Caste, Class and Politics in India

7/27/2019 Caste, Class and Politics in India

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UNIT 22 CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS IN INDIAStructure22.0 Objectives22.1 Introduction22.2 What is Caste?22.3 Main Features of Caste22.4 Dynamic Relationship22.5 Regional Variations22.6 Caste and Class22.7 Stratification within Caste22.8 Pressure Group: Caste Association22.9 Political Parties22.10 Caste in Voting Behaviour22.1 1 Let Us Sum Up22.12 Some Useful Books22.13 Answers to Clieck Your Progress Exercises22.0 OBJECTIVESTlie purpose of this unit is to acquaint you with (a) nature and role of caste in Indianpolitics and (b) in tlie process how both caste and politics undergo changes. Aftergoing till-ough this unit, you should be able to understand:

To wliat extent and in wliat ways caste influerices politics;Interrelationship between caste and politics; andHow politics irifluences caste.

22.1 INTRODUCTIONTheoretically speaking caste and democratic political system stand for opposite valuesystems. Caste is hierarchical. Status of an individual i n caste-oriented social systemis determined by birth. It has religious sanction by various holy texts, reinforced bypriests and rituals. Traditionally, upper castes enjoy certain privileges not only inreligious sphere but also in economic, education and political spheres. Customary lawsdifferentiate individual by birth and sex. 'That is, certain rules are harsli to women andShudras and soft to males and Brahmins. On the otlier hand, democratic politicalsystem advocates freedom to an individual and equality of status. It stands for ruleof Law. No one irrespective of status is above law. Indian democratic system undertlie Constitution stands for liberty, equality and fraternity among all citizens. It strivesto build egalitarian social order.However, politics notwithstanding the ideals in any society does not function in vacuum.It operates within social milieu. Therefore, it cannot be devoid of the prevailing socialforces. At societal level, politics is related to struggle for and distributio~i f politicalpower and resources. One of tlie importa~it unctions of politics is to govern society.~his'callsor resolving conflict among various interests. It identifies needs of societyat a given point of time. Needs are prioritised: what is important and immediate toattain and wliat can wait. I n order to meet the needs of society, nature of productionsystem has to be decided - whether tlie factories, farms or mines are owned privatelyContent Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU


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Party System and Electionsin lnd in by individual for profit or they be owned and managed by colnmunity or state orcombinatiol~o f the both. For tliat rules are made and executed. In sliort wlio gets

what, when and how i r i society is the central concerli o f politics. Though such,decisions are taken by the state, people get involved in decision making process indemocratic system. They elect their rulers. While electing their representatives peopleexpress tlieir material and non-material needs, expectatiolis and aspirations for todayand tomorrow. Their expectations are fo r themselves and also for commuliity -immediate primordial group, caste and larger society that iliclude region, and country.People also build pressure on decision-makers through organised oranorganisedstruggles, personal colitacts and Inally otlier ways. Political leaders cannot ignoresocial forces, as tliey tliemselves are part o f them. I t is imperative for the decision-makers in democratic system to seek and extend support o f the constituents forobtaining and preserving l ieir political power.I t however, does not lneali that politics i s ust a proxy or a blueprilit o f societal forces.I t sets goal and priorities. I t has a vision for change, a better social order than theexisting for the larger good. Politics introduces new values such as equality andfreedom; i~ist itu tions ucli as polit ical parties and trade unions; gover~ilne~itolicieslike abolition of za~ iii~idariystem or untouchability undermines the traditional socialorder and value system. I t shifts location o f power in society from one group toanother. Moreover competitive politics like elections encourage several i~idividualsfro111a group to aspire for political positions. 'rliey compete alnolig themseives so tliecaste ~ii e~ iibe rslso get divided. In tlie process caste cohesiveness gets weaken; andnew formation takes place. Thus, not only caste influences politics but the poli ticalsystem also influeoces caste arid induces clia~iges n it. 'l'liere is no one way traffic.Both influence each otlier. I t is to be seen: to what extent and in which way politicsattain its objective of social tral isfo r~natio~ind to what extent it is influenced byprevailing social forces, particularly caste?India became a Republic in 1950. For the first time in history all adult citizens o f liecoulitry liave gained tlie right to vote and elect tlieir represe~itatives or decisionmaking bodies from village Paricliayat to Lok Sablia. They also liave tlie right tocontest electiolis so as to become rulers. As a result, large number o f social groupswlio were li itllerto deprived of political power begall to realise tliat they could competewith traditio~~allyominant power elite and also wield power so as to express theirgrievances, needs, priorit ies and aspirations. Thus they decide their destiny. Politicshas become competitive and open. Moreover, tl ie state lias u~idertaken number o fsocial and eco~io~nicrograms, which have developed lnolietary and contractualrelatio~isllip ffecting traditional social ties and monopoly of privileges. And, judicialauthority o f caste paucliayat lias bee11 replaced b y state judicipry systeni.

