Disciplinary Power as Discriminatory Power: Caste and Hierarchical Observation

Prasheel Anand Banpur, 11SNPC02, Apr 12,

Department of Communication, SN School, UoH.

Instead of boasting of the glorious past, we need to express the ancient moral glory in our own lives and
let our lives bear witness to our past. Then we shall benefit our nation and ourselves. - MK Gandhi1
The caste system is not merely a division of labourers which is quite different from division of labour it
is a hierarchy in which the division of labourers are graded one above the other. Dr. BR Ambedkar2
Disciplinary power is a modest, suspicious power, which functions as a calculated but permanent
economy. - Michel Foucault3

The paper does not view Caste, though in its elementary, classical form4, through the purity-impurity
dichotomy (Dumont, 1980; Das & Uberoi, 1971; Srinivas, 1984) nor does it elaborate further on the
points of scientific, spiritual, cultural, and economic exploitation (Phule, 1885; Ambedkar, 1916; Ilaiah,
2004, 2007, & 2009) sustained by it. The effort here is to bring to notice certain excerpts from religious

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used the above mentioned quotation in 1916, to an audience of the Muir Central

College Economic Society in Allahabad, explaining Indias glorious past and how it had to be revived, by living
those values and code of ethics, in order to chart the progress of the country economically and morally. His ideas
on morality were heavily borrowed from the Gita a classical Hindu text, and his sense of economics, which
propagated a self-sufficient, self-sustaining model of commerce prophesied a system perpetuated by maintaining a
caste-based hierarchy in the conduct of business.
2

The quote is from Bhim Rao Ambedkars essay Annihilation of Caste prepared for the Jat Pat Todak

Sangh meeting which was to be held in 1936.

3

Michel Foucaults notions on disciplinary power and its successful manifestation are derived from the use of

instruments hierarchical observation, normalizing judgement, and their combination in a procedure that is specific
to it the examination.
4

As described in the classical Hindu texts such as the Vedas and Manu Smriti in particular

texts5, authored by a certain segment of the community, inclusive of explanations related to the birth of
the Caste hierarchy, regulations of law & order, and social conduct, and explore the activity of
hierarchical observation through which the hierarchy of Caste was peacefully maintained. This paper
attempts at understanding the discriminatory practice Caste, also called Chaturvarnya - literally meaning
4 classes or sections; figuratively meaning an oppressive, undulating apparatus - in limited terms as
mentioned in the course of this essay, with respect to Foucaultian notion of disciplinary power exercised
through the use of hierarchical observation and normalizing judgement (Foucault, 1975). However, the
paper also tries to extend Foucaults ideas where-in the use of disciplinary power is more pronounced
and visible when related to Caste than military camps, schools, or hospitals from the 17th and 18th
century. Foucault says that the exercise of discipline presupposes a mechanism that coerces by means
of observation; an apparatus in which the techniques that make it possible to see induce effects of power
and in which, conversely, the means of coercion on whom they are applied clearly visible. Caste in its
classical form is coercive and disciplining, sometimes through direct violence, sometimes through
hegemony (prophecy of the Gods, fear, written word etc), and sometimes through both violence and
hegemony one after the other, continually, depending on the resistance (Omvedt, 1995) offered by those
who were subjugated, those who were the objects of this disciplinary power which also worked/works as
a discriminatory power.
Exploring disciplinary power in this context is necessary as the population of those who were the objects,
the individuals at the lower and lowest rungs of the Caste hierarchy, was more in number (Sharma,
1958) when compared to the few, ruling elite. And as will be seen later in this paper, the ruling elite at all
times needed the many to serve them through manual labour and maintain the cultural and political
economy as essayed by the classical texts, while promoting a code of ethics that made any revolt
against the existing social order a punishable offence. What were these codes of ethics? What were the
sacred doctrines of the Gods that exercised discipline, allowed hegemony, and promoted violence
against abstainers? Before citing passages from texts that will enable us to understand Caste in the
scheme mentioned above, a brief about the Caste hierarchy, which was regulated by the birth of the
individual, is as follows:
1.

