Castes in India: Dissertation by B.R. Ambedkar

Academic and Historical Context

B.R. Ambedkar presented Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development in 1916 at an anthropology seminar at Columbia University. The work emerged from his doctoral studies, combining sociology and anthropology, marking an early rigorous analysis of caste as a social institution. It situates caste not merely as tradition but a strategic social mechanism created by Brahmins through endogamy to maintain elite status. Ambedkar argued the practice of caste as a unique social phenomenon with historical depth and global implications.

Social and Religious Frameworks

Ambedkar framed caste as a complex social hierarchy intertwined with religion, particularly Hinduism, which legitimized and reinforced caste divisions through sacred texts like the Manusmriti. He saw caste as not only social but also an economic barrier that fixed individuals into rigid occupational roles from birth, severely limiting social mobility. This system institutionalized graded inequality and practices like untouchability that dehumanized lower castes, especially Dalits. Ambedkar emphasized that caste was a mechanism of oppression legitimized by religion and challenged the prevailing social order, advocating for its complete dismantling to achieve justice and human dignity.

Intellectual Influences and Theoretical Approaches

Ambedkar's dissertation integrated anthropological methodologies with social theory, reflecting the influence of early 20th-century cultural modernism and ethnology. His presentation to a Western academic audience contextualized Indian caste within broader primitive survivals in modern societies, emphasizing objective inquiry into social institutions. Ambedkar employed comparative analysis and critical scholarship prevalent in Columbia University’s intellectual milieu, including the work of figures like Alexander Goldenweiser and Franz Boas. This lens highlighted caste as a socially constructed system rather than a natural or immutable order, laying foundations for later critical caste studies.

Key themes

• Endogamy is the fundamental mechanism maintaining the caste system.
• Caste emerged from a superimposition of endogamy on gotra exogamy.
• Brahmins strategized caste formation by strict endogamous marriage practices.
• Caste sustains rigid social boundaries preventing inter-group mixing.
• Ambedkar critiques racial and divine explanations of caste.
• The caste system perpetuates social, religious, and economic inequality.

Motifs & problems

Ambedkar’s analysis repeatedly employs marriage customs—especially endogamy and exogamy—as core symbols to explain caste genesis. Endogamy stands as both a visible social practice and a hidden structural device reinforcing exclusion and hierarchy. The motif of imitation, where lower castes emulate Brahmin practices, further complicates caste’s mechanism, highlighting caste as a dynamic social construct rather than a fixed divine order. Interpreting caste through these customs reveals ambiguities around tradition’s role in social stratification and resistance.

Study questions

• How does Ambedkar identify endogamy as central to caste formation?
• In what ways does Ambedkar challenge earlier racial or religious explanations of caste?
• What role do Brahmins have in institutionalizing caste according to Ambedkar?
• How does marriage regulate caste boundaries and social hierarchy?
• Why does Ambedkar argue caste prevents social and national integration?
• How is caste connected to economic and political oppression in Ambedkar’s view?
• In what ways might caste be seen as a mutable social system?
• How does Ambedkar’s analysis inform efforts to abolish caste discrimination?

Critical approaches & debates

Scholars analyze Ambedkar’s Castes in India through various lenses: Marxist readings focus on caste as a form of economic exploitation and social hierarchy; postcolonial scholars emphasize how caste intersects with colonial power structures and the legitimization of inequality; feminist critiques highlight the gendered mechanisms maintaining caste, such as enforced widowhood and child marriage; formalist approaches examine Ambedkar’s logic on endogamy as the caste system’s core. Debates persist regarding whether caste primarily originated from kinship rules (endogamy/exogamy) or from class dynamics. Some question Ambedkar’s claim that Brahmins were the first caste to enclose themselves, while others underscore his radical critique of religious sanction for caste.

Key passages

Ambedkar identifies endogamy—marriage within one's group—as the fundamental mechanism preserving caste boundaries, reinforced by customs like sati and enforced widowhood. This close reading reveals how these social practices sustain caste rigidity and prevent social mobility, highlighting caste as a socially constructed, self-perpetuating institution rather than a divinely ordained or racial system.

Bibliography

Ambedkar, B.R. (1916). Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development. Reprints and critical editions available. Primary sources include Ambedkar’s later works such as Annihilation of Caste (1936). Foundational studies: Christophe Jaffrelot, Dr. Ambedkar and the Mahar Movement (2005). Recent scholarship includes research articles analyzing caste’s socio-economic dynamics and critiques of caste endogamy mechanisms.