The changing nature of dominant castes: a case study of caste-based identity construction in Varanasi

Abstract

ABSTRACT The idea of “dominant caste” has been important in the discourse of caste that saw the movement from social intercourse (hierarchy, purity-pollution) to political mediation (representation, demand for positive discrimination) in various literature. This paper offers a longitudinal study of caste relations in and around Varanasi in North India, focusing on the Brahmin caste vis-à-vis another dominant caste (non-Brahmin). It combines historical material with individual-level data set, the findings of which are presented as a case study. The essay’s objectives are as follows (a) description and analysis of two different “dominant” castes to understand the functioning of the caste identity in contemporary India. This is done to reevaluate how the castes have sought to convert their historically accrued caste capital into social or political capital; (b) the relationship between the two “dominant” castes. It was found that dominance was regionally located in both cases, but in the colonial period, it depended on caste hierarchy, unlike in post-colonial/modern days. This recreated a sort of discrimination manipulated by the dominant castes at their respective levels.