Understanding Caste in the City

Course Type	Course Code	No. Of Credits
Discipline Elective	NA	4

Course coordinator and team: Dr. Pritpal Singh Randhawa

Does the course connect to, build on or overlap with any other courses offered in AUD?

This course connects with other courses on Social Stratification offered in BA in SGA as MDC and in other schools in the University.

Specific requirements on the part of students who can be admitted to this course: (Pre-requisites; prior knowledge level; any others – please specify)

There are no specific requirements or pre-requisites.

No. of students to be admitted (with justification if lower than usual cohort size is proposed):

As per university norms

Course scheduling (semester; semester-long/half-semester course; workshop mode; seminar mode; any other – please specify):

Semester long

How does the course link with the vision of AUD?

The course is linked with AUD’s vision of inculcating the principles of equity and social justice in students.

How does the course link with the specific programme(s) where it is being offered?

This course is linked with specific domain of the programme which aims to critically understand the diversity and complexity of urban social life.

Course Details:

1. Summary:

The caste system is an oldest form of social stratification in India which not only grades people one above the other by birth but also treat many as untouchables. There is a popular narrative that caste is more visible in the rural context and near invisible in urban areas. A large body of scholarship reproduces this narrative. Ambedkar himself advocated rapid urbanization, and rural to urban migration as means of escaping the entrenched caste hierarchies of the countryside. No doubt, urbanization empowers the lower castes through better quality of education and diverse livelihood opportunities, but it does not necessarily diminish caste or caste-based discrimination. Caste system has existed in ancient, medieval and colonial towns and it continues to thrive in contemporary urban India in forms such as segregation of residential spaces, denial of rented accommodation to lower castes, employment of lower castes for menial work such as sanitation and waste workers, caste-based differential wages, discrimination of SC/ST students in higher education institutes, among others. This course aims to engage with diverse manifestations of caste with a focus on untouchables in urban spaces along with discourse and activism on social justice which contests the system and its attendant violence and discrimination.

1. Objectives:
  1. To critically understand the origin and history of caste and untouchability in India.

1. 1. To understand diverse facets of caste in Indian cities and towns.

1. 1. To develop an interdisciplinary perspective on caste in the urban context.

1. Learning Outcome:

By the end of the course, students will gain

1. 1. A familiarity with the origin of caste, and traditions and movements which challenged the caste system.

1. 1. An ability to understand and analyse the heterogeneity of urban society based on class, caste, religion etc.

1. 1. A deeper understanding of equity and social justice, for public policy objectives, including in urban areas.
2. Overall structure:

This course is divided into five modules

Module	Description	Duration
1	Perspectives on Caste	3 weeks
2	Caste and the City in History	2 weeks
3	Caste in Contemporary Urban Spaces	3 weeks
4	Labour and Caste	2 weeks
5	Social Justice Campaigns and Activism	2 weeks

1. Contents (Module wise):

Module 1: Perspectives on Caste

The module traces the history of origin of caste and untouchability in India and brings into discussion the historic division of Savarna and Avarna, as also the traditions that questioned the caste system during the ancient period, such as Shramanas, Buddhists, Lokayats and Ajivikas. It then reflects how despite these traditions, Brahmanism was institutionalized during the Mauryan period, governed by Manusmriti. With this background, the course proceeds to discuss historic debates on caste and untouchability between Gandhi and Ambedkar during the freedom struggle in India, and the post-colonial discourse on caste with reference to debates that began in the early 2000 on the inclusion of caste along with racial discrimination. The module will further explore why despite the conversion of untouchables into non-Hindu religions like Islam, Christianity and Sikhism, which are based on the principle of social equality, caste identity remains unaltered. The module concludes with a brief discussion on intersectionality.

Essential Readings

Ambedkar, B.R. (2002) “Origin of Untouchability” in Valarian Rodrigues (eds) The Essential Writings of B.R. Ambedkar, Oxford: New Delhi.

Bayly, S (1999). Historical origins of a ‘caste society.’ In: Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. The New Cambridge History of India. Cambridge University Press:25-63.

