CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Sartape, Vinod Ashok |
|---|---|
| Title | Re-institutionalising Caste in the United Kingdom: Principles of Purity, Temples and Caste Identities among Indian Migrants in Britain |
| Summary | This dissertation examines how caste is practised, articulated and re-institutionalised among Indian migrants in the United Kingdom. It discusses the processes of reconstruction of social relations and identities and poses the question: does caste change with migration or it re-institutionalises with a different context? The thesis answers this question by analysing the growth of social and religious institutions and their practices among migrants. It argues that on the one hand, caste changes as a result of practical tasks and difficulties the migrants encounter in the host society. On the other hand, caste reproduces distinctions and hierarchies through religious practices. Tracing the post-independence history of Indian migration to the UK, this study examines how caste is practiced as a “belief” in scriptures that represent caste hierarchy. Based on ethnographic field work, this dissertation demonstrates how the principle of ritual “purity” and grading of castes is not only taken seriously among Indian migrants in the UK, but that the ontological drive of caste produces a “gaze” that represents an embodied perspective whereby the migrants organise their everyday life and social relations. It represents a system that is reproduced and protected which is why any attempt of making it relevant for public scrutiny results in the politics of denial. Analysing the reproduction of castes in the diaspora, this study makes a critical contribution to the literature and the scholarship on caste and migration. |
| Supervisor | Fabiani, Jean-Louis; Naumescu, Vlad; Berg, Dag-Erik |
| Department | Sociology PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/sartape_vinod.pdf |
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