Brahman Priests/Scholars; Social space officiating cadres

2.

Kshatriya Kings/Rulers

3.

Vaishya Traders/Merchants

The exact dates of the Hindu written texts referred to as Vedas are debatable though the dates between

2000 1000 BC are available.

4.

Sudra Washermen/women, Barbers, Tanners, Cowherds, Potters, etc

5.

Untouchables (Dalits) Sanitary workers

6.

Adivasis/Tribals Demons/Murderers/Robbers

A Sanskrit6 quote from the Atharva Veda7 on the formation of the Caste hierarchy:
Braahmanosya mukhamaasidbaahu raajanyo abhavat Madhyam tadasya yad vaishyaha padbhyaam
shudro ajaayata (Atharva 19.6.6).
A similar meaning verse from the Yajur Veda8:
Bahmanosya mukhamaasidbaahu raajanyah krtah| Uru tadasya yadvaishyaha padbhyam shudro
ajaayata (Yajurveda 31.11)
The translation reads (Brahmanaha) Brahman, was his9 face, (raajanyaha) Kshatriya, was his arms, He,
(yat vaishyaha) who is Vaishya was the central part of his body, for the function of the feet, (ajaayata)
was, (shudraha) the Sudra.
This belief in the formation of human kind still holds robust value in majority of the born-Hindus who have
accepted this myth to be the real course of history of creation of men and women (though the Vedas
talk about men only) (Swamy, 2006). Here, it is interesting to note that the face represented by a
Brahman possesses the eyes and it is the function of the eyes to see, to survey, to observe! As in the
physical hierarchy of the human body, it is the eyes that have the function of seeing/observing/surveying
from chest onwards towards the end of the body, the feet.
Foucault states that hierarchized, continuous, and functional surveillance owed its importance to the
mechanisms of power that it brought with it. He says, By means of such surveillance, disciplinary power
became an integrated system, linked from the inside to the economy and to the aims of the mechanism
in which it was practiced. It was also organized as a multiple, automatic, and anonymous power; for
although surveillance rests on individuals, its functioning is that of a network of relations from top to
bottom, but also to a certain extent from bottom to top and laterally; this network holds the whole

Classical Hindu Language

The fourth of the Vedas, the canonical texts of Hinduism

The third of the Vedas

A Hindu God called Brahma, believed to be the creator of the world

together and traverses it in its entirety with effects of power that derive from one another: supervisors,
perpetually supervised. The power in the hierarchized surveillance is not possessed as a thing, or
transferred as a property; it functions like a piece of machinery. Here there are two instances where-in
the hierarchical observation of the Caste system departs from Foucaults description. One, that the
disciplinary power of Caste was not anonymous as the Brahman men were clearly demarcated from the
rest of the community by physical symbols such as yagyopavit10 and the shikha11, and the surname used
as a suffix or prefix; the surname. Secondly, the disciplinary power, or the lack of it, amongst the
hierarchy was transferred as a property by all the segments of the Caste order in a very gendered
manner only a male born a Brahman could become a priest/scholar, a kings son the next king, the
traders son the next trader, and likewise, a sanitary workers son or daughter had to take their parents
place.
However, Foucault summarizes saying that disciplinary power is everywhere and always alert, since by
its very principle it leaves no zone of shade and constantly supervises the very individuals who are
entrusted with the task of supervising; and is absolutely discreet for it functions permanently and largely
in silence.
Again, the anomaly with Foucaults conception when dissecting Caste is that though the Brahmans were
also under surveillance, more or less, they were excluded from the punishment of a normalizing
judgement that was inspired from the exclusive, sacred texts. As will be presented in the essay, the
punishment called upon on the transgressors was sanctioned by a large body of texts and the
Brahmans were partially excluded from the modes of punishment as they were the authors themselves.
The Adivasis, Untouchables, and other castes, were subject to varying levels of acts of punishment as
when boundaries of normalizing judgement, of the Brahman and/or the Brahmanical texts, were crossed.
Disciplinary power worked within a disciplinary apparatus (Foucault, 1975) where-in the Caste of the
individual infuses the social space with imagery that eventually enforces the act of differentiation of
punishment, discriminating between the punishing and the punishable.
Hierarchical Observation and Caste-related work: The temple, where-in entry/exit of the populace,
ceremonies and rituals were officiated by the Brahman priests (men), was usually located at the
entrance of the classical social space (Northwards). The residences of the priests were either within the
premises of the temple or around it (Kosambi, 1964) in order to maintain a constant gaze at the temple.
At the outer rung of the houses of the priests, at considerable and varying distances divided by
streets/lanes, resided the trading community, Vaishyas, and at the outer rung of the Vaishyas resided
10

