to draw a line of separation between the two concepts thus:

“sanskritization occurs generally as part of the process of the upward movement of castes while Westernization has no such association”.

But when westernization is looked upon by the people as a symbol of a higher social status, some people would naturally take to western ways of life as part of the process of moving up in the social hierarchy.

This process may also be characterised as sanskritization when he says:

“This adoption of the symbols of higher status has been called Sanskritization”.

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Sanskritization and Indian Tribes

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• Radha Madhav Bharadwaj 5  

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Acculturation

The term Sanskritization is used by modern social anthropologists to broadly denote a process of acculturation whereby castes/tribes placed lower in the varna /caste hierarchy, seeking upward mobility or higher status, try to adopt rituals, beliefs, and practices of the upper or dominant castes among the Hindus. According to Srinivasa, Sanskritization is not just the adoption of new customs but also includes exposure to new ideas and values expressed in the Brahmanic Sanskrit scriptures and literature ([ 27 ], p. 32). In short, the history of Sanskritization is the history of a process of constant interaction between the religion and culture of the Sanskritic forces, represented by the Brahmanas and other higher social groups among the Hindus, and the religion and culture of the less advanced social groups in the varna /caste/tribe hierarchy. In the proposed write-up, the process of Sanskritization and acculturation of the tribal communities across North...

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Radha Madhav Bharadwaj

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Bharadwaj, R.M. (2022). Sanskritization and Indian Tribes. In: Long, J.D., Sherma, R.D., Jain, P., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1188-1_1891

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Sanskritization : Meaning, Characteristics, Modes, Examples & Overview

As our society has been almost ruled by Dominant castes , it overlooked lower caste people. Thus a term and practice also emerged as a result of Purity and Pollution concept i.e. Sanskritization. This phenomenon was first observed by M.N. Srinivas who profoundly found that people of low caste were intimidating other castes rituals in their daily life routine. It was called firstly as Brahminization as they were peculiarly following this caste beliefs and norms. But later on, this practice was emerged as following every upper caste and on a broad sense, it was termed as Sanskritization.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SANSKRITIZATION

MODES OF SANSKRITIZATION

Harold Gould, a famous sociologist remarkably answered the causes of Sanskritization that is it is not practiced only for a noble position in the society. Instead, it can be termed as the challenge taken by lower caste people who have always been deprived of socio-economic facilities.

Sanskritization has an influential effect on society in many ways. For example, they adopted other castes living patterns which gave them liberty to sit and stand before other castes. For example, lower caste people were not keen to keep a clean atmosphere but due to Sanskritization, they started maintaining hygiene. The small changes led to vast things in future. Now the situation is that the untouchable practice is almost abolished from the society.

Chapter Chosen

Book chosen, subject chosen, previous year papers, cultural change.

Write short notes on: Caste and secularisation.

Caste and secularisation: (i) There has also been considerable debate about what is seen by some as secularisation of caste. What does this mean? In traditional India caste system operated within a religious framework. Belief systems of purity and pollution were central to its practice. Today it often functions as political pressure groups. Contemporary India has seen such formation of caste associations and caste political parties. They seek to press their demands upon the state . Such a changed role of caste has been described as secularisation of caste.

(ii) In the sentances below this process highly unequal society like India their were and still are obstacles to any easy taking over of the customs of the higher castes by the lower. Indeed, traditionally, the dominant caste punished those low castes, which were audacious enough to attempt it. The story below captures the problem.

(iii) Everyone recognises that the traditional social system in India was orgnised around caste structures and caste identities.

In dealing with the relationship between caste and politics, however the doctrinaire moderniser suffers from a serious xenophobia. He begins with the questions: is caste disappearing? Now, surely no social system disappears like that. A more useful point of departure would be: what from is caste taking under the impact of modern politics, and what form is politics taking in a caste-oriented society? (iv) Those in India who complain of ‘casteism to politics’ are really looking for a sort of politics, which has no basis in society...Politics is a competitive enterprise, its purpose is the acquisition of power for the realisation of certain goals, and its process is one of identifying and manipulating existing and emerging allegiances in order to mobilise and consolidate positions. The important thing is organisation and articulation of support, and where politics is mass-based the point is to articulate support though the organisations in which the masses are to be found. It follows that where the caste structure provides one of the principal organisational clusters along which the bulk of the population is found to live, politics must strive to organise through such a structure.

