An analysis of my social position and caste as a Jain

Manvi Mehta

SYBA

2020-21

Caste. The five-letter word, serving as an identity and a consequent indicator of accepted behaviour carries a deluge of assumptions, social mores and positions. Its monosyllabic nature is in stark contrast to the divisions it gives rise to within ourselves and communities. 

When I first asked my grandfather about our caste, he replied that we were ‘Hindu, Jains’. For him, in the broader social sphere, we still belonged to the Hindu community, evident by the many Hindu festivals we celebrate. Conversely, when I asked my maternal grandmother the same, she said that we are 'Osaval Jains'. In her mind, there is a very prominent distinction between the two, and we strictly adhere to Jainism. Clearly, each family has a different label depending upon their perception of how they fit into that category themselves.

While Jainism repudiates the importance given to the caste system and denies the authority of the Vedas, it is not entirely free of caste and divisions based on traditions and regions do exist (Sanghavi, 2013). Hence, I am a ‘Visa Osaval Jain’. That is, my paternal family is from a belt within Rajasthan called the ‘Sojat Patti’. People who lived in this region had distinct characteristics like a particular language, food, lifestyle that together culminated into the emergence of Osavals. Subdivisions are called ‘Visa’, ‘Dasa’, ‘Paacha’ or ‘Dhaiya’ Osavals that mean 20, 10, 5 and 2.5, respectively. It is in the interpretation of these values that things get a little complicated. My paternal grandparents say that the numerical value signify the rank that is occupied. Hence, Visa (twenty) were seen as better or higher in position to the Dasa (ten) Osavals. This is reiterated by Cort (2004), when he says that twenty implies full, and hence ten would automatically signify half.

Complications arise because my maternal grandparents completely oppose this statement, replying that these terms do not signify ranking at all. The variation between these categories is simply lifestyle and cultural differences but not one of hierarchy.

It's contradictions like these that make caste so dynamic between individuals. For my paternal grandfather, there existed a system of ranking within the Osavals in the past. Meanwhile, for my maternal grandmother, all the castes and sub-castes within Jains only signify a difference in how people live, but all are socially equal in their position.

My parents haven't had an inter-caste marriage, but they are from two different regions in Rajasthan, and that has made a lot of difference in their lived experiences. Both still fall under the broader category of Visa Osaval, but my mother is a ‘Godwadi Deravasi’ married to a ‘Sthanakvasi’ from ‘Sojat Patti’. The two differences here are between Deravasi vs. Sthanakvasi and Godwadi vs. Sojat Patti. The former is a difference in a religious ideology where Deravasis worship idols and go to the temple, while Sthanakvasis believe in honouring the Jain monks. The latter is a regional difference wherein my mother's family has originated from Bali, making her a Godwadi. In contrast, my father's family has developed from Sojat, part of the larger Sojat Patti. This regional difference also brings with it in a distinction between dialects, food, and even in our ‘Kuldevi’ or family Goddess. 

It is interesting that despite such minor differences in social categories, there were relatives that were hesitant about the marriage. It made me realise just how vital being of the same caste was to my family. Regarding my caste-position, scripts and family dictate that I automatically take on my father's caste and hence become a Sthanakvasi from Sojat Patti. However, if I genuinely reflect on my position, I would say that I am a mixture of both because I don't follow the customs and practices of just one category. Concerning language, there are dialect differences in the marwadi we speak, but it is my mother's marwadi that I have grown up listening to and hence understand. Despite coming from the sect that is not temple worshippers, I have frequently accompanied my mother’s family on pilgrimages. Lastly, I have stayed and explored my maternal village-Bali, on numerous occasions but not Sojat, which is my official hometown. The point I'm trying to exemplify here is that the lived reality of my caste position shows me that I am a combination of rituals, customs and practices followed on both sides of the family. Despite undertaking the label from my father's side, I am a mixture of both.

Historically, Jains have been said to have originated from the Baniya caste-a social category for moneylenders and traders (Babb, 1996), typically associated with jewellery, finance, business, construction, and clothes. Groups that belonged to the Baniya caste share a similar lifestyle and social identity like the practice of following strict vegetarianism. According to Waghmore (2017), the practice of eating meat has become a source of violence, disgust and dispute for vegetarians who socially distance themselves from meat-eaters. This idea of righteousness could come from caste ideology wherein caste rankings were determined by the purity of diet and occupation. I can see a similar pattern in my family who are also strict vegetarians and are absolutely against eating non-vegetarian food. While such strong opinions of my family don't imply a difference in social positions, I can't help but wonder if our ideology of vegetarianism being acceptable and meat being bad has originated from our caste.

To sum up, obtaining this information from my family was harder than I thought because there were discrepancies and contradictions in everything that was said. However, this shows that castes cannot be divided neatly into sections that everyone is cognizant about. However, one unanimously accepted fact within our community, was the role of wealth and occupation in implying the level of sophistication of a family. This is intriguing because it's congruent with the thought processes that are typical of our caste; a community that originates from merchants and businessmen that gives importance to wealth. Surreptitiously, caste does dictate more aspects of our lives than it is given credit. 

Finally, my social position is a function of caste, but its dynamism cannot be encapsulated by a few terms like Jain and Osaval. Caste may not be a part of my self-identity, but it is still something that I have realised exerts a strong force through the ideology and practices that I engage in.

References:

Babb, Lawrence A.  (1996).  Absent lord : ascetics and kings in a Jain ritual culture.  Berkeley, Calif :  University of California Press,  http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft8v19p2qd 

Cort, J. E. (2004). jains, caste and hierarchy in north Gujarat. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 38(1–2), 73–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/006996670403800104 

Sanghavi, Hemali. (2013). Jains and Caste System:Conceptual and comparative Perspective. Global Research Analysis 2277-8160. 2. 119-120. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/global-journal-for-research-analysis-GJRA/recent_issues_pdf/2013/February/February_2013_1360851351_47080_44.pdf 

Waghmore, S. (2017, April 6). In charts: Vegetarianism in India has more to do with caste hierarchy than love for animals. Scroll.In. https://scroll.in/article/833178/vegetarianism-in-india-has-more-to-do-with-caste-hierarchy-than-love-for-animals