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Cultures of History
The Pariah Problem
Pariah is a cruel word. For most speakers of English today, only the dimmest memory of what it once meant survives. But for its victims the cruelty is not forgotten, because it is not just a memory. This is a book about the joint efforts of native elites and British colonizers to avoid facing the fact that they were the beneficiaries of that cruelty.
Drawing on newly discovered sources, Viswanath traces the emergence of what was called the "Pariah Problem." She shows how landlords, state officials, and well-intentioned missionaries conceptualized Dalit oppression in a way that foreclosed any real solutions: after all, the entire agrarian political-economic system depended on the unfree labor of those classed as untouchable.
Welfare efforts directed at Dalits—by the colonial state, Hindus and Christian missionaries—focused on religious and social reform, but not political empowerment or structural transformation. This laid the groundwork for the present day, where the postcolonial state and elite reformers continue to sideline issues of landlessness, violence, and political subordination.
About the Author
Rupa Viswanath is professor of Indian Religions at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Göttingen.
Drawing on newly discovered sources, Viswanath traces the emergence of what was called the "Pariah Problem." She shows how landlords, state officials, and well-intentioned missionaries conceptualized Dalit oppression in a way that foreclosed any real solutions: after all, the entire agrarian political-economic system depended on the unfree labor of those classed as untouchable.
Welfare efforts directed at Dalits—by the colonial state, Hindus and Christian missionaries—focused on religious and social reform, but not political empowerment or structural transformation. This laid the groundwork for the present day, where the postcolonial state and elite reformers continue to sideline issues of landlessness, violence, and political subordination.
About the Author
Rupa Viswanath is professor of Indian Religions at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Göttingen.
416 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2014
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February 1, 2026
The book `The Pariah Problem – Caste, Religion, and the Social in Modern India’ is written by Rupa Vishwanath. She Professor at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS) at the University of Göttingen, and a Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College at the University of Cambridge.
The book focusses on the problems of Dalits in Tamil Nadu during the British period. The author has titled the book The Pariah Problem’., and clarified at the outset that the term The Pariah Problem’ is not her making. To put it in her words, `This book uses a cruel word, it is true, but not in order to be cruel. It uses a cruel word because it is a book about a cruel reality’. However, for my own emotional reasons, I will be using the word `Dalit’
Growing up in an Adi-Dravida family, I was told that Dalits got educated in the earlier days due to the British. This book examines this perception in detail. By the time I finished reading this book, I could decipher that this cultivated concept is as real as a foot mat being crucial to the running of a car.
The British Crown after the 1857 rebellion vowed not to interfere in the religious affairs of Indiansm and to refrain from taking any action (s) that would hurt their sentiments. They considered caste as a religious disability, and made no sincere effort to uproot the same. It is to be borne in mind, this was the same Government that had no qualms about taking on the practice of Sati.
Depressed classes did get educated as a result of the British Government’s attempt. To call it a whole-hearted effort, would be to call a hillock, the Himalayas. Some of their officials did try to bring about land reforms, but that was effectively countered by the landed castes. This book contains numerous examples on this account. The landed castes, as it can be seen throughout the book, whenever the issue is discussed, were hell bent upon denying land rights to Dalits.
The English Missionaries never intended to convert the lower castes in the beginning. The Upper Castes were reluctant to convert for fear of losing their caste status, and the conversion project in India was tapering off. It was then the missionaries turned their attention to converting the Dalits. The converted Dalits were subject to the `Corner System’, i.e., they were confined to a small corner of the church during the service despite being 75% of the convertees.
Then the contributions of Indian officials who had risen in the British Government to perpetuate the difficulties of Dalits is well-documented. There were also upper caste officials like the District Munsiff of Tanjore, Mr. Krishna Aiyer, striving to give land rights to the Dalits. Some of the British senior officers felt that giving land rights to Dalits might create disaffection for the Crown amongst the upper castes, and put such proposals in the deepest and darkest corner of the administrative ice-cave.
The Madras Government nominated several members of the Depressed Classes to the newly formed Legislative Council of 1919. Notable amongst them were LC Guruswamy, MC Rajah, Retamalai Srinivasan, and R Veerian.
The diabolic attitude of the British Government towards eliminating untouchability can be clearly seen in the issue of the entry of Ezhavars through a Brahmin Street in 1924. They termed this attempt as trying to assert an abstract claim, when there was no real need for their entry into the Brahmin street.