22.2 WHAT IS CASTE?,,

Caste i s an English translatioli o f l~ id ial i ord Jati. As Indians we all know what isJati because we al l liave a tag o f Jati by birth. This applies to non-Hindus also. Butmeaning o f Jati i s not tl ie sanie among the Hindus and non-Hindus. Caste does notliave rel ig io l~s anction alnolig tlie non-Hindus. It is a social stratum. Alnong theHindus, i t is believed tliat one's Jati is due to one's Karlna (deeds) in previous birth.This is not so alnolig tlie nowHindus.Meaning o f Jati for olieself and for others is not always uni fo r~n nd consistentamong all. I t varies from purpose to purpose for which the tag is used. Jati has aspecific social ~iieal ii ligdelitifyi~igne's place in social order in village society whereone interacts everyday with other menibers of the local community. For instance ina village in central G~!jarat its inhabitant, say M r. X dentifies himself as Kl ia~it henlie interacts with another villager o f ieiglibouring locality who cal ls'l iimself a Bareeyaontent Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU


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for inter-dining purpose. Mr. X wou ld introduce him self as Ksliatriya when lie attends Caste. Clnss and Politicspolitical party meeting at taluka or district place. He would call his caste as OBC i n I n d i a(Other Backw ard Caste) wlien lie visits government off ice to get loan or subsidy forgovernment sponsored program o r to get scholarship for his son. Tliere is one mean ingo f Jati for matrimonial and kins hip relationship, a different m eaning for economicinteraction and a third meaning fo r p olitica l purpose. One does not necessarily havethe same meaning when one exercises vote for village pancliayat than Lok sabliaelections.Thus it is diff i cu lt to give precise meaning o f caste applicable i n al l situations. I t ispartly a subjective category. S ocial construct o f caste b y actors and observers variesfrom context to context.

22.3 MAEN FEATURES OF CASTENotwithstanding diff iculties in arrivin g arprecise definit ion o f caste as a unit, there isa consensus among the scholars rega rding general characteristics o f caste system asa social order. Mos t sociolog ical writin gs on caste conclude that h omo hierarcliicusis the central and substantive element o f the caste system. The phrase is used by aFrench sociologist Louis Du~nonto differentiate Hindu social system from othersocial systems - particula rly that o f he western society. Hierarc hy is the central coreo f he caste social order. I t includes hierarchy o f status, values, custolns and behaviouron the basis o f purity and impurity, i~iterpersonal ela tio~ iship mong individuals interms o f blood, food and occupation; and rituals divided into tw o orders: pure andimpure. Certain occupations or type o f food are considered as pure fo r certain castesand the same are impure therefore forbidden fo r other castes. I t is obligatory fo r eachHindu to confine relat io~isl i ip nd i~ i t er ac t io ~iith in tlie restricted circle called Jati, asto maintain purity in marriage relatisnsliip; exchange o f ood and pur su i~igaste basedoccupation.Thereare four essential features o f lie caste system. Tliey are: (I)hierarchy;(2) commensurity; ( 3 ) restrictions on marriage; and (4) hereditary occupation.

22.4 DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP

N o social system remains static. Social system changes from time t o time wi th tliechanging social, economic and po litica l circumstances. Th is i s also true for the castesystem. A t the em pirical l& el the caste hierarchy lias never been static throug houthistory. Theoretically, all Jatis are liierarchically placed within a prescribed socialstatus. Some Jatis enjoy hig h status and some occupy lo w status. Place o f tlie Jaiiin the social order in the hierarchy is determined by its ritual status based on theobserva~ice f customs for interpersonal relationship. Some scliolars believe this valuesystem - acceptance o f one's station in the l i fe is t l ie result o f previous birth - liasconsensus among all Hindus includin g tlie Untouchables. Bu t i t is not true. 'rhough tlieupper castes try to maintain their higher status, tlie middle and lower castes havesuccessfully tried to change their status. Ha ving impro ved their economic condition,a dominant section o f some o f the low castes, includin g the groups, which were atone time treated as u~ itoucliable s, mitated customs and norms o f the upper castesresiding in their vicinity. Sociologists call this process as sanskritisation. One alsocomes across instances o f some castes or even individu als wh o have succeeded i nimpro ving their status even without adhering to tl ie norms and rituals o f tl ie uppercastes. Acq uirin g p olitica l authority facilitates n ot only power holder - ruler - but arsohis kin and relatives to elljoy higher social status in caste hierarchy. One call citeinstances in history, wh ich show that Shudras and ati-shudras having occup ying po sitiono f power have acquired status o f Kshatriyas even without follo win g tl ie path o fsanskritisation. Content Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU


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Party System an d Electinns 'The process of sanskritisation w hic h was prom inent among the lowe r castes at onei n India point o f time, particu larly i n the 19th and early 20th century, has been slowed downin the 'sixties and 'sevenhies'. Earlier many castes hesitated to be calle d 'backward'despite the poor economic c ond ition o f he members. They feared that they wou ld notbe able to impro ve their social status by id en tify ing themselves as 'backward'. B u tthis is no longer true now, as the State has provided certain benefits to the backwardcastes. These castes have realised that they c ould imp rov e their status b y imp rov ingtheir economic condition rather than observing rituals followed by the upper castes.N o w there is com petition amo ng the castes to be called 'backward'. Even some o fthe Brahmin and Raiput Jatis have approached the Government to be classified as'backward'. The K ol is o f central Gujarat followed the rituals o f the Rajputs andstruggled for three decades to be acknowledged as Kshatriyas. In the past, they usedto feel insulted if hey were called Kolis. Bu t no w they have started callin g themselvesas K o li s so that they co uld get material benefits wh ich is the surest way t o impro vesocial status. Soc ial status based on the observance o f the r itua ls has increasinglybecome redundant.Tra ditio na lly caste members have been forbidden to accept cooked food from personsbelo nging to the Jatis that they considered low er than theirs. These rules have beenweakened, particu larly i n pu blic spheres in urban areas du ring the last fiv e decades.I n their b id to gain broad support base the po litica l elites at district and state level donot hesitate to take food with the caste members belonging to lower strata.Most of the Jatis are endogamous. A few follow hypergamy generally within thecaste cluster. The earlier restrictions on marriage have become flexible. Marriagecircles are expanding i n sbme castes. W ith education and urbanisation, instances o finter-caste marriages among the upper and middle castes have somewhat increasedthough such cases are still1 exceptions.

