The Making of a Caste Group: A Case Study of the Kuravans in Tamil Nadu and Kerala

Abstract

Caste and the categories of caste play a vital role in the Indian socio-cultural system. Though the identity of caste is 'ascribed' in nahtre, the administrative categories are 'political', 'flexible' and 'achieved'. A caste wlzich has multiple nomenclahtres, and domiciled in different regions may be placed under different administrative categories. T11ese categories also change based on the religious affiliations of individual members. Therefore the issue of identihJ and social status within the same caste group occurs and creates disputes from time to time. This paper is an attempt to study these issues with special reference to the Kuravans domiciled in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and tries to understand the relationship among the Kuravans domiciled in different regions.