View source for Glossary of the study of the caste system in India

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This is a '''Glossary of the study of the caste system in India'''.
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The [[glossary]] provides key figures, works, and concepts relevant to the sociology and ethnography of the study of the [[caste system in India]]. It includes early colonial administrators,<ref>Travel accounts by British administrators and ethnographers describing local societies, villages, and castes (e.g., F. S. Growse).</ref> missionaries, and ethnographers who documented caste hierarchies, social practices, and rural communities prior to 1900. Seminal works in older times include ''[[Jean-Antoine_Dubois#Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies|Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies]]'' by [[Jean-Antoine Dubois|Abbé Dubois]] (1770–1848), ''[[Castes and Tribes of Southern India]]'' (1909) by [[Edgar Thurston]]  (1855–1935), and the ethnographic studies of [[William Crooke]] (1848–1923) and the caste surveys and racial classifications of the 'anthropologist and imperialist'<ref>cf. C. J. Fuller: ''Anthropologist and Imperialist: H. H. Risley and British India.'' Social Science Press, 2023 </ref> [[Herbert Hope Risley]] (1851–1911). Many of the former works (like those of Risley) are strongly connected with race theory and [[scientific racism]]. The glossary also covers major 20th-century contributions such as ''Caste in India''<ref>''Caste in India: Its Nature, Function and Origins'' ([https://ia801502.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.537023/2015.537023.Cast-In_text.pdf First edition 1946]; [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.261746/page/n1/mode/2up Forth edition, fifth impression 1980])</ref> by [[John Henry Hutton]] (1885-1968) and the sociological analyses of [[Louis Dumont]] (1911–1998), highlighting ideological interpretations and hierarchical structures. This glossary also acknowledges the contributions of Indian scholars who analyzed the caste system from within the society. Figures such as [[Romesh Chunder Dutt]] (1848–1909) examined economic and social structures, while [[M. N. Srinivas]] (1916–1999) developed the concept of [[Sanskritisation]] to explain social mobility. [[B. R. Ambedkar]] (1891–1956) was one of the pioneers of Indian sociology.<ref>He refuted the thoughts of social scientists, such [[Émile Senart|Senart]], [[John Collinson Nesfield|Nesfield]], and [[Herbert Hope Risley|Risley]], and recognized thoughts of [[Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar|Ketkar]], [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]], [[Émile Durkheim|Durkheim]], [[Max Weber|Weber]], [[Karl Marx|Marx]], [[Gabriel Tarde|Tarde]], [[Ernest Renan|Renan]], and [[Lord Acton|Acton]] (cf. Vivek Kumar: ''Decoding Ambedkar'', 2025).</ref> Their work provides critical indigenous perspectives complementing colonial and European ethnographic studies. Foundational concepts, including ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varṇa]]'', ''[[Jāti|jāti]]'', and [[endogamy]]/[[exogamy]] rules, shaped social organization and occupational hierarchies. By compiling colonial surveys, travel accounts, and early ethnographic research alongside later theoretical works, this glossary serves as a reference for researchers, historians, and students exploring the origins and evolution of the study of the caste system in India and the colonial construction of Hinduism.

== Glossary ==
<small>Note: The information provided does not claim to be complete or up-to-date.</small>
{{Infobox
| title=Caste system in 19th century India
| image=
{{image array|perrow=2|width=135|height=100
| image1=Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India (18).jpg |caption1=Hindu musician
| image2=Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India (16).jpg |caption2=Muslim merchant
| image3=Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India (8).jpg |caption3=Sikh chief
| image4=Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India (5).jpg |caption4=Arab soldier
}}
|caption=Pages from ''[[:s:en:Seventy-two_Specimens_of_Castes_in_India| Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India]]'' according to Christian Missionaries in February 1837. They include Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Arabs as castes of India.
}}
=== A ===

* Administrative divisions (Province or State) of India during the [[British Raj]] (in the time of the study of [[John Henry Hutton|J. H. Hutton]] as used in his ''Caste in India'', [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.261746/page/198/mode/2up p. 199])

::Provinces: 1. [[Ajmer-Merwara|Ajmer Merwara]] 2. [[Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands|Andamans and Nicobars]] 3. [[Assam]] 4. [[Baluchistan]] (Districts & Administered Territories) 5. [[Bengal]] 6. [[Bihar and Orissa]] 7. [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]] 8. [[Burma]] 9. [[Central Provinces and Berar]] 10. [[Coorg Province|Coorg]] 11. [[Delhi]] 12. [[Madras Presidency|Madras]] 13. [[North-West Frontier Province]] 14. [[Punjab]] 15. [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]]