22.5 REGIONAL VARIATIONS

Caste structure in terms o f hierarchy and boundary fo r interaction between the socialgroups is more or less neat and identifiable at the village level. But it is not so atregional level. And to draw em pirically based macro picture o f castes at the nation allevel is all the more difficult and hazardous. Caste structure has not developedun ifo rm ly in al l regions o f the sub-continent. Assam has developed a loose castestructure w ith less rig id hierarchy than that o f Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. I t is the sameregarding observation o f caste specific rules.The numbe r o f castes also varies fro m region to region. G ujarat has a larger numbero f castes than West Bengal. Differ en t llistorical experiences have contributed toshaping o f the present day socio-p olitical processes in diff ere nt regions. Moreover,there is and had been uneven economic development in the co untry and also wit hi nthe states. Some regions had zamindari and some had royatwari land tenure system.Generally, Rajputs in Rajasthan or Brahmins i n Tam ilnadu were en joying dominancein the farmer and peasant castes like Marathas in Maharashtra and Patidars inGujarat were dom inant castes. A l l castes do not have i~ n if o rm um erical strength andspread. Some have a larger number of memberk and some are very tiny. Some arescattered tllroughout the region and some are heavily concentrated in a few geographicalpockets. Hence, the role and position o f caste in relation to p olit ics varies fro m timeto time, area to area and 'caste to caste.

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22I-6 C A $ T E + M D C L A S SAcc ording to some scholars, caste system is essentially a class system. I t wasessentially so in the early formative years. The classes were: Rajanyas or theKshatriyas, the aristocracy, the Brahmins, the priests, the Vaishyas, the people atlarge, m ai nl y peasants and traders, and the Shudras, the service com mu nities. Thereare various theories o f the or igi n o f the system. Some be lieve that the system wascreated by the D ivi ne Power for m aintaining harmony in society. Accordingly, onegets birth in a particular caste because o f one's karma o f he previous birth. O thersbelieve that the system has been evolved in course o f ime w ith the development o feconomic surplus. I t came in to existence wit h economic divisions; or the invaders tosubjugate the lo cal triba l population created it.A number o f vi l lage studies o f different parts o f he country carried out i n the post-independent period show a certain amount o f overlap between twin hierarchies o fcaste and land. M.N. Srinivas observes, " The vi l lage comm unity consisted o fhierarchical groups, each with its own rights, duties and privileges. The caste at the. top had power and privileges, whic h w ere denied to the low er castes. The lowe rcastes were tenants, servants, landless labourers, debtors and clien ts o f the highe rcastes." Data from tw o Tamilnad u villages collected by Sivkuma r and Sllivkum ar i nthe late 'seventies show that 59 per cent o f Muda liyars (upper castes) and 4 per cento f Pall i (untouchable castes) are rich peasants or landlord households. N o M uda liyaris engaged as an agric ultu ral laborer, whereas 42 p er cent o f Pa lli hous eholds earntheir livelil lood as farm labourers. A study of six Rajastllan villages carried out byK.L.Sharma in the 'seventies offers a sim ilar pattern'. "On ly 12.5 per cent o f thelowe r class .households belong t o upper castes, 60 per cent o f the high er cIasshouseholds belong t o the upper castes, 24 per cent o f he upper castes be long to thehighe r class, whereas am ong the inte rme diate and low er castes on ly 6.2 per cent and1.3 per cent belong to hig h class respectively."The Anthropological Survey o f Ind ia in i ts Project on "People of India" has studied4635 comm unities/castes. The study con firm s that the hi gh ly placed castes are markedby "(i) higher position i n the regional socio-ritual hierarchy, (ii)better con trol overland and 'other resources, and (iii) on-commercial relations w ith other com munitieso f infer ior status.... (The lo w castes) are placed at the bo ttom due to th eir : (i)abjectpoverty caused by less possession of land and less control over economic resources(ii) ocio-ritual degradation based on the notion o f purity and pollution , and (iii) raditionalengagement in occupations w hich are co~lside red itu all y unclean.Aggregate data at regional and national level on caste and occupation\land lloldinggive us a similar picture. Tab le I presents caste and occu pation data collected by theNatio nal Sam ple Survey (NSS) co llected in 1952, analysed by K.N.Raj. The datasllows that there is a po sitive re lat io~ lsh ip etween caste and occupational status. Thesmall and marginal farmers.and a gricultura l labourers ma inly b elong to the lo w orbackward castes and ex-untouchable (scheduled) castes. There is a marginaldiversif ication o f occupations among the members o f lo w and the lowest castes inrural areas. However, one should not ignore that a small prop ortion o f low er andscheduled caste househo lds are ri ch peasants wh o hire labour and prod uce m arketablesurplus. According to the survey carried out by Centre for Social Studies, Surat inGujarat, 10 per, cent o f the lowe r caste and 5 per cent o f the scheduled castehouseholds own more than 15 acres o f land. The reverse is also true. According tothe NSS data I per cent o f the upper castes and 12 per cent o f the m iddle castesare agricultu ral labourers. More ove r i t may also be noted that there are a fe w uppercastes i n some parts o f the country wllose nla jority members do not belong to theupper class. R ajputs (upper caste) o f Giljarat are a case in point. Th eir con ditio n i nterms o f and ownership and other occupation is not signif icantly differe nt than manyOBCs.

