The caste system is something that many believe was completely derived from Hindu culture in India; not many realize that British colonialism was actually one of the main driving forces in the development of this system. Not only was the system a result of British interpretations of texts that previously did not hold utmost importance, but the entire Hindu religion did not effectively come into existence until these interpretations were established. The chancellor at the University of California, Nicholas Dirks, has done extensive research on British colonialism’s negative impacts on Indian society. He said that ‘[u]nder colonialism, caste was thus made out to be far more – far more pervasive, far more totalizing, and far more uniform – than it had ever been before, at the same time that it was defined as a fundamentally religious social order’ (Simha). In essence, the British were able to use this system as a form of control that limited the power/respect held by the majority of citizens in India. This was a system placed everyone in a certain inescapable label or group that would decide what they could do with their lives. The explanation that the caste system came completely as a result of ancient Indian culture does not hold up, as before colonial times in India there was evidence that “social identities were constantly malleable” (Chakravorty). There was instances of people rising up from humble beginnings to become important figures of society, something that became nearly impossible with the system that would later be imposed by the British.
Gayatri Spivak would eventually come to address the impact that Western colonial interpretations and rule had on “third world” countries and their people. Dividing people up within their own countries made it difficult for them to stand up and develop a unified voice. Division was used as a tool in many cases of colonialism in order to gain control, as it is the most effective in inhibiting the ability for a group to develop a fight against another when they are busy fighting themselves. The effects that the colonial form of the caste system had on India are still seen today because of that strong division that it created, even with some of the modern day efforts to push towards a change in the structure.
Al-Bayyati, Hana, et al. “Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty.” Postcolonial Studies, 13 Sept. 2020, scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/19/spivak-gayatri-chakravorty/,
Chakravorty, Sanjoy. “Viewpoint: How the British Reshaped India’s Caste System.” BBC News, BBC, 19 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48619734,
Simha, Rakesh. “The Caste System Is a Colonial Idea.” IndiaFacts, 2 July 2015, indiafacts.org/caste-system-colonial-idea/.
Thank you for this very interesting and insightful context presentation! I was aware of a caste system existing in India but was not entirely familiar with how it was the British Empire that put it in place. I can certainly see how division through a caste system would make it easier for imperialist nations to control their colonies. I would argue that this system adds an additional layer to the One and the Other ideology we have been examining, in which each caste may view itself as the One when compared to lower classes, but all castes are simultaneously the Other in the eyes of the British colonizers.
Thanks for your great post! Although I knew the history of British colonialism in India, I never knew the British had such an impact on the development on the caste system. Knowing this, I now understand how the British were able to be so controlling and powerful over India. Since I thought the caste system was a part of Hindu culture, I never realized that social status was actually fluid in India before the British rule.
I really enjoyed this post! There was a lot about the caste system that I had not previously known and this post did a good job of describing the origin of the caste system. These facts helped me understand just how much power and control the British had over India during and after its period of colonization.
This topic is very interesting to me because I do not have very much knowledge of South Asian history. The idea of Britian imposing the caste system is shocking yet not suprising. Britain’s history of Feudalism can be easily pointed at as an explanantion of why the colonizers established the caste system in India. Europe, in general, was conditioned to have a need for a social order because of long established monarchies (some of which still exist today). Arriving in India, one would almost expect Britian to find the region as disorderly and in need to “fixing” in order to utilize the resources and people to its advantage. It is no suprise that this system would divide the people and make unification difficult. Afterall, why would Britian want the people to be unified? It would not benefit their love and trading of tea and other resources.
Thank you for your post, this was very insightful and informative as well. Like others have said I knew about the caste system but not the actual facts and background. I think when I was learning this earlier it was more of a single story that was told, but now it made me realize the importance of knowing all the facts and not having assumptions. It now makes a whole lot more sense of how and why the British rule was so significant.
Thank you for your post! I was not very informed on the caste systems in India and how much they were influenced by the country of Great Britain… I was so interested in this new information though! I loved learning about the “impact that Western colonial interpretations and rule had on “third world” countries and their people” because it was very similar to the text “Jameson’s Rhetoric of Otherness and the ‘National Allegory'” that we already discussed in the class!
Thank you for this post, it always surprises me how much influence Britain had over other countries. This influence extended to include the social structure of countries with consequences still lasting to this day. I found it very interesting that dividing people up in this manner was a tactic used to prevent the people from unifying and rising up. It had never occurred to me that splitting a population into groups would have this effect, but it does and can explain why the British played a role in developing the Caste System found in India today.
This is a great take! The Caste System being increased and actually enforced by the British colonials had to be a leading reason why colonization in India was successful for so long. The Caste System opens the door for people of the same creed and country fighting each other because one group may be born into more safety or status than another. This distracts the country as a whole from rising up against the actual oppressors, because they are too busy fighting each other. Not only is this still going on to this day, this can lead into a bunch of questions about modern day differences between us and if they actually matter.
This was very intriguing to me because I don’t know much knowledge of the caste system being developed in the British colonialism history, as well for it affects the “third world” very negatively creating a more divided society. The way I think about this that even though it is a negative impact it creates a more powerful positive impact, because like you stated, “Division was used as a tool in many cases of colonialism in order to gain control, as it is the most effective in inhibiting the ability for a group to develop a fight against another when they are busy fighting themselves.” Through their actions, it creates a powerful connection with the citizens of India, but the control of power from anywhere is something that has not to change but in time we can all figure out a way to true equality.
Thank you for this elaborate article! This is the first time I have seen the relationship between the Indian caste system and the British colonial period. We now need to reflect on whether the colonization in history has brought advantages or disadvantages to the local residents. Whether the new policies set by the colonists to the local residents are beneficial to them. I think the traces left by people during the colonial period still affect the local residents after the independence of this area.
I thought this was a very insightful post and gave me the inspiration to write about the colonization of Africa. There were obvious similarities between the two including the change of culture. I had no idea the British had a big influence on the Indian caste system. I also thought you did a good job by implementing a quote from an expert on this topic. It really reinforces the main idea and strengthens the argument.