Devy, G. N. (2023). Varna and Jati: Consolidation of Social Hierarchy, In G N Devy, Tony Joseph and Ravin Korisettar (Eds) The Indians: Histories of Civilization, New Delhi: Aleph Book Company.

Jaffrelot, C. (2006). “In the political Arena: Against Gandhi” in Dr Ambedkar and untouchability: analysing and fighting caste. Orient Blackswan.

Omvet, Gail (2011). Understanding Caste: From Buddha To Ambedkar And Beyond (New Delhi: Orient Blackswan)

Sharma, B., & Geetha, K. A. (2021). Casteing gender: Intersectional oppression of Dalit women. Journal of International Women's Studies, 22(10), 0-7.

Sekher, A. (2003). Older than the Church: Christianity and Caste in “The God of Small Things.” Economic and Political Weekly, 38(33), 3445–3449.

Thorat, S., Umakant. (2004). Introduction, In Thorat, S., Umakant. (eds) Caste, Race and Discrimination: Discourse in International Context. Rawat Books, New Delhi.

Suggested Readings

Ambedkar, B.R. (2002) “Castes in India” in Valarian Rodrigues (eds) The Essential Writings of B.R. Ambedkar, Oxford: New Delhi.

Beteille, A. (2012). Caste, class and power: Changing patterns of stratification in a Tanjore village. Oxford University Press.

Chhabria, S. (2023). Where Does Caste Fit in A Global History of Racial Capitalism?. Historical Materialism, 31(2), 136-160.

Ilaiah, K (1996). Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva philosophy, culture and political economy (Calcutta: Samya).

Guru, G. (2017). Ethics in Ambedkar's Critique of Gandhi. Economic and political weekly, 95-100. Jodhka, S. S. (2024). Sikh Religion and Contentions around Caste. Religions, 15(10), 1219.

Module 2: Caste and the City in History

This module maps the phenomenon of caste in ancient, medieval and modern cities in India, till partition. It begins with an exploration of how ancient and medieval cities were planned on the basis of caste, including in segregation of residence and division of work. The module further delves on the continuation of caste-based hierarchies and conflicts in colonial cities. It particularly focuses on how along with the racial distinction between ‘white town’ and ‘black town’, caste was ingrained in spatial organization of black towns. The module ends by laying out how despite the concurrent movements against untouchability during the freedom struggle, and many ensuing reforms, caste remained an operating principle in settlement of post partition refugee and rehabilitation programs.

Essential Readings

Heitzman, J. (1987). Temple Urbanism in Medieval South India. The Journal of Asian Studies, 46(4), 791–826. https://doi.org/10.2307/2057102

Kaur, R (2008). Narrative Absence: An Untouchable Account of Partition Migration, Contributions to Indian Sociology 42 (2): 281–306

Keppens, M. (2017). The Aryans and the Ancient system of caste. In M. Farek, D. Jalki, S. Pathan, &

P. Shah (Eds.), Western foundations of the caste system (pp. 221–251). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38761-1

Kumar, R. (2008, January). Mentality and Social Condition of Lower Castes and Menials during Medieval India (with special reference to 16^th & 17^th Century in Northern India). In Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (Vol. 69, pp. 428-441). Indian History Congress.

Mukund, K. (1995). Caste Conflict in South India in Early Colonial Port Cities—1650-1800. Studies in History, 11(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/025764309501100101

Smith, M. E. (2010). The archaeological study of neighborhoods and districts in ancient cities, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 29 (20) 2: 137-154

Suggested Readings

Kumar, A (2011). Post Partition Refugees from NWFP in Delhi: Ignored and Underplayed History of Dalit Refugees, In Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (Vol. 72, pp. 1344-1353). Indian History Congress.