This book lists the countless villains in the British Government who stoically opposed any legislative measures to eliminate castes. There is also a list of officials and description of their acts to try and eliminate this social evil. This book is essential for those interested in understanding the real position of Dalits during the British rule. It is extensively researched, and presented in simple language.
The book focusses on the problems of Dalits in Tamil Nadu during the British period. The author has titled the book The Pariah Problem’., and clarified at the outset that the term The Pariah Problem’ is not her making. To put it in her words, `This book uses a cruel word, it is true, but not in order to be cruel. It uses a cruel word because it is a book about a cruel reality’. However, for my own emotional reasons, I will be using the word `Dalit’
Growing up in an Adi-Dravida family, I was told that Dalits got educated in the earlier days due to the British. This book examines this perception in detail. By the time I finished reading this book, I could decipher that this cultivated concept is as real as a foot mat being crucial to the running of a car.
The British Crown after the 1857 rebellion vowed not to interfere in the religious affairs of Indiansm and to refrain from taking any action (s) that would hurt their sentiments. They considered caste as a religious disability, and made no sincere effort to uproot the same. It is to be borne in mind, this was the same Government that had no qualms about taking on the practice of Sati.
Depressed classes did get educated as a result of the British Government’s attempt. To call it a whole-hearted effort, would be to call a hillock, the Himalayas. Some of their officials did try to bring about land reforms, but that was effectively countered by the landed castes. This book contains numerous examples on this account. The landed castes, as it can be seen throughout the book, whenever the issue is discussed, were hell bent upon denying land rights to Dalits.
The English Missionaries never intended to convert the lower castes in the beginning. The Upper Castes were reluctant to convert for fear of losing their caste status, and the conversion project in India was tapering off. It was then the missionaries turned their attention to converting the Dalits. The converted Dalits were subject to the `Corner System’, i.e., they were confined to a small corner of the church during the service despite being 75% of the convertees.
Then the contributions of Indian officials who had risen in the British Government to perpetuate the difficulties of Dalits is well-documented. There were also upper caste officials like the District Munsiff of Tanjore, Mr. Krishna Aiyer, striving to give land rights to the Dalits. Some of the British senior officers felt that giving land rights to Dalits might create disaffection for the Crown amongst the upper castes, and put such proposals in the deepest and darkest corner of the administrative ice-cave.
The Madras Government nominated several members of the Depressed Classes to the newly formed Legislative Council of 1919. Notable amongst them were LC Guruswamy, MC Rajah, Retamalai Srinivasan, and R Veerian.
The diabolic attitude of the British Government towards eliminating untouchability can be clearly seen in the issue of the entry of Ezhavars through a Brahmin Street in 1924. They termed this attempt as trying to assert an abstract claim, when there was no real need for their entry into the Brahmin street.
This book lists the countless villains in the British Government who stoically opposed any legislative measures to eliminate castes. There is also a list of officials and description of their acts to try and eliminate this social evil. This book is essential for those interested in understanding the real position of Dalits during the British rule. It is extensively researched, and presented in simple language.
August 6, 2017
Rupa Viswanath's The Pariah Problem traces the time during which the problem of the Pariah came to the fore. It starts of in the late nineteenth century and continues till the second decade of the 20th century when the problem transformed through various stages.
The Panchama or the fifth varna were people who lived outside the chathur varna caste system.
They were subjected to inhuman life conditions , living a life of slaves in the feudal agricultural life of India. There were strict strictures which controlled their lives, they were considered untouchable and usage of public resources like streets, water resources and gazing land etc was barred to the people of Panchama caste. The Panchama were tied to the landlords and held no property and were completely dependent on the landlord (Mirasdars) for sustenance. Mostly entire family of Panchamas worked for the Landlords and lived in Ceri(low lying areas which were isolated typically owned by the Mirasdar), they faced constant threat of eviction by the Mirasdars. This is akin to the slave system prevalent in the West which was abolished in the British colonies in the 19th century. So the official introduction to the Pariah problem started with the colonial officials denying the existence of a slave system comparable with that of the West. It was considered to be a gentle servitude with mutual beneficial relationship between the landlord and the Panchama. Hence forth cannot be compared with that of the Western Slave system. This initial reluctance to accept the problem as existing stems forth from two key aspects,
1. The state (represented by the British) had a nexus with the high caste landlords because of the state dependence on them with respect to the revenues. The British in comparison with other rulers
levied heavy taxes on agriculture, hence the underlying system was beneficial to the British.
