ABSTRACT
The study takes on the dynamics of Brahmin identity in
contemporary Karnataka. The decision to focus on Brahmin
identity is driven by two reasons. One, it is a paradox that while
the figure of the Brahmin has forever haunted all our thinking
on caste, sociological descriptions of this figure, as it gets
configured in modern times, are the hardest to come by. Often
we work with a straw figure of the Brahmin, and surprisingly it
seems to satisfy the requirements of even academic inquiries on
caste. This assertion (concerning the paucity of descriptive
accounts of particular caste contexts) can be made while speaking
of other castes too. Indeed, this is yet another point of departure
for this study that even as we increasingly seem to be presented
with touching certainties and theses on contemporary caste, we
have a receding preoccupation with the need to describe, and
describe sociologically, specific contextually animated
dimensions of being caste. This paucity is so evident that it is
surprising that it has escaped serious reflection.