::''States and Agencies'': 16. Assam States 17. Baluchistan States 18. [[Baroda State]] 19. Bengal States 20. Bihar and Orissa States 21. Bombay States 22. [[Central India Agency]] 23. Central Provinces States 24. [[Gwalior State]] 25. [[Hyderabad State]] 26. [[Jammu and Kashmir State]] 27. [[Madras States Agency]] — [[Cochin State]] — [[Travancore State]] — Other Madras States 28. [[Mysore State]] 29. [[North-West Frontier Province]] (Agencies and Tribal Areas) 30. Punjab States 31. [[Punjab States Agency]] 32. [[Rajputana Agency]] 33. Sikkim State 34. United Provinces States 35. [[Western India States Agency]]

* [[S. Srinivasa Iyengar|M. Srinivasa Aiyangar]] (1874–1941); ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.90500 Tamil Studies]'' (1914) 

* [[B. R. Ambedkar]] (1891–1956), Indian jurist, social reformer, and politician; drafted the Constitution of India and criticized the caste system; ''[[Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development]]'' (1916, published 1917); ''[[Annihilation of Caste]]'' (speech, 1936).

* ''[[Année Sociologique]]'' (Paris), see [[Célestin Bouglé]].

* [[Arjun Appadurai]] (born 4 February 1949), Indian-American anthropologist; ''Is Homo Hierarchicus? '' (Review article)

* ''[[:es:Asiatic Researches|Asiatic Researches]], or, Transactions of the Society instituted in Bengal for inquiring into the history and antiquities, the arts, sciences and literature of Asia'' (journal), Calcutta 1788-1839

=== B ===

* [[François Bernier]] (1620–1688), French physician and traveller; ''Voyages de François Bernier Docteur en Médecine de la Faculté de Montpellier. Contenant la Description des Etats du Grand Mogol, de l'Hindoustan, du Royaume de Kachemire, &c. Où il est traitté des Richesses, des Forces, de la Justice & des causes principales de la decadence des Etats de l'Asie, & de plusieurs évenemens considérables''. Paul Marret, Amsterdam 1699-1709

* [[André Béteille]] (1934–), Indian sociologist known for work on social hierarchies, inequality, and the caste system.

* [[Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/hinducastesands00bhatgoog Hindu castes and sects. An exposition of the origin of the Hindu caste system and the bearing of the sects toward each other and towards other religious systems].'' Calcutta 1896

* [[E. A. H. Blunt|Edward Blunt]] (1877–1941), British civil servant; ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.01185 The Caste System of Northern India with Special Reference to the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]''. London 1931

* [[Pramatha Nath Bose]] (1855–1934), Indian geologist and paleontologist; ''History of Hindu Civilisation during  British Rule'' (4 vols.)

* [[Célestin Bouglé]] (1870–1940), French sociologist and student of [[Émile Durkheim]]; analyzed social hierarchies and classifications, including comparative studies of caste and racial theories; ''Essais sur le Régime des Castes'' (Travaux de l’Année Sociologique). Paris, 1908 (English ''[https://www.google.de/books/edition/Essays_on_the_Caste_System_by_Célestin/G9o8AAAAIAAJ?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=Hutton,+Sénart,+Risley&pg=PR9&printsec=frontcover Essays on the Caste System]'', translated with an introduction by [[David_Francis_Pocock |D. F. Pocock]])

* [[John Brough (orientalist)|John Brough]] (1917–1984), Scottish scholar; [https://archive.org/details/earlybrahmanicalsystemsofgotraanpravaragotrapravaramanjariofpurshottamajohnbroughoup_202003_875_K ''The Early Brahmanical System of Gotra and Pravara''] (Cambridge University Press, 1953)

* [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton|Francis Buchanan]] (1762–1829), ''A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar'' (1807)

=== C ===

* ''Caste in India: Its Nature, Function and Origins'' (1946), book by [[John Henry Hutton|J. H. Hutton]], providing a detailed analysis of the caste system and discussing developments since earlier censuses.

* ''[[Castes and Tribes of Southern India]]'' (1909), by [[Edgar Thurston]]; early ethnographic survey including caste classifications and social practices.

