The process by which these castes are grouped together in a hierarchy and converge linguistically and religiously is known as
Sanskritization because Sanskritic language culture is associated with the elites: it does not necessarily mean the adoption of Sanskrit by a population; many groups speaking a variety of languages from divergent linguistic families have “Sanskritized,” or become refined, perfected.
Sanskritization is a process of social change and cultural assimilation that was particularly prevalent as a form of acculturation in ancient and medieval India whereby groups, particularly new or lower castes in a society emulate the rituals and practices of upper castes, or whereby local elites transform their social structures so as to emulate the classical varna and jati system that was first established in northern India. Sanskritization has been described as similar to the social phenomenon known in the West as
passing, in which individuals try to pass off as socially higher than they may be. While Sanskritization of unassimilated tribes and groups occurred mostly in ancient India, the process is still continuing in parts of Nepal and Northeast India that recently came under Hindu influence.
The relatively recent
Sanskritization of Manipur, now a state in northeast India bordering Myanmar is an illuminating example of Sanskritization. In the early 18th century, the king of this formerly tribal entity, linguistically and ethnically more similar to the Burmese than to Indo-Aryan and Dravidian Indians, invited preachers from the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism from nearby Bengal to his kingdom. This “brought about a unification of Manipuri social life with the mainstream Hindu society based on caste distinction. The system of…worship of the Vedic deities and Aryan religion rituals entered Manipuri social life as the people embraced Vaishnavism in the leadership of the king.” It is evident that the process of Sanskritization was usually elite-driven:
Indian culture, as well as some Indian DNA has also entered Southeast Asia as a result of similar, elite-driven processes, as the arrival of traders and Brahmins in places like Cambodia and Indonesia led to the adoption of some aspects of Indian cultures by nobles and chiefs in those areas, though not the formal establishment of a caste system.
The human diversity of the Indian subcontinent is truly amazing.
thediplomat.com
