Showing papers on "Caste published in 2004"

Belief systems and durable inequalities : an experimental investigation of Indian caste

Abstract: If discrimination against an historically oppressed social group is dismantled, will the group forge ahead? The authors present experimental evidence that a history of social and legal disabilities may have persistent effects on a group's earnings through its impact on individuals' expectations. In the first experiment, 321 high-caste and 321 low-caste junior high school male student volunteers in rural India performed the task of solving mazes under economic incentives. There were no caste differences in performance when caste was not publicly revealed, but making caste salient created a large and robust caste gap. When a nonhuman factor influencing rewards (a random draw) was introduced, the caste gap disappeared. To test whether the low caste's anticipation of prejudicial treatment caused the caste gap, the authors conducted a second experiment that manipulated the scope for discretion in rewarding performance. When the link between performance and payoffs was purely mechanical, making caste salient did not affect behavior. Instead, it was in the case where there was scope for discretion and judgment in rewarding performance that making caste salient had an effect. The results suggest that when caste identity is salient, low-caste subjects expect that others will judge them prejudicially. Mistrust undermines motivation. The experimental design enables the authors to exclude as explanations of the caste gap in performance socioeconomic differences and a lack of self-confidence by low-caste participants.

Degrees without Freedom: The Impact of Formal Education on Dalit Young Men in North India

Abstract: This article considers the capacity of formal education to undermine established processes of caste and class reproduction in an area of north India, with particular reference to the views and strategies of educated Dalit young men. It draws on quantitative and qualitative research conducted by the authors in a village in Bijnor district, western Uttar Pradesh (UP). We discuss how educated Dalit young men perceive education, how they seek to use educational credentials to obtain ‘respectable’ jobs, and how they react when this strategy fails. Increased formal education has given Dalit young men a sense of dignity and confidence at the village level. However, these men are increasingly unable to convert this ‘cultural capital’ into secure employment. This has created a reproductive crisis which is manifest in an emerging culture of masculine Dalit resentment. In response to this culture, Dalit parents are beginning to withdraw from investing money in young mens’ higher secondary and tertiary-level education. Without a substantial redistribution in material assets within society, development initiatives focused on formal education are likely to be only partially successful in raising the social standing and economic position of subordinate groups.

Development without Institutions: Ersatz Medicine and the Politics of Everyday Life in Rural North India

Abstract: In north India, unregulated medical practice is considered by many to be a sign of the failure of institutional rationality and “backward” quality of rural life. However, the work of self-made doctors can also be seen to engage key elements of institutional rationality as it is interwoven with the structure and ethos of development. This article explores what these practitioners and their work suggest about the imagination of institutions in rural India and the kinds of power this invokes. Through mimesis of key practices (namely, forms of talk and use of injections), self-made doctors tap into the authority of legitimate institutions to occupy lacunae in state health structures and redress (even as they reproduce) effects of privatization and repeated temporary health measures. At the same time, everyday elements of these practices demonstrate that institutional legitimacy can only be borrowed by those already in positions of authority (on the basis of caste status and political leadership), challenging ideals of equality that underlie health-related development efforts.

The Essential Writings of B. R. Ambedkar

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: ESSENTIAL WRITINGS LIFE SKETCH THE WORKS OF AMBEDKAR RELEVANCE OF AMBEDKAR TODAY REMINISCENCE: ON THE WAY TO GOREGAON CONCEPTS: RELIGION AND DHAMMA DEMOCRACY FRANCHISE REPRESENTATION REPRESENTATION OF MINORITIES UNTOUCHABILITY CASTE AND CLASS METHODOLOGY: ON PROVINCIAL FINANCE ON UNTOUCHABLES IDEOLOGY: RANADE, GANDHI AND JINNAH CASTE, CLASS AND DEMOCRACY GANDHISM BUDDHA OR KARL MARX RELIGION: KRISHNA AND HIS GITA THE BUDDHA AND HIS PREDECESSORS DOES THE BUDDHA HAVE A SOCIAL MESSAGE? CONVERSION ( AWAY FROM THE HINDUS ) CASTE: CASTES IN INDIA: THEIR ORIGIN. MECHANISM AND DEVELOPMENT ANNIHILATION OF CASTE REPLY TO THE MAHATMA UNTOUCHABILITY:OUTSIDE THE FOLD FROM MILLIONS TO FRACTIONS THE UNTOUCHABLES AND THE PAX BRITANNICA AN ANTI-UNTOUCHABILITY AGENDA POLITICAL SAFEGUARDS FOR DEPRESSED CLASSES IDENTITY: WHO ARE THE SUDRAS? ORIGIN OF UNTOUCHABILITY ECONOMICS: THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE SCOPE OF PROVINCIAL FINANCE THE SILVER STANDARD A ND THE EVILS OF ITS INSTABILITY NATIONALISM:IS THERE A CASE FOR PAKISTAN? ( A NATIONALITY CALLING FOR A HOME ) CONSTITUTIONALSIM AND LAW: BASIC FEATURES OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION THE HINDU CODE BILL FURTHER READING SOURCES OF SELECTION CHRONOLOGY GLOSSARY INDEX

