PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

India as an ethnographic museum is known for its national notion of unity in diversity. It is a country of many religions, further divided in terms of diverse social hierarchies. The socio-economic reality, for instance, is not simply based on class dynamics as prevailing in many other countries. The intersectional factors like caste play an important role. The stratification of Hindu social system based on caste places individuals hierarchically according to their birth. The inheritance based on birth in caste structure most often plays a ‘fixed’ identity where the social mobility is discouraged. The broader classification of varnashrma dharma divides people in terms of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. This ascriptive social order based on the Hindu scriptures places Brahmins (or the “higher” castes) above “others”. Kshatriyas who are traditionally known for martial valor and managerial roles are in the next layers of social stratification. Third, the Vaishyas who are known for their trade and commercial activities are above to the last layer of the “lower” castes. In the fourfold ascriptive division of labour, the “lower” castes are often addressed as Shudras (or Dalits or Harijans). The ascriptive nature of caste system is, thus, unique in the stratification where social status is mostly determined by birth. In this backdrop, the current research attempts to analyze the intersections between caste, class and education. This intersectionality is conceptualized in terms of the social construction of the “mutually constitutive relations among social identities…” (Shields 2008: 301).