https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.056
Between Bhakti and Hierarchy: Caste in the NeoVaishnavite Tradition of Assam
KAIBYASREE TAMULI
Research Scholar
Department of History, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India
kabyashree.history@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0922-4725
RAJIB HANDIQUE
Professor
Department of History, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India
rajibhandique@gauhati.ac.in
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9780-0650
Abstract: The Neo-Vaishnavite movement in Assam has long been viewed as socially ‘egalitarian.’ Its emphasis on bhakti (devotion) as being open to all, irrespective of caste or creed, has often been interpreted as evidence of a broader challenge to caste-based social distinctions. This reformist image was consolidated in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Assamese intellectuals represented Sankardeva as a ‘reformer’ and Neo-Vaishnavism as the foundation of a unified Assamese identity. Consequently, much of the existing scholarship continues to portray the movement as inherently ‘egalitarian’ and as transcending caste. This has left relatively little attention to the distinctive social order that emerged within the Neo-Vaishnavite tradition.
The study therefore interrogates this dominant narrative through a critical reading of the Neo-Vaishnavite hagiographies, the Carita-Puthis alongside the canonical compositions of Sankardeva and Madhabdeva, particularly the Kirtan-Ghosha and the Nam-Ghosha. While these texts affirm the inclusive ideals of bhakti, they also reflect a social order in which equality was conditioned by adherence to sectarian norms and ritual practices. They further prescribe distinct forms of social conduct towards those who did not conform to, or remained outside the Vaishnavite community. These norms continue to shape the practices of many Vaishnavite institutions today. By examining the canonical texts and hagiographies alongside contemporary practices, the paper argues how the widely accepted perception of the movement is shaped by modern processes of identity formation in the backdrop of a socially structured and hierarchical order.
Keywords: Caste, Hagiography, Neo-Vaishnavism, Assam, Assamese Identity
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