* ''[[Castes in India: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development]]'' (1916, published 1917), by [[B. R. Ambedkar ]]; sociological analysis of the ideology of the caste system.
{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable defaultleft col1center col3right" style="float:right; font-size:90%;
! [[Census in British India|Census]] !! Census administrator 
|-
| 1871 || [[William Chichele Plowden|W. C. Plowden]] 
|-
| 1881 || [[William Chichele Plowden|W. C. Plowden]] 
|-
| 1891 || [[Jervoise Athelstane Baines|J. A. Baines]]
|-
| 1901 || [[H. H. Risley]] 
|-
| 1911 || [[E. A. Gait|E. A. Gait]]
|-
| 1921 || J. T. Marten 
|-
| 1931 || [[John Henry Hutton|J. H. Hutton]] 
|-
| 1941 || [[William Walter Murray Yeatts|W. W. M. Yeatts]] 
|}

* [[Census in British India|Census of India 1891]], earlier British census that already collected caste information and formed the basis for later racial classifications.

* [[Census in British India|Census of India 1901]], see [[Herbert Hope Risley]].

* [[Census in British India|Census of India 1931]], the census in British India that aimed to systematically record castes and ethnic groups; served as an important source for ethnographic and sociological studies.

* [[Ramprasad Chandra]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.213374 The Indo Aryan Races: A Study of the Origin of Indo-Aryan People and Institutions]'', Rajshah 1916 

* [[Simon Charsley]]: ''‘Untouchable’: What is in a Name?'' (1996)

* [[Henry Thomas Colebrooke]] (1765–1837): ''Enumeration of Indian Classes'' (1798)

* [[Criminal Tribes Act]] (1871) 

* [[William Crooke]] (1848–1923), British ethnographer and folklorist who published numerous detailed studies on castes and tribes in India; emphasized material and occupational aspects of caste as opposed to racial approaches; ''The Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.'' 4 vols., Office of  the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta 1896

* [[Alexander Cunningham]] (1814–1893), British archaeologist and civil servant; early observations of Indian social organization and historical context.
* Caste's impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems in India and businesses in general.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anand |first1=Pankaj |last2=Attri |first2=Pardeep Singh |last3=Sahasranamam |first3=Sreevas |date=2025-12-31 |title=Invisible Inequality in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: The Micro-Foundations of Navigating Marginalization |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503251407016 |journal=Business & Society |language=EN |article-number=00076503251407016 |doi=10.1177/00076503251407016 |issn=0007-6503|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bapuji |first1=Hari |last2=Chrispal |first2=Snehanjali |last3=Attri |first3=Pardeep Singh |last4=Ertug |first4=Gokhan |last5=Soundararajan |first5=Vivek |date=July 2024 |title=An Integrative Review of Management Research on Caste: Broadening Our Horizons |url=https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/annals.2022.0208 |journal=Academy of Management Annals |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=506–549 |doi=10.5465/annals.2022.0208 |issn=1941-6520|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== D ===

* Depressed Classes, see [[Dalit]]

* [[Govindbhai Hathibhai Desai]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.02336/page/n3/mode/2up A Glossary of Castes, Tribes, and Races in the Baroda State].'' 1912

* [[Shyama Charan Dube|S. C. Dube]] (1922–1996), Indian anthropologist; contributions to rural society and caste structure in India.

* [[Jean-Antoine_Dubois|Abbé J. A. Dubois]] (1765–1848), French missionary; author of ''[[Jean-Antoine_Dubois#Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies|Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies]]'', detailed ethnographic observations of Indian society, religion, and caste.

* [[Louis Dumont]] (1911–1998), French anthropologist known for his sociological interpretation of the Indian caste system; emphasized the ideology and hierarchy of purity and pollution; ''[[Homo Hierarchicus]]: The Caste System and Its Implications''  (French: ''Homo Hierarchicus: Essai sur le système des castes''; 1966). 

* [[Romesh Chunder Dutt]] (1848–1909), Indian historian and economist who examined India’s economic and social structure, addressing aspects of the caste system in his works; ''Origin and Growth of Caste in India''

=== E ===

* [[Verrier Elwin]] (1902–1964),  British-born Indian anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist

* [[Endogamy]] – Marriage restricted within a social group; widely documented in 19th-century ethnographic reports.