2. The British administration for its day to day execution of administrative procedures were dependent on the high caste Hindus hence there was a tacit understanding of how the country side works in the Indian Feudal context. The term the author uses to rightly point out the relation is "Caste-State" Nexus.
Land was the major tool in feudal hegomany and access to it was highly guarded. Hence there were rules which effectively prevented the Panchamas to acquire land. Although their capability to accumulate surplus was limited, there were rules like the Darkhast rule which effectively prevented the purchase of land by the Panchama. The rule gives first option to the Mirasdar in buying Poramboke land and the Mirasdar's effectively kept buying land back to prevent Panchamas buying land. In this way the Mirasdar could control the labor and use it to his benefit which is a classic feature of any feudal serfdom.
Missionary and Religious Neutrality.
Unlike most commonly believed the missionaries were highly reluctant in the conversion and working in behalf of the Panchamas. Part of the reason was the Protestant Missionaries wanted to first convert the high caste hindus which they thought will create a domino effect and result in the conversion of the majority of Hindus. And also they were highly uncomfortable with using the realm of material in conversion as they thought that was undermining the spiritual plane. And in most cases it was the Panchamas who approached the Missionaries in issues which they needed help. In this way the Panchamas were able to open a channel to the state with the help of the Missionary bypassing the high caste Hindus. The missionary after the initial reluctance took up the cause of the Panchamas, and the first they tried was acquiring land for the Panchamas and settling them in the form of a cooperative society. The missionary will manage the estate and will also forward loans to the Panchamas already converted to the Christian Faith. In a way the missionary also doubted the Panchamas capability to manage the farm land independently. This was faced with considerable opposition in the country side. The high caste Hindu Mirasdars were genuinely worried with loosing control over the labor and the granting of land was criticized as stepping out of the Religious Neutrality the Queen had promised after the revolt of 1857. This was a very small initiative taken by the missionary and the resultant opposition effectively stalled initiatives for another decade when ideas of what considered Public welfare changed.
The New-Liberal Wave :
In the beginning of the 19th central there was a wave of new liberal wave in Britain which championed for state intervention in public welfare to counter the negative impacts of market economy. This transformed in the Indian context as Panchama welfare. One of the initiatives to give housing sites to Panchamas in the South Presidency. There were varied but strong opposition to the initiative of the government. One of the thing was outright rejection of the argument that the Panchams faced hardship in the current setup and rather it was argued it was a mutual beneficial setup and the government should not interfere with the existing setup. Even a liberal newspaper such as The Hindu argued that interfering with the labor economy will destroy Indian agriculture.
There was also argument that these are done at the behest of the Missionary and the Panchamas are content with the current scheme of things. But in contrast the Panchamas were highly interested in the government scheme and were eager to get house sites to get out of the Mirasdar claims. Violence was let loose on Panchams in various places and innumerable hardships were put on the scheme implementation.
Shifting it to the Social:
The final stage in the Panchama problem was when they started asserting the rights which are granted to any individual belonging to the British empire like access to public roads and wells etc.
This was possible after Dalits were choosen as representative to voice the concerns of Dalits in legislative council. One of the first Dalit representative choosen was M.C Rajah, he spoke in multiple occasions in the legislative council on the everyday hardships faced by Dalits in living their life. In one such incident M.C Rajah brings up the issue of two Panchama men who were forced to get down from a public bus. Although the members were unanimous in condemning it they felt nothing could be done in the realm of the political and work should be done in the social. M.C Raja's plea to punish such acts were turned down and even his plea to cancel the license of the transport company in this issue was turned down. This reluctance of the state in implementing the laws and shifting the ground of the problem to the "Social" from that of the political was the final stages of the Pariah problem.
Rupa concludes that the various problems we see in the handling of the Pariah in still seen even in the present.
The Panchama or the fifth varna were people who lived outside the chathur varna caste system.
