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2013•Unpublished venueRequires access

3. Class, Caste, Colonial Rule, and Resistance: The Revolt of 1857 in India

Hira Singh

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Abstract

The recognition and understanding of precolonial class – and caste structure in India is essential to an understanding of not only the social movements, but of the entire colonial socio-economic formation. Social movements in colonial India, including the Revolt of 1857, were products of the internal dynamics of the existing class - and caste relations. This chapter briefly recapitulates the story of 1857 that is commonplace knowledge. It recounts this story mostly through the writings of Marx (and Engels). The Marxist perspective on 1857 and its aftermath shows the centrality of class – not to the exclusion of caste, but inclusive of it. Therein lies the relevance of Marxism. Keywords:caste; colonial class; colonial resistance; colonial rule; India; Marxism; Revolt of 1857; social movements

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The recognition and understanding of precolonial class – and caste structure in India is essential to an understanding of not only the social movements, but of the entire colonial socio-economic formation. Social movements in colonial India, including the Revolt of 1857, were products of the internal dynamics of the existing class - and caste relations. This chapter briefly recapitulates the story of 1857 that is commonplace knowledge. It recounts this story mostly through the writings of Marx (and Engels). The Marxist perspective on 1857 and its aftermath shows the centrality of class – not to the exclusion of caste, but inclusive of it. Therein lies the relevance of Marxism. Keywords:caste; colonial class; colonial resistance; colonial rule; India; Marxism; Revolt of 1857; social movements

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Available abstract

The recognition and understanding of precolonial class – and caste structure in India is essential to an understanding of not only the social movements, but of the entire colonial socio-economic formation. Social movements in colonial India, including the Revolt of 1857, were products of the internal dynamics of the existing class - and caste relations. This chapter briefly recapitulates the story of 1857 that is commonplace knowledge. It recounts this story mostly through the writings of Marx (and Engels). The Marxist perspective on 1857 and its aftermath shows the centrality of class – not to the exclusion of caste, but inclusive of it. Therein lies the relevance of Marxism. Keywords:caste; colonial class; colonial resistance; colonial rule; India; Marxism; Revolt of 1857; social movements

Key concepts: Caste, Colonialism, Marxist philosophy, Social class, Class (philosophy), Class formation, Sociology, Resistance (ecology)

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