Caste and Democratic Politics in India

Front Cover
Ghanshyam Shah
Anthem, 2004 - Caste - 363 pages
The Indian constitution seeks to prevent the perpetuation of caste and build a casteless social system. But in over half a century since Indian independence, this has not been achieved and does not seem likely in the near future. Therefore, no understanding of Indian politics is possible without a thorough understanding of the complexities of the caste system. The aim of this four-part book is to bring about such an understanding. It begins by examining the various meanings attached to the notion of caste. The essay and book extracts in this first section include classic writings on caste such as those by G S Ghurye, Louis Dumont, Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar. The second part consists of essays that demonstrate the relationship between caste and power. The third part comprises material that investigates caste and various Indian political practices on the ground. The fourth, on caste and social transformation, includes discussion on one of the most salient topics in contemporary Indian politics, namely, the issue of reservations for socially backward castes.

Contents

Introduction
27
The Theory of the Varna
44
Caste Must
56
RamManohar Lohia on Caste in Indian Politics
79
Caste Class and Property Relations
100
Introduction
125
Social Reality and Political Representations
158
The Kshatriyas of Gujarat
176
Introduction
201
The BJP and Backward Castes in Gujarat
220
New Phase in Backward Caste Politics in Bihar 19902000
235
Dalit Assertion through Electoral Politics
269
Introduction
295
The AntiCaste Movement and the Discourse of Power
316
Copyright

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About the author (2004)

Ghanshyam Shah is Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has edited and written numerous books and essays on the subject of class, caste and politics in India.

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