Sanskritization is an issue that is discussed for a long time and it is consistently in news due to the major debates over it. This topic comes under the part of social issue and plays an important role in driving the values of society. This is very important for exams and this may create a problem if students ignore this kind of issue. This article talks about Sanskritization and its importance.
Sanskritization: An Introduction
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M N Srinivas wrote: “Sanskritization is the process by which lower castes, tribes, or other groups change their customs, rituals, ideology, and way of life towards those of higher castes“. Examples include wearing sacred threads, refusing to use meat and alcohol, observing endogamy, and forbidding widows from remarrying.
- In his study of Coorg of Mysore, M.N. Srinivas found that the lower castes sought to rise in the caste hierarchy by adopting some Brahmin cultural ideals. As a result, they left behind some of the ideals considered impure by the Brahmins. To describe this movement process, Srinivas used the term “Brahminization”. He later called it “Sanskritization” in the broader sense.
- In some societies, people of lower castes followed not only Brahmin customs but also those of the locally dominant caste, such as the Kshatriya and Vaishya raising their status. Srinivas pointed out that in caste structures with fixed and genetic placements/ranks, Sanskritization became a process that enabled movement in caste positions/roles of particular castes.
- The process of Sanskritization is not limited to castes in Hindu society, but can also be found in tribal societies. It is therefore a lingering phenomenon that is not only confined to caste hierarchies/religious structures but also encompasses broader social and cultural processes that are integrated and not confined to the Hindu caste system.
- Sanskritization involves both cultural accumulation and cultural decline. The “lower” caste abandons rituals, customs, traditions, and values. Therefore, there is cultural poverty. On the other hand, there is also an accumulation of culture that incorporates new values, traditions, and customs of the upper castes.
- The concept of Sanskritization also led to non-Sanskritization. In modern times, some of the upper castes may mimic the behavioral patterns of the “lower” castes, for example, Brahmins began eating meat and alcohol. This process is called de-Sanskritization.
Major Issues related to Sanskritization:
- The mere fact that it takes caste decades to raise its status indicates the slowness of the process, and slowness is the opposite sign.
- The most important factor impeding this process is the antipathy of other castes to the caste that seeks to elevate itself. Political and economic pressures often come. Sometimes even physical violence is used to prevent the lower castes from adopting the customs and rituals of the upper castes.
- Another factor that hinders the process of Sanskritization is Westernization. Westernization can be characterized as a transition from the sacred to the mundane.
- Both Sanskritization and Westernization processes occur simultaneously, creating a contradictory or even confusing situation. Most castes face the dilemma of making a choice.
- On the other hand, the lower castes adopt the traditional values and customs of the upper castes and try to elevate their status and the upper castes have abandoned some of these practices. Increased industrialization, expanded communication, new occupations, and expanded education are likely to make westernization a more dominant process.
Does it is responsible for Social Mobility?
- M N Srinivas also warned that the process itself does not necessarily enhance the social status of such castes.
- Other factors such as economic well-being, political power, education, and literary/historical evidence of belonging to/descending to a particular caste line are also important in aspirations for higher social status. did.
- Most importantly for Dalits, Sanskritization did not guarantee a higher social status and did not lead to an improvement in their daily lives. This indicates that the caste system remained particularly exclusive to Dalits and efforts to improve their social status were rejected and thwarted by higher castes.
Major Issues:
1. Strengthen the hierarchy: Even if Sanskritization enabled social mobility through the elevation of the caste hierarchy to a relatively high status, it would change the rank/position of the community within the caste hierarchy, causing gradual inequalities and practices on behalf of the caste. It only reinforces and does not denounce the caste by offering strong criticism of the system as a whole.
2. Resists the fight against caste: To understand caste relations through Sanskritization alone is to ignore the role of anti-caste struggles that did not follow the cultural ritual path of Sanskritization. These anti-caste struggles aim not to imitate or conform to the “superior” socio-cultural values of higher castes, i.e. values and practices that are casteist, discriminatory and exploitative. There was
Instead, these anti-caste struggles seek to destroy the very caste structure and establish a caste-free and caste-free society.