Caste, Class and Politicsin I n d i a

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Party System and Electionsin India Table 1: Occupational Distr ibut ion of Di f ferent Caste-Groups ++Among Hindu Rural Households(Mi l l ions)

Notes: Figures in brackets represent percentage o f Al l-I nd ia average in each case.

Occupation*

Agriculture Farmer

Cultivator

Share cropper

Agri. Labour

Forestry,Fishing &Livestock +Total:AgricultureO t h c r s g

Total: Al l

* The main farming occupations are classified into four groups: Ia) Farmer - a tiller who cultivates his own land, mainly with hired labour:?(b)

Cultivator -one wlio cultivates land mainly owned by him and sometimes landtaken on lease or sharecropping system, with the help of other householdmembers and partly with hired labour; (c) Sharecropper - one who mainlytakes up cultivatio~~f others' land on a sliarecropping basis and cultivateswithout hired labour; and (d) Agriculti~ralabourer- one wlio cultivates others'land either for wages or for customary payment.

Uppercastes1.09

(24.38)1.96(43.91)0.17(3.91 )0.05(1.09)0.02(0.62)

8.29(73.91)1.17(26.09)2.26(1oo.00)

+ Includes wood cutters, plantation labour, gardeners, fishermen, animal breeders,cattle grazers and Ilerdsmen.

@ Includes l~ousel~oldsn the rural sector engaged i n administrative and professionalservices, teaching and medicine, manufacturing - specially of food productsarid textiles- rade and commerce, transport and communication, constructionand sanitation, and mining.

Midd lecastes0.93

6.52(53.30)0.76(6.18)1.46(1 1.91)0.17( 1.39)

9.84(80.35)2.39

( 19.65)12.23(1oo.00)

++ According to the NSS, " The upper castes were defined as those who, accordingto custom, usek the scared thread, the middle as those from whom.the Brahminstake water by jradition and the lower as the other castes who were notscheduled."

22.7 STRATIFICATION WITHIN CASTE

Lowercastes1.69

(6.95)10.20(4 1.79)

1.51(6.1 7)4.1 1(16.85) '0.8 1(3.3 1)

18.32(75.07)6.09(24.93)

24.4 1( I 0.00)

Industrialisation and penetration of market economy i n rural areas have affectedtraditional occupation of several castes. In most of the castes some members have

Scheduledcastes0.18

(1.54)3.19(27.05)1 OO(8.50)4.27(36.19)0.28(2.38)

8.92(75.66)2.87(24.34)11.79

( 100.00)

Tota l

3.80(7.35)2 1.67(4 1.35)

3.44(6.50)9.89(18.70)1.28(2.42)

40.37(76.33)12.52(23.67)52.89

( 100.00)



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given up their traditional occupation. As early as 1950, F.G. Bailey observed in a C'as"* Class bosficsi n I n d i avillage situated in a relatively backward state like Orissa, "Not every person worksat his traditional occupation. The distillers do not touch liquor. The Knod potters (?)do not know how to make pots. Tlie fishermen do not fish. Tlie warriors are cultivators.Everywhere there i s a scope for practising a hereditary occupation not al l membersof caste engage in tlie work ". In the 1950s, Kathleen Gougli also observed a similarpattern in Tamilnadu. She noted, "The caste community i s no longer liomoge~ieousnoccupation and wealth, for caste i s today a limiting rather than a determining factorin the choice of tlie occupation. Exactly half o f Kumbarpettai's adult Brahmins arenow employed in towns as Government servants, sclioolteachers or restraint workers.Of the reminder, some own up to thirty acres o f land, others as li tt le as three. Oneruns a grocery store and one a vegetarian restaurant. Among tlie non-Brahmins, tliefisherman, toddy-tapers, Marathas, Kallans, Koravas and Kuttadis have abandonedtheir traditional work ". Village studies carried out in tlie fifties and sixties fromdifferent parts o f he country bear out tlie same trend. And. diversification of occi~patio~iin non-farm sector lias increased within most of the castes with tlie spread of tliegreen revolution.But there are still several Jatis whose members liave more or less similar economiccondition. One can firid such i~ista~icesmong several Scheduled Castes and numerically'small other backward castes. Such castes have stil l less than 10 per cent rate o fliteracy and all the households depend on mariual labour for their livelihood. On theother hand there are number of castes which are il lternally stratified. There are threetypes of economic differentiation within different castes: ( I ) A caste characterised bysharp polarisation; (2) A caste l iavi~ig majority o f members from upper strata; (3)A caste with a majority members belongi~ig o poor strata. Rajputs and Thakurs o fRajasthan, LIP and Gujarat fall in tlie first category. A few lioi~seliolds w11 argeestates and factories and a large number are agricult~~ralabourers. Most o f tliehouseholds o f the several upper castes such as Bralimins, Baniyas, Kayastlias arewell off . On the other hand a large number of tlie Backward castes liave overwhelniingmajority households who are small and niarg i~ial armers, tenants and agriculturelabourers. Economic stratification affects their cohesiveness on political issues.Dominant stratum projects its interests as the interests of tlie caste; and gives itpriority while bargaining witl i tlie government.Check Your Progress Exercise 1Note: i) Use tlie space given below for your answer.

