The Personality of India: Pre- and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan c10.121

c10.121

Similarly in the field of social institutions, we see the same operation of vertical and horizontal unity as explained by M. N. Srinivas.¹ On the one hand we have the horizontal unity between the higher castes of the sub-continent, and at the same time, each of these castes has a distinct unity with the other castes of their respective regions, which he calls the 'vertical unity'. "The caste structure in India" writes Harrison, "divides into a series of regional caste structures, all threaded loosely together within the all embracing hierarchy of Hindu society. By and large, the linguistic boundary is the caste boundary; caste is essentially a regional affair. The cast affiliation limits interdining and intermarriage to a native linguistic regional group".²