* [[Reginald Edward Enthoven|R. E. Enthoven]] (1869–1952), administrator in the Indian Civil Service of the British Raj; author of ''The Tribes and Castes of Bombay'' (3 vols.) that formed a part of the Ethnographic Survey of India

* [[Ethnographic Survey of India]] project, formally instituted by the Government of [[British India]].

* [[Ethnography]] / [[Ethnographic mapping|Ethnographic survey]] – Method of detailed study of social groups, particularly in British censuses.

* [[Exogamy]] – Marriage rules requiring partners from outside a specified social group; described in early studies of Indian kinship systems.

=== G ===

* [[Edward Albert Gait]] (1863–1950), British Indian administrator (''Report on the Census of Bengal'', 1901)

* [[G. S. Ghurye]] (1893–1983), Indian sociologist; studied caste, religion, and social structure in India, author of ''[[Caste and class in India]]'' (1957), ''Caste and Race in India'' (first published 1932)

* [[Frederic Salmon Growse|F. S. Growse]] (1847–1911), British administrator and writer; published travelogues and accounts of Indian rural and social life; ''Mathura: A District Memoir''

=== H ===

* [[William John Hatch|W. J. Hatch]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.3960 The Land pirates of India: an account of the Kuravers a remarkable Tribe of hereditary criminals their extraordinary skill as thieves cattle-lifters and highwaymen and their manners and customs]'' (1928)

* Hierarchical social structure – Organization of society by rank, purity, or prestige; central aspect of the caste system.

* ''[[Jean-Antoine Dubois#Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies|Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies]]'', by [[Jean-Antoine Dubois|Abbé J. A. Dubois]]; classic ethnographic work on social and religious practices in India, including caste.

* ''[[Hobson-Jobson]]'' (1903 (edited by [[William Crooke|Crooke]]),  first published in 1886), by [[Henry Yule|Yule]] and [[Arthur Coke Burnell|Burnell]], s.v. [https://archive.org/details/hobsonjobsonglos00yulerich/page/170/mode/2up Caste]

* [[Arthur Maurice Hocart|A. M. Hocart]] (1883–1939), British anthropologist; ''The Basis of Caste in India'' (in ''Acta Orientalia'', xiv. Leyden, 1936). ''Les Castes''. Traduit de l'anglais par E. J. Lévy et [[Jeannine Auboyer|J. Auboyer]] (P. Geuthner, 1938); ''[https://archive.org/details/routledge-revivals-a.-m.-hocart-caste-a-comparative-study-1950-2018-routledge-10/mode/2up Caste: A Comparative Study]'' (London: Methuen & Co., 1950; reprinted by Taylor & Francis in Routledge Revivals series, 2018)

* [[Thomas Callan Hodson|T. C. Hodson]] (1871–1953), social anthropologist; ''[https://openlibrary.org/b/OL6547630M/Meitheis The Meitheis]'' (D. Nutt, 1908); ''[https://archive.org/stream/nagatribesofmani00hods#page/n7/mode/2up The Naga Tribes of Manipur]'' (Macmillan 1911)

* ''[[Homo Hierarchicus|Homo hierarchicus: Essai sur le système des castes]]'' (1966; engl. 1970<ref>cf. Louis Dumont ''[https://books.google.de/books?id=XsOtRGdvIigC&q=homo+hierarchicus&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=homo_hierarchicus&f=false Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications]'' (1980)</ref>), by [[Louis Dumont]], criticized the functionalist and empiricist perspective of authors such as Hutton, Ghurye, and Srinivas.

* [[William Wilson Hunter|William W. Hunter]] (1840–1900), British civil servant and historian; wrote on India’s administration, society, and ethnography.

* [[John Henry Hutton]] (1885–1968), British ethnographer and civil servant; author of ''Caste in India: Its Nature, Function and Origins'', a comprehensive study of the Indian caste system.

=== I ===

* [[Denzil Ibbetson]] (1847-1908), administrator in British India; ''[https://archive.org/details/panjabcastes00ibbe/page/n7/mode/2up Panjab castes]''. 1916

* Indian Antiquities, early compilations of social, religious, and ethnographic descriptions of Indian communities.

* [[Charles Alexander Innes]] (1874–1959), British civil servant and colonial administrator; '' Gazetteer of the Malabar and Anjengo Districts''. Edited by F. B. Evans. Madras 1908

=== J ===

* [[A. M. T. Jackson]] (1866–1909), British officer in Indian Civil Services; "Note on the History of the Caste System" (Journal of ... the Asiatic Society of Bengal, N. S. 3, 1907, pp. 509-515)

* [[Jāti]] – Subcaste or endogamous social group; in practice forms the basis of the caste system.

