I am Sambhavi Ganesh, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. My work is attached to the Centre for South Asian Studies, focused on the interplay of caste and gender among Brahmins (considered the topmost caste group) in contemporary south India.

Why this topic? I have learned, through experience and reading, that caste is the major determinant of life chances in India. Popular understanding of the caste system is that of a fourfold, occupation-based division of society. However, there are three issues here:

  • With increasing divergence between caste and occupation among the English-educated elite, the popular perception is that the caste system is dying out, or is already a matter of the past.
  • Reservation in university seats and government jobs for the formerly untouchable castes and indigenous people has led to a backlash from dominant caste groups.
  • As the political leader and thinker Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has written here, caste is reproduced because of endogamy (marriage within the community). It may have started as a system of hierarchical occupational division, but became a set of localised enclosed groups, likely at the whim of the Brahmins. Endogamy being the basis of caste, the system operates together with patriarchy.

It is with these contentions that I begin to explore my research area. Belonging to a south Indian Brahmin background, experience has led me to this topic. I would try to approach the study from the private sphere and life accounts. I also hope to ‘study up‘, or study the elites of the society as an act of resistance.

Why this blog? With the title ‘Between the Lines’, I hope to convey that lived experiences constitute much of caste patriarchy, those which are not even uttered, let alone recorded. One has to read between the lines, or interpret unarticulated wor(l)ds, to get a sense of this.

With this blog, I hope to ponder about my thoughts in the making, as well as my journey as a PhD student. I warmly welcome conversations and sharing of experiences. Good day!