Mansi Upadhyay, Week 3

Caste, Class and Gender
       - The structure of marriage, sexuality and reproduction is the fundamental basis of the caste system and it through this, that caste system is sustained.

            Chakravarti explains how caste, class and gender are inextricably linked together through various illustrations of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. She takes the example of Shambuka, who practiced austerity which was only meant to be done by the Brahmanas, to explain how Brahmins created not just a hegemony but also made (scriptural) knowledge their monopoly. The symbolism is striking – the next generation of the ‘learned’ Brahmins dying because of the acquisition of knowledge by the Shudras, the illustration clearly shows how knowledge being imparted to Shudras is not just terrible but sinful. Hence, the Brahminical hegemony isn’t just based on the ideology of purity but that of monopoly over certain resources. This is precisely why Phule and Ambedkar wanted to fight the caste system with knowledge as their weapon.

            The monopoly thus created helped Brahmins gain control of different means of production. This monopoly wasn’t met with a lot of resistance from other castes except a few Kshatriyas, who eventually reconciled to form a duo, King-Brahmin; a stronger force combined.

            Caste is produced with the help of endogamy, it is ‘a tool for manifestation and propagation of caste and gender subordination’. To ensure that the caste system remains in place, the men have to control the sexuality of women as caste is a social stratification based on birth. Endogamy ‘ritualises female sexuality as a key to maintain the bounded nature of each group’ and ensures the ‘pure’ vansa of the upper castes to continue. The upper castes hence have elaborate restrictions and rituals in place to guarantee the complete authority over their women’s sexuality; practices like endogamy – marrying within the caste system but also exogamy – marrying outside the gotra and classifying kanyadan as the ‘greatest merit’ help keep Brahmanical patriarchy thriving.