Published Paper Details:

Social mobility, movement of people up and down in social ladder is a universal phenomenon. All over the world, people move vertically or horizontally in the social hierarchy. It is through social mobility it is possible to study equality of opportunity in the light of gender, race, ethnicity, birthplace, sexual orientation, class, fertility. Based on the chances to engage in upward mobility process, one can classify society into open & closed or flexible & rigid. In the ancient Indian society under Varna system there was movement of people in the social hierarchy. Only a few individuals with help of their talent and rare traits used improve their social position. However, collective mobility or group mobility was more of less absent. Individual mobility and collective can be achieved only when group boundaries are permeable. However, with the evolution of caste system in the place varna system this social flexibility is lost and many restrictions were imposed on upward mobility of low caste Hindus. However, during the British Rule in India, there were radical changes in the opportunity structure. The introduction of secular education in the place of theological education, formal education in the place of informal education, urbanization, urban ward migration, introduction of railway lines and mass transit facilities helped the some downtrodden communities to improve their social status. Political emancipation in 1947 started a new era in the life of marginal communities. For the first time in the history, state through its constitution helped the mobility of marginal communities and new channels of upward mobility were provided to marginal communities. This paper examines the caste mobility in the light of historical factors.