As one of the major pillars of Indian social structure, the caste system distinguishes Indian culture from all other cultures of the world. Though the Constitution of India assures equality of status and opportunity for all citizens and various academic and political discourses also appealed for the complete eradication of the caste system, it has not been eradicated even after five decades of democracy. In this context, it becomes really interesting to re-examine the views on caste as reflected in Jawaharlal Nehru’s prose writings. Nehru’s major prose works unquestionably delineate his concern for caste. Focusing mainly on An Autobiography and the Discovery of India, this article seeks to examine the different representations of caste in his prose works and will also try to locate the gaps and the shifts underlying his views on caste.

作为印度社会结构的主要支柱之一，种姓制度将印度文化与世界上所有其他文化区分开来。尽管印度宪法确保所有公民享有平等的地位和机会，各种学术和政治言论也呼吁彻底根除种姓制度，但即使在民主五十年后，也没有根除它。在这种情况下，重新审视贾瓦哈拉尔·尼赫鲁（Jawaharlal Nehru）散文中反映出的种姓观点就变得非常有趣。尼赫鲁的主要散文作品无疑描述了他对种姓的关注。主要侧重于自传和印度的发现，本文旨在研究种姓在其散文作品中的不同表现形式，并试图找出其种姓观念背后的空白和转变。