Write short notes on: Gender and sanskritisation.

Gender and Sanskritisation: Sanskritisation support traditional way of life for women and it is more liberal for modernisation or westernisation for men. For example, during the colonial period boys were allowed to attend English Medium School, coeducation institution to adopt western food and diet style of meal and dresses. For Boys not for girls and women. Most of the supporters Sanskritisation support the women life within the four walls of the houses. They support or prefer the role of women as a mother as a sister and daughter with great owner. They like women to follow the traditional way of marriage with the consent of parents. Even during the ancient period like the people of lower caste women were not allowed to go for higher education in Sanskrit language and literature on a reasonably large number The same idea has been described by a women scholar.

Kumud Pawade in her autobiography recounts how a Dalit woman became a Sanskrit teacher. As a student she is drawn towards the study of Sanskrit, perhaps because it is the means through which she can break into a field that was not possible for her to enter on the ground of gender and caste. Perhaps she was drawn towards it because it would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say about women and the Dalits. As she proceeds with her studies, she meets with varied reactions ranging from surprise to hostility, from guarded acceptance to brutal rejection. As she says:

The result is that although I try to forget my caste, it is impossible to forget. And then I remember an expression I heard somewhere: “What comes by birth, but can’t be cast off by dying - that is caste?”

Write short notes on:

Rites and secularisation.

Rites and Secularisation: (i) We often marry within a caste or community. Religious beliefs continue to dominate our lives. At the same time we do have a scientific tradition. We also have a vibrant secular and democratic political system. At the same time we have caste and community based mobilisation. How do we understand these processes? This chapter has been trying to understand this mix.

(ii) It would be simplistic, however, to term the complex combination just as a mix of tradition and modernity as though tradition and modernity themselves are fixed entities. Or as though India has or had just one set of traditions. We have already seen that both plurality and a tradition of argumentation have been defining features of ‘traditions’ of India.

Write a critical essay on sanskritisation.

Meaning and defintion of Sanskritisation: The term sanskritisation was coined by M. N. Srinivas. It may be briefly defined as the process by which a ‘low’ caste or tribe or other group takes over the customs, ritual, beliefs, ideology and style of life of a high and, in particular, a ‘twice-born (dwija) caste’.

Impact of Sanskritisation: The impact of Sanskritisation is many-sided. Its influence can be seen in language, literature, ideology, music, dance, drama, style of life and ritual.

1. Language: It is primarily a process that takes place within the Hindu space though Srinivas argued that it was visible even in sects and religious groups outside Hinduism. Studies of different areas, however, show that it operated differently in different parts of the country. In those areas where a highly Sanskritised caste was dominant, the culture of the entire region underwent a certain amount of Sanskritisation. In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were dominant, it was their influence that was stronger. This can be termed the process of ‘de-Sanskritisation’. There were other regional variations too. In Punjab culturally Sanskritic influence was never very strong. For many centuries until the third quarter of the 19 th century the Persian influence was the dominant one.

2. Group or caste and tradition: srinivas argued that. “the Sanskritisation of a group has usually the effect of improving its position in the local caste hierarchy. It normally presupposes either an improvement in the economic or political position of the group concerned or a higher group self-consciousness resulting from its contact with a source of the Great Tradition of Hinduism such as a pilgrim centre or a monastery or a proselytising sect”.

3. Nature or set up of Indian society: But in a highly unequal society such as India there were and still are obstacles to any easy taking over of the customs of the higher castes by the lower. Indeed, traditionally, the dominant caste punished those low castes, which were audacious enough to attempt it. The story below captures the problem.

4. Education: Kumud Pawade in her autobiography recounts how a Dalit woman became a Sanskrit teacher. As a student she is drawn towards the study of Sanskrit, perhaps because it is the means through which she can break into a field that was not possible for her to enter on grounds of gender and caste. Perhaps she was drawn towards it because it would enable her to read in the original what the texts have to say about women and the Dalits. As she proceeds with her studies, she meets with varied reactions ranging from surprise to hostility, from guarded acceptance to brutal rejection.

5. For improvement of Status:

Sanskritisation suggests a process whereby people want to improve their status through adoption of names and customs of culturally high-placed groups. The reference model is usually financially better of. In both, the aspiration or desire to like the higher placed group occurs only when people become wealthier.