ii ) Check your answers witl i tlie model aliswers give11at tlie end o f the unit.I) What are the main features o f caste?

2) -what i s the relatio~isliipbetween caste and land ow~iersli ipn rural India?



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Party System and Elections 3) Give example of one caste showing intra-strati ication.in I n d i a

........................................................................................................................4) What i s the difference between social caste and political caste?

22.8 PRESSURE GROUP: CASTE ASSOCIATIONS

Numerical strength o f a group is important in a democratic polity. Al l the Jatis do nothave equal numerical strength and spread in a geographical region - village, clusterof villages, taluka or district. A few are very large, some are small and some areminuscule. Some are concentrated in a villageltaluka and some are scattered in fourto five households in a village. Numerically large Jatis have an edge over others inpolitical bargaining with the government and political parties. Jatis confined toendogamous character alone cannot muster a very large number at district levels andbeyond for political activities. Some o f he leaders o f such Jatis form caste associationscalled Sabha or Sangam consisting o f cluster o f Jatis having similar social ranking ina region. A few caste associations are also consist o f mult i -castes having differentsocial ranking in traditional order. They may be called caste "federation".It should be remembered that caste association i s not tlie same as caste pancliayator council. Generally the office bearers o f caste council enjoy hereditary position. Thisi s not tlie case with association. Often tlie latter has written constitution specifyingpower and responsibilities o f different office bearers. The former has judicial authoritydealing with ritual and social aspects related to marriage, divorce and otlier familydisputes of tlie members. Its decisio~isare binding to all caste members. Casteassocia\ions carry out economic, educational and political programmes. All castemates are not members o f tlie Sabhas. 'The decisions o f the Sabha are not bindingon all caste members. It is not so with caste panchayat. In that sense caste associationis closer to voluntary organisation. Many caste associations though hold an objective"to promote and protect tlie interests and rights o f lie com~iiunity,"do not ~iecessarilydirectly involve in electoral politics. Some caste associatio~is re active in electoralpolitics at one time or another. Rudolph and Rudolph call the participation of casteassociations in politics as "tlie democratic incarnation o f caste". Kothari calls i t"democratisation" o f castes.

\The history o f caste associations goes back to tlie late 19th century, though theirnumber has increased after Independence. They are found in al l states. Let us takea few illustrations. As the Government decided in the early 1880s to debar Kulmisas Kul~nis f Uttar pradesh from being recruited in the police service. The governmentservants be lo~igi~igo Kurniis formed tlie "Sardar Kurmi Kshatriya Sabha" in 1884 toprotest against tlie decision. Another exa~iiple an be cited o f Nadars o f Tamilnadu.In order to enhance their economic development, tlie wealthy Slianars of Tarnilnaduformed the Nadar Maliajan Sangam in 1895. In Gujarat, the Rajputs after independence



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laving lost po litica l power as rulers and ownership o f and under land reforms realizeded for a larger num erical support base, as they con stituted o n ly 4 per cent o f hepopulation. Some o f the po litica l aspirant Rajputs formed Gujarat K sha triya Sablia.

ste organisation embraced various Jatis o f Ko lis w ho aspired K shatriya status.hrough various ways aliiolig the Rajputs

he government dema ~idi l ig ducat ional facil it ies, la ~d i lp w ne rs l i i ~nd its distribution,jobs etc. fo r their caste members. Some o f them s ubmit memoranda ore pub lic ~n ee ting s emanding infrastructure facilities lik e irrigation, electricity,and subsidy fo r fertil iser for a griculture development.

