[INDOLOGY] "Caste passing"

[HR]

There is the famous case in Maha-bharata and Bhagavata-purana where Arjuna disguises himself as sannyasi in order to woo Krsna’s sister Subhadra.

> On Jan 21, 2018, at 3:59 AM, Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> In contemporary narrative literature including the narratives in Indian films, there is a formula: A person born into a caste considered as panchama (harijan /sc/ dalit in contemporary parlance) being brought up by a 'upper' caste (usually a Brahmin) social reformer to become a Vedic scholar or a brahmanical dancer/ musician (if the person brought up is a woman) and after getting acceptance of the society, in a twist of the narrative, the actual identity of the person getting exposed, the reformer getting ridiculed by his neighbourhood , the reformer arguing about the actual character being more significant than birth and the 'caste passing' person getting accepted by the neighbourhood. 
> 
> On Sun, Jan 21, 2018 at 5:03 PM, Manu Francis <manufrancis at gmail.com <mailto:manufrancis at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Dear Nagaraj Paturi,
> 
> Yes, you are right. 
> Novels are also part of the query.
> 
> With very best wishes.
> 
> --
> 
> Emmanuel Francis
> Chargé de recherche CNRS, Centre d'étude de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud (UMR 8564, EHESS-CNRS, Paris)
> http://ceias.ehess.fr/ <http://ceias.ehess.fr/>
> http://ceias.ehess.fr/index.php?1725 <http://ceias.ehess.fr/index.php?1725>
> http://rcsi.hypotheses.org/ <http://rcsi.hypotheses.org/>
> Associate member, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Culture (SFB 950, Universität Hamburg)
> http://www.manuscript-cultures.uni-hamburg.de/index_e.html <http://www.manuscript-cultures.uni-hamburg.de/index_e.html>
> https://cnrs.academia.edu/emmanuelfrancis <https://cnrs.academia.edu/emmanuelfrancis>
> 
> 2018-01-21 10:16 GMT+01:00 Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com <mailto:nagarajpaturi at gmail.com>>:
> The query was for 
> 
> "I am searching for references in Indian literature and classical texts of instances of "caste impersonation", i.e. when an individual or a group "passes" as a caste which is not their original birth group. My search includes such instances in contemporary literature" (highlighting mine)
> 
> Since the first sentence has Indian literature and classical texts , I thought 'contemporary literature' in the second sentence means contemporary literary texts such as novels. Am I right?
> 
> 
> 
> On Sun, Jan 21, 2018 at 2:56 AM, Tyler Williams via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
> Addendum: one of his publications that bears directly on the subject is:
> 
> 2014. “Lal Beg Underground: the Passing of an ‘Untouchable’ God.” In Knut A. Jacobsen, Mikael Aktor and Kristina Myrvold, eds., Objects of Worship in South Asian Religions: Forms, Practices, and Meanings, pp. 143-162. New York: Routledge.
> 
> On Sat, Jan 20, 2018 at 3:25 PM, Tyler Williams <tylerwwilliams at gmail.com <mailto:tylerwwilliams at gmail.com>> wrote:
> Dear Dr. Francis,
> 
> Joel Lee <https://anso.williams.edu/profile/jl20/> at Williams College in the US has written on the phenomenon of caste 'passing' in contemporary South Asia and is also interested in historical and literary precedents. I am sure that it would be fine if Dr. Headley contacted him directly, but I would also be happy to introduce them if she prefers.
> 
> Best,
> Tyler Williams
> University of Chicago
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 10:56 AM, Manu Francis via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
> 
> I forward below a query on behalf my Colleague Zoé Headley.
> 
> (on her current project "Studies in Tamil Studio Archives and Society (S.T.A.R.S.)"
> see e.g:
> http://www.ifpindia.org/content/studies-tamil-studio-archives-and-society-stars <http://www.ifpindia.org/content/studies-tamil-studio-archives-and-society-stars>
> and
> http://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/video/2018/01/19/une-autre-histoire-de-l-inde-ecrite-par-ses-photos_5244050_1650684.html <http://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/video/2018/01/19/une-autre-histoire-de-l-inde-ecrite-par-ses-photos_5244050_1650684.html>)
> 
> Any help will be much appreciated.
> 
> Her query is:
> 
> "I am searching for references in Indian literature and classical texts of instances of "caste impersonation", i.e. when an individual or a group "passes" as a caste which is not their original birth group. My search includes such instances in contemporary literature"
> 
> With very best wishes.
> 
> --
> 
> Emmanuel Francis
> Chargé de recherche CNRS, Centre d'étude de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud (UMR 8564, EHESS-CNRS, Paris)
> http://ceias.ehess.fr/ <http://ceias.ehess.fr/>
> http://ceias.ehess.fr/index.php?1725 <http://ceias.ehess.fr/index.php?1725>
> http://rcsi.hypotheses.org/ <http://rcsi.hypotheses.org/>
> Associate member, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Culture (SFB 950, Universität Hamburg)
> http://www.manuscript-cultures.uni-hamburg.de/index_e.html <http://www.manuscript-cultures.uni-hamburg.de/index_e.html>
> https://cnrs.academia.edu/emmanuelfrancis <https://cnrs.academia.edu/emmanuelfrancis>
> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Nagaraj Paturi
>  
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
> 
> 
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
> 
> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
> 
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>  
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>  
> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Nagaraj Paturi
>  
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
> 
> 
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
> 
> BoS, Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, Veliyanad, Kerala
> 
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies
>  
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
>  
> (Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA )
>  
>  
>  
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