Social Stratification in Bangladesh: Current Scenario

Social Stratification in Bangladesh has its roots in the past. Although the dynamics of religion largely shaped the context of its development, the relevance of economic and political factors is no less significant. The Hindu society in Bengal was built along the caste lines although the widely known four-fold classification BRAHMAN, KSATRYA, VAISYA, and SUDRA did not emerge in the classical manner. The two middle castes, Ksatriya and Vaisya, were not visible in the way they were in other parts of India. In Bengal the main caste division was between the Brahmans and the non-Brahmans. The latter category was the admixture of different sub-castes that emerged through unregulated interactions of different castes. The Brahmans occupied the highest position of the social ladder. As there were geographical divisions among the Brahmans (RADHA and Barendra Brahman), there was another category called Kaibarta Brahman. Some proverb says that the local Brahmans were not skilled in VEDAS and that vacuum was filled in by the Brahmans who migrated from northern India and became known as Kaibarta Brahman. The non-Brahman sub-castes were broadly divided into three hierarchical categories: superior admixture, medium admixture and inferior admixture. The first category included twenty subcastes, including karan or kayastha (writer), ambastha or baidya (traditional physician), TANTI (weavers), ugra (warrior) and others. The second category included twelve sub-castes like SWARNAKAR (goldsmith), dhibor (fishermen) etc. And the last category included nine sub-castes like CHANDAL (persons cremating corpses), chamar (cobblers) and others. Members of the last category were the untouchables. Some British colonial administrators first pointed out that the Muslim social stratification in India was patterned after the Hindu Caste System. However, it remained a matter of debate how far the basic principles of caste system (purity/pollution, commensality, endogamy, or hereditary occupation) had determined the Muslim stratification pattern. James Wise identified eighty castes among the Muslims as early as the nineteenth century, while Gait found only three. The latter noticed the clustering of social strata. The three broad clusters included Ashraf or higher class Muslims, Ajlaf or lower class Muslims, and Arzal or the degraded classes. The first cluster consisted of Sayed, Sheikh, Pathan and Mughal, while the next two incorporated as many as fifty occupational castes. It was noted that endogamy or intra-caste MARRIAGE was followed among Muslims. The presence of higher caste Muslims in Bengal was much less significant than what it was in the upper part of India. Social hierarchy among Muslims of Bengal was less pronounced. Some believed that the majority of the Bengal Muslims were the converts from the lower caste Hindus; hence steep hierarchy could not emerge among them. One important consequence of the less rigidity of Muslim stratification pattern was the opportunity for mobility among the castes. It was possible for a lower caste Muslim to move into the