An Anthropological Analysis of Local Politics and Patronage in a Pakistani Village

Abstract: Asymmetrical power relationships are found throughout Pakistan’s Punjabi and Pukhtun communities. These relationships must be examined as manifestations of cultural continuity rather than as separate structures. The various cultures of Pakistan display certain common cultural features which suggest a re-examination of past analytical divisions of tribe and peasant societies. This book looks at the ways power is expressed, accumulated and maintained in three social contexts: kinship, caste, and political relationships. These are embedded within a collection of ‘hybridising’ cultures. Socialisation within kin groups provides the building blocks for Pakistani asymmetrical relationships, which may be understood as a form of patronage. As these social building blocks are transferred to non-kin contexts, the patron/client aspects are more easily identified and studied. State politics and religion are examined for the ways in which these patron/client roles are enacted on much larger scales but remain embedded within the cultural values underpinning those roles.

Sikhism and the caste question: Dalits and their politics in contemporary Punjab:

Abstract: Caste has invariably been seen in unitary terms, as a pan-Indian reality without any significant variations in its structure or ideology. While it was sanctioned through some Hindu scriptural sources, other Indian religious communities, 100, were believed to support the idea of hierarchy and practice caste in everyday life, albeit to a lesser degree. Despite scholarly criticisms of such theories and the many changes that caste has undergone over time, this view of caste has largely prevailed. This happens partly because the idea of caste has become embedded in the idea of India as a nation: caste is taken as proof of India's cultural continuity and a stable past .Taking a cue from a recent case of conflict between Ad-Dharmis and Jats in a village of Punjab over the question of representation in the management of a religious shrine, the article looks at caste in relation to Sikhism and in the regional context of contemporary Indian Punjab. I have tried to argue that, as in the case of other structures of s...

Caste in question : identity or hierarchy?

Abstract: Introduction - Dipankar Gupta The Certitudes of Caste: When Identity Trumps Hierarchy Caste Panchayats and the Policing of Marriage in Haryana - Prem Chowdhry Enforcing Kinship and Territorial Exogamy `We (Yadavs) Are a Caste of Politicians' - Lucia Michelutti Caste and Modern Politics in a North Indian Town Jains, Caste and Hierarchy in North Gujarat - John E Cort Hierarchy, Difference and the Caste System - Gaurang R Sahay A Study of Rural Bihar Replication or Dissent? Culture and Institutions Among `Untouchable' Scheduled Castes in Karnataka - G K Karanth Sikhism and the Caste Question - Surinder S Jodhka Dalits and Their Politics in Contemporary Punjab Inventing Caste History - Badri Narayan Dalit Mobilisation and Nationalist Past `The Bedias are Rajputs' - Anuja Agrawal Caste Consciousness of a Marginal Community

'We (Yadavs) are a caste of politicians': Caste and modern politics in a north Indian town

Abstract: This article is an ethnographic exploration of the inter-locking relationships between politics, popular democracy, religion and caste/community formation in a North Indian town. This investigation is carried out through an analysis of the culture of political par ticipation of a community of Yadavs in Mathura town, western Uttar Pradesh. The Yadavs were traditionally a low- to middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states like Bihar) in the last thirty years. The article demonstrates how the successful formation of a Yadav community , and the political activism of its members in Mathura, are partly linked to their descent view of caste, folk theories of religious descent, factionalism, and finally to their cultural understanding of 'the past' and 'the political'. It is concluded that Yadav socio-religious organisation directly and indirectly helped the Yadav community to adapt to the modern political world.

