scholarly journals A Critique of Sanskritization from Dalit/Caste-Subaltern Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-326
Author(s):  
Ishita Roy
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
South India ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Lower Caste ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Social Fact ◽  
Lower Castes ◽  
Caste Groups

Students and social scientists concerned with caste studies will agree to a socio-cultural phenomenon called Sanskritization among people of caste communities that are not recognized as belonging to castes primarily affiliated to either of the three varnas of Brahman, Kshatriya and Vaishya. What is Sanskritization? Following M. N. Srinivas, who put forward the concept of Sanskritization in Religion and Society among the Coorges of South India (1952) to explain upward social movement (?) among Hindu tribal groups or ‘lower’ caste groups imitating and gradually incorporating ‘upper’ caste people’s social, cultural behaviour, rituals, customs, and religious practices, there exist an array of works deliberating upon this collective behavioural instance called Sanskritization (Beteille, 1969; Gould, 1961; Patwardhan, 1973; Sachchidananda, 1977; Lynch, 1974). These studies have generally accepted Sanskritization as an effective tool for cultural integration between different caste groups by ensuring movements of people across caste barriers; in other words, Sanskritization spells a common idiom of social mobility (Beteille, 1969, p. 116). This paper does not support the view that Sanskritization has been an effective socio-cultural instrument in moving towards a society that does not swear by caste-principles. Rather, Sanskritization, a concrete social fact among the ‘lower’ castes people, seems to obliquely prove the productive logic of caste through the imitation of the Brahmin. Following Gramsci’s conceptualisation of the necessity of a subaltern initiative in any counter-hegemony project, the paper further argues that Sanskritization is regressive to the extent that it is antithetical to any such subaltern political initiative against caste.

Living with Barren Truths: A Tale of Triumphalism and Tribulations of a Technology

2021 ◽  
pp. 097168582110159
Author(s):  
Sital Mohanty ◽  
Subhasis Sahoo ◽  
Pranay Kumar Swain
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Fact ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship

Science, technology and human values have been the subject of enquiry in the last few years for social scientists and eventually the relationship between science and gender is the subject of an ongoing debate. This is due to the event of globalization which led to the exponential growth of new technologies like assisted reproductive technology (ART). ART, one of the most iconic technological innovations of the twentieth century, has become increasingly a normal social fact of life. Since ART invades multiple human discourses—thereby transforming culture, society and politics—it is important what is sociological about ART as well as what is biological. This article argues in commendation of sociology of technology, which is alert to its democratic potential but does not concurrently conceal the historical and continuing role of technology in legitimizing gender discrimination. The article draws the empirical insights from local articulations (i.e., Odisha state in eastern India) for the understandings of motherhood, freedom and choice, reproductive right and rights over the body to which ART has contributed. Sociologically, the article has been supplemented within the broader perspectives of determinism, compatibilism alongside feminism.

Ethnic identity, biological history and dental morphology: evaluating the indigenous status of Maharashtra's Mahars

Antiquity ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 74 (285) ◽  
pp. 671-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian E. Hemphill ◽  
John R. Lukacs ◽  
Subhash R. Walimbe
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
Indigenous Status ◽  
Intimate Contact ◽  
Occupational Position ◽  
Biological History ◽  
Caste Groups

The idea of indigenous people in South Asia is more complex than elsewhere, in part because it involves longstanding and intimate contact between ‘tribal’ and non-tribal peoples (Béteille 1998; Gardner 1985; Lukacs in press). Additional complications arise from the hierarchal and endogamous structure of Hindu social and ritual organization, including the plight of people who occupy the lowest stratum of the hierarchy — ‘untouchables’ (Charsley 1996; Delikge 1992; 1993). Because the system of socioreligious stratification known as caste does not encourage social mobility, new ethnic identity is often sought by groups whose position in the hierarchy is low (Dumont 1980; Klass 1980; Kolinda 1978). Biological anthropologists are interested in the caste system for the opportunities it offers to understand the interaction of cultural behaviour with the biological patterning of human genetic and phenotypic diversity (Majumder 1998; Majumder et al. 1990; Malhotra 1974). Although most Westerners perceive caste as an immutable category, in which membership is ascribed, and hierarchal rank is forever fixed, many accounts of castes changing their occupational and ritual status have been documented (Silverberg 1968). Some castes seek to elevate their ritual or economic position by claiming higher status and adopting an appropriate new caste name, while others lay claim to indigenous origins seeking to benefit from rights and privileges that accompany autochthonous status. Such claims often involve adopting new or different patterns of behaviour commonly associated with the new social, religious, indigenous or occupational position claimed. This process is sufficiently common in India to be labelled ‘Sanskritization’ when a Hindu caste emulates higher castes (Srinivas 1968), ‘Hinduization’ when tribal or non-caste groups emulate Hindu castes, or more generally, ‘elite-emulation’ (Lynch 1969).

