Caste as a social category and identity in colonial Lanka

Abstract

This article argues that before the 1830s, 'caste' in Lanka fell within the standard range of regional variation found across South Asia. It was only after the 1830s, when the colonial state decided that caste was not a legitimate form of social identification, that the divergence between the island and mainland became marked. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries caste played little role in colonial discourse, but it remained important in social life and elite politics. Given the importance that scholars of India place on official discourse and policy for under standing identity formation, the Lankan case has theoretical and comparative importance.