Introduction: The certitudes of caste: When identity trumps hierarchy

Abstract: butioits to Indian sociology should have a special nuntber on caste, especially because so much interesting work is being done on it by scholars in India and abroad. Quite fortuitously we began to get a set of articles on caste and slowly the number began to take shape. Fortuitously again, these articles centred around the issue of caste identity, which is what made it so much easier to package this special number. It was also Patricia ’

Producing hi-tech: globalization, the state and migrant subjects

Abstract: This paper examines the role of the state in the context of globalization. Taking up the specific case of Indian software engineers and their migration to the USA, the authors show the involvement of the Indian state and the US at different levels. The growth of the IT labour sector was based on changes in the higher education policy of the Indian state while the large-scale migration of IT workers from India required changes in the immigration policies of the US. The authors argue that these policy changes reflect how nation-states alter their national policies to meet the demands of the global economy. Equally important, the authors show that the policy changes are indicative of the unique political context and culture of each country. In the case of India, the education policy changes relate to caste politics while the immigration policy of the USA shares the legacy of US race politics.

Genetic structure of four socio-culturally diversified caste populations of southwest India and their affinity with related Indian and global groups.

Abstract: Background A large number of microsatellites have been extensively used to comprehend the genetic diversity of different global groups. This paper entails polymorphism at 15 STR in four predominant and endogamous populations representing Karnataka, located on the southwest coast of India. The populations residing in this region are believed to have received gene flow from south Indian populations and world migrants, hence, we carried out a detailed study on populations inhabiting this region to understand their genetic structure, diversity related to geography and linguistic affiliation and relatedness to other Indian and global migrant populations.

Social inequalities in health and nutrition in selected states.

Abstract: While a large number of primary health centers and subcentres have been created as part of the governments Health for All programme surveys such as NFHS 1 and 2 reveal that health services either do not reach disadvantaged sections or are not accessed by them. This paper assesses the extent of inequalities in health care and nutritional status across states with a focus on caste and tribe. It examines how far these inequalities are a result of caste/tribe per se or whether they can be attributed to differential economic and educational conditions of individuals belonging to different caste/tribe categories. (authors)

The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism: Mournings

Abstract: This article maps the incursion of Hindu nationalism in Orissa, eastern India. It interrogates Hindu cultural dominance and nationalist mobilization as it gains momentum in the state. It speaks to majoritarianism in the context of liberal development, the related apparatus of nation making, mediated by issues of religion, caste, class, culture, tribe and gender. The text, as history of a discontinuous present, offers counter-narratives of lives often reduced to ‘lack’ or ‘spectacle’, reciting minority-subaltern claims in rethinking nation, rights and difference.

Gendering colour: identity femininity and marriage in Kerala.

Abstract: This paper uses ethnographic material on the Christian middle class in the South Indian state of Kerala to explore the significance of skin colour as symbolic capital for marriage and dowry negotiations. Within the social contours of caste community and marriage circles fair-skin colour and other female embellishments operate as "boundary markers" to accentuate marital caste and class positions and feminine gender identity. South Indian and South Asian perceptions of "fair skin colour" as a defining feature of female beauty ideals and feminine gender identity incorporate other related qualities such as health and moral conduct. Skin colour along with dowry negotiations serves to disempower women both symbolically and materially in the matter of their own marriages. (authors)

Genetic heterogeneity in northeastern India: reflection of Tribe-Caste continuum in the genetic structure.

Abstract: We critically examined the gene frequency data for 11 genetic markers commonly available in the literature for 22 populations of northeastern India in the light of their geographic, linguistic, and ethnic affiliations. The markers investigated were three blood groups (A1A2BO, MNS, and Rh), four serum proteins (KM, Gc, Hp, and Tf), and four enzyme systems (AP, AK, EsD, and Hb). The neighbor-joining tree and multidimensional scaling of the distance matrix suggest relatively high genetic differentiation among the Mongoloid groups, with probably diverse origins when compared to the Caucasoid Indo-European populations, which had probably come from relatively more homogeneous backgrounds. Broadly speaking, the pattern of population affinities conforms to the ethno-historic, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds. An interesting and important feature that emerges from this analysis is the reflection of the effect of the sociological process of a Tribe–Caste continuum on genetic structure. While on one end we have the cluster of Caucasoid caste populations, the other end consists of Mongoloid tribal groups. In between are the populations which were originally tribes but now have become semi-Hinduized caste groups, viz., Rajbanshi, Chutiya, and Ahom. These groups have currently assumed caste status and speak Indo-European languages. Therefore, one may infer that what appears to be a purely sociological phenomenon of a Tribe–Caste continuum may well reflect in their genetic structure. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:334–345, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Becoming Maya: Ethnicity and Social Inequality in Yucatán since 1500