POLITICAL PARTIESmovements . Non-Brahmin ~nove~ne~ i tn

1873 challenging Bra litniliica l hegemony. I n Tamilnadu several peasant castes

Tachchan (Carpenter), Ko lla n (Bla cks ~n itli),and Tattan (Goldsmith), ind ivid ua lly and'6 the No n-Bra hm in nianifesto was brought out l i ighligltt ing d on iina ~ic e

f he Brahmins in governnient services and injustice to non-Brahmins who co ~is titute dst m ajority. T l ie formati011 o f t l ie Justice party fol lowe d in 1916. The party sentelegat ion to El ig l a~ id n 1919 to present tlie non-Brahmin case before the jointiament Co~ nm ittee l i ic l i was responsible for preparing t l ie Government o f Indiai l l . D M K is i ts of fshoot. Tw o fact ions Val in iyaakkula Kshatr iya Sangam o f theParty and fought the2 elections. T liey the11 bargained w ith tlie Co~ igress or positions in tlie state

. Scheduled Caste Federation was forme d in tlie forties b y D r. Am bedkar and -ies o f and by the Dalits. ha rk ha lid Party fornied by A divas i leaders o f Bil iar, has

ri ly remained a party o f Adivasis. Ba liu ja~ i a~ iiaj arty launched by Kan sli irama party of Dalits aini ing at for min g allial ice o f Dalits, minorit ies and OBCs. 'Indepe~idence ome caste associations were formed w ith po litic al objectives to

e in elections. I n Gujarat soll ie o f t l ie leaders o f t l ie K sliatr iya Sablia~ite liipla ted n tlie e arly fift ies to for111 tlie party o f tlie Ksliatriyas. Tlie y soon

~ig tli f the Ksliatriyas. Similarly, political elite o f lie Kurmis. Yadavas and Koerisr~ iie d he Bi lia r State Backw ard caste Associati011 n 1947 to contest elections. T lien d id not take-o ff t lianks to t l ie resistance o f t lie Congress leaders be lo~ igi ng o

e associations are asserted w ith diffe ren t leadin g po litic al parties to see thate members get party tickets in electioi-1s. Tliese parties i ~ ii t ia ll yesisted suchsures because o f tlie coun ter pressure fro m the dom inant castes that co titrolle dThe latter accused tlie form er as castiest or com niunal. Bu t as tlie c om pe tit io ~ifor po litica l activities, all parties began to wo o leading aspirants o f lie caste

could m obilise caste votes. Sucli p olitic al aspirants jo in differen t p olitic al parties.rily interested in gaining political positions for the~nselvesather tliang social or r itu al interests o f he caste, they either launc li a new associati011or

isting one. Fo r them caste association is among several instruments to g ain'

me o f t l ie pol i t ical parties ide nt i fy wi th certain castes for ~ io ln in at io ~if t lie partydidates and mo bil isa tio ~in elections. B1ia;atiya Kra nti D al evolved an al lia ~i ce f

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Party System and Elections four ma jor peasant castes o f LIP in 1969 elections. The alliance was called AJG AR;in India that is, Ahirs, Jatsb Gugars and Rajputs. In 1977 in Gujarat tlie Coligress (I) formedK H A M alliance o f Ksliatriyas, Hariians, Adivasis and Muslims. Lo k Da l was identifiedwith Jats i n Uttar pradesh in I9 7 7 and I9 80 parliamentary elections. Sa ~na jwa di artyin Uttar Pradesli was identified with Backward castes in general and Yadavas inparticular in 1997 state assembly elections. BJP is generally identified with uppercastes and tlie Congress with the m iddle and backw ard castes. That reflected in theirsupport base in tlie eighties i n Gujarat and Maliarashtra. ln tlie nineties tlie BJP hasfollowe d the strategy of the Congress o f accommodating tlie backward caste candidatesin the elections and successfully getting support o f their caste fellows.There are three consequences o f such interaction between caste associations andpolitical parties. One, caste members particularly poor and marginalised who werehitherto remained untouclled by tlie po litica l processes got politicise d and began toparticipate i n electoral po litics wi th an exp ectation that their interests wo uld be served.Second, caste m embers get split a mong various po litica l parties weakening ho ld o f hecaste. Third, num erically large castes get representation in dec ision-making bodiesand strengtli o f tlie tradition ally dom inant castes get weaken. Tliis ex pl ai~ islie riseo f mid dle and backward caste representations in most o f tlie state assemblies. Table2 presents caste composition o f M L A s i n Gujarat Assenibly from 1957 to 1990. Thetable sliows that the strength o f Bralinlins and Vanias lias declined colisiderably overa period o f time, whereas tlie K ol is and Rajputs together as tlie Ksliatriyas increasedtheir strengtli by double. In Uttar Pradesli prop ortion o f the upper castes i n the StateAssembly lias gone dow n fro111 42 per cen t to 17 per cent be tween 1967 and 1995;whereas the liienibe rs o f tlie OB Cs have increased fro111 24 per cent to 45 per centdurin g tlie sanie period.

Table 2: Caste Composition of the MLA s in Cujarat Assembly from 1957 to 1995

C ast e

Brahmin

Vania

Patidar

Kshatriya(Rajputand KolisMuslims

SCs

STs

OBCsN.A.

Total.

