Caste Based Poitics in India
Is India a
‘Caste Democracy’?
Introduction: Caste based politics in India
Though the idea that caste is a part of a natural and moral order of things, that it is a hereditary quality which once for all defines ones position and occupational affiliation and which is associated with a particular law of conduct is rejected both by intellectuals and political leaders, caste is in Indian post independence politics continually used and abused in different ways.
State politics in India has been particularly the hot bed of political casteism. Caste enters much more directly into the composition of political elites at the state level. For example the mysore cabinet is dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaliga, the Maharashtra Cabinet by Marathas, and some have refereed to the Madras Cabinet as a federation of dominant backward castes.
And though the Indian constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, the caste system, in various forms does continue to play a major role in Indian society and politics. A striking feature of the Indian democratic experiment has been the increasing use of reservations to achieve greater social justice and equality of opportunity. Much of this has occurred due to the shifting balance of power across demographics.
Since the 1950s, political power has been shifting away from upper caste Hindus to the rest, who are far more numerous. From a society where politics once held a marginal public role, India has become an intensely political society. By the 1970s, for instance, many Shudra castes—located above the outcastes—had gained enough economic and political clout to become a powerful ‘vote bank’. They now aspired to a larger share of administrative and educational opportunities, where they were underrepresented. Some of the largest and best-organized Shudra castes were the ‘Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Jats in Haryana and Punjab, Marathas in Maharashtra, Vokkaligas in Karnataka, and Gounders in Tamil Nadu.’
And during the recent
‘Caste Democracy’?
Introduction: Caste based politics in India
Though the idea that caste is a part of a natural and moral order of things, that it is a hereditary quality which once for all defines ones position and occupational affiliation and which is associated with a particular law of conduct is rejected both by intellectuals and political leaders, caste is in Indian post independence politics continually used and abused in different ways.
State politics in India has been particularly the hot bed of political casteism. Caste enters much more directly into the composition of political elites at the state level. For example the mysore cabinet is dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaliga, the Maharashtra Cabinet by Marathas, and some have refereed to the Madras Cabinet as a federation of dominant backward castes.
And though the Indian constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, the caste system, in various forms does continue to play a major role in Indian society and politics. A striking feature of the Indian democratic experiment has been the increasing use of reservations to achieve greater social justice and equality of opportunity. Much of this has occurred due to the shifting balance of power across demographics.
Since the 1950s, political power has been shifting away from upper caste Hindus to the rest, who are far more numerous. From a society where politics once held a marginal public role, India has become an intensely political society. By the 1970s, for instance, many Shudra castes—located above the outcastes—had gained enough economic and political clout to become a powerful ‘vote bank’. They now aspired to a larger share of administrative and educational opportunities, where they were underrepresented. Some of the largest and best-organized Shudra castes were the ‘Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Jats in Haryana and Punjab, Marathas in Maharashtra, Vokkaligas in Karnataka, and Gounders in Tamil Nadu.’
And during the recent