Understanding colonial subjects

Question 1

Was caste invented by the British?

Answer 1

• more complicated than that
  –> how has caste changed under colonial rule? how has it become the primary object of social categorization?

Question 2

What kind of information would the colonial state collect in a consensus and why?

Answer 2

• information about religious beliefs to convert them to Christianity
• occupation
• date of birth
• household size
• data on economic development
• information on the land (geographical descriptions)
  –> learn about the hierarchy within the country (e.g. to develop a tax system)

–> data needed determined by financial, military, political needs of the colonial state (changed over time)

Question 3

What are some aspects about early attempts to conduct a census?

Answer 3

• 1830s
• statistics on population and productions mostly guesses; not accurate; “method”: didn’t count people but estimated how many people lived there based on the size of the house
• geography part more accurate

Question 4

How did the British perception of caste change with the Great Rebellion?

Answer 4

• until then caste not very important for colonial state (basic knowledge of power hierarchy for tax collection; avoided getting involved in social aspects;)
• collaborating with local elite wasn’t working out (many of them joined the rebellion)
  –> knowledge about social order and maintenance of rule became more important than concerns about tax collection
• anthropology as tool and discipline to understand people in India
• British picked out caste as the one essential social category to understand Indian society
• put people into these categories in census –> changes the social reality of people

Question 5

Describe the shift from history to anthropology as methods of understanding in the context of colonialism

Answer 5

• history: trying to figure out who is in power by looking at history of the country (e.g. old texts)
• anthropology: trying to legitimize colonial mission by collecting information about colonial subjects to “understand” them

Question 6

How can this shift towards anthropology be seen in the census after the rebellion?

Answer 6

• huge project to collect a lot of information about each person in India
• caste became central category to organize population count
• developed and constantly changed taxonomy of caste; ignored regional specificities and complexities of caste
• first one after rebellion considered imperfect even back then
• since then every 10 years; became more standardized over time

Question 7

What is the method of Anthropometric?

Answer 7

• measuring of humans
• assumed that caste had a racial, biological foundation (e.g. racial groups based on head measurements)
• assumed that caste groups follow principle of absolute endogamy (only reproducing within your group)

(can offer insights e.g. bone density can give information about nutrition but their conclusions were purely racist)

Question 8

What are some effects of this measuring of humans?

Answer 8

• caste associations became much bigger; e.g. political organizations based on caste
• allowed colonial state and local elite to categorize certain castes as criminal; no standardized procedure; often (semi)-nomadic groups; problem for state because it is hard to tax them –> forced to settle down; –> became a powerful tool of exploitation