ABSTRACT
Preliminary analysis of caste history materials obtained in London in 1964 indicates more intracaste struggle in mobility movements than was evident solely on the basis of contemporary information. In "Caste Conferences and National Progress" the author reports that, as a result of the nefarious attempt by the census officials to rank castes, the columns of the Pioneer are filled with fighting over caste precedence. Organized response through the caste association was effective in countering the attack on the fundamental basis of mobility. While people were steadily improving their secular status during the late nineteenth century, British courts ruled that they were Shudras. Undoubtedly, to the Kayasthas and to other castes attempting to change varnas at the turn of the century, the villain for a long time was Mr. H. Risley, who had instituted a ranking of castes in order of their social precedence for the 1901 census.
