Caste system in Kerala

Thecaste system in Keraladiffered from that found in the rest ofIndia. While theIndian caste systemgenerally divided the four-foldVarnadivision of the society intoBrahmins,Kshatriyas,VaishyasandShudras, in Kerala, that system was absent. TheMalayali Brahminsformed the priestly class, and they considered all other castes to be either shudra oravarna(those outside thevarnasystem). The exception to this were the military elites among theSamantha Kshatriyasand theNairs, who were ritually promoted to the status ofKshatriyaby means of theHiranyagarbhaceremony.This was done so that the Samanthans and Nairs could wield temporal ruling powers over the land, as they constituted thearistocraticclass.Over time, the dominance of the "upper caste" Brahmin and Nair nobles gradually declined due to social and political changes.
Like the rest of India, the lower castes touching the upper castes was termed as "pollution," but only in Kerala did the lower castes pollute not just by touch but also by merely approaching an upper caste. For example, a Nair could stand next to aNamboodiri, whereas anEzhavawas forbidden to either approach or touch either the Namboodiri or the Nair.InSouth India, only in Kerala did there appear a warrior lineage approximate to the Kshatriya model, which corresponded to the aristocratic families among theSamantan Nairs,Samantha Kshatriyas,PillaisandKurupsoftravancoreand  theKiryathil Nairs.
One theory that explains the origins of the caste system in the Kerala region – which prior to theindependence of Indiacomprised the three areas known asMalabar District,TravancoreandCochin– is based on the actions of AryanJainsintroducing such distinctions prior to the 8th century CE. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and recruited a group of local sympathizers to provide it.  These people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste.Cyriac Pullapilly, a Professor of History, describes that this meant they "... were givenKshatriyafunctions, but onlyShudrastatus."
An alternative theory, also explained by Pullapilly, states that the system was introduced by Nambudiri Brahmins themselves. Although Brahmin influences had existed in the area since at least the 1st century CE, there was a large influx of these people from around the 8th century when they acted as priests, counsellors and ministers to invading Aryan princes. At the time of their arrival, the non-aboriginal local population had been converted to Buddhism by missionaries who had come from the north of India and from Ceylon. The Brahmins used their symbiotic relationship with the invading forces to assert their beliefs and position. The Brahmins treated almost all of those who acceded to their priestly status as Shudra, permitting only a small number to be recognised as Kshatriya, these being some of the local rulerswho co-operated with them. By the 11th century, this combination of association with kings and invaders, and with the take-over of Buddhist temples, made the Brahmins by far the largest land-owning group in the region and they remained so until very recent times. The origins ofMalayalamas a language is also speculated to be Nambudiri Brahmin's mixing ofSanskritand the localTamillanguage. Their dominating influence was to be found in all matters: religion, politics, society, economics and culture.
A theory presented by Pullapilly and also by Rene Barendse, who as of 2012is a Fellow of theInternational Institute for Asian Studies, claims that the caste system established by Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala was in accordance with the will ofParasurama, anavatarofVishnu. TheNambudirishad control of 64 villages and asserted that they had powers given to them by the gods, so much so that they considered even other Brahmin groups to be outside the caste hierarchy. Both writers consider this to be the traditional Nambudiri myth of origin.The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy, outranking even the kings. Anyone who was not a Nambudiri was treated by them as an untouchable.
The entire Malabar region had strict pollution rules that were considered by the observers to be the most extreme in all of India. Lower caste people could use only separate paths and their houses were in places where they could not be seen. Lower castes can pollute a Brahmin or Nair, not by mere touch but also coming within certain feet from them.Nairswere permitted to kill a lower castePulayaron sight if they met with one of them on the highway.TheNambudhriBrahmins were top of the caste hierarchy and the Pulayar were at the lowest.According to most travelers, the Nairs were placed below the kings and the Brahmins in Caste hierarchy. The Ambalavasis were kept between the Brahmins and the Nairs.Thelower casteswere known astintal jati,i.e. castes which pollutes at a distance.The food of theupper casteswere referred to as "Amruthathu"(elixir) and the food of the lower castes was called "karikadi"(black brew), similarly the, dwelling places of the higher castes and the thatched huts of the lower castes were called the "royal abode" and "the field of rubbish" respectively.
The lower castes, particularly the Pulayars were not even allowed to breathe the same air as the other castes or use a public pathway.A lower caste person could pollute a higher caste person by merely coming within a certain distance from him or in extreme cases the pollution is transmitted even by simply seeing a lower caste person.If by accident he was there and he sees an approaching Nair or a Brahmin, he must make a loud howling sound to warn the upper castes from getting near until he went away or climbed up a tree. If a Nair meets a Pulayar on the highway by accident, he cuts him down like a others cut an unpleasant animal. The Nair's right to kill any Pulayar imminently he met on the pathway is confirmed by almost all visitors to Kerala. Even the other lower castes had no communication with the Pulayar. According toBuchanan, the  Nairs killed not only the Pulayars but any member of the other lower polluting castes, including theEzhavas.Pollution rules were also observed in touching and sexual intercourse with the lower castes. Casting out the person from the caste was the punishment for disobeying the caste rules regarding pollution and in some cases sold into slavery and even death. If a Nambudhiri Brahmin woman is accused ofillegitimate sexual relations, she is kept in a separate hut as her presence could pollute other members of her family before beinginterrogatedby a caste court, the system is known assmarttivicaram.Pollution by approaching aMuslim, Christian, or aJewis not observed but their touch is considered polluting. The custom for removing pollution is abathby complete immersion in water.
