---
title: "Homo Hierarchicus: Dumont's Caste Theory | Model Diplomat"
description: "Homo Hierarchicus is Louis Dumont's theory that the Indian caste system is structured by the ideological opposition of the pure and the impure."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/homo-hierarchicus-louis-dumont"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed July 7, 2026

TL;DR

- Homo Hierarchicus is Louis Dumont's 1966 structuralist theory holding that the Indian caste system is organized by a single ideological principle, the opposition of the pure and the impure.
- What is the central thesis of Homo Hierarchicus?
- How does Dumont distinguish status from power?
- What are the main criticisms of Homo Hierarchicus?
- How does Dumont's view differ from M. N. Srinivas's?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated July 7, 2026

Homo Hierarchicus is Louis Dumont's 1966 structuralist theory holding that the Indian caste system is organized by a single ideological principle, the opposition of the pure and the impure.

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In 1966 the French sociologist Louis Dumont published Homo Hierarchicus, drawing on his fieldwork among the Pramalai Kallar of Tamil Nadu to argue that caste is organized by the opposition of the pure and the impure.

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