Caste and ethnicity in South India: a case study of the Konkani people in Kochi

This article attempts to present the problem of caste and ethnicity in the 2010s based on anthropological and sociological insights applicable to the case study of the Konkani people who inhabit the city of Kochi in southern India. Applying the theory of ethnicity (Natrajan, Reddy) and ethnographic inquiry, the article investigates the question of how in the democratic state of India, having officially abolished the caste system moe than 70 years ago, the caste situation really looks and how it  overlaps with newer identity formations such as ethnicity. Though the framework of caste has been changed, it still can be found in new forms. One of those niches is the Konkani community in he urban environment of Kochi. This paper portrays current ways of cultivating caste in the reality of a democratic state, where the traditional caste system interweaves with the broader national, ethnic, educational, and economic awarenesses, which are of an entirely different nature.