Impact Of The Caste System On Social Harmony: A Study Of Six Villages In Matara District

By Udeshika Jayasekara –JANUARY 11, 2019

Udeshika Jayasekara

This is a study of the impact of the caste system on social harmony in the Southern part of the country. For this study the researcher selected six villages in Matara: Aparekka  Devundara Eladeniya, Kottawatta, Deeyagaha,Kubalagama, and Eladeniya. This analysis considers caste impacts on employment, social mobility, marriage, education and their day today life.

What is caste?

The Caste system is the world’s longest surviving social hierarchy. Caste encompasses a complex ordering of social groups on the basis of ritual purity. 

A person is considered a member of the caste into which he or she is born and remains within that caste until death, although the particular ranking of that caste may vary among regions and over time.

What is Social harmony? 

Social harmony means minimizing the inequalities within the complexity of diversity using access and equity strategies and affirmative action initiatives in the society. 

Social harmony is a state of affairs where social strife is minimized through cooperation, compromise and understanding. It assumes that differences in identities as castes are artificial, bridgeable and non-fundamental, and hence, it is a situation that is not utopian but achievable.

What is Caste Discrimination?

Caste discrimination is caused by the caste system. In caste discrimination there could be harassment and certain prejudices. This discrimination of lower caste people is often perpetrated by people of higher castes. 

Impact of caste on education and occupation

Table 1: Distribution of villages according to the caste

This is a distribution of occupations based on caste.

Table 2: Caste based Occupation 

Figure 1: Occupations and social mobility

Three generations are considered under this: the respondents’ occupation, his fathers’ occupation and his grandfathers’ occupations. Above clustered column chart shows that two generations ago, occupations were closely linked to their Caste. But now situation has changed. In Goigama, most of their occupation had changed. Among the Govi (high caste), the emergence of numerous public servants indicates a growing inclination towards white-collar jobs. Nawandanda and Berawa caste people still engage in the occupation that is the same as their caste system. A moderate number of Karawa and Badahela castes have seeked new occupations. In kottawatta, Rada people are shifting towards other occupations. Nowadays Laundry workers have disappeared and it’s hard to find someone who engages in that occupation. 

Findings confirm that the importance of caste is reducing among both the higher and the lower caste groups within the Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka. A large percentage of persons were no longer occupied in caste-based employment as they move on to do their higher studies. There is a stigma associated with caste based occupations, therefore they tend to reach higher education and move from their caste based occupation.

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