Understanding the (Sub)Caste: Reframing Identity, Differences and Change

This chapter, ‘Casting the (Sub)Caste: Reframing Identity, Differences, and Change,’ explores the intricate dynamics of subcaste identities among Dalits in India. Moving beyond the conventional notion of Dalits as a homogeneous category, it examines how internal stratification, historical hierarchies, and contemporary socio-political processes shape subcaste formation and persistence. The chapter demonstrates that subcastes operate as core units of social life, mediating marriage, kinship, ritual practices, occupation, political mobilisation, and access to state resources. The chapter highlights the multidimensional mechanisms through which subcastes endure ritualised hierarchies, moral economy and emotional hierarchy, oral histories, urban networks, and political and economic strategies. By tracing both historical continuities and modern adaptations, it emphasises that subcaste identity is simultaneously a site of inequality, assertion, and innovation. The chapter concludes that understanding subcaste is essential for analysing social stratification, revising and assessing the role of affirmative actions for the upliftment of Dalits in contemporary India.