Four th72-7517912)

17(12)

35(25)

2 4 1 7 )

3(2)

l ( 8 )

22(15)

9(7)30

168

T h i r d67-7220(14)

21(15)

32(23)

I

19(20)

3(3)

I l ( 8 )

22(15)

3 2 )26

154

Seventh86-9014(8)

13(7)

39(22)

44(25)

7(4)

13(7)

29(16)

. 8110)5

182

Fi rst57-6218(16)

19(17)

26(24)

13(12)

4(4)

1 q 9 )

15(14)

5(5)22

132

Eighth91-95lO(6)

7(4)

44(27)

40(25)

3 0 )

14(9)

30(19)

14(9)20

182

Second62-6725(18)

16(12)

27(27)

14( 10)

9(7)

l l ( 8 )

21(15)

3 0 )18

154

Fi r th75-8014(8)

96(14)

49(27)

32(18)

5(2)

14(8)

27(15)

14(8)I

182

S i x t h80-8520(10)

13(10)

37(20)

38(21)

11(6)

13(7)

29(16)

16(9)

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22.10 CASTE IN VOTING BEHAVIOURRo le o f caste i n elections has tw o dimensions. One is o f the parties and candidatesand the second is o f the voters. The form er seeks support o f the voters p rojectingthemselves as champions o f particu lar social and eco nom ic interests, the latter wh ileexercising their vote in favour o f one pa rty or candidate whether people vote on casteconsideration. A nd if so, how exclusive is it?As mentioned above different parties acco~n nloda te ertain castes in distribu ting partytickets. W hile nom inating candidates parties take into consideration caste o f theaspirant candidate and num erical strength o f diffe ren t castes in a constituency.Caste leaders also ~nobilisedheir followers on caste lines so that they could sllowtlleir strength. I n the fiftie s w herever caste associations were able to ~ na in ta inheirunity and did not fo rma lly al ign with al ly one party they appealed to their membersto vote fo r their caste fel lows irrespective o f their party a ff i l iat ion. In RajastllanMeenas were asked "Do not give your daughter or your vote to anyone but aMeena." Sim ilar slogan was used in Tam ilnadu : " t l le V anniya vote is not for anyoneelse". B ut whereve r caste association aligne d w ith a particular party the caste leadersasked caste members to vote f or that party. The Ksh atriya leaders o f Gujarat in 1952elections asked Kshatriya voters that i t was their Kshatriya dh ar ~n a o vote f or tlleCongress because it was "the great institution and wo rkin g for the de ve lo p~ ne ~l tf hecountry". I n the subsequent elections as the caste leaders sp lit some K slla triy aleaders appealed, " t is our pledge that t lle Ksllatr iya o f Gujarat vote fo r tlle Congress,and not for anyone else." The otllers appealed that it was tlle dllar ~n a f he K shatriyasto vote for the Malla Gujarat Janata Parisllad (a regional party).T l ~ o u g l ~here is a trend a mon g the caste members to vote for a particular party, thereis never a co~n ple te n bloc caste voting. Some castes iden tify w ith a particular partyas their party. I t was expected that i t wo uld protect their interests. Jats in W esternUP identif ied L o k D al as their party just not only because tl le leaders o f the partywere the Jats, but also the party raised the issues concerning the peasants. But'allthe Jats did not vote for the party because there were some who were traditionalsupporters o f he Congress, or they perceived their interests diffe ren tly than other ja tpeasants which the Jats p re do ~n ina ~lt lyre.. I n UP 5 1 per cent o f he SC voters votedfo r the BSP in the 1998 state ass e~ nb ly lections. 18 per cent voted f or the BJP. Tl levast m ajority o f the BSP SC voters belonged to poor strata and o f the BJP from themiddle class. W hile a~ lalys inglle e lec tion data, Pushpendra observes, " Occupationally,the BSP's voters are ma inly u ~ ls ki lle d orkers, agricultural and allie d workers, artisans,and small and marginal fanners. Pers o~ls ngaged in business and white colla r job sconstitute only 2.6 and 1.6 per cent of tlle ESP voters (in LIP)."I n the National Election Survey o f the 1972 carried out by Center for t l le Study o fDeveloping Societies a question was asked, " What was your considerations forvoting this candidatetpartytsymbol?" For a very insigni ficant ~ l u ~ n b e rf respondents(less t ll a ~ l per cent) candidate's caste was the main consideration. Some o f therespondents m igh t have voted fo r pers onsw ho llappened to belong to their caste. B utit was not caste voting. The y voted f or tlle candidate not because hetshe was o f heircaste irrespective o f his party and ability. Tlley,voted f or himth er because hetshe wasthe candidate o f the party to w ll ic l l the respondent felt closer for variety o f reasonsincludin g the feeling that the party w ould "protect histher" interests or the party haddone good work for tlle people like himther. Or, they were i n touch with the candidatewho might have helped them or they feel that he would help them when they need.The ir prima ry consideration is their perception o f heir interests. In a given alternativepartiestcandidates they co nsider as to w ho wo uld serve the ir interests better thanothers. If he candidate happens to be o f heir own caste and his/her party is the party,which they identify as theirs, they vote for himther. I f hey feel that the candidate

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Party System and Elections belongs to that party wl~icli s either not able to serve tlieir interests or liostile orin lndia insignificant in electorate politics, tliey do not vote for that candidate even if hebelongs to th eir caste. That is tlie reason wh y several caste leaders lose the electionsin tlie constituency predom inantly beacause o f tlieir caste members at one time o ranotlier when they change the party or their party loses pop ularity. Therefore thereis no one to one re latiorisliip between candidate's caste and that o f the voter's caste.check Your Progress Exercise 2Note: i ) Use tlie space given below for your answer.

ii) Check your answer with tl ie model answers given at tl ie end o f the unit.I)' What is the difference between caste panchayat and caste sablia?

........................................................................................................................2) Exp lain "democratic incarnation o f caste".

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................3) How does caste influence voting beliaviour?