Yagyopavit is a thread worn by Brahman men across the shoulder and waist in a sling like fashion

11

Shikha is a braid of long hair on top of the head of the Brahman man where the end of the hair is tied in a knot

the warrior/feudal/land-owning community Kshatriyas who were fewer in number in comparison with the
Brahmans or Vaishyas. The Sudras, comprising of washermen and women, potters, barbers, ironsmiths
among others lived in a separated space within the social space but at an observable distance. People
from the Dalit-Bahujan community reside at the end of the classical social space (South) and can be
observed by the Sudras. The work of Dalits which predominantly included scavenging, sanitation,
removal of dead carcasses etc can be observed by the remaining population of the social space on a
daily basis through their activities such as the cleaning of streets, sanitary works etc. Here, Foucault
says that An architecture is built no longer to be seen or to observe external space, but to permit an
internal, articulated and detailed control to render visible those who are inside it (the space); in more
general terms an architecture that would operate to transform individuals: to act on those it shelters, to
provide a hold on their conduct, to carry the effects of power right to them, to make it possible to know
them, to alter them.
The Dalits engaged in these activities here know that their work is being observed by the caste Hindus,
who are ranked higher in the hierarchy, and hence have to continue this daily labour in order to be
recognized by the populace and avoid punishment (lashes, stoning, expulsion from the classical social
space etc). Kautilya12 in his Arthasastra13 also refers to the mode of compulsory observation and scrutiny
of public servants when they are engaged in their work (Indian Merchants Chamber, 200414). Comparing
Arthasastra to Machiavellian thought, Max Weber (1919) observed that
Truly radical Machiavellianism, in the popular sense of that word, is classically expressed in Indian
literature in the Arthasastra of Kautilya (written long before the birth of Christ, ostensibly in the time of
Chandragupta15): compared to it, Machiavellis The Prince is harmless.
The work of priests on the other hand, also can be viewed and observed by the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas
but it goes on unhindered and unquestioned as the power of choosing and reciting godly hymns and
mantras is at the sole discretion of the Brahmans (men). Here, power functions as a disciplinary element
through the exercise of exact observation. In the social space, everybody knows that they are being
watched in conduct of their day-to-day work related activities by someone superior to them, someone
who is ranked higher than them. Excluding the Brahmans! In the case where the work of priests is being
observed during sacrificial rituals, the observers (predominantly Kshatriyas) do not possess the
12

A Brahmanic scholar also known as Chankaya or Vishnugupta, is believed to be the author of Arthasastra,
supposedly written between c. 350-283 BC
13

An ancient code book of polity, law and order, and economics.

14

Annual Publication

15

Emperor of India between 320-298 BC. His rule has been cited in various books as the golden age of India.