Quigley, D. (1995). Conclusion: Caste Organization and the Ancient City, Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Oxford)

V. Nanda (1994) Ahmedabad: The Urban Traditions of a Medieval City, South Asian Studies, 10:1, 45-66, DOI: 10.1080/02666030.1994.9628476

Vaishali (2019). Partition of India and Question of Dalit Shelter, In Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (Vol. 80, pp. 1128-1135). Indian History Congress.

Module 3: Caste in Contemporary Urban Spaces

The module focuses on diverse aspects of caste in contemporary Indian cities. It begins with conversations on caste-based spatial segregation, noting how residential spaces across large swathes of urban India mirrors the spatial geometry of rural India. It discusses how neighbourhoods (bastis) where lower castes are clustered, continue to be named through lower caste markers such as chamaar tola, balmiki basti, kumhar tola, dom para, dhobhi mohalla and so on. It also illustrates the correlation between residential segregation and access to and disparity in public services. The module further engages with the problems faced by lower castes in renting and buying a house in the city.

Essential Readings

Bharathi, N., Malghan, D., Mishra, S., & Rahman, A. (2021). Fractal urbanism: City size and residential segregation in India. World Development, 141, 105397.

Bharathi, N., Malghan, D., Mishra, S., & Rahman, A. (2022). Residential segregation and public services in urban India. Urban Studies, 59(14), 2912-2932.

Dyotana Banerjee & Mona G. Mehta (2017) Caste and capital in the remaking of Ahmedabad,

Contemporary South Asia, 25:2, 182-195

Singh, G., Vithayathil, T., & Pradhan, K. C. (2019). Recasting inequality: residential segregation by caste over time in urban India. Environment and Urbanization, 31(2), 615-634.

Sharma, G (2014). Politics of institutional knowledge and exclusion: Understanding experiences of Dalit Children in urban slums. Indian Journal of Teacher Education:Anweshika, 9(1). Pp. 44-57.

Suzuki, M. (2023). Socio-spatially Segregated Experience of Urban Dalits and their Anti-caste Imagination: A Study of the Balmiki Community in Delhi, India. CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 4(2), 196–212.

Thorat, S., Banerjee, A., Mishra, V. K., & Rizvi, F. (2015). Urban Rental Housing Market: Caste and Religion Matters in Access. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(26/27), 47–53.

Module 4: Labour and Caste

This module unpacks the relationship between caste and labour, and shows how caste continues to a significant factor in determining a person’s occupation in non-farm sectors. Occupations traditionally considered as ‘menial’, such as sanitation and leather work continue to be dominated by Dalits, and the specific castes associated with it historically. The module also engages with the reality of manual scavenging in the urban context. Despite the law on prohibition of manual scavenging, this caste-based practice continues in India. The module also discusses a few contemporary studies on the relationship between odour, caste and labour. The module further explores the intersection of caste, gender and labour in occupations such as waste picking, street vending and domestic work, as also caste based discrimination in wages in urban labour market.

Essential Readings

Beteille, A. (1991). The reproduction of inequality: Occupation, caste and family. Contributions to Indian sociology, 25(1), 3-28.

Dey, I. (2021). Smells, intimate labor and domestic work in Delhi, India. The Senses and Society, 16(3), 339-350.

Guru, G. (2012). Rise of the 'Dalit Millionaire': A Low Intensity Spectacle. Economic and Political Weekly, 41-49.

Kapoor, S. (2021). The violence of odors: sensory politics of caste in a leather tannery. The Senses and Society, 16(2), 164-176.

Kumar, A. (2020). Dalit, Labour And Stigma Against Waste Work: A Question Of Dignity And Self Respect. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(9), 10228-10237.

Madheswaran, S., & Attewell, P. (2007). Caste Discrimination in the Indian Urban Labour Market: Evidence from the National Sample Survey. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(41), 4146–4153.

Mandal, S. (2008). Through the lens of pollution: manual scavenging and the legal discourse. Voice of Dalit, 1(1), 91-102.

Pais, R. (2021). Sanitation and Unchanging Role of Caste. Indian Anthropologist, 51(2), 57-69.

Raghuram, P. (2001). Caste and gender in the organisation of paid domestic work in India. Work, Employment and Society, 15(3), 607-617.