Abstract: In Mexico's Yucat n peninsula, it is commonly held that the population consists of two ethnic communities: Maya Indians and descendants of Spanish conquerors As a result, the history of the region is usually seen in terms of conflict between conquerors and conquered that too often ignores the complexity of interaction between these groups and the complex nature of identity within them Yet despite this prevailing view, most speakers of the Yucatec Maya language reject being considered Indian and refuse to identify themselves as Maya Wolfgang Gabbert maintains that this situation can be understood only by examining the sweeping procession of history in the region In Becoming Maya, he has skillfully interwoven history and ethnography to trace 500 years of Yucatec history, covering colonial politics, the rise of plantations, nineteenth-century caste wars, and modern reforms--always with an eye toward the complexities of ethnic categorization According to Gabbert, class has served as a self-defining category as much as ethnicity in the Yucat n, and although we think of caste wars as struggles between Mayas and Mexicans, he shows that each side possessed a sufficiently complex ethnic makeup to rule out such pat observations Through this overview, Gabbert reveals that Maya ethnicity is upheld primarily by outsiders who simply assume that an ethnic Maya consciousness has always existed among the Maya-speaking people Yet even language has been a misleading criterion, since many people not considered Indian are native speakers of Yucatec By not taking ethnicity for granted, he demonstrates that the Maya-speaking population has never been a self-conscious community and that the criteria employed by others in categorizing Mayas has changed over time Grounded in field studies and archival research and boasting an exhaustive bibliography, Becoming Maya is the first English-language study that examines the roles played by ethnicity and social inequality in Yucat n history By revealing the highly nuanced complexities that underlie common stereotypes, it offers new insights not only into Mesoamerican peoples but also into the nature of interethnic relations in general

Original Research Article Genetic Heterogeneity in Northeastern India: Reflection of Tribe-Caste Continuum in the Genetic Structure

Abstract: We critically examined the gene frequency data for 11 genetic markers commonly available in the literature for 22 populations of northeastern India in the light of their geographic, linguistic,andethnicaffiliations.The markersinvestigated were three blood groups (A1A2BO, MNS, and Rh), four serum proteins (KM, Gc, Hp, and Tf), and four enzyme systems (AP, AK, EsD, and Hb). The neighbor-joining tree and multidimensional scaling of the distance matrix suggest rela- tively high genetic differentiation among the Mongoloid groups, with probably diverse origins when compared to the Caucasoid Indo-European populations, which had probably come from relatively more homogeneous backgrounds. Broadly speaking, the pattern of population affinities conforms to the ethno-historic, linguistic, and geographic backgrounds. An interesting and important feature that emerges from this analysis is the reflection of the effect of the sociological process of a Tribe- Caste continuum on genetic structure. While on one end we have the cluster of Caucasoid caste populations, the other end consists ofMongoloid tribalgroups. Inbetween arethe populations which were originally tribes but now have become semi-Hinduized caste groups, viz., Rajbanshi, Chutiya, and Ahom. These groups have currently assumed caste status and speak Indo-European languages. Therefore, one may infer that what appears to be a purely sociological phenomenon of a Tribe-Caste continuum may well reflect in their genetic structure. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:334-345, 2004.

Caste panchayats and the policing of marriage in Haryana: Enforcing kinship and territorial exogamy:

Abstract: This article looks at the phenomenon of bitterly contested marriages in Haryana which breach the principles of village and clan exogamy, and analyses the issues thrown up by such marriages. Based on recent case studies, it examines the social factors operating behind the intervention of the caste panchayat—an extra-judicial body—and the success and limitations of this intervention in resolving such issues. The analysis highlights fluctuations in the status of different clans, and the contemporary multi-directional pulls within a caste, with different groups either claiming a higher or equal status, or attempting to maintain their status against challenges and erosions effected by other clan groups within the caste fold. The issue of contentious marriages reflects the degree of internal strife, conflict and cleavage in contemporary rural society in Haryana, underlining the way in which a combination of forces are using traditional tools for traditional as well as modern political purposes.