disciplinary power (Theertha, 1941) to either correct or alter the discourse of the priest. The reason
primarily is that the Manu Smriti16, a book of ethos authored by the priests and used as a disciplinary
guideline for the community clearly states that:
Let the king after rising early in the morning worship Brahmans who are well-versed in the threefold
sacred sciences and learned in the policy and accept their advice. (VII, 37) and
Brahman is the root of sacred law. By his origin alone he is a deity even for the gods and his word is
authoritative for men. (XI, 85)
The possession of Manu Smriti was confined to Brahmans in particular, and select Kshatriyas after
sectarian violence broke out between these two segments to ascertain who was superior (Sharma,
1958). Further, the Sudras and Dalits were not only allowed to partake in any of the activities of the caste
Hindus. And no amount of questioning or abstinence was allowed. A disciplinary routine had to be
followed by all the Sudras and Dalits failing which punishment was unavoidable. Foucault states that
discipline brings with it a specific way of punishing and what is specific to the disciplinary penalty is nonobservance, that which does not measure up to the rule, that which departs from it. In effect, the whole
indefinite domain of the non-conforming is punishable.
In this regard, The Dharmasutra17 of Apastamba18 states that:
The tongue of the Sudra who spoke evil about persons in the first three castes should be cut off. A
Sudra who dared to assume the position of equality with the first three castes should be flogged.
And
A Sudra who abused a twice-born19 man or assaulted him with blows should lose the limb with which he
offended, if he overheard a recitation of the Vedas molten lac or tin was to be poured into his ears; if he
repeated the Vedas his tongue should be cut; and if he remembered Vedic hymns, his body was to be
torn to pieces.

16

A Hindu law and order book believed to have been written between AD 220 and AD 400 by Manu, a man of
brahman-kshatriya origin believed to have lived for 306, 720, 000 years.
17

Dharmasutra is a genre of Sanskrit texts and refers to the branch of learning pertaining to Hindu dharma, religious
and legal duty.
18

A Brahmanical scholar between 450-350 BC.

19

Twice-born refers to the Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas who were allowed to study the Vedas.

Similar to the discipline of standing in attention and observing silence which is produced and reproduced
on children and individuals whenever the national anthem is vocalized, the Caste apparatus and its
imagery produced a disciplinary power that was occasionally coercive, continually hegemonic,
operationally dominating, and thereby, consistently discriminating.

To destroy the Caste system and adopt the Western European social system means that Hindus must
give up the principle of hereditary occupation which is the soul of the Caste system. Hereditary principle
is an eternal principle. To change it is to create disorder. I have no use for a Brahman If I cannot call him
a Brahman for my life. It will be chaos if everyday a Brahman is to be changed into a Sudra and a Sudra
is to be changed into a Brahman. MK Gandhi20
Caste is the natural outcome of certain religious beliefs which have the sanction of the Shastras, which
are believed to contain the command of divinely inspired sages who were endowed with supernatural
wisdom and whose commands, therefore, cannot be disobeyed without committing sin.

Dr. BR

Ambedkar21
Lacking a cohesive corporate identity, Hindu society today is in the process of becoming fragmented,
and hence increasingly in disarray... I am instead referring to the Hindu consciousness which
encompasses the willingness and determination to collectively defend the faith from the erosion that is
being induced by the disconnect with our glorious past. What Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chaterjee,
Sri Aurobindo, and Subramaniya Bharati had achieved by raising Hindu consciousness to that end, has
now been depleted and dissipated over the last six decades. Dr. Subramanian Swamy22
Spiritual Fascism suppressed rationality and sustained a system that left the body and the brain of the
society undernourished, ridden with superstition, attitudes of self-negation and cultural hegemony of the
anti-productive castes. The beginning of the end of Hinduism will be a new beginning for India. Dr.
Kancha Ilaiah23
The ultimate end of all revolutionary social changes it to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity
of a human, the right of every human being to liberty and well-being. Emma Goldman

20

Translated from Gujarathi, from the journal Nav-Jivan in 1921-22

21

As quoted in the essay Annihilation of Caste in 1936

22

As quoted in Hindus Under Seige: The Way Out, p. 26-27

23

As quoted in Post-Hindu India, p. 267

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edited by RS Khare, Oxford University Press, 2006.
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Press, 1980.
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Reader, 1975.
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1997.
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16. Phule, Jyotiba, Slavery, translated by Prof. PG Patil, Published by the Education Department, Govt.
of Maharashtra, 1991.

17. Srinivas, MN, Some Reflections on the Nature of Caste Hierarchy, in Caste, Hierarchy, and
Individualism, edited by RS Khare, Oxford University Press, 2006.
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19. Theertha, Swami Dharma, History of Hindu Imperialism, Dalit Book Trust, 1941.
20. Weber, Max, Politics as a Vocation, 1919.