social stratification

2.  Social inequality is a perennial problem, and
therefore, it is found universally in one form
or the other.
 Such a conception of the social inequality,
built on the distribution of property, wealth,
honour and power among individual
members, would imply a certain ideological
basis and a structural arrangement of the
people based upon those inegalitarian
institutionalized norms
 This produces social stratification

3. Raymond Murray: “Social stratification is a
horizontal division of society in to higher and
lower social units”.
Gisbert: “Social stratification is the division
of society into permanent groups or
categories linked with each other by the
relationship of superiority and
subordination”.
Williams: “…the ranking of individuals on a
scale of superiority, equality according to
some commonly accepted basis of
valuation”.

4. Sorokin: “ it is manifested in the existences of upper
and lower social layer. Its basis and very essence
consists in an unequal distribution of rights and
privileges duties and responsibilities, social values
and privations, social power and influences among the
members of a society.”
Lundberg :“a stratified society is one marked by
inequality, by differences among people that are
accepted by them as being ‘lower’ and ‘higher’. Thus, it
is clear that social inequality is the basis of social
stratification.
Melvin Tumin :“an arrangement of any social group or
society into a hierarchy of positions that are unequal
with regard to power, property, social evaluation and
psychic gratification”.

5.  It is the ranking of the groups of people
in a society, which is related to the
differences in access to resources & life
chances in a society.
 Society can be seen as consisting of
strata, in a hierarchy, with the more
favored at the top & the less privileged
nearer the bottom.

6.  Firstly, Social stratification is ‘social’ as it does not
represent biologically caused inequalities.
 Secondly, the practice of social stratification is rooted in
antiquity.
 Thirdly, and most importantly, the concept of social
stratification is characterized by universality. All
societies in the world are stratified, although differently,
based on different bases. It is in this connection that
Sorokin once observed: “All permanently organized
societies are stratified”.
 Fourthly, the rankings apply to social categories of
people who share a common characteristic without
necessarily interacting or identifying with one another.
 Fifthly, people’s life experiences & opportunities depend
heavily on how their social category is ranked.
 Finally, The ranks of different social categories tend to
change very slowly overtime.

7. CASTE
CLASS
POWER
STATUS
ESTATES
SLAVERY
GENDER
RELIGION
ETC

8.  It is a large scale grouping of people, who share common economic
resources, which strongly influence the type o lifestyle they are able to lead.
 It is an economic stratification system, as the ranks of people determine
their access to higher education, high paying jobs. & premium health care.
 Therefore, ownership of wealth & occupation are chief basis of class
difference.
 Karl Marx viewed class differentiation as the crucial determinant of social,
economic & political inequality.
 His main focus was on the effects of class on all aspects of the 19th century
Europe.
 According to Marx, people have false consciousness (an attitude that
doesn’t reflect its objective position).
 A worker with false consciousness may feel that he is being treated fairly by
his boss.
 He felt that a revolution is possible only if people replace the false
consciousness with class consciousness (a subjective awareness held by
members of a class about the need for collective action to bring about
social change).

9.  Max Weber insisted that no single
characteristic (such as class) totally defines a
person’s position in the stratification system.
 He identified 3 components of stratification”
◦ Class: refers to people having similar level of wealth
& income
◦ Status: refers to people having similar prestige or
lifestyle.
◦ Power: ability to exercise one’s will over others.

10.  According to Max Weber, the basis of social stratification
is the unequal power of the society in an organized way.
 Power in the society is not equally divided among all its
members. It is on the basis of the division of power that
some become high and others become low, and those
who enjoy more powers become superior to others.
 Thus, according to Weber, the basis of social
stratification is power, which may be economic power,
political power, or social power.

11.  Estates may be defined as a political group; it is an organized
collection of several orders, estates or conditions of man who are
recognized as possessing political power.
 In medieval Europe, Estates formed an important basis of social
stratification.
 The feudal estates had three important characteristics: they were
legally defined; they represented a broad division of labour; and that
they were political groups.
 Thus, there was the presence of the estates like the nobility, the
clergy, the burghers, etc.
 Hence, in the feudal order, the society was stratified in to nobility
and clergy, etc.

12.  Slavery was prevalent in the ancient and middle ages
 Hobhouse defined a slave “as a man whom law and
custom regard as the property of another.”
 it is an economic form of inequality in which some
people are the property of others. Their lives are owned,
controlled, coerced & restricted.
 As slaves are considered possessions, they are denied
the rights & life chances that other people take for
granted.

13.  One way of stratification through gender is the
“gender roles”.
 These are the expectations regarding the proper
behavior. Attitudes & activities of males & females.
 Margaret Mead’s research pointed out to the
importance of cultural conditioning in defining the
social roles of males & females.

14. In Traditional Brahmanical Literature: 2 Terms
describe the system of stratification: VARNA and
JATI
Both Terms used today to denote Caste
Risley used the term CASTE, from Portuguese
‘Castus’
Caste based organization of society derives from the
Hindu religious texts like Rgveda, Bhagawat Gita,
Manusmriti
Caste is one human mode of social differentiation. It
is a mode of power, a mode of action, a mode of
being and awareness, a mode of understanding and
misunderstanding, a mode of caring.
As a base of STRATIFICATION, Caste involves the

15. 1. BRAHMIN
2. KSHATRIYA
3. VAISHYA
4. SUDRA

16.  caste is ascribed at birth, & can’t be changed. It
determines lifestyle, prestige & occupational
choices.
 The different social levels are closed, so that all
individuals must remain at the social level of
their birth throughout life.
 In caste system, intimate contact with members
of other castes is strongly discouraged.

17.  Caste based organization of Nepali society
derives from the Hindu religious texts like
Manusmriti
 The caste organization of society finds
elaborate and explicit space in the Legal Code
of Jayasthithi Malla in the 15th Century.
 The system continues till the enactment of
the Muluki Ain under Jang Bahadur in 1854.
 Thus the Muluki Ain is special in the sense
that there is no other instance of Caste
Validation accorded in a Legal document of a
State like it anywhere else in the Indian

19.  Caste based organization of Nepali society in India
follows the Legal Code of Jayasthiti Malla and the
Muluki Ain
 Five Broad Groups in Hierarchical Order
 Groups kept outside the Caste Hierarchy in India
(Adivasi/Tribe) fall within Caste Hierarchy in Nepali
Society
 In the context of the post Mandal moment, the nature
of caste in terms of political/ cultural as well as
material/ social dimension is changing/dynamic

20. 1. K. L. Sharma (1994). Social Stratification and
Mobility, New Delhi: Rawat Publications (2002
Reprint).
2. K. L. Sharma (1997). Social Stratification in India:
Issues and Themes, New Delhi: Sage.
3. Melvin M Tumin (1967). Social Stratification: The
Forms and Functions of inequality, New Delhi;
Prentice Hall (2003 Edition).
4. T. B. Bottomore (1965). Classes in Modern Society,
London: Allen & Unwin
5. A. Hofer (2004). The Caste Hierarchy and the State
in Nepal, Kathmandu: Himal Books.
6. Balmurli Natrajan (n.d.). The Culturisation of Caste.
New Delhi: Routledge.

21. 7. Diane P. Mines (2009). Caste in India. Ann Arbor, MT:
Association for Asian Studies.
8. Dipankar Gupta (2004). Caste in Question. New
Delhi: Sage.
9. F. G. Bailey (1960). Tribe, Caste, and Nation.
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
10.Susan Bayly (2008). The New Cambridge History of
India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.