Kinship refers to the social recognition of relations based on consanguinity and affinity. Rajni Paliwal - Kinship is getting replaced by friendship.
Pauline Kolenda - kin based in urban areas often act as 'launch pads' for their rural kin into the urban way of life such as in education and jobs.
Ram Ahuja - gradual shift taking place from affinal and fraternal obligations to marital obligations.
Since caste endogamy is the rule, one’s kin normally belong to one’s caste. Intra-caste relations and other caste matters are regulated by a caste panchayat whose members belong to different villages. In pre-British India, the horizontal expansion of caste ties was limited by the political boundaries of a number of small kingdoms as well as poor roads and communication. With the unification of the country brought about by the British and the introduction of better roads and railways, cheap postage and printing, there was a rapid spread in intra-caste relations because it was easier to keep in regular touch with each other.
Caste associations were formed which worked for the welfare of caste members. Educational institutions and hostels were set up and scholarships were provided to the needy members of the caste. Each caste also worked at regulating the lifestyle of its members so that the attempt at mobility of the caste, through Sanskritization could be successful.
In the last sixty years or more, horizontal unity of the caste has increased and the strong walls erected between sub-castes have begun to crumble. This is primarily due to two factors. (i) Since numbers are important in a parliamentary democracy, horizontal unity of caste over a wide area provides a ‘vote bank’ that can ensure the election of a candidate from one’s caste. (ii) The need to find educated life partners for one’s children and the demand for dowry particularly among the higher castes has widened the endogamous circle and increased the horizontal spread of caste ties.
Thus, the village has always had ties with other villages and towns for kinship and caste purposes. This was limited in pre-British India when communication was poor and small kingdoms existed whose boundaries acted as effective barriers. The horizontal spread of caste ties greatly increased during British rule and since Independence it linked the village to a much wider area.