Structural Topic Modeling For Social Scientists: A Brief Case Study with Social Movement Studies Literature, 2005–2017

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan C. Lindstedt
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Structural Topic Modeling

Sociologists frequently make use of language as data in their research using methodologies including open-ended surveys, in-depth interviews, and content analyses. Unfortunately, the ability of researchers to analyze the growing amount of these data declines as the costs and time associated with the research process increases. Topic modeling is a computer-assisted technique that can help social scientists to address these data challenges. Despite the central role of language in sociological research, to date, the field has largely overlooked the promise of automated text analysis in favor of more familiar and more traditional methods. This article provides an overview of a topic modeling framework especially suited for social scientific research. By way of a case study using abstracts from social movement studies literature, a short tutorial from data preparation through data analysis is given for the method of structural topic modeling. This example demonstrates how text analytics can be applied to research in sociology and encourages academics to consider such methods not merely as novel tools, but as useful supplements that can work beside and enhance existing methodologies.

Addressing Recognition Gaps: Destigmatization and the Reduction of Inequality

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Lamont
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Knowledge Workers ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Presidential Address ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Cultural Repertoires ◽  
Cultural Membership ◽  
Stigmatized Groups

This Presidential Address offers elements for a systematic and cumulative study of destigmatization, or the process by which low-status groups gain recognition and worth. Contemporary sociologists tend to focus on inequality in the distribution of resources, such as occupations, education, and wealth. Complementing this research, this address draws attention to “recognition gaps,” defined as disparities in worth and cultural membership between groups in a society. I first describe how neoliberalism promotes growing recognition gaps. Then, drawing on research on stigmatized groups across several societies, I analyze how experiences of stigma and destigmatization are enabled and constrained by various contextual factors and actors, including institutions, cultural repertoires, knowledge workers, and social movement activists. I conclude by proposing a research agenda for the sociology of recognition and destigmatization, and by sketching how social scientists, policymakers, organizations, and citizens can contribute to the reduction of recognition gaps.

scholarly journals Dalit or Brahmanical Patriarchy? Rethinking Indian Feminism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Sunaina Arya
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Lower Caste ◽  
Dalit Women ◽  
Vague Concept ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Caste Groups ◽  
Critical Methods

The present paper argues that the conceptualisation of notions like ‘dalit’ or ‘intracaste’ or ‘multiple’ patriarchies results from a misunderstanding of the concept brahmanical patriarchy. The category ‘dalit patriarchy’ is gaining popularity in academic and political discourse of contemporary India. It is introduced by Gopal Guru in his seminal essay ‘Dalit Women Talk Differently’ only to challenge patriarchal practices within ‘lower’ caste groups. But mainstream feminists of India attempted to propagate and proliferate this vague concept. They argue that dalit men, as a part of their exploitation by ‘upper’ caste, also face taunts regarding their masculinity which results in their aggressive behaviour on dalit women; which has been called as ‘dalit patriarchy’. The paper argues that conceptualisation of such notions yields no advancement in our endeavours toward a gender-just society, rather it is misleading. Evaluating articulations in mainstream Indian feminism, we need to think through: what effect does this have on our feminist struggle? what is at stake? what possibly can be a resolution? Thus, by exposing flaws about ‘dalit patriarchy’—including a detailed discussion on the empirical, theoretical, and logical shortcomings—this paper seeks to initiate a theoretical rethinking of feminist as well as dalit scholarship, with employment of analytical, hermeneutical and critical methods.

scholarly journals Reshaping Offline Community in the Image of Online Experience: The Impact of Digital Media on Church Conflict in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66
Author(s):  
Christopher Craig Brittain ◽  
Andrew McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Church Conflict ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Cultural Phenomenon ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Online Experience ◽  
The Impact

As more and more people join social media networks, Christian churches struggle to discern how best to adapt to this emerging cultural phenomenon and employ it in ways that are consistent with Christian beliefs, values, and practices. This essay argues that as Christians explore the potential of digital media, they should not neglect to also reflect deeply on the negative aspects of the medium, which are increasingly coming under scrutiny among social scientists and media analysts. We raise this concern in response to our discovery of the capacity of digital media to contribute to church conflict while we were engaged in ethnographic field research in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The essay identifies ways in which digital media exacerbated tensions among Anglicans and Episcopalians in Pittsburgh and concludes with a reflection on the limitations of one of our online attempts to intervene in these dynamics.