Saxena, S. (2024). Gender, caste, and street vending in India: Towards an intersectional geography. Area, e12939.

Suggested Readings

Banerjee, B., & Knight, J.B. (1985). Caste discrimination in the Indian urban labour market, Journal of Development Economics, 17 (3), 277-307.

Shetty, R., Brahmabhatt, A., & Nayar, S. (2022). Caste and Occupation: A Perspective. The Indian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 54(4), 169-171.

Sharma, M. (2022). Caste of Labour: Dalits, the Industrial Ecosystem and Environmental Politics in Delhi. Social Change, 52(1), 7-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/00490857221079467

Pradhan, S., & Mittal, A. (2020). Ethical, health, and technical concerns surrounding manual scavenging in urban India. Journal of Public Health, 28, 271-276.

Mirza, S. (2019). Cow Politics: Spatial Shifts in the Location of Slaughterhouses in Mumbai City. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 42(5), 861-879.

Module 5: Social Justice Campaigns and Activism

The module covers the breadth of social justice politics and activism in urban India. It begins with an overview of Dalit social movements in the post independent India, particularly Dalit mobilization in urban India. Selective case studies, such as Dalit Mahila Samiti of Chitrakoot (MP), Safai Karamchari Andolan, Navsarjan (Ahmedabad) and others are brought into discussion. Thereafter, the module critically engages with the politics of Sanskritization of a specific Dalit community - Balmikis. It concludes with some reflections on the interface of caste and public policy, with focus on urban planning and policy.

Essential Readings

Gorringe, H. (2013). Dalit politics: Untouchability, identity, and assertion. In Routledge handbook of Indian politics (pp. 119-128). Routledge.

Jaoul, N. (2011). Casting the ‘sweepers’. Local politics of Sanskritisation, Caste and Labour. In: Berti D, Jaoul N and Kanungo P (eds) Cultural Entrenchment of Hindutva: Local Mediations and Forms of Convergence. New Delhi: Routledge, p.278.

Mandal, B. C. (2022). Dalit Politics in India: A Critical Overview. Contemporary Voice of Dalit, 2455328X221131716.

Omvedt, G. (2001). Ambedkar and After: The Dalit Movement in India. In Shah, G (eds). Dalit Identity and Politics. New Delhi: Sage Publication.

Pellissery, S. (2022). Epilogue: Caste in public policy analysis: Rediscovering public sphere through institutionalist lens. In Caste Matters in Public Policy (pp. 202-222). Routledge India.

Baxi, U. (2011). ‘Humiliation and Justice’ in Guru G (eds) Humiliation: Claims and Context, Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Suggested Readings

Kulshreshth, S. (2023). ‘Social Media Is the Second Ambedkar’: Bhim Army and Social Media Mobilisation in North India, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 46 (5)

Raina, V. (2004). Political diversity, common purpose: social movements in India. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 5(2), 320-327.

Dalwai, S., Mahanta, U., & Shakil, A. (2019). Caste, gender, power, and impunity: an interview with V. Geetha. Jindal Global Law Review, 10(2), 321-330.

Kothari, R. (Ed.). (1995). Caste in Indian politics. Orient Blackswan. Important Web links: https://www.safaikarmachariandolan.org/ http://navsarjan.org/

Pedagogy:
1. Instructional design:

The course will be a combination of class lectures, discussions and invited lectures.

1. Special needs (facilities, requirements in terms of software, studio, lab, clinic, library, classroom/others instructional space; any other – please specify): None
1. Expertise in AUD faculty or outside

Expertise available within AUD

1. Linkages with external agencies (e.g., with field-based organizations, hospital; any others)

Linkage with organization working with sanitation and waste workers.

Assessment structure (modes and frequency of assessments)
1. Assessment 1: Mid Semester Exam (Weightage 30%)
2. Assessment 2: Fieldwork/case study based project (Weightage 30%)
3. Assessment 3: End Semester Exam (Weightage 40%)