Social Separatism: Scheduled Caste & the Caste System

The central argument of the book concerns the formation of the Satnami sect, the transformation of the sect into a caste, the internal organization of the Satnami caste, and its relationships with other castes. This study primarily focuses on the structural changes leading to social separatism. The approach adopted is a historical-cultural-structural approach, and a satisfactory conceptual process is found in the notion of ‘caste substantialization’ for the study and analysis of caste dynamism. Caste substantialization is a process by which castes separate, distinguish and isolate themselves from each other and from the caste structure. Castes whose definition and identity depended on their relationships with other castes within a structural whole take on substance, i.e., independence and individuality by becoming discrete entities of a substantial whole. Building on Dumont’s structural scheme, the author proposes an alternative conceptualization of the caste system, in contemporary India, as a substantial whole. The process of substantialization has a universal application in India, and hence, this book will be of great help to students and social scientists of Indian society, especially those who are interested in scientific studies of particular castes and of their theoretical relationship to the caste system.