The problem begins when caste gets tied to birth. It is wrong for society to decide that the child of a tree–climber is also a tree–climber and that this is his fate. Then, based on that “fate,” he is denied opportunities, pushed aside, and the place he touched is “purified.” On what basis is this done?
The issue is not that someone uses a caste surname or speaks a little differently. The problem is whether it prevents him from seeing others as equals. Caste must disappear because it makes one human being think that another human being is born inferior or superior. This is what our leaders wanted to eliminate.
Based on genome studies, Dr. Tony Joseph (author of Early Indians) said in a seminar that the heavily birth-based caste system is less than 2000 years old. Before that, our genes show signs of mixing. In the period after about 2000 years ago, genetic mixing reduced. This is believed to be due to endogamy becoming restricted to specific groups. That means caste became tied to birth only in the last 2000 years. Social conditions of that period must have led to birth becoming linked to caste.
Between 200–300 BCE, after the Sangam era, Buddhist-linked dynasties are believed to have ruled here. These include the Gupta and Maurya periods, with emperors like Ashoka. By around the 8th century CE, these traditions weakened, and a social order based on caste likely emerged. This was also a global period when systems that denied human equality—like the slave trade—existed. This seems to support Dr. Tony Joseph’s observations about the reduction in genetic mixing.
But for hundreds of years now, caste - despite creating such inequality - has survived. Why?
One reason is administrative convenience. Caste allowed those in power to define authority and distribution of resources easily. For example, a lower-caste person was considered to have no right to land and to be obliged to work as a laborer. It was easy to declare that he depended on his “birth superior.”
Before the Mughals, local kings used the caste system for governance. The Mughal administration not only failed to end caste but adopted it, giving it Urdu names. For a centralized governing authority, caste was a convenient way to maintain a stable supply of labor and manage the workforce.
British-introduced universal education brought many people out of this structure. To create the type of workers they needed, they produced a “gumastha/babu” class. But they did not link this new class to birth. Although it caused small cracks in caste, the British too largely used caste for their administrative needs.
The real shake-up to caste came when we moved to representative democracy and when Nehru, Gandhi, Ambedkar, and others declared that we are all equal. Gandhi believed that through special care and access to resources, the so-called Harijans would become equal. Nehru dreamt that caste would naturally disappear through industrial development. Ambedkar wanted to eliminate the conditions that allow caste to exist. All three aimed at equality and coexistence.
What I understand is that hereditary elites who need laborers without fair wages, people who do not believe humans are equal, and caste-based organizations—all these groups want caste to continue. They amplify themselves everywhere and occupy space.
Perhaps, as Nehru imagined, industrialization and migration will naturally reduce the need for caste. But the time and circumstances must align. For example, we do not know the caste of migrant workers here. Even if we know, we have no idea where to place them among our caste categories. Without knowing, both we and they get freed from caste. Likewise, to work in a factory, one must acquire certain technical skills. Birth or “innate ability” is irrelevant - technical proficiency determines employment and promotion. This again removes the need for caste (although some still try to hold on temporarily).
Let us care for one another and work together to end birth-based caste and the inequality it creates. Not mere laws, protests, or reservations, but - just as Ambedkar said - we must eliminate the conditions that sustain caste. He said that because agrarian society supports caste, agriculture must become an industry.
We must industrialize caste-ridden regions to create caste-free employment opportunities and relocate severely marginalized groups to places where caste distinctions do not operate.
We should conduct a nationwide caste census and evaluate, with an open mind, how effective the post-independence measures for caste eradication have been in creating equality. We must plan practical next steps, strengthen the natural patterns that weaken caste, and overcome resistance.
NB: originally written in Malayalam, reviewed and translated with the help of Chat GPT
Malayalam:ജാതി ഉന്മൂലനം, അകലെയല്ല
Reference via Chat GPT
Caste is not inherently religious; it is a socio-economic hierarchy. Scholars agree that caste evolved primarily as a social and occupational system, not a theological mandate.
- M.N. Srinivas, Social Change in Modern India (1966) — caste functions as a social order tied to occupation and hierarchy, not strictly religion.
- Nicholas Dirks, Castes of Mind (2002) — caste became rigid through political and administrative processes, not religious doctrine.
The key problem begins when caste becomes linked to birth. Anthropologists note that this hardening into hereditary roles is the real source of inequality.
- Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus (1970) — caste becomes oppressive when linked with purity, pollution, and hereditary hierarchy.
- Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India (1999) — caste only becomes rigid when birth starts determining occupation and social status.
Genetic evidence supports the claim: caste endogamy hardened only ~2000 years ago. Tony Joseph’s findings are part of a broader academic consensus based on population genetics.
- Narasimhan et al., Science (2019): evidence of widespread genetic mixing in India until about 100 CE, followed by sharp increase in endogamy.
- Moorjani et al., American Journal of Human Genetics (2013): major endogamy among caste groups begins roughly 1,500–2,200 years ago.
Alignment with the political transition after early historic kingdoms. Transition timeline (Mauryan → Gupta → post-Gupta fragmentation → caste hardening) is supported by historians.
- Romila Thapar, Early India (2002) — caste becomes more rigid post-Gupta due to agrarian expansion and administrative needs.
- Burton Stein, A History of India (1998) — decentralization after 600 CE fostered locally controlled caste hierarchies.
Caste persisted because it served administrative and economic convenience. The argument that caste helped rulers control labor and resources is supported by:
- D. D. Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1956) — caste helped rulers maintain agrarian surplus.
- Irfan Habib, Medieval India: The Study of a Civilization (2007) — caste was useful for taxation and labour allocation.
- Nicholas Dirks (2002) — state power repeatedly reinforced caste to stabilize governance.
- Bernard Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (1996): British “enumeration” and census practices hardened caste boundaries.
- Susan Bayly (1999): Mughal statecraft adapted to existing caste structures.
- Dirks (2002): British colonialism transformed caste into a rigid administrative category.
- Andre Béteille, Caste, Class, and Power (1965) — urban and industrial environments dilute caste rigidity.
- Dipankar Gupta, Interrogating Caste (2000) — migration disrupts traditional caste functions.
- Ashutosh Varshney (various works) — modernization correlates with reduced everyday caste barriers.
- Ramachandra Guha, India After Gandhi (2007).
- Christophe Jaffrelot, Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability (2005).
- B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste (1936) — caste is rooted in social and economic structures, not merely ideas.
- Gopal Guru, Dalit Politics (1995) — structural change is needed for meaningful equality.
- Satish Deshpande, The Problem of Caste (2013) — caste data is essential for policy-making.
- Christophe Jaffrelot (2021) — India needs empirical evidence to assess whether inequalities are narrowing.
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