During the colonial rule, caste system became more rigid and institutionalised because of the following developments.
A. The colonial government was caste-blind
B. Intensive surveys and reports on customs and manners of castes
C. Caste based Census by Risley in 1901
D. Land revenue system and related laws that recognised customary rights of upper castes
E. Welfare of 'depressed' classes through the Government of India Act, 1935
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B, C, D, E only
A. The colonial government was caste-blind Incorrect. The colonial government did the opposite: it counted, recorded and classified castes. It was the post-Independence state that assumed it could undermine caste privileges by working in a caste-blind manner.
B. Intensive surveys and reports on customs and manners of castes Correct. To learn how to govern the country, British administrators made methodical and intensive surveys and reports on the ‘customs and manners’ of tribes and castes all over the country.
C. Caste based Census by Risley in 1901 Correct. The 1901 Census under Herbert Risley collected information on the social hierarchy of caste, the position of each caste in the rank order. Caste identities had been fluid; once they were counted and recorded, caste became more rigid.
D. Land revenue system and related laws that recognised customary rights of upper castes Correct. The land revenue settlements and related laws gave legal recognition to the customary rights of the upper castes, who now became landowners in the modern sense.
E. Welfare of ‘depressed’ classes through the Government of India Act, 1935 Correct. The Act gave legal recognition to the lists or ‘schedules’ of castes and tribes marked out for special treatment, which is how the terms Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes came into being.
NCERT (2025-26): “Colonialism and Caste … Some of these efforts took the shape of very methodical and intensive surveys and reports on the ‘customs and manners’ of various tribes and castes all over the country. Many British administrative officials were also amateur ethnologists and took great interest in pursuing such surveys and studies.” “But by far the most important official effort to collect information on caste was through the census. First begun in the 1860s, the census became a regular ten-yearly exercise conducted by the British Indian government from 1881 onwards. The 1901 Census under the direction of Herbert Risley was particularly important as it sought to collect information on the social hierarchy of caste – i.e., the social order of precedence in particular regions, as to the position of each caste in the rank order. This effort had a huge impact on social perceptions of caste and hundreds of petitions were addressed to the Census Commissioner by representatives of different castes claiming a higher position in the social scale and offering historical and scriptural evidence for their claims. Overall, scholars feel that this kind of direct attempt to count caste and to officially record caste status changed the institution itself. Before this kind of intervention, caste identities had been much more fluid and less rigid; once they began to be counted and recorded, caste began to take on a new life.” “The administration also took an interest in the welfare of downtrodden castes, referred to as the ‘depressed classes’ at that time. It was as part of these efforts that the Government of India Act of 1935 was passed which gave legal recognition to the lists or ‘schedules’ of castes and tribes marked out for special treatment by the state. This is how the terms ‘Scheduled Tribes’ and the ‘Scheduled Castes’ came into being.…” “…At yet another level, the state assumed that if it operated in a caste-blind manner, this would automatically lead to the undermining of caste based privileges and the eventual abolition of the institution.…” |