6. Social Mobility: Sanskritisation as a concept has been criticised at different levels.

(i) It has been criticised for exaggerating social mobility or the scope of ‘lower castes’ to , move up the social ladder. For it leads to no structural change but only positional change of some individuals. In other words inequality continues to persist though some individuals may be able to improve their positions within the unequal structure.

(ii) Secondly, it has been pointed out that the ideology of sanskritisation accepts the ways of the ‘upper caste’ as superior and that of the ‘lower caste’ as inferior. Therefore, the desire to imitate the upper caste is seen as natural and desirable.

(iii) Thirdly, ‘Sanskritisation’ seems to justify a model that rests on inequality and exclusion. It appears to suggest that to believe in pollution and purity of groups of people is justifiable or all right. Therefore, to be able to look down on some groups just as the ‘upper caste’ looked down on the ‘lower castes’, is a mark of privilege. In society where such a world-view exists, imagining of an equal society becomes difficult. The study on the next page shows how the very idea of purity and pollution are valued or seen as worthwhile ideas to have.

(iv) Fourth, since sanskritisation results in the adoption of upper caste rites and rituals it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry practices instead of bride-price and practising caste discrimination against other groups, etc.

(v) Fifth, the effect of such a trend is that the key characteristics of dalit culture and society are eroded. For example, the very worth of labour which ‘lower castes’ do is degraded and rendered ‘shameful’. Identities based on the basis of work, crafts and artisanal abilities, knowledge forms of medicine, ecology, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc., are regarded useless in the industrial era.

7. Anti-Brahminical Movement and impact on Dalits: (a) With the growth of the anti-Brahminical movement and the development of regional self-consciousness in the twentieth century there was an attempt in several Indian languages to drop Sanskrit words and phrases. A crucial result of the Backward Classes Movement was to emphasise the role of secular factors in the upward mobility of caste groups and individuals. In the case of the domiant castes, there was no longer any desire to pass for the Vaisyas, Kshatriyas and Brahmins.

(b) On the other hand, it was prestigious to be a member of the dominant caste. Recent years have seen likewise assertions of Dalits who now pride their indentity as Dalits.

(c) However, sometimes as among the poorest and the most marginalised of the dalit caste groups, caste identity seems to compensate their marginality in other domains. In other words, they have gained some pride and self-confidence but otherwise remain excluded and discriminated.

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Sanskritisation

 In Context 

• M.N. Srinivas, an eminent social anthropologist, produced a detailed explanation of the phenomenon of Sanskritization in ‘A Note on Sanskritization and Westernisation (Far Eastern Quarterly, 1956)’.

What is Sanskritisation?

• Sanskritisation referred to the lower castes’ adoption of the practices and rites of the locally dominant caste in a particular region , which included Brahmin and non-Brahmin castes, who were politically powerful, socio-economically influential and ritually higher in the local caste hierarchy.
• Other factors such as economic well-being, political power, education, and establishment of literary/historical evidence for their affiliation to/descent from a particular caste/caste lineage were also important for their aspirations for higher social positions.

Models of Sanskritization

• Cultural Model
• Varna Model
• Local Model
• Castes have been assigned high or low status according to cultural characteristics. 
• Example wearing of sacred thread, denying the use of meat and liquor, observing endogamy, prohibition of widow remarriage etc.The low castes or tribes imitate the culture, beliefs, values and lifestyles of the dominant caste so as to get the status equal to the upper caste.
• In the Varna system the highest status is given to that of a Brahmin followed by Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.  The lower castes cope with the ideals and lifestyle of the superior castes. Where the Kshatriyas enjoy superiority, the lower castes followed their lifestyle and ideals. Simultaneously where the vaishyas enjoy superiority, the lower castes followed their lifestyle and ideals.
• In every area, some castes are considered to be more respectful than others on account of their economic power. This caste can be referred to as the  “dominant caste”. So the lower caste copies the lifestyle of the local dominant caste in order to improve their status.

Critics to Sanskritization Theory

• Sanskritization fails to account for many aspects of cultural changes in the past and contemporary India as it neglects non-sanskritic traditions . Sanskritic rites are often added to non-sanskritic rites without replacing them.
• The motive force behind sanskritization is not of cultural imitation per se but an expression of challenge and revolt against the socio economic deprivations .
• Sanskritisation is not a universal process.

