Caste and Social Practices — Definition

Definition

Caste and social practices concern the organisation and reproduction of inherited social identities through marriage, status, occupation, interaction and access to resources. Varna is a broad classificatory scheme, while jati refers to the many historically situated social groups through which much everyday caste life has operated.

Caste is neither a uniform practice across India nor a condition that disappeared automatically with modernisation. Endogamy, hierarchy and exclusion must be studied alongside reform, constitutional equality, mobility and political assertion.

Distinguishing prescribed norms from observed behaviour makes it possible to explain both continuity and change without treating a community's identity as a personal trait.