Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Role of New Hindu Institutions in Mobilizing Caste Communities and Restructuring Modern Indian Society

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract 0076067 This project will investigate institutional centers of scholarly, religious and social life in India, the matha. These caste-based, community oriented institutions work to bind together and empower the members of their caste to achieve various political and economic rights promised by the state. In Karnataka, the largest and most powerful matha-s are affiliated with the three dominant castes, the Brahmans, Lingayats, and Vokkaligas. These matha-s have become politically powerful and also oversee the social welfare of their constituents (schools, hospitals, etc.). The researcher hypothesizes that the matha-s are reconfiguring hierarchical Hindu society around the matha (trans-regional, caste based) institution itself, and that this is a response to urbanization and the expanding market economy. The project will center on the activities, authority, and mobilization efforts of one matha from each of the three dominant caste groups. Methods include participant observation, structured interviews, and audio-visual documentation. The project will contribute to our understanding of the role of these Hindu institutions in constructing contemporary Indian social structure and the modern Indian State.