Caste and Religiosity Amongst Children

Abstract

ABSTRACT newlineThe present study is an attempt to explore dimensions of caste and religiosity among children newlinethrough the lens of sociology of childhood and theorised some of the potential repercussions for newlinecaste among children. In attempting to explore the functions of caste among children, it has been newlineargued that sociology of childhood constitutes a fruitful theoretical point of departure. During the newlinelast five decades much research has been done in the field of caste but seldom research studies newlinehave been focused on the socialisation of children in the caste context in the theoretical newlineframework of sociology of childhood. In this backdrop, the current research attempts to analyse newlinethe engagement of children with caste and conceptualise in terms of the social construction of the newlinecaste behavior and its relations among social identities. It begins with focusing on how purity newlineworks in the village and power plays a significant role in the caste context. It describes the newlinehierarchical relationship among different caste groups. It argues the undercurrent caste features newlineand the positioning of the community in the caste system becomes the deciding factor of purity newlineand power. Further it argues how power influences the actions, beliefs or conduct of children. It newlinealso focuses on how the development of religious situations affects children, how a set of newlinereligious rules and customs regulate children s mind and inculcate the notion of caste among newlinechildren. It also focuses on how symbolic interactions guide their relations with others and such newlinesymbolic interactionism emphasises how religion affects the children s thinking and makes them newlinebelieve in unscientific symbolic actions. Overall this study examined the influence of caste and newlinereligiosity among children and their responses to caste using an explicitly broader approach of newlinesociology of childhood which argues that children are active receptors of culture. This study has newlinebeen conducted in the village of Konkan region of Maharashtra. The qualitative interview newlinemethod has been carried out. The in-depth semi structured interview and participant observation newlinewith filing the daily diaries have been employed as tools for data collection. With the children newlinebeing the main informants of this study, I also interviewed parents and villagers to make use of newlinetheir perspectives on different social, cultural and economic issues and thus to explore the newlinechildren s caste and religious context. The field work included 113 children participants from the newlineage of 3 to 16. newline