From Village to City
From Village to City
Hinduism and the “Hindu Caste System”
This chapter examines the village within the context of Hinduism and the Hindu caste system in India. M. N. Srinivas argued that “if and when caste disappears, Hinduism will also disappear.” Writing in 1956, he assumed that the secularizing forces of modernity threatened not only Hinduism but all religions with dissolution. In Srinivas's view, Hinduism was more vulnerable than religions such as Islam and Christianity because it lacked a strong institutional structure. Far from spelling the demise of Hinduism, this chapter argues that city life and urbanization have revitalized it. It considers how Hinduism has become a religion in a relatively caste-free environment, a religion that the Dalits can truly call their own. Finally, it discusses the religion of urban Dalits as it relates to worldly ends, moral universalism, and individual choice.
Keywords: village, Hinduism, caste system, India, city life, urbanization, religion, Dalits, moral universalism, individual choice
University Press Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