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• > ‘Sanskritization’ and Social Change in India

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‘sanskritization’ and social change in india.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

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* Srinivas , M. N. , Marriage and Family in Mysore ( Bombay , New Books Co , 1942 ) Google Scholar ; Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India ( Oxford , Clarendon Press , 1952 ) Google Scholar ; A Note on Sanskritization , and Westernization , , Far Eastern Quarterly , XV ( 1956 ), 481 – 496 Google Scholar , reprinted in Caste in Modern India (Bombay, Asia Publishing House, 1962); Social Change in Modern India ( Berkeley/Los Angeles , University of California Press , 1967 ) Google Scholar .

(1) Gist , Noel P. , American Sociological Review , XXXI ( 1966 ), pp. 884 – 885 CrossRef Google Scholar .

(2) The only significant criticisms, so far, have come from two Indologists, Raghavan and Staal, and an anthropologist, D.N. Majumdar. These are referred to in the text.

(3) Gist, op. cit. ; Nandi , Santosh Kumar , American Journal of Sociology , LXXII ( 1966 – 1967 ), p. 223 CrossRef Google Scholar ; Berreman , G.D. , Journal of Asian Studies , XXVI ( 1967 ), pp. 333 – 334 CrossRef Google Scholar .

(4) Berreman, op. cit.

(5) Aiyappan , A. and Ratnam , Bala eds), Society in India ( Madras , Social Science Association , 1956 ), p. 73 Google Scholar . Dube , S. C. writes in Unnithan , T. K. et al. eds), Towards a Sociology of Culture in India ( New Delhi , Prentice-Hall of India , 1965 ), p. 420 Google Scholar : “But it appears to have been overworked not so much by its first exponent as by its later enthusiast”.

(6) Srinivas , M. N. , Caste in Modern India, op. cit. p. 48 Google Scholar .

(7) Aiyappan , and Ratnam , , Society in India, op. cit. p. 113 Google Scholar .

(8) Staal , J. F. , Sanskrit and Sanskritization , Journal of Asian Studies , XXII ( 1963 ), 261 – 275 CrossRef Google Scholar .

(9) Society in India , p. 73; Caste in Modern India , p. 61.

(10) Review of Society in India in The Eastern Anthropologist , X ( 1956 – 1957 ), pp. 148 – 150 Google Scholar .

(11) See, for example, Mehton , R. K. , Social Theory and Social Structure ( Glencoe , Free Press , 1957 ), chaps, viii and ix Google Scholar ; Robert K. Merton and Alice Kitt Rossi, Contributions to the Theory of Reference Group Behaviour, and Kelly , Harold H. , Two Functions of Reference Groups, in Hyman , Herbert and Singer , E. (eds), Readings in Reference Group Theory and Research ( New York , Free Press , 1968 ), pp. 28 – 68 , 77–83 Google Scholar .

(12) Weber , Max , The Methodology of the Social Sciences, trans , and ed. by Shils , E. A. and Finch , H. A. ( New York , The Free Press , 1949 ), pp. 93 sqq Google Scholar ; The Theory of Social and Economic Organization , trans. and ed. by Henderson , A. M. and Parsons , Talcott ( New York , Oxford University Press , 1947 ), pp. 10 – 12 Google Scholar ; Parsons , Talcott , The Structure of Social Action ( Glencoe , The Free Press , 1949 ), pp. 601 – 615 Google Scholar ; McKinney , John C. , Constructive Typology and Social Research in Doby , John T. (ed.), An Introduction to Social Research ( Harrisburg , The Stackpole Co. , 1954 ) PP 139 sqq Google Scholar ; Id. Methodology, Procedures and Techniques in Sociology, in Becker , Howard and Boskoff , A. (eds), Modern Sociological Theory ( New York , Dryden Press , 1957 ), pp. 186 – 235 Google Scholar ; Goode , William J. , A Note on the Ideal Type , American Sociological Review , XII ( 1947 ), pp. 473 – 475 Google Scholar .

(13) Hempel , G. C. , Aspects of Scientific Explanation and Other Essays in the Philosophy of Science ( New York , Free Press , 1965 ), pp. 155 sqq Google Scholar ; Fundamentals of Concept Formation in Empirical Science ( Chicago , University of Chicago Press , 1952 ), pp. 32 , 51, 53 Google Scholar .

(14) Marriott, quoted in Social Change Modern India, op. cit. : “The relatively slight Sanskritization of Brahmins in this area contains the clue to general slowness of Sanskritization and to the relatively small proportion of great-traditional contents in the religion of the rest of the castes in Kishan Ghari”.

