Method: field-view
Advocated field-view over pure book-view; structural-functional village ethnography.
- Criticised text-only Indology (Ghurye lineage) without discarding history.
- Village as laboratory of Indian society — caste, ritual, power observed in situ.
Religion and Society among the Coorgs
- Hinduism among Coorgs = interaction of local Hinduism and all-India Hinduism.
- Two-way flow: local borrows pan-Indian idioms; local deities rise into wider frames.
- Result: Hinduisation of Coorg society under structural-functional reading.
- Key institutions: Okka (joint family), patriliny/patrilocality, jati & village panchayats, festivals.
Examples
- Local deity Ketappa linked to Vedic Kshetrapala-type frames (teaching example).
- Sanna Coorgs (coffee wealth) claimed Kshatriya; Amma Coorgs claimed Brahmin via Agastya–Kaveri myth.
Core concept
Sanskritisation — definition and visible change
- Definition (1952): low caste/tribe/group changes customs, ritual, ideology toward high twice-born model.
- Mechanism: imitation + origin myths to claim higher status.
- Visible in food, dress, women's sexual morality, family form, caste associations.
- Often follows economic/political rise — ritual mobility lags secular mobility.
Examples
- Food: drop liquor/beef/pork; dress: Brahminical markers; bride-price → dowry; widow remarriage curbed.
Models / evidence of mobility
- Indological evidence: Valmiki, Vishwamitra; Nandas/Guptas claiming Kshatriya after power.
- Empirical: Coorgs, Nadars, Patidars, Marathas — group mobility via Sanskritisation.
- Reference group often the locally dominant caste, not only distant Brahmins.
Criticism of Sanskritisation
- Over-harmonious — underplays conflict and Dalit assertion (Dipankar Gupta & others).
- Today mobility often individual, not only group.
- Veena Poonacha: Coorgs already dominant — Sanskritisation unnecessary as explanation.
- Yogendra Singh: cultural camouflage for caste conflict.
- Harold Gould: expression of revolt, not mere imitation.
Desanskritisation
- Term associated with D.N. Majumdar (village communication study).
- Upper castes adopt lower practices (Majumdar) OR lower castes reject upper values (Yogendra Singh reading).
- Related teaching term: Bhangiazation (Shyamlal) — upper castes taking Bhangi identity under pressure/jobs.
Westernisation — types
- Changes from long British rule: institutions, technology, ideology, culture (Srinivas essay).
- Primary: elites/upper castes first adopters (external West / internal Sanskrit mixes).
- Secondary: urban masses via schools, courts, hospitals.
- Tertiary: rural exposure via media, post, technology.
- Relation to Sanskritisation: prerequisite, promoter, or opponent — all three possible.
Examples
- Railways/print spread Sanskritic pilgrimage even as Western law spreads.
- Some lower castes bypass Sanskritisation → direct Westernisation.
NEPR
Dominant caste
- From Rampura (Mysore) fieldwork — The Remembered Village.
- Dominance factors (NEPR teaching mnemonic): Numerical strength, Economic power, Political power, Reasonable ritual rank.
- All present → decisive dominance; dominant caste = Sanskritisation reference group.
- Rampura: Vokkaligas dominant via land + numbers + politics.
Criticism of dominant caste
- Land reforms / education / jobs shift power bases (Béteille).
- Numbers ≠ dominance — organisation matters (Jodhka; Yadavs).
- S.C. Dube: factions and leaders, not whole castes as blocs.
- Alliances (KHAM, AJGAR) break single-caste dominance stories.
- Dipankar Gupta: hierarchy today blurred; hard to imitate a clear top.
Pair with syllabus short notes for clause-by-clause Paper coverage.