title: The identification of caste as an indigenous                     knowledge system in the structural framework of                                               Hindu civilization
title: Hindu Knowledge System and Shrudas
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Das, Bikul
Publisher: name: Arohon, All Assam Schedule Caste Organization (Dhobi)
Year: 2017

description: Abstract: Hindu civilization (inheritor of ancient Indus Valley, Vedic, and other civilizations of South Asia) is one of the major surviving ancient civilizations. We previously demonstrated that the core structure of the civilization is based on “knowledge emergence”, a system biology view that describes interaction amongst small components of a larger socio-biological structure (Das B, Globalization and Emerging Opportunities of Indigenous Cultures. 2003*). One of the unique aspects of Hindu civilization is the ancient system of Varna or Caste, which is often the source of discrimination. Hindu reformers including Sri Sankardeva of Assam along with many other reformers challenged the system.  Despite their efforts, the caste system refuses to die, and instead, is emerging as a strong source of identification and assertiveness for many improvised caste groups. Hindutva movement has been capable of incorporating the caste narrative in the recently concluded election in Uttar Pradesh by providing a development or Vikas-orientated perspective to the caste system. However, a similar approach was followed for last 70 years of the post-independent era, which did not sufficiently improve the condition of many caste groups, including Sualkuchi’s weaver/dhobi caste community. Hence, there is a strong need to give a new outlook to the caste system, and how its components could be utilized for a Vikas-oriented goal in the era of Hindutva. Here we present a new perspective on the caste system based on the Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS), a knowledge system developed by a community based on local experiences, and the local-level decision-making process. This new outlook on the caste system suggests that instead of imposing developmental agendas, the government could act as a catalyst to promote the IKS of each caste group. KaviKrishna, a local non-profit based in Tantipara, the center of the weaver/dhobi caste, is working in this context to study the IKS aspect of the caste system. In this article, we have briefly reviewed the Hindu IKS (Figure 1) and provide the results of a preliminary study on caste based IKS taking the weaver/dhobi community of Sualkuchi as an example. We analyze the initiative of KaviKrishna in the 1920s as a retrospective case study to test the hypothesis that the caste system could be identified as one of the Hindu IKS (Figure 2). We have also described our ongoing prospective study to further test our hypothesis. We believe that the IKS approach to the caste system will not only enhance individual IKS of each caste group but will also promote the knowledge generation of Hindu civilization in a rapidly competitive globalized world.

 

*Published in the First International Conference of Ancient Traditions, Mumbai February 2003.(http://www.academia.edu/7882695/Globalization_and_Emerging_Opportunities_for_Indigenous_Cultures). Revision notes: This article was published in “Arohan” the proceeding of the All Assam Scheduled Caste Dhobi Welfare Society, the 8th Annual meeting, Sualkuchi, 2017. Two pages (pages 11 and 12, blue ink) were added for the presentation of the article content during the inauguration of the Living Muga Silk Museum in Sualkuchi, on September 7, 2019.