RESEARCH COMMUNICATION.

The article presents short articles and reports about ongoing research related to comparative sociology. A great amount of literature has appeared on the Indian caste system. In the United States, the caste theory has divided sociologists into two groups One group headed by W.L. Warner has considered the relationship of the Negro and white populations in the United States as a form of the caste system. The other group of the caste theorists including Charles C. Johnson present arguments against applying the term "caste" to both India and the United States. Although Charles C. Johnson sees many similarities in the social stratification system in the United States and the caste system of India, he still objects to identifying both systems as a caste. An attempt will be made to examine the validity of the arguments raised by these American caste theorists and to inquire further whether the objections raised by them are appropriate to the social system in changing India. It is not quite clear whether these caste theorists mean to say that a person cannot change his social status, or that transition from one caste to another is not possible. It is relatively true that people cannot change their caste status which is hereditary, but they may nevertheless rise in social status. Socioeconomic mobility in the "actual caste system" of modern India is not only possible within castes, but across levels of castes. Unfortunately this has not been possible in the United States because of the conspicuous visibility of color. No doubt a Negro may aspire to and achieve a position of high social status, but life chance differentials tend to restrict both his spatial and social mobility. His mobility is largely within the limits of segregation.