Islamic and caste knowledge practices among haalpulaar'en in senegal: between mosque and termite mound.

Abstract: Preface Chapter One The Mosque and the Termite Mound Islam and Caste Islam in Senegal 'Popular' Islam The Concept of Caste Conceptions of Islam Islam in Stratified Societies Islamic 'Magic' The Territory The People The Islamic Community Caste, Knowledge and Power The Mosque and the Termite Mound An Ambivalent Adventure Chapter Two Ranks and Categories: The Emergence of a Haalpulaar Social Division of Labour Social Divisions among Haalpulaaren - Social Ranks Social Divisions among Haalpulaaren - Social Categories Social Categories of the Men-of-Skill (Nyeenybe) Bondsmen and Women Patronyms Hierarchical Relations of Political Economy The Case of Hamadi Ounare The Case of Doumga Rindiao Discussion Chapter Three Historical Origins and Social Pedigrees of Craftsmen and Musicians: Genealogies of Power and Knowledge of the Wild Historical Origins and Sources A History of Men-of-Skill Categories Local Histories The Social Division of Knowledge: Men-of-Skill and the Wild Characterisations of Social Ranks Gandal and the Social Division of Knowledge and Power History and Hierarchy - A Reprise The Fetishisation of Production Chapter Four The White and the Black: Ideology and the Rise to Dominance of the Islamic Clerics A Brief History of Islam in the Senegal River Valley Formation of the Toorobe Cleric Social Category The Construction of Toorobe Islamic Ideology The Muslim Reformism of El Hajj Umar Taal Umar Taal, the 'Mystical Warrior' Concluding Remarks - Cleric Islam and the Other Chapter Five Accommodationist Sufi Islam: Tensions and Ambiguities The Ideological Configuration of Accommodationist Islam Ritual Specialists and Rites of Passage Ambivalence in Religious Thought Islam and the Reinterpretation of Myth Discussion Chapter Six The Witch-Hunter and the Marabout: Competing Domains of Knowledge and Power The Black Arts and Fields of Knowledge The Emergence of Gandal Maabube The Witch-Hunter and the Marabout The Witch-Hunter The Art of Maraboutic Magic The Education of a Marabout Discusssion: A Social Division of Healing Nyengo and Spiritual Tutelage Summary Chapter Seven The Power of the Word: The Oral and the Written Proverbial Sayings and the Denial of Agency The Vocabulary of Speech and Language The Potency and Danger of Names Praise-songs, Poetry and Prayer The Patterns of Language Magical Spells, Protective Verses and Incantations Discussion of Spoken Magic Writing and the Order of Things The Prose of the World Chapter Eight Islamic Reformers, Islamists and the Muslim Community 'Book Magic' Developments in the Field of Education Islamic Reform Movements The Renegotiation of Islam and Social Exclusion The Changing Nature of Caste and Islam Singers, Popular Song and Islam The Islamic Brotherhood of the Nyasiyya Discussion Afterword.

Untouchability in India with a Difference: Ad Dharm, Dalit Assertion, and Caste Conflicts in Punjab

Abstract: Recent caste clashes in Punjab have destroyed the myth that untouchability is alien to this part of India and indicate that the downtrodden no longer can be subjected to social oppression and humiliation. A manifestation of Dalit assertion, these clashes have sharpened the issue of Dalit human rights.

Southern trauma: Revisiting caste and Class in the Mississippi Delta

Abstract: Two classic ethnographies, Hortense Powdermaker's After Freedom: A Cultural Study in the Deep South and John Dollard's Caste and Class in a Southern Town, contributed to a “master narrative” of the Mississippi Delta and the South that viewed class largely through the lens of race. Their work contributed to the community studies and culture and personality traditions and became part of the public discourse of race in the United States. This article examines the institutional and theoretical frameworks within which they worked. We focus on three aspects of their work: (1) their definition of class that left race as the only salient social divide; (2) their portrayal of middle- and upper-class statements as normative; and (3) their uncritical use of data from elsewhere in the South to interpret their Indianola data. We report the events at the Yale Institute of Human Relations that led Dollard to publish before Powdermaker.