4) Gi ve names o f tliree parties, wh ich are closer to particula r caste.

22.11 LET US SUM UPPolitics does not function in vacuum. It operates in society in which it-is_influencedby social forces. Po litics influences social forces and change tliern. If polit ical institutionsand political leaders make conscious effort in intervening in social forces tliey callin fli ~e nc e nd b ring clianges in social order and relation sllip to a considerable extent.Democratic politics in lndia has been influenced by caste but it also changed thetraditiona l caste system and its values. W lii le participa ting in electoral processes atdifferent levels structure and functions o f caste has changed. Its traditiona l aspect o fontent Digitized by eGyanKosh, IGNOU


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pur i t y and impur i ty has been co~is idera bly eakened. Caste has prov ided i~is t i tut io nal. C"stC. CIm s I'olitiCsi n I n d i aniechanism to t l ie poor and tr ad i t i o~ ia l ly epr ived groups for p ol i t ica l part ic ipat ion.Caste has been polit ic ised to pursue economic and social rather than ritual coricerl io f he members. I n that sense i t i s a democrat ic i~ i ca r ~ ia t io nf caste. B u t tli is processhas reached an impasse and caught into vicious circle. Polit ical leaders use casteconsc iousness for ~nobi l isat io~ iu t do no t pursue v igorously, ec o~ io ~n icnd socialp r ob l e~ nsl ia t the m a jo r it y ~ n e~ i i b e r sf l ie caste face. Caste fra me wo rk l ias its ow11limitations. I t is divi sive and hierarchical. T his is a challenge before t l ie caste-orientedpolitics.

22.12 SOME USEFUL BOOKSBeteil le, Andre, Essays in Con~yaruiivePersyeciive, Chapter 4, Del l i i , Ox fo rdun ive rsit y Press, 1992,Centre F or S ocial Studies, Custe, Casre Conflict und Reservation, Chapters 1,2 and8, Delhi, A janta Publication, 1985Kothari, Rajni, Caste atld Poliiics it1 Itlr/ia, H yd rabad, O r ien t Lo ~ i g n i a~ i970;Rud olpl i L.1. and Rud olpl i S.H. The hfoclert~iiyf Tradiiion, Del l i i , Longman , 196 1Shall, Gliansliyam, Caste it1 Itlrliut1 Poliiics, Dell i i , Permanent Black 2000.

2 2.13 A N S W E R S T O C H E C K Y O U R P R O G R E S SEXERCISESCheck Your Progress Exercise 1I ) These are fou r, i..e., ( I ) l i ierarcliy, (2) com~i iensur i ty , 3) restr ic t ion on marriage,and, (4) hereditary occupation.2) There is a posit ive relation sli ip between caste and land. Tlie m ain trend about t l i i srelationship shows tl iat t l ie lo w or t l ie back ward castes and the ex-untouchables

belong to the agr icul tural labourers, smal l and ma rginal far~i iers , nd t l ie l i ig l i andintermediate castes belong to t l ie r ic l i and ~ i i id d le easants. Ho wever, there areinstances where the l i ig l i castes b elon g to t l ie p oor ag ricultu ral classes, and thelo w castes to the r ic l i and mid dle peasants.

3) One example o f in tra-caste s t rat i f icat io~ i s t l ia t o f the Ra- jputs and T l iakurs o fRajasthan, UP and Gujarat. Ma jo r i t y o f them belong to the upper s trata, some.ow n land and a large number o f them are a gr ic i~ l tura l abourers.

4) Tli e so cial caste denotes t l ie operatio11 o f t l ie caste at the social level - ts roleis co ~i f i ne d o t l ie social and cult ural spheres. Whe n caste becomes tl ie syn ibo lo f ~nob, i l isat ion i ther i n elec t io ~is r for a l ly ot l ier pol i t ica l purpose i t becomes apo lit i cal caste.

Check Your Progress Exercise 21 ) A l l m em bers o f a caste are ~ii ern be rs f he caste sabha; its leadership i s hereditary;

it l ias udic ial author i ty dea l ing wit h r i tuals and ot l ier soc ial aspects l ike marriage,divorce and o ther di sputes in t l ie fa l l l i ly . N o t a l l ~ i i e~ nb er sf a caste on t l ie ot l ierhand are membe rs o f he caste associations; its leadership is not hereditary: i tsdecis ions are not binding 011al l members o f the caste; these have economic,educa t io~ ia l nd ~ o l i t i ca l roerammes.



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Party System and Electionsin India Tlie participation of lie caste associations in politics is ternled as "the democraticincarnation of caste" by Rudolph and Rudolph.The influence of caste in tlie voting behaviour call be visible in two ways - by

allotmelit o f tickets to tlie candidates, and by casting of the votes by tl ie voterson the caste lines. Generally voters o f a caste vote for a party or the candidateon the consideration of caste. But there is never a complete en block voting.i) The Congress (1) in Gujarat was identified with the K H A M - an alliance ofKhatriyas, Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims,ii) The Bharatiya Krariti Dal in UP was identified with tlie AJGAR - an alliance

o f Ahirs, Jats. Gujars and Rajputs; and,iii) Bahuja~iSa~iiajParty is identified with tlie dalits.

Caste, Class and Politics in India

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