=== K ===

* [[Shivaram Vithal Karandikar]]: ''Hindu Exogamy.'' D. B. Taraporevala, 1929

* [[Irawati Karve]] (1905–1970), Indian anthropologist and social scientist, known for ethnographic studies on caste.

* [[Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar]] (1884-1937): ''The history of caste in India: evidence of the laws of Manu on the social conditions in India during the third century A.D.'' Taylor & Carpenter, Ithaca, N.Y. 1909-1911 (2 vols.)

=== L ===
* ''Laws of Manu '', see ''[[Manusmrti]]''

=== M ===

* [[Dhirendra_Nath_Majumdar|D. N. Majumdar]] (1903–1960), Indian anthropologist; ''Caste and Communication in an Indian Village''. Asia Publishing House 1958

* ''[[Manusmriti]]'', translated by [[Georg Bühler]] (1837-1898) with ''[https://archive.org/details/lawsofmanu00bh The laws of Manu]'' (''[[Sacred Books of the East|SBE]]''), used by the British to rule Hindus by relying on seemingly religiously justified laws

* [[McKim Marriott]] (1924–2024), American anthropologist who studied social organization and caste categorization, especially in North India, and their role in religious and economic practices.

* [[Samuel Mateer]] (1835-1893): ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.33582 “The Land of Charity”: A Descriptive Account of Travancore and Its People, with Especial Reference to Missionary Labour]'' (1871); ''[https://archive.org/details/nativelifeintrav00samu/page/n1/mode/2up Native life in Travancore]''. 1883

* [[Adrian Curtius Mayer|Adrian C. Mayer]]: (1922-): ''Caste and Kinship in Central India: A Village and Its Region.'' London: Routledge; Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 1960.

* [[James Philip Mills]] (1890–1960), member of the Indian Civil Service and ethnographer, author of an ethnological study of the Ao people of Nagaland; ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.143112/page/n1/mode/2up The Ao Nagas]'' (1926)

* [[John Chartres Molony|J. C. Molony]] (1877–1948), administrator and civil servant of the [[Indian civil service]]; ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.7203 A book of South India]'' (Methuen, London 1926)

* [[Charles Seymour Mullan|C. S. Mullan]], Census Superintendent of [[Assam]] during the [[Census in British India|Census of India 1931]], British administrator responsible for recording caste information.

=== N ===

* [[John Collinson Nesfield]] (1836–1919), British civil servant and ethnographer; authored works on social and religious structures in India, including caste classification; ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.5949/page/n1/mode/2up Brief view on the caste system of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh]'' (1882)

=== O ===

* Occupation-based hierarchy – Early ethnographers documented the link between profession and social rank, particularly in caste contexts.

* [[Samuel Pasfield Oliver|Pasfield Oliver]]  (1838–1907) (editor): ''[https://archive.org/details/madagascarorrobe00defo/page/n7/mode/2up Madagascar]: Or, [[Robert Drury (sailor)|Robert Drury]]'s Journal During Fifteen Years' Captivity On That Island. And a Further Description of Madagascar by the [[Alexis-Marie de Rochon|Abbé Alexis Rochon]]''. 1890

* [[Lewis Sydney Steward O’Malley|L. S. S. O'Malley]] (1874-1941): ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.277066  Indian Caste Customs]''. 1932

=== P ===

* ''[[The_People_of_India#The People of India (1908)|The People of India]]'' (1908), under the direction of [[Herbert Hope Risley]]; extensive ethnographic documentation of India’s population. The 2nd edition was edited by [[William Crooke]] (Thacker, Spink & Co, Calcutta & Simla, 1915).

=== R ===

* [[Racial theory]] / [[Historical race concepts|Race classification]] – Colonial concepts that interpreted castes and groups as biologically or genetically determined (e.g., [[H. H. Risley]]).