They were subjected to inhuman life conditions , living a life of slaves in the feudal agricultural life of India. There were strict strictures which controlled their lives, they were considered untouchable and usage of public resources like streets, water resources and gazing land etc was barred to the people of Panchama caste. The Panchama were tied to the landlords and held no property and were completely dependent on the landlord (Mirasdars) for sustenance. Mostly entire family of Panchamas worked for the Landlords and lived in Ceri(low lying areas which were isolated typically owned by the Mirasdar), they faced constant threat of eviction by the Mirasdars. This is akin to the slave system prevalent in the West which was abolished in the British colonies in the 19th century. So the official introduction to the Pariah problem started with the colonial officials denying the existence of a slave system comparable with that of the West. It was considered to be a gentle servitude with mutual beneficial relationship between the landlord and the Panchama. Hence forth cannot be compared with that of the Western Slave system. This initial reluctance to accept the problem as existing stems forth from two key aspects,
1. The state (represented by the British) had a nexus with the high caste landlords because of the state dependence on them with respect to the revenues. The British in comparison with other rulers
levied heavy taxes on agriculture, hence the underlying system was beneficial to the British.
2. The British administration for its day to day execution of administrative procedures were dependent on the high caste Hindus hence there was a tacit understanding of how the country side works in the Indian Feudal context. The term the author uses to rightly point out the relation is "Caste-State" Nexus.
Land was the major tool in feudal hegomany and access to it was highly guarded. Hence there were rules which effectively prevented the Panchamas to acquire land. Although their capability to accumulate surplus was limited, there were rules like the Darkhast rule which effectively prevented the purchase of land by the Panchama. The rule gives first option to the Mirasdar in buying Poramboke land and the Mirasdar's effectively kept buying land back to prevent Panchamas buying land. In this way the Mirasdar could control the labor and use it to his benefit which is a classic feature of any feudal serfdom.
Missionary and Religious Neutrality.
Unlike most commonly believed the missionaries were highly reluctant in the conversion and working in behalf of the Panchamas. Part of the reason was the Protestant Missionaries wanted to first convert the high caste hindus which they thought will create a domino effect and result in the conversion of the majority of Hindus. And also they were highly uncomfortable with using the realm of material in conversion as they thought that was undermining the spiritual plane. And in most cases it was the Panchamas who approached the Missionaries in issues which they needed help. In this way the Panchamas were able to open a channel to the state with the help of the Missionary bypassing the high caste Hindus. The missionary after the initial reluctance took up the cause of the Panchamas, and the first they tried was acquiring land for the Panchamas and settling them in the form of a cooperative society. The missionary will manage the estate and will also forward loans to the Panchamas already converted to the Christian Faith. In a way the missionary also doubted the Panchamas capability to manage the farm land independently. This was faced with considerable opposition in the country side. The high caste Hindu Mirasdars were genuinely worried with loosing control over the labor and the granting of land was criticized as stepping out of the Religious Neutrality the Queen had promised after the revolt of 1857. This was a very small initiative taken by the missionary and the resultant opposition effectively stalled initiatives for another decade when ideas of what considered Public welfare changed.
The New-Liberal Wave :
In the beginning of the 19th central there was a wave of new liberal wave in Britain which championed for state intervention in public welfare to counter the negative impacts of market economy. This transformed in the Indian context as Panchama welfare. One of the initiatives to give housing sites to Panchamas in the South Presidency. There were varied but strong opposition to the initiative of the government. One of the thing was outright rejection of the argument that the Panchams faced hardship in the current setup and rather it was argued it was a mutual beneficial setup and the government should not interfere with the existing setup. Even a liberal newspaper such as The Hindu argued that interfering with the labor economy will destroy Indian agriculture.
There was also argument that these are done at the behest of the Missionary and the Panchamas are content with the current scheme of things. But in contrast the Panchamas were highly interested in the government scheme and were eager to get house sites to get out of the Mirasdar claims. Violence was let loose on Panchams in various places and innumerable hardships were put on the scheme implementation.
Shifting it to the Social:
The final stage in the Panchama problem was when they started asserting the rights which are granted to any individual belonging to the British empire like access to public roads and wells etc.
This was possible after Dalits were choosen as representative to voice the concerns of Dalits in legislative council. One of the first Dalit representative choosen was M.C Rajah, he spoke in multiple occasions in the legislative council on the everyday hardships faced by Dalits in living their life. In one such incident M.C Rajah brings up the issue of two Panchama men who were forced to get down from a public bus. Although the members were unanimous in condemning it they felt nothing could be done in the realm of the political and work should be done in the social. M.C Raja's plea to punish such acts were turned down and even his plea to cancel the license of the transport company in this issue was turned down. This reluctance of the state in implementing the laws and shifting the ground of the problem to the "Social" from that of the political was the final stages of the Pariah problem.
Rupa concludes that the various problems we see in the handling of the Pariah in still seen even in the present.