Beyond the Post-Modern Mind

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-255
Author(s):  
Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Comparative Religion ◽  
North African ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Social Fact ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Modern Mind ◽  
Religious Question ◽  
Islam And Christianity

What can an accomplished Western theologian and philosopher offerto modern Islamic thought‘! Is there a need for the contemporary Muslimintelligentsia to learn from outside sources? And, if "a conscious and intellectualdefence must be made of the Islamic tradition,” does it mean that Muslimshave to live in a state of mental inertia vis-i-vis the impressive Western traditionin philosophy, theology, and other humanistic and social sciences? Finally,what are the intellectual dangers of borrowing from a Western heritage whichis diffuse in nature, and which is not free from ideology most of the time?Would we be accused of eclecticism and a lack of historicism?Undoubtedly, a major North African philosopher like Abdallah Laroui would dismiss the whole theological project of Islam and Christianity, oreven the whole theoretical enterprise of comparative religion, as irrelevant,ahistorical, anti-intellectual, nxluctionist, and obstructionist. The same attitudeis shared by not a small number of Arab and Muslim social scientists whoconsider metaphysics a fading religious pastime that should have been drivenaway from the human mental endeavor long before Kant appeared on thescene. This orientation is sociologically developed by Bassam Tibi in hisrecent book entitled The Crisis of Modem Islam: A Reindustrial Culturein the Scientific-Technological Age, where he argues that the only viableapproach to Islam in the modern wrld is the sociological method. Therefore,his aim is not to study the spiritual, philosophical, and social manifestationsof Islam in today‘s world, but to understand it, “as it is incorporated intoreality as a fait social-that is, a social fact.”Metaphysics and the Search for a Methodin Religious StudiesProkssor Huston Smith, who sees the validity of the argument that religionis a social fact, argues that the religious question is primarily metaphysical.Thus he offers a “synthetic construct” of religion: metaphysical and social.Put differently, Smith maintains that, transcendentally speaking, religion isa priori and universal; whereas socially spealung, religion is subject to diversityand particularism. It is when we understand his “synthetic argument” thatwe begin to unravel his conceptual concerns: Smith is troubled by the modernphilosophical assertion that truth is made and not found ...

Rhetoric as Argument: Social Justice and Affirmative Action in India, 1990

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROCHANA BAJPAI
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Lower Caste ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Common Opinion ◽  
Lower Castes

AbstractSocial justice is a key concept in the theory and practice of affirmative action. In India, social justice has come to serve as shorthand for affirmative action for disadvantaged groups, mainly lower castes. This paper provides a detailed analytical interpretation of social justice in a landmark legislative debate on quotas in India, namely the 1990 Mandal debate. It unpacks political rhetoric to reveal distinct conceptions of social justice, shows that claims for quotas for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the bureaucracy drew substantially on principles of social justice and democracy and argues that, despite appearances, several arguments for OBC representation in government jobs were compatible with the principle of merit. In doing so, the paper demonstrates that contrary to common opinion, political rhetoric deserves close attention. A reconstruction of political arguments over affirmative action advances understanding of some puzzling features of lower-caste politics in India. It also illuminates important questions in political theory debates on social justice.

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION IN INDIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES: A LOGIT ANALYSIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (supp01) ◽  
pp. 233-259
Author(s):  
ARUN KUMAR BAIRWA ◽  
JADHAV CHAKRADHAR ◽  
PRITEE SHARMA
Keyword(s):  
Employment Discrimination ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Socioeconomic Inequalities ◽  
Manufacturing Industries ◽  
Logit Analysis ◽  
Lower Caste ◽  
Lower Castes

Persistent socioeconomic inequalities in a society reduce the chances of employment for its weaker sections. In India, those most affected by inequality and discrimination are women, people of lower castes, rural households and illiterate people. This necessitates an analysis of the levels of discrimination and favoritism working against female, lower caste, rural and illiterate individuals in different manufacturing industries. This study presents an in-depth picture of employment in each industry with regard to the four variables selected — gender, caste, location and education. Fourth (2013–2014) and fifth (2015–2016) annual Employment and Unemployment Surveys have been used for the analysis.

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