M N Srinivas had defined dominant caste in terms of six attributes placed in conjunction:
(1) Sizeable amount of arable land;
(2) Strength of numbers;
(3) High place in the local hierarchy;
(4) Western education;
(5) Jobs in the administration; and
(6) Urban sources of income.
Of the above attributes of the dominant caste, the following three are important:
(i) numerical strength,
(ii) economic power through ownership of land, and
(iii) political power.
