Caste, State and Society

Degrees of Democracy in North India

Jagpal Singh

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000196061
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Discrimination & Race Relations
• Index: Social Sciences

This book examines the politics of social, cultural and political recognition of caste groups in North India. It explores the factors that make some castes politically influential, while others continue to remain socially and economically marginalized. The author situates these groups within democracy and utilizes a multicultural framework to understand why and when various castes have sought to achieve recognition and redistributive justice; to what extent different castes have been able to achieve these goals; and how civil society has engaged with these issues. Unlike dominant discourses on caste and democracy, which give primacy to electoral/procedural democracy over the substantive one, this book views the relationship between castes and the state in both dimensions of democracy.

An important addition to the study of caste politics in India, the volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of social exclusion, development studies, minority studies, sociology and social policy, politics, and South Asian studies. It will also be of importance to politicians, policy makers, and civil society activists.

1

SITUATING CASTES

Changing patterns of power relations

Introduction

The central argument of the book suggests that position of a caste in democracy is decided by nature of its relationship with constant and contingent factors (Introduction, Tables 0.1–0.3). Since various layers of this argument run through different chapters of the book, it is imperative to understand the relationships between the castes in my sample and these factors. These relationships have been impacted due to transformation of the rural political economy in western UP and WNE Rajasthan during the mid-1970s–1990s. The transformation is indicated by changes in occupational profile of castes, emergence of new social classes and loosening of the hold of traditional occupations on power relations among castes. These developments have occurred primarily due to the impact of state policies initiated after Independence such as land reforms, green revolution and social welfare policies. The primary site of these developments is local, i.e., village-level power relations which have implications for power relations at all levels – village, district, regional state among castes in the regions of this study, western UP and WNE Rajasthan. Patterns of power relations among castes in both the regions have undergone changes in the light of these developments. The manifestation of the local power relations among castes occur in the following ways: level of castes’ participation in the arbitration of disputes; nature of obeying a collective decision of the village decision-making bodies (non-elected panchayats); exercise of coercion by one caste/caste group over others in relation to free choice of franchise in elections, to women; social behaviour; marriage procession; economic exploitation (to do begar/forced labour); visits to caste/caste group/resourceful persons in the village by the personnel of local administration – patwari, VLW, police, election officials, education officials, etc. At the village level, there are four patterns about these changes: first, complete shift of the power from the erstwhile dominant castes to the lower castes; second, partial erosion in the dominance of traditionally influential castes; third, continuation of dominance of the erstwhile dominant castes or marginal shift in it and, fourth, replacement of traditional dominant castes by the state agencies – police and court in arbitration of caste disputes. In my sample, the first three patterns exist in western UP, while all the four patterns exist in WNE Rajasthan. Regarding the first pattern, in some villages of western UP, Jatavs (Dalits), Sainis (MBCs) or several low castes collectively have completely replaced or challenged the dominance of traditional dominant castes (Jats and Rajputs); in Rajasthan, Jats (intermediary caste) have replaced the dominance of Rajputs. About the second pattern, in the villages of western UP, a partial shift is reflected in the fact that the traditional dominant caste such as Rajput shares power-space with the MBC and Dalits – in the earlier period, this space was monopolized by Rajputs; in some villages of Rajasthan, the dominance of traditional dominant castes – Jats has been partially challenged by Dalits. Regarding the third pattern, dominance of Jats and Rajputs in western UP, and that of Rajputs in WNE Rajasthan continues in several villages without or with marginal erosion in it. About the fourth pattern, in Rajasthan, the dominance of traditional caste, Rajputs has been replaced by the state machinery – police and court or civil society organizations.

The chapter seeks to explain the nature of relationships between castes in my sample and the constant and contingent factors and their implications for the patterns of power relations among castes: why in some villages of western UP low castes, Jatavs (Dalits) and Sainis, and MBC have emerged as influential castes in local power relations replacing the erstwhile dominant castes such as Jats or Muslim high castes (erstwhile landlords); why in some areas of Rajasthan Jats have emerged as a new dominant caste replacing the Rajput’s dominance; why there is change in power relations between Dalits (Meghwals or Bairwas) and Jats or erosion in power of the latter in some villages; why in some areas of WNE Rajasthan, there is no change in power relations between low castes and traditional high castes (Rajputs) or why the state agencies have replaced the local communities as arbitrators.

