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ID: 192303

Caste and two types of status. Comparing Dumont and Weber for studies of caste today / Berg, Dag-Erik

Berg, Dag-Erik	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

In this article I argue that the concept of status requires more attention in today’s scholarly approach to caste. Caste has become a contested concept which authors define in multiple ways, but the different definitions of status in India’s caste system remain unclear. This article focusses on the two seminal contributions of Louis Dumont and Max Weber. Both have frequently been criticised and dismissed, but this article aims to delineate and compare their different understandings of status. Their contributions have often been judged according to their cultural significance or general concepts of modernity; however, by unpacking their approaches to status, a proper distinction can be made between achieved and attributed status in the study of caste. Thus, revisiting and comparing Dumont’s and Weber’s different concepts of status may create greater clarity when explaining ‘exclusion’ and the evolving caste practices in India and in the diaspora.

Key Words

Dalits ; Hierarchy ; Max Weber ; Status ; Racisms ; India’s caste syste ;
Satification ; Louis Dumont

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ID: 134746

Scheduled castes policies in interstate perspective: constitutional power, argumentative practices, and governance in India / Berg, Dag-Erik

Berg, Dag-Erik	Article
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The article discusses legal and administrative dimensions that are relevant for comparing development policies for the Scheduled Castes across Indian states. The policies for the Scheduled Castes are subject to more central control than several other policy domains. The article therefore highlights the logic in India’s multilevel system of governance while specifying the constitutional meaning of the Scheduled Caste category, its related terms and discursive relevance. This provides a background to outline the relevant institutional dimensions at the center of India’s political system and the level of the regional states. The article suggests that the Scheduled Castes Development Corporations provide a useful basis to develop interstate comparisons. However, the comparison of development policies for Scheduled Castes cannot be complete without acknowledging the extent to which policies are often a result of argumentative practices among Dalit movements and actors in context, since their demands may generate decisions or information about policies.

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