Brahmins as scientists and science as Brahmins’ calling: Caste in an Indian scientific research institute

Thomas, Renny

doi:10.1177/0963662520903690

Cited by 23 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Through thousands of years of practising it, the effect of caste on occupations can be seen today in organizations, with certain professions predominantly practised by certain castes. Brahmins predominate in knowledge-based professions like the STEM occupations, such that some of the premier science and technology institutes are derisively referred to as Iyer Iyengar Institutes (Iyer and Iyengar are two prominent Brahmin last names in South India; Thomas, 2020). In contrast, lower castes predominate in menial, hazardous and ‘unskilled’ work (Varman & Chakrabarti, 2004).…”

Section: Caste As An Institution That Affects Workplacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indian Institute of Technology Chennai), while others (e.g. Indian Institute of Science Bangalore) dedicated a cafeteria to serve only vegetarian food, which came to be seen as an exclusive dining area for Brahmins , even though other cafeterias served both vegetarian and ‘non-vegetarian’ food (Thomas, 2020). Notably, individuals from lower castes often adopt vegetarianism after being promoted to managerial positions (Mahadevan, 2015).…”

Section: Caste As An Institution That Affects Workplacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Caste and Organization Studies: Our Silence Makes Us Complicit

Chrispal¹,

Bapuji

Zietsma

2020

Organization Studies

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The caste system has received scant attention in organization studies, despite persisting over thousands of years, influencing the socioeconomic lives of over a billion people around the world and subjecting over 300 million people to severe socioeconomic discrimination. By overlooking caste, scholars risk conforming subaltern empirics to imperialist knowledge and miss the nuance and complexity that caste can bring to organization studies. We argue that the caste system is an institution that affects the workplace, yet it is difficult to dismantle because of its rooting in bodies and the sacred, which strips away agency. As an institution that is deeply embodied, caste has implications for institutional work, precarious work, and modern slavery. We conclude with a call for scholarly engagement with caste to study its implications in the pursuit of grand challenges and inclusive organizations.

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Section: Caste As An Institution That Affects Workplacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Caste As An Institution That Affects Workplacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caste and Organization Studies: Our Silence Makes Us Complicit

Chrispal¹,

Bapuji

Zietsma

2020

Organization Studies

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“…The caste system, an old and pervasive institution in India, remains a hidden influence in modern scientific institutions (Subramanian 2019; Thomas 2020). Although prestigious scientific institutes espouse a vision of meritocracy, the composition of these institutions is overwhelmingly Brahmin.…”

Section: The Indian Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quotas were introduced for lower castes who were historically denied educational opportunities. This has led to a peculiar paradox: upper caste scientists and technology professionals claim, on the one hand, that caste has no bearing on their accomplishments, which are purely a result of individual merit, and on the other hand, that only Brahmins are naturally suited to scientific occupations (Sur 2011; Thomas 2020).…”

Section: The Indian Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Science–religion Boundaries in Indian Scientific Workplaces

Khalsa¹,

Kalinowski²,

Vaidyanathan³

et al. 2021

Zygon

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Recent social scientific studies have focused on the different ways in which scientists conceive of the relationship between science and religion, conflict, complementary, independent, or some other understanding. However, there is still much less research on scientists' religious lives outside the United States and the United Kingdom. Drawing on data from participant observation, in-depth interviews (N = 80) and nationally representative surveys (N = 1,763) with physicists and biologists in India, we begin to address this gap. We find that even though the majority of scientists report the independence view through our survey, when interviewed they say that religion and scientific work overlap considerably and in distinctive ways from the United States and the United Kingdom. Specifically, Indian scientific institutions (1) seek religious authorization, (2) offer religious accommodation to staff and students, and (3) facilitate selective integration of religion into the workplace. Our article shows how, in spite of scientists' espoused preferences for non-overlapping magisteria and attempts to construct boundaries between religion and science, religion overlaps with science in scientific workplaces.

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‘Migration Under the Glow of Privilege’—Unpacking Privilege and Its Effect on the Migration Experience

Gupta,

Bapuji

2024

J Bus Ethics

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Economic migration is a significant and growing development around the world but has produced unequal outcomes and experiences for marginalized groups. To theoretically explain such inequalities, we argue that integration experiences of immigrants in the host country differ based on the privilege that their demographic category bestows on them (or not). We elucidate our arguments by unpacking the concept of ‘privilege’ to theorize two key sources of privilege—locational and historical—and explain them using the global economic divide (Global North vs. Global South) and local social divides (race and caste). We propose that locational and historical privilege manifest as various types of capital that immigrants carry into their host countries. We juxtapose these two sources of privilege and its levels (low vs. high) to develop a typology of immigrants—Marginalized, Peripheral, Assimilated, and Wanted—that captures differences in migrants’ integration experiences. By shining a light on the systematic differences between immigrants based on privilege, our research brings additional nuance to the scholarship on immigrant workers and inclusive organizations; and broadens avenues to make human resource practices more ethical by taking these differences into account.

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Brahmins as scientists and science as Brahmins’ calling: Caste in an Indian scientific research institute

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Caste and Organization Studies: Our Silence Makes Us Complicit

Caste and Organization Studies: Our Silence Makes Us Complicit

Science–religion Boundaries in Indian Scientific Workplaces

‘Migration Under the Glow of Privilege’—Unpacking Privilege and Its Effect on the Migration Experience

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