The Nambudiris had varying rules regarding the degrees of ritual pollution while interacting with people of different castes. In return, most castes practiced the principles of untouchability in their relationship with the other regional castes.Untouchability in Kerala is not restricted to Hindus, and George Mathew says that, "Technically, the Christians were outside the caste hierarchy, but in practice, a system of inclusion and exclusion was developed ...".Among Christians, the establishedSaint Thomas Syrian Christiansalso practiced the rules of untouchability. In the colonial period, many lower castes were converted to Christians by the European Missionaries but the new converts were not allowed to join the Syrian Christian community and they continued to be considered as untouchables even by the Syrian Christians. Syrian Christians derive status within the caste system from the tradition that they were elites, who wereevangelizedbyThomas the Apostle.Anand Amaladass says that "The Syrian Christians had inserted themselves within the Indian caste society for centuries and were regarded by the Hindus as a caste occupying a high place within their caste hierarchy."Syrian Christians followed the same rules of caste and pollution as that of Hindus and they were considered as pollution neutralizers.Rajendra Prasad, an Indian historian, said that the Syrian Christians took ritual baths after physical contact with lower castes .
The rules of untouchability were severe, and they were very strictly enforced among Hindu communities by the time of the arrival of theDutch East India Companyin the 17th century.Robin Jeffrey, who is a professor specialising in the modern history and politics of India, quotes the wife of a Christian missionary, who wrote in 1860 that:
Nonetheless, higher ranked communities did have some social responsibility for those perceived to be their inferiors: for example, they could demand forced labor but had to provide food for such laborers, and they had responsibilities in times of famine to provide their tenants both with food and with the seeds to grow it. There were also responsibilities to protect such people from the dangers of attack and other threats to their livelihood, and so it has been described by Barendse as "an intricate dialectic of rights and duties".
According to an estimate by Dr. Francis Buchanan in 1801 AD, 41,367 persons out of the 292,366 populations were slaves in the south, central and Northern divisions of the Malabar.In the census of 1836, 164,864  people out of the 1,280,668 were slaves in Travancore.There was an estimated 4.25 lakh slaves in Kerala during the middle of the 19th century.
The slaves belonged to the lower castes and were employed only for feudal work, and the stigma that they should be kept away from their masters was strictly followed. Samuel Mateer, noted that even in the working fields the slaves were supervised from a distance.
Based on the 1881 census an estimated 40,000 slaves converted to Islam from 1871 to 1881. Many slaves also converted toChristianityinCochinandTravancoreduring this period. During the 1882 Christian Mission Conference, it was reported that the population ofMuslim Mapillaswere increasing rapidly due to the conversion from the lower strata of the Hindu society, and that the entire west coast could become Muslim.
By the late 19th century, the caste system of Kerala had evolved to be the most complex to be found anywhere in India,and the exploitation of it had become considerable. Barendse explains this development:
By this time there were over 500 groups represented in an elaborate structure of relationships and the concept of ritual pollution extended not merely to untouchability but even further, to un-approachability and even un-seeability. The system was gradually reformed to some degree, with one of those reformers,Swami Vivekananda, having observed that it represented a "mad house" of castes. The usual four-tier Hindu caste system, involving thevarnasof Brahmin (priest), Kshatriya (warrior), Vaishya (business person, involved in trading, entrepreneurship and finance) and Shudra (service person), did not exist. Kshatriyas were rare and the only Vaishyas were not present. The roles left empty by the absence of these ritual ranks were taken to some extent by Nairs,MappilaMuslims and Syrian Christians.
The process of amelioration of caste distinctions by various social reform movements were overtaken by the events of 1947. Withindependencefrom Britain came theIndian constitution, and Article 15 of that document outlawed discrimination on the grounds of caste and race.Myron Weinerhas said that the ideological basis for caste "... may be (almost, but not quite) moribund"and that:
Weiner points out that despite the ideological demise:
Despite being outlawed, the Indian governments – both at national and at regional level – do still recognise distinctions between the various communities but this recognition is for the purpose ofpositive discrimination. Throughout post-independence India, including in Kerala, there exists a framework ofreservationwhich is fluid in nature and attempts to recognise the socio-economic disparities between various castes. Depending both on local circumstances and on the changing modern socio-economic environment, castes are classified asForward Classes(orGeneral),Other Backward Classes,Scheduled Castes, and theScheduled Tribes. These classifications determine what - if any - assistance a caste community receives in any given area. Formal classification lists are compiled for the latter three groups; any community which is not listed in any of those categories is, by default, a Forward Class.
Writing in the context of violence againstDalits(untouchables) elsewhere in India,Frontlinemagazine said in 2006 that:
However,Frontlinegoes on to note that the situation in Kerala now, is not as severe, to the extent that those seeking to research:
Around 2003, the Government of Kerala recognised 53 Scheduled Castes, 35 Scheduled Tribes and 80 Other Backwards Classes.The 2001Census of Indiarecognised 68 Scheduled Castes, who comprised 9.8% of the population. They were 99.9% Hindu, with a negligible number of Sikhs and Buddhists.The Census recognised 35 Scheduled Tribes, comprising 1.14% of the population and with 93.7% being Hindus. A further 5.8% were Christian, and the remainder Muslim or "not stated".
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