* [[C. Hayavadana Rao|Conjeeveram Hayavadana Rao]] (1865–1946): ''[https://books.google.de/books?id=wquBzTpndvkC&printsec=frontcover&hl=de&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Indian Caste System: A Study]''. Bangalore 1931

* [[Benudhar Rajkhowa]] (1872-1955), writer, poet and dramatist from Assam; ''Short Accounts of Assam'' (1915)

* [[Herbert Hope Risley]] (1851–1911), British civil servant in the [[Indian Civil Service]] and ethnographer; considered castes as biologically and racially determined; author of ''[[The_People_of_India#The People of India (1908)|The People of India]]'', in which he discusses 'physical types', social types, 'caste in proverbs and popular sayings', caste and marriage, religion, and the origins of the caste system. The author was Director of Ethnography for India, Officer D'Academie, France, Corresponding Member of the Anthropological Societies of Rome and Berlin, and of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland; ''The Tribes and Castes of Bengal'' (Calcutta, 1891–1892. V. 1–9)

* [[Horace Arthur Rose]] (1867–1933), administrator in the [[Indian Civil Service]], author of works related to India in the time of the [[British Raj]]; ''[[A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province]]''

* [[Sarat Chandra Roy]] (1871-1942): ''Caste, Race and Religion in India''. 

* [[Robert Vane Russell|R. V. Russell]] (1873-1915): ''The tribes and castes of the Central Provinces of India''. 1916 (4 vols.)

* [[Bryce Ryan]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.7514/page/n5/mode/2up Caste in Modern Ceylon: The Sinhalese System in Transition]'', New Brunswick 1953

=== S ===

* [[Sanskritisation]] (or Sanskritization) – Process in which lower castes adopt the cultural practices of higher castes to improve social status ([[M. N. Srinivas]]).

* [[Émile Senart]] (1847–1928), French Indologist, Sanskritist, and historian; known for his studies on religion, society, and ethnography of India; provided theoretical foundations for classifying castes and social groups; ''Les Castes dans l'Inde. Les Faits et le Système'' (Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1927, first published in [https://archive.org/details/lescastesdanslin00sena/page/n7/mode/2up 1896], ''[[:s:fr:Annales du Musée Guimet#BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE VULGARISATION|Annales du Musée Guimet]]'').

* [[Matthew Atmore Sherring|M. A. Sherring]] (1826-1880): ''Hindu Tribes and Castes'', Calcutta: [[Thacker, Spink & Company|Thacker, Spink, & Co.]], 1872–1881. 3 volumes, as follows: Vol. 1: ''Hindu tribes and castes, as represented in Benares''; Vol. 2: ''Hindu tribes and castes; together with an account of the Mahomedan tribes of the North-West Frontier and of the aboriginal tribes of the Central Provinces''; Vol. 3: ''Hindu tribes and castes; together with three dissertations: on the natural history of Hindu caste; the unity of the Hindu race; and the prospects of Indian caste; and including a general index of the three volumes.''

* [[William Henry Sleeman]] (1788-1856): ''[https://archive.org/details/ramblesrecollect01sleeuoft Rambles and recollections of an Indian official]''. 1844

* [[Pierre Sonnerat]] (1748–1814): ''Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine, fait depuis 1774 jusqu'à 1781''

* [[M. N. Srinivas]] (1916–1999), Indian sociologist known for studies on social mobility and caste; developed the concept of „[[Sanskritisation]]“, whereby lower castes adopt cultural practices of higher castes to gain social status.

* [[Status group]] – Term by [[Max Weber]] for analyzing social hierarchies, applicable to caste.

* [[Arthur Steele (author)|Arthur Steele]]: ''[https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.16052 The law and custom of Hindoo Castes]''. W. H. Allen, London 1868

* [[James Fitzjames Stephen]] (1829–1894); [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924017196027#page/n5/mode/2up ''The Indian evidence act (I. of 1872): With an Introduction on the Principles of Judicial Evidence.''] London: Macmillan and Co., 1872
* Social media and caste. “You Belong to Gutters, Not Facebook or Twitter”: Recovering Dalit Histories From the Shadows of Social Media <ref>“You Belong to Gutters, Not Facebook or Twitter”: Recovering Dalit Histories From the Shadows of Social Media https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00076503261415776</ref>

=== T ===

* [[Noshirwas Ardeshir Thoothi|N. A. Thoothi]]: ''The Vaishnavas of Gujarat: Being a Study in Methods of Investigation of Social Phenomena.'' Longmans, Green, 1935 

* [[Edgar Thurston]] (1855–1935), British ethnographer; author of ''[[Castes and Tribes of Southern India]]'' (1875), documenting caste structures and occupations; ''[https://archive.org/details/omenssuperstitio00thur/page/12/mode/2up Omens and Superstitions of Southern India]'' (1912)

=== U ===

* [[Untouchability]] / [[Dalit]] – Social exclusion of groups at the bottom of the hierarchy, often synonymous with “untouchables.”