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April 28, 2020This book started by showing that both Panchamas and missionaries worked for forms of Christian coexistence. Yet Panchama agency in the conversion process was later denied by many white state officials and caste Hindu advocates as either naive or duplicitous.
Property and caste control is crucial to understanding the slow process of Panchama emancipation from mirasdari lands. Land autonomy for Panchamas was engineered first by the church and later the state. Yet the state found it hard to do so without appearing as favoring Christian conversions of Panchamas. British utilitarian ideology combined with (condescending) social welfarism ran against caste interests of Tamil Nadu. The mirasdari contracts were largely based on the continual indebtedness of Panchamas to the landlords. It is interesting to compare these financial instruments with those used by Banians in the Indian ocean (khiyar) for facilitating slavery in places like Zanzibar. The flexibility of such instruments are often the aftermath of accommodating the social rhythms of slave-based plantations. The rise of English newspapers are also quite an interesting development that may provide further insights into the changing notions of the public in Tamil Nadu and Zanzibar.
Property and caste control is crucial to understanding the slow process of Panchama emancipation from mirasdari lands. Land autonomy for Panchamas was engineered first by the church and later the state. Yet the state found it hard to do so without appearing as favoring Christian conversions of Panchamas. British utilitarian ideology combined with (condescending) social welfarism ran against caste interests of Tamil Nadu. The mirasdari contracts were largely based on the continual indebtedness of Panchamas to the landlords. It is interesting to compare these financial instruments with those used by Banians in the Indian ocean (khiyar) for facilitating slavery in places like Zanzibar. The flexibility of such instruments are often the aftermath of accommodating the social rhythms of slave-based plantations. The rise of English newspapers are also quite an interesting development that may provide further insights into the changing notions of the public in Tamil Nadu and Zanzibar.
February 3, 2022
Eye-opening book. It describes the initiatives taken by the Depressed Castes in the closing decades of the 19th century to free themselvs frall om conditions of servitude imposed on them by the landed castes (mirasdars with a collective right over all the lands in a village), giving rise to the so-called Pariah Problem, and how, through spiritualizing and then socializing caste, the problem was taken out of the realm of politics (where it could be solved by enforcdement of rights) and dropped in the domain of social reform, where "society" itself was expected to solve it through effecting changes in the beliefs and attitudes of caste Hindus. For all the political noises made about the caste issue and all the hand-waving about Ambedkar and Periyar, the Dalit cause is still struck in that limbo, in a state of unstated political disempowerment and at the mercy of caste HIndus, especially the erstwhile landed caste elites who are in control of our politics. The state-caste nexus of the colonial period that was arrayed against the Dalit intersts, which the author set out in great detail, still continues in another form, equally heedless of the history and reality of Dalit lives.
May 18, 2020
A thoroughly researched work, with a strong backing in archival material. Viswanath methodically examines the legal and philosophical arguments and ascriptions that shaped the experiences of this much-maligned demographic in colonial and post-colonial India. The book had a strong focus on demonstrating how the Dalits were (and continue to be) active participants in India's political and religious landscape. The author breaks down the myths of "conversion as salvation" promoted by missionary interests, as well as the myth of "gentle slavery" espoused by caste interests.
January 7, 2021
Essential reading for anyone interested in the relations between caste, capitalism, and colonialism.
August 31, 2017
Rupa Viswanath examines Pariah Problem in India, However -- the title is misleading. It ought to be, Pariah Problem in Tamil Society from 1880's -- Modern times. It seemed to be a big jump talking about India as a whole, there are vast sub-cultures within India, ethnicity. Indians differ on language, ethnicity, caste, religion.
Some highlights of what I learned from the book:
Most Modern people accuse Missionaries of giving material benefits to people who are suffering to convert them. However, I was surprised to find they were reluctant but they took the responsibility of helping them in every area of life.
The author has a vast array of citations, talked to a lot of people. It's a good book to find a reference for sources on Caste issues in Tamil Nadu from 1880's.
You might like this book if you are a scholar, and want to learn about Pariah Problem.
--Deus Vult
Gottfried
Some highlights of what I learned from the book:
Most Modern people accuse Missionaries of giving material benefits to people who are suffering to convert them. However, I was surprised to find they were reluctant but they took the responsibility of helping them in every area of life.
The author has a vast array of citations, talked to a lot of people. It's a good book to find a reference for sources on Caste issues in Tamil Nadu from 1880's.
You might like this book if you are a scholar, and want to learn about Pariah Problem.
--Deus Vult
Gottfried
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