ABSTRACT
Using caste as a lens for analysis, this chapter traces the change in self-understanding of Hindus and Christians in the colonial period and its impact on postcolonial relations between Hindus and Christians. Dominant agents, Hindu and Christian, have historically attempted to objectify othered subjects using caste (varna-jati) as a marker. The chapter chooses Dalits as a case in point of such othered subjects. However, because subjects exercise agency and cannot be objectified and contained, any attempt to objectify subjects causes accidents. By defining caste as a category of power used to establish hierarchy, status, and control through tactile and epistemological modes of operation, this chapter describes accidents in attempts to objectify othered subjects and their impact on Hindu–Christian relations.