In line with the central argument of the book, the chapter argues that complete or partial change in favour of lower castes (MBCs, Dalits, Jats in Rajasthan as intermediary castes in relation to high castes) has occurred in those villages where a positive relationship exists between these castes and the contingent factors: the lower castes in such villages have substantial numerical strength, have formed effective political community, and are economically independent of the erstwhile dominant castes. In such areas, the position of the lower castes has further been strengthened due to the impact of all or some of the contingent factors – impact of historical legacies, loosening of traditional ties, emergence of new social groups, impact of ideas of Ambedkar, intra/inter-caste conflicts and cross-caste alliances. In these villages, such factors cumulatively dilute the influence of the erstwhile dominant castes. The power relations have not changed the villages where constant and contingent factors are positively related to erstwhile dominant castes, and contingent factors have not adversely affected the impact of constant factors. And the state agencies police and court, have replaced the traditional dominant castes as arbitrators of disputes in a village because here one party in the dispute approached the state, and the influential castes are no longer interested to arbitrate. The chapter also seeks to situate the position of caste/caste groups in power relations in the context changes in time and space. The context of time is reflected in social transformation which has taken place in the society since the mid-1970s in terms of occupational diversification, rise of new social classes and the loosening of traditional bonds. The context of space is indicated by the areas/villages inhabited by castes. Each PIC (Politically Influential Caste) has substantial population in a particular area/group of villages generally known as the ‘caste belt’ or ‘caste bastion’ of such castes, i.e., such as ‘Jat belt’, ‘Jat Bastion’, ‘Dalit belt’, ‘Dalit bastion’, ‘Rajput belts’, ‘Rajput bastion’, etc. In such areas, the power relations are generally tilted in favour of a caste in its ‘belt’ or ‘bastion’, and the influential castes have positive relations with the constant and contingent factors. Other castes, especially Dalits and MBCs residing in the ‘belts’ or ‘bastion’ of an influential caste generally live under the dominance of the latter.

The chapter has been divided into seven sections. Section I concerns itself with the definitions and characteristics of the caste groups and the caste profiles of the study areas. Section II deals with castes’ relationships with constant factors, explains what makes some castes Politically Influential Castes (PICs) and others as Politically Marginalized Castes (PIMs) and situates them in the regional contexts. Sections III–V discuss the contingent factors: Section III discusses historical legacies of agrarian relations, i.e., the placement of different castes in the agrarian structures of the two regions, and the unequal nature of the cultural codes that existed among different castes; Section IV is about the changes in the political economy since the last decade of the twentieth century and their impact on the occupational patterns of castes in western UP and the Marwar and Shekhawati regions of Rajasthan/WNE Rajasthan. Section V focusses on the nature of conflicts and competition between different castes (inter-caste/caste groups and intra-caste/caste groups). Section VI discusses the socio-economic conditions of the MBCs. Section VII explains the changes in patterns of power relations among castes in villages of western UP and WNE Rajasthan.

I

Meanings and characteristics of castes/caste groups

Before I proceed, it will be useful to clarify the meanings and definitions of the terms used: high castes, Dalits/SCs, intermediary castes/upper OBCs, and MBCs. The Scheduled castes and the MBCs, which are clubbed into the caste groups, consist of the several single castes of my sample which are in fact vulnerable castes. Grouping these castes collectively is indeed a sociological exercise, because they have not yet become a politically assertive/influential group in the sense of a single caste unlike the Jats, Rajputs or Brahmins. However, as I shall discuss in Chapter 3, on certain occasions these castes, especially MBCs, have tended to form federations of their caste associations. This is, however, only one dimension of their politics; most of them still operate as single-caste units. Here, I shall explain how constant and/or contingent factors make the castes in my sample – Dal...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Preface
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Situating castes: changing patterns of power relations
• 2 Caste-Based Public Intellectuals (CBPIs)
• 3 Quest for recognition: social and cultural assertion
• 4 Political parties and castes: politics of accommodation
• 5 Castes, party preferences and politics of recognition
• 6 Public action, castes, and the state
• Conclusion
• Appendix I: A select CBPIs: biographical notes
• Appendix II: Caste specific policies/programmes of regimes* in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan (1989–2015)
• Bibliography
• Index