Caste Rejection

The rejection of caste is the focal point of Moorthy's movement and the conflict in Kanthapura. He is described early in the book as “one of these Gandhi-men, who say there is neither caste nor clan nor family” (9). His rejection of traditional caste hierarchy and the acceptance of Gandhi's vision for equality leads the people of Kanthapura into conflict. Initially, many of the villagers fear Moorthy's new philosophies, citing "his kitchen-she friends and all this bragging city-talk" (15). The Brahmins of Kanthapura believe that he is polluting the village by rejecting traditional caste divisions. It is clear to the reader that caste divisions fundamentally make up the literal landscape of the community: people live in areas of similar castes and there exist rules of interaction among people of different castes. For many of the upper-class Brahmins, such mixing and rejection of caste threaten their very understanding...