Symposium on Jaati, Varna, and Caste - Online Event By INDICA

INDICA is organizing an online symposium on the topic of Jaati, Varna, and Caste to bring together colonial, modern, decolonizing, and modernity-critiquing discussions on the topic.

The English word and concept of “caste” is often used as a translation for the emic words and concepts of jaati/kula(mu) and Varna, which are often mutually conflated. This word and concept have gained attention on global, Indian national, and regional forums, both from an academic and activist perspective.

However, from the beginning of the colonial and modern discourse, the word “caste” has been used in a pejorative sense to mean a discriminatory and inhuman social system. As a result, both the words Varna and Jaati acquired the same pejorative connotation, which makes it difficult to interpret and understand pre-modern classical Sanskrit and other Indian language texts.

This problem leads to issues in both academic and activist aspects. At an academic level, this problem can be resolved only by exploring the possible positive sense in which the word Varna could have been used in these texts.

Additionally, there is the problem of interpreting traditional oral literature such as folk and tribal literature, where words such as jaati/kula(mu) are used in a neutral or positive sense to express and discuss the self-esteem, hereditary occupations, customs and traditions, deities, worship, rituals, and rites of passage of the jaati/kula(mu).

The pejorative use of the word “caste” at an international level has reached such a level that today, it is universally used to mean any discrimination towards a human group anywhere in the world. However, there are academic endeavors in which the positive and neutral ideas behind the emic words and concepts of Jaati and Varna are being brought to light through decolonizing and modernity-critiquing efforts.

Another major area that is receiving attention is the changing contemporary reality regarding the continuity or discontinuity of different features of jaati and/or Varna in contemporary society. The categorization of jaatis into SC, ST, OBC, and General OC categories due to policy provisions, studies on horizontal and vertical mobility of castes/jaatis during modern times, and the role of jaati/caste in contemporary democratic politics are also being studied.

Additionally, cultural anthropological studies on Indian society, Indian village, and other aspects such as Dominant Caste, Jajmani System, Bara Balutedar system, Sanskritization, Kshatriyization, etc. are contributing to a better understanding of the words and concepts of Jaati and Varna, particularly in relation to the concept of caste.

Further details are available here - including links for registration.