Caste as Maratha: Social categories, colonial policy and identity in early twentieth-century Maharashtra

Abstract: In the light of recent scholarship emphasising the historicity of caste, this article tracks the transformation of the category 'Maratha' from its precolonial register as a military ethos to that ofa caste in the early twentieth century. Surveying the category's genealogy in non-Brahman literature and colonial ethnographic writings and policy, it argues that this caste-based register of 'Maratha' was shaped through a complex, interactive process by both colonial and Indian discourses. In doing so, the article attempts to historicise 'Maratha' and emphasises the impor tance of locating the modern history of caste and its encounter with colonialism in regional/ local contexts.

Mitochondrial DNA diversity in tribal and caste groups of Maharashtra (India) and its implication on their genetic origins.

Abstract: Genetic relationships among caste-groups are not uniform across the geographical regions of India Many anthropologists have speculated on the tribal origin of some caste groups in Maharashtra and other states of India To test this hypothesis, we used neutral mtDNA markers to study genetic relatedness among tribal and caste groups from Maharashtra Descriptive statistics such as nucleotide diversity, gene diversity and average mismatches were found to be of the same magnitude Phylogenetic network analysis exhibited a star-like expansion that may date back to the peopling of Eurasia, approximately 50,000 year ago The reconstruction of mtDNA haplogroups showed that both the caste and tribal populations share similar branches of the tree Also, the coalescence age estimation of caste and tribal populations suggests the persistence of maternal lineages with their root in early late Pleistocene Our mtDNA analyses show some preliminary and significant evidence for the origin of prehistoric tribal and hierarchical caste societies of Maharashtra

Christians and Public Life in Colonial South India, 1863-1937: Contending with Marginality

Abstract: List of Abbreviations Preface 1. Introduction Part 1 Legal Constructions of Religious Identity 2. Rights of Converts within British and Princely India, 1870-1895 3. Inheritance Law and the 'Native Christian' Community, 1863-1917 4. Marital Law - Constructions of Hindu and Christian Identity (1870-1920) Part 2 Conceiving a Political Community 5. The Spiritual vs. the Political: Global Religion and Indian Politics, 1917-1933 6. The Protestant Disavowal of Christian Communalism, 1910-1933 7. The Indigenization of Catholic Action, 1921-37 Part 3 Caste and Communal Identity 8. Religion, Caste and Political Rhetoric, 1925-37 9. At the Margins of Marginality: Dalit Christians, 1917-1937 10. Conclusion Bibliography

Black Trials: Citizenship from the Beginnings of Slavery to the End of Caste

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Caste, race and discrimination : discourses in international context

Abstract: "The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), held at Durban in South Africa in 2001, led to an intense discussion on the issues of caste and race in India. The debate was catapulted to the centre stage by the demand of Dalit groups for inclusion of caste in the agenda of this conference and the different stands taken by the government and some section of civil society. The discussion with different stands in the media, academia, NGO sector and civil society generated voluminous literature. This volume contains papers, which address issues related to caste, race and discrimination, internalization of caste, present status of Dalit and similar groups from Nepal and Japan, alternative remedies against discrimination and inequality and other such issues. This literature coming from different sources is immensely rich, insightful and reflective of the contemporary thinking of Indian society on the question of caste and Dalits.The contributors include prominent academics, civil rights activists and writers. This volume would be immensely useful not only for the academia, the government, NGOs and researchers, but also the layman who are concerned about the issues of discrimination associated with caste and race and the deprivation suffered by the Dalits."

Caste and democratic politics in India

Abstract: The Indian constitution seeks to prevent the perpetuation of caste and build a casteless social system. But this has not happened over the fifty-odd years since Indian independence, and shows little sign of happening in the near future. Therefore no understanding of Indian politics is possible without a thorough understanding of the complexities of caste. The aim of this book is to bring about such an understanding. This volume offers state-of-the-art essays on the subject of caste and politics in contemporary India. It covers all the important grounds that students and scholars need in order to get to grips with the idea, ideology, and ground realities of India’s caste system.