Spatial and Temporal Change in the Caste System: The Punjab to Bradford

The principal focus of this study is the caste system. The study begins by producing a 'skeletal' definition
of the term 'caste', which breaks out of the 'theoretical stagnation' imposed on Indology by the work of
Louis Dumont (1970). Using this definition, a simple framework for conceptualising Indian society is
constructed which illustrates the nature of the caste system. The fortunes of the caste system are then
explored in India's historical past and in Indian Hindu Diaspora, and from this exploration a commonsense
view of the caste system as being immutable is confounded. Instead, it is established that the
institution is adaptable and flexible, because it is constantly changing in response to forces affecting it
over time and space. However, whilst some aspects of the caste system are open to change, it is argued
that other aspects remain resolutely unchanging. Accordingly, it is suggested that the institution
contains elements of both modernity and tradition, and that this may be the key to its survival through
time and space.
The caste system is then examined with reference to Punjabi Hindus in Bradford. Through a detailed
analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected amongst this community during 1994 and 1995, a
fascinating picture unfolds concerning the presence and operation of the caste system desh pardesh (at
home abroad) for Bradford's Punjabi Hindus. Spatial and temporal changes in the caste system are also
identified as having occurred through the migration and settlement of Bradford's Punjabi Hindu
community. The conclusions relate this back to the wider issue of spatial and temporal changes in the
caste system occurring in other parts of Indian Hindu Diaspora, and consider implications for the future
of the institution amongst Punjabi Hindus in Bradford.