Social System of Rajasthan

Social System of Rajasthan

Social System of Rajasthan

The social life of Rajasthan is the symbol of its gorgeous past. Right through the age of Savagery Stone age and then to the present age the loftiness and prominence of the social life of Rajasthan has been influencing the life of the people in India. In spite of being characterized by immense diversities of religion, caste, language and traditions, the State of Rajasthan has always remained the source of life giving strength.

 

The way patterns of life and the rites and the rituals of the different people have remained so much intimately close to each other that the State has all through remained united from social and cultural point of views. The people of Rajasthan gainfully participate in all the traditional social customs, festivals, fairs, recreation etc. irrespective of the association of these with a particular communal, cast and cultural group.

 

Man is a social animal and, therefore, society is indispensable. It is also a major unit of the state. Consequently, a study of the society and the social system becomes all the more necessary.

 

The society in Rajasthan traditionally has largely been numerically dominated by the Hindu population. Its social structure has remained based upon the Varnashram system as stipulated in the Smritis. Consequently, in order to ascertain the social system of Rajasthan, a look into the Varna and the Caste systems become all the more essential.

 

> The Varna and the Caste System

The society in India has remained divided in four Varnas right since the Vedic Period. In Rajasthan too four varnas of Brahaman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra were prevalent in accordance to the 'Varnashram dharma'. However, with the passage of time the four varnas were gradually transformed in to several castes and sub-castes on the basis of  a person used to be determined by the work profession and occupation.

 

In the days when the varna functions of the people, the functions of the Brahamanas was to teach and preach, performance of 'Yajnas' and to accept and give alms. That of the Kshatriyas was to rule, run the administration and to protect the masses from internal and external dangers.

 

The Vaishyas used to engage themselves in agricultural pursuits and animal husbandry and in trade and commerce in later centuries. The Shudras were entrusted with the task of serving the three varnas of Brahaman, Kshatriya and the Vaishya. Gradually, the process of the determination of the Varna in terms of work functions eclipsed and was replaced by the system of birth based varna structure.

 

Although the subsequent periods in the social history of India saw the genesis of several castes based on different occupations yet the Varnashram System of the ancient past continued to prevail in the Indian Society.

 

In Indian Society, now the Varna System has, however, been broken and scattered. Today every individual has the freedom to profess a calling of one's own choice. Consequent upon which many Shudra castes are found to have taken over the occupations of the upper varnas.

 

The Varna System has thus got completely transformed into the birth based caste system with its feelings of high and low status and prestige, superiority and inferiority and disabilities for the lower and privileges for the upper castes. The social organisation in Rajasthan too is no exception to this trend and, therefore, the society of this state can be viewed as a caste bound society with innumerable number of castes which, in turn, can be divided into three broad categories of upper, middle and low caste groups.

 

Hindus include different castes, Sikhs, Jains. Buddhists and people of other state Bengalis, Gujrati, Marathi, Sindhis etc. and tribal communities. Besides, Muslims, Parsis and Christians also reside in the state. The main castes inhabitants of Rajasthan are Brahmans. Kayastha, Rajput, Oswal, Agarwal, Porwal,

 

Structure of the Society:

Thus, in the structure of the society the upper class started behaving more or less as the ruling class and the lower class being the class of the ruled fell prey to the excesses and exploitations of the ruling class. Gradually the condition of the lower class deteriorated which became further worst with the continuous increase in their population and their subsequent failure to absorb the excessive population in the traditional occupations.

 

Consequently, they had to look towards the lower class and adopt their occupations. For example, the Brahmins and the Vaishyas took to agriculture as source of earning their livelihood. Thus, when castes came to be determined by occupation, the Brahmins engaged in business were given the name of Bohra and those working as artisans were given to name of Khati.

 

In the same manner Nandwana and Shrimali of Jodhpur, Nagar of Banswara, Paliwal and Saraswat of Bikaner and the Gaur Brahamin of Bharatpur were traders. Similarly, the Malis of Jodhpur and Bikaner took to business due to inadequacy of income through agricultural pursuits. Thus, the distance between caste groups narrowed down considerably as and when all caste group started adopting professions and occupations as per their own convenience, Maintenance of discipline in the social organisation is the prime duty of every caste. With this objective in view the caste panchayat of each caste used to lay down several rules of conduct in respect of customs, eating and drinking habits, ceremonies and rituals and marriage etc. and enforced them strictly.

 

Caste etiquette was viewed as supreme and to follow the traditional customs was a must. Outcasting was the severest form of punishment. The 'Quazi' used to be the chief of the muslims who used to deal with caste matters in accordance to the rules of 'Shariat'. The judgements pronounced by them were accepted by the Government too.

 

An extraordinary business acumen the members of this caste are scattered in almost all leading industrial towns of India contributing to the economic growth of the country. They include both the Hindus and the Jains. Birla, Goenka, Bangar, Poddar are some of business men from Rajasthan. Shekhawati is the land of these multi-millionaires. They control business and trade not only in Rajasthan but also in several parts of India as well as some other countries of the world, Agarwals, Maheshwaries, Oswals, Porwals and the Saraogis are some of the groups of this business community with countless subcastes.

 

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