* ''[[The Untouchables (Ambedkar)|The Untouchables]]'', by [[B. R. Ambedkar]]; critical analysis of discrimination against “untouchables.”

=== V ===

* [[Varna (Hinduism)|Varna]] – Classical Vedic division of society into four main groups: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras.

* Village communities – Observed as basic units of rural social organization in India; analyzed in travel accounts and colonial reports.

=== W ===

* [[Archibald Wilfred Tisdall Webb|A. W. T. Webb]] (1899-1968); ''[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.66782 These Ten Years.  A Short Account of the 1941 Census Operations in Rajputana and Ajmer-Merwara Written Specially for the General Public. (Appendix B. The Gadiya Lohars of Rajputana.)]'' (1941)

* [[Max Weber]] (1864–1920), German sociologist who analyzed India’s caste system as a form of social order and integrated it into his theories of status groups and social structure.

* [[John Wilson (Scottish missionary)|John Wilson]] (1804-1875), Scottish Christian missionary and orientalist; ''History of the Suppression of Infanticide in Western India, under the Government of Bombay: Including Notices of the Provinces and Tribes in which the Practice has Prevailed''. 1855

* [[James Wise (civil surgeon)|James Wise]] (died 1886), British civil surgeon; ''[https://www.google.de/books/edition/Notes_on_the_Races_Castes_and_Trades_of/ba8Ov8huExoC?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=%22Notes+on+the+Races,+Castes,+and+Trades+of+Eastern+Bengal%22&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover Notes on the Races, Castes, and Trades of Eastern Bengal]''. Harrison and Sons, 1883

== See also ==
* [[:Category:Books about the caste system in India|Category:Books about the caste system in India]] (Wikipedia category)
* [[:Category:Indian castes|Category:Indian castes]] (Wikipedia category)
* [[List of Scheduled Castes]]

== References and notes ==
<references />

== Further reading ==
* C. J. Fuller: [https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/84172/1/Fuller_Ethnographic%20inquiry_2017.pdf Ethnographic inquiry in colonial India: Herbert Risley, William Crooke, and the study of tribes and castes]. [[Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute]], 23 (3, 2017). pp. 603-621.
* Vivek Kumar: ''Decoding Ambedkar: Ideas of Nation and Nation Building.'' Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2025, ISBN 9360805122 
* J. C. Gomes da Silva<!--José Carlos Gomes da Silva https://d-nb.info/gnd/1045393371-->: ''The Invention of Caste Hierarchy: Theory in Historical Perspective.'' Motilal Banarsidass International, 2024, ISBN 8197292329 
* Dirk Bronger: ''Das Kastenwesen - die Identität Indiens?'' LIT, Berlin 2021 ([https://www.google.de/books/edition/Das_Kastenwesen_die_Identität_Indiens/iEowEAAAQBAJ?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=Caste+in+India:+Its+Nature,+Function,+and+Origins&pg=PA273&printsec=frontcover in partial view])
* Crispin Bates: [https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/2673943/1995_Bates.pdf Race, caste and tribe in central India: the early origins of Indian anthropometry]. in P. Robb (ed.), ''The Concept of Race in South Asia''. Oxford University Press 1995, pp. 219-59 
* ''[https://archive.org/details/b2231331x/page/n11/mode/2up  Notes and queries on anthropology: for the use of travellers and residents in uncivilized lands]''. Edward Stanford, charing Cross, London 1874

== External links ==

* [https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/anthropology-and-archaeology/anthropology-terms-and-concepts/caste II. The Indian Caste System (Adrian C. Mayer)] – [[International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences]] (encyclopedia.com)
* [https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/caste/theories-of-caste-system-in-india/47378?utm_source=chatgpt.com Theories of Caste System in India]
* [https://www.hinduamerican.org/racist-history-caste-system The Racist History of the Caste System]
* [https://stophindudvesha.org/caste-and-colonialism-herbert-risleys-enduring-influence-on-indian-society/ Caste and Colonialism: Herbert Risley’s Enduring Influence on Indian Society]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glossary of the study of the caste system in India}}
[[Category:Glossaries]]
[[Category:Caste]]
[[Category:Sociology]]