Caste Among Non-Hindus: Ideology, Institutions and Practices

The book is a collaborative effort to explore one of the most complex paradoxes of Indian social system, i.e. the caste system. The question of caste among non-Hindus in India is particularly startling since caste has originally been associated with the Hindu social system. Therefore, a discussion of caste among non-Hindus may sound like a contradiction in terms. The book is an attempt to explore the very idea of caste among non-Hindus, mainly the six notified religious minorities, i.e. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians. Most of these religions, though theoretically, affirm egalitarianism, the empirical evidence shows that the members of the community are organised into caste-like groups, hereditary occupations, endogamy, and even the notion of purity and pollution to varying degrees. In none of these communities, egalitarianism is the norm to shape their social relations. Therefore, it becomes imperative to explore how a community which theoretically does not believe in the notion of birth-based distinctions, organises itself along these lines. Caste should not be understood as a purely ‘Hindu socio-religious phenomenon’ but as an embedded system of social stratification based on birth, hierarchy, and endogamous unions. Variations are, however, possible, among the different communities in terms of the elabor- ateness and the rigidity of the system. Drawing on sociological and anthropological work, the book offers a different lens not only for understanding the making of Indian society but also rethinking the very notion of caste itself. Caste is thus presented as a dynamic system of social stratification that cannot simply be reduced to theology.

• Publication date: 30 November 2025
• Page count: 259
• Dimensions: Height 230 mm; Width 150 mm
• Publisher: Manohar Publishers and Distributors
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9789374516928