Capital, Habitus and Symbolic Violence: A Bourdieusian Analysis of Mode of Reproductions in Indian Schools

This paper uses the Bourdieusian notion of capital, habitus and symbolic violence to understand how schools in India operate as critical sites for social and cultural reproduction. The paper reveals the hierarchical nature of Indian education, characterised by a history of inequities of caste, class, gender, region and language. It benefits students who have the cultural capital that corresponds to the middle-class habitus and marginalises others. The paper also recognising the limitations of Bourdieu’s approach and its further prospects. Schools also transforms inter and intra generational privileges through pedagogy, assessment, and curriculum into educational success. This paper demonstrates that Indian schools become a counter-reproductive spaces through student agency, teacher innovations, and also through policy interventions. The paper advocates for developing what has been called a universal pedagogy that is not biased in favour of middle-class habitus. It makes schools accessible to everyone.