There is a belief among social scientists both in India and abroad that the caste consciousness has been dying down with rapid urbanization and economic development. They argue that the modern conditions of life and work have rendered many of the rules of purity and pollution obsolete and that Inter-dining is very common in college canteens and office lunch rooms. They also argue that the association between caste and occupation is now more flexible with rapid economic growth and the expansion of the middle calss who have access to new job opportunities and individual mobitlity. In this paper, however, I argue that despite the undeniable demographic, technological and economic changes taking place in the country, the division into castes and communities remains the ineluctable and ineradicable feature of Indian society. I do it by focusing on caste conflicts among Christians in Eraiyur village in the Vizhuppuram district, Tamil Nadu. It is thedest and the biggest Catholic parish of the Pondicherry Arch-diocese with Vanniyars as the dominant caste, and Paraiyars as the minority dalit group. My findings reveal that caste conflits have got accelerated along with affirmative actions of the government. Long hierarchical social rigidities and values attached to caste-based married life, continued inequality in economic opportunities, political exploitations of the caste differences for electoral victories, uncompromising and egoistic nature of leaders occupying social and political realms perpetuate and accelerate caste differences, leading to conflicts. There are incidences where these conflicts erupt into violent events. Tamil Nadu has a long history of social reform movements: non-Brahmin and anti-Brahmin movement, anti-caste Self-Respect movement that promoted reservation policies in the government. Caste suppressions and poor accessibilities to resources and assets motivated some of the socially backward people to take shelter in Christianity. However, caste identity, difference and conflicts continued even after conversion. For instance, separate seating arrangements in churches; separate roads; cemeteries and water bodies based on caste differences continue to exist. With economic development and the spread of universal education, there has been a visible development among the backward and scheduled communities, who claim equality in the spaces of ceremonial and day-today life. Thus, this paper argues that ‘Caste as a system’ may be on decline but ‘caste as identity’ flourishes, leading to horizontal solidarity perpetuating caste consciousness. |