(15) Bailey , F. G. , Tribe, Caste and the Nation ( Bombay , Oxford University Press , 1960 ), pp. 188 – 189 Google Scholar ; Caste and the Economic Frontier ( Manchester , Manchester University Press , 1957 ) Google Scholar .

(16) C. G. Hempel, op. cit.

(17) Hopkins , E. W. , Religions of India ( Boston/London , Ginn , 1895 ), pp. 197 sqq.; 348 sqq. Google Scholar ; Id. Ethics of India ( London 1896 ) Google Scholar ; Id. The Great Epic of India ( New Haven , Yale University Press , 1901 ) Google Scholar ; Keith , A. B. , The Religion and Philosophy of Veda and Upanishad ( Cambridge , Harvard University Press , 1925 ) Google Scholar ; Id. A History of Sanskrit Literature ( Oxford , Clarendon Press , 1928 ) Google Scholar ; MacDonell , A. B. , A History of Sanskrit Literature ( London , William Heinemann , 1900 ) Google Scholar ; Gorham , C. R. , Ethics of the Great Religion ( London , Watt and Co. , 1904 ) Google Scholar ; Apte , V. M. , Social and Religious Life in the Grihya-Sutras ( Ahmedabad , Gujarat College , 1939 ) Google Scholar ; Bhattacharyya , Sivaprasad , Religious Practices of the Hindus, and Dandekar , R. N. , The Role of Man in Hinduism, in Kenneth W. Morgan ed.), The Religion of the Hindus ( New York , Ronald Press Co. , 1953 ) Google Scholar ; Radhakrishnan , S. , Religion and Society ( London , Allen and Unwin , 1947 ), pp. 101 – 198 Google Scholar ; Ghurye , G. S. , Gods and Men ( Bombay , Popular Book Depot , 1962 ), pp. 3 , 4 Google Scholar ; Id. Caste and Race in India , ( Bombay , Popular Prakashan , 1969 ), pp. 229 sqq Google Scholar .

(18) That Sanskritization and Westernization are the manifestations of reference-group behaviour seems to have been noted by Damle , Y. B. : Reference Group Theory with Regard to Mobility within Castes , Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute , XXIII ( 1962 – 1963 ), 11 – 23 Google Scholar . Dube ( op. cit. ) has recently stressed the existence of multiple reference groups.

(19) Ghose , J. C. , Principles of Hindu Law ( Calcutta , S. C. Anddy and Co. , 1903 ) Google Scholar ; E. W. Hopkins, Ethics of India, op. cit. ; Monnier-Williams , , Indian Wisdom ( London , W. H. Allen and Co. , 1876 ) Google Scholar .

(20) Roy , Anilbaran , The Message of the Gita with commentaries by Aurobindo , Sri ( London , George Allen and Unwin , 1938 ) Google Scholar .

(21) Caste in Modern India , p. 43.

(22) F. G. Bailey, op. cit. ; Mayer , Adrian C. , Caste and Kinship in Central India ( London , Routledge and Kegan Paul , 1960 ), pp. 63 , 88, 90 Google Scholar ; Bopegamage , A. et al. , Status Images in Changing India ( New Delhi , UNESCO , 1966 ) Google Scholar ; Bope-Gamage , A. and Kulahaixi , R.N. , Caste and Occupation in India ( Poona , Gokhale In-stitute of Politics and Economics , 1969 ), mimeographed Google Scholar . Also see Stevenson , H. N. C. , Status Evaluation in the Hindu Caste System , The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute , LXXXIV ( 1954 ), 45 – 65 Google Scholar .

(23) Majumdar , D. N. , Caste and Communication in an Indian Village ( Bombay , Asia Publishing House , 1958 ), pp. 330 sqq Google Scholar .

(24) Srivastava , S. L. , The Concept of Sanskritization—A Re-evaluation, Economic and Political Weekly , 04 19th, 1969 , pp. 695 – 698 Google Scholar .

(25) See Balachandran , P. K. , “Rejoinder”, Economic and Political Weekly , 10 11th, 1969 , pp. 1646 – 1647 Google Scholar .

(26) Majumdar , , op. cit. p. 30 Google Scholar .

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• Volume 12, Issue 1
• A. Bopegamage and R. N. Kulahalli
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000397560000223X

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