Caste, Class and Politics | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


50
3
CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Theorisation by eminent scholars
3.3 Role of caste in Politics & Maharashtra
3.4 The Dominant caste phenomenon
3.5 OBC politics in Maharashtra
3.6 Dalit politics in Maharashtra
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Unit End Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learners, by studying this chapter you will be able to
understand the
INTRODUCTION
Today among the various divisive forces which
influence the political process in India, Caste is the major
factor. In the last few decades in Indian politics, caste has
played a very decisive role. It is owing to this fact, that it is considered
the most important element of political process of our country.
The emergence of new caste based organizations, growing
polarization along caste lines, violence and reservation conflicts,
etc. are the events which have been embedded itself firmly in
politico-economic fabric of the country. Maharashtra, being an
important state in India, is no exception to this.
Page 2


50
3
CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Theorisation by eminent scholars
3.3 Role of caste in Politics & Maharashtra
3.4 The Dominant caste phenomenon
3.5 OBC politics in Maharashtra
3.6 Dalit politics in Maharashtra
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Unit End Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learners, by studying this chapter you will be able to
understand the
INTRODUCTION
Today among the various divisive forces which
influence the political process in India, Caste is the major
factor. In the last few decades in Indian politics, caste has
played a very decisive role. It is owing to this fact, that it is considered
the most important element of political process of our country.
The emergence of new caste based organizations, growing
polarization along caste lines, violence and reservation conflicts,
etc. are the events which have been embedded itself firmly in
politico-economic fabric of the country. Maharashtra, being an
important state in India, is no exception to this.
THEORISATION OF "CASTE AND POLITICS"
BY EMINENT SCHOLARS.
From the above introduction it becomes clear that caste is an
important factor in Indian Politics. Within the new context of
political democracy caste remains a central element of Indian
Society while adopting itself to the values and methods of
democratic politics. As the system of caste is based on
inequality, the caste based politics also shows signs of inequality.
It has been observed by several scholars that the lower castes,
even after independence remained at periphery and were deprived
of political - power. On the contrary, political power was
concentrated in the hands of previledged caste i.e. upper caste.
In the due course of time, both the process of
democratisation and elections get influenced by caste-
equations and as a result of that, caste became one of the most
basic units of political mobilisation. This phenomenon was
observed by several scholars and academecians. The most
prominent among them were Rajni Kothari, M. N. Sriniwas, Rudolph
and Rudolph and Andre Beatille.
All these scholars came out with their own independent
research. The study and inter-relationship between caste and
politics or theorisation of inter-relationship between caste and
politics is as follows:
3.2.1 Rajni Kothari
Rajni Kothari studied the role of caste in mobilising the people at
regional level in many case studies he conducted from time to
time. His basic argument was that, electoral politics in post-
independent period is tremendously influenced by caste. He
opined that caste is becoming a major weapon of political
mobilisation. Based on his observation he propounded a theory that
'Castes are been politicized." He gave this theory of "Politicisation of
caste" in 1971. His main contention is that, caste functions
today more as a political group than as a social or economic group.
He further says that a study of the interactions between the
caste system and political democracy in India, revealed that there
is a rejection of the familiar dichotomy between a traditional society
and a modem polity on the contrary, it underlines the functional
relevance of indigenous patterns of communication and
differentiation in modernising a new nation. Much, of course
depends upon on the developmental potentiality of a particular social
system.
Page 3


50
3
CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Theorisation by eminent scholars
3.3 Role of caste in Politics & Maharashtra
3.4 The Dominant caste phenomenon
3.5 OBC politics in Maharashtra
3.6 Dalit politics in Maharashtra
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Unit End Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learners, by studying this chapter you will be able to
understand the
INTRODUCTION
Today among the various divisive forces which
influence the political process in India, Caste is the major
factor. In the last few decades in Indian politics, caste has
played a very decisive role. It is owing to this fact, that it is considered
the most important element of political process of our country.
The emergence of new caste based organizations, growing
polarization along caste lines, violence and reservation conflicts,
etc. are the events which have been embedded itself firmly in
politico-economic fabric of the country. Maharashtra, being an
important state in India, is no exception to this.
THEORISATION OF "CASTE AND POLITICS"
BY EMINENT SCHOLARS.
From the above introduction it becomes clear that caste is an
important factor in Indian Politics. Within the new context of
political democracy caste remains a central element of Indian
Society while adopting itself to the values and methods of
democratic politics. As the system of caste is based on
inequality, the caste based politics also shows signs of inequality.
It has been observed by several scholars that the lower castes,
even after independence remained at periphery and were deprived
of political - power. On the contrary, political power was
concentrated in the hands of previledged caste i.e. upper caste.
In the due course of time, both the process of
democratisation and elections get influenced by caste-
equations and as a result of that, caste became one of the most
basic units of political mobilisation. This phenomenon was
observed by several scholars and academecians. The most
prominent among them were Rajni Kothari, M. N. Sriniwas, Rudolph
and Rudolph and Andre Beatille.
All these scholars came out with their own independent
research. The study and inter-relationship between caste and
politics or theorisation of inter-relationship between caste and
politics is as follows:
3.2.1 Rajni Kothari
Rajni Kothari studied the role of caste in mobilising the people at
regional level in many case studies he conducted from time to
time. His basic argument was that, electoral politics in post-
independent period is tremendously influenced by caste. He
opined that caste is becoming a major weapon of political
mobilisation. Based on his observation he propounded a theory that
'Castes are been politicized." He gave this theory of "Politicisation of
caste" in 1971. His main contention is that, caste functions
today more as a political group than as a social or economic group.
He further says that a study of the interactions between the
caste system and political democracy in India, revealed that there
is a rejection of the familiar dichotomy between a traditional society
and a modem polity on the contrary, it underlines the functional
relevance of indigenous patterns of communication and
differentiation in modernising a new nation. Much, of course
depends upon on the developmental potentiality of a particular social
system.
Rajni Kothari comments that, caste has assumed new
functions. Such as the provision of educational, welfare and
employment facilities and other economic benefits for its members.
Caste associates and caste federations also have been formed
which contribute to the social mobility and economic well being of
the members. This underlines the fact that, political mobilisation is
possible on the basis of caste. He described this phenomenon as
"Politicisation of Caste" in 1971.
Rudolph and Rudolph:
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph also examined the interrelation
between caste and politics. They carried out their research during
the same period, when Rajni Kothari was researching on this topic.
They argued that the relation between caste and politics may be
described in terms of 'Tradition' and 'Modernity.' According to their
study, caste represents a traditional element and politics explains
the modern trend in contemporary Indian Politics. They argued that
caste is a medium of political mobilisation and an investment of
political education. Caste is also seen as an infrastructure of a
modern democratic society and it is held by some that tradition is
not antithetical .to the functioning of modem political institutions.
India's success in managing crises of political development,
especially those of political participation and mobilisation is
largely attributed, to the ability of traditional society to contain the
disruptive effects of rapid political mobilisation.
M. N. Srinivas :
The most important contribution of M. S. Srinivas was that he
propounded the theory of 'Dominant Caste'. He also proposed the
concept of 'Sanskritisation' It is because of these two concepts
that he is considered as the most prominent thinker on the subject
of caste and politics.
Sanskritisation denotes that a status group aspiring upward
mobility in the system of social stratification tends to emulate the life
style, traditional values and religious rituals of higher castes and
seeks its acceptance within the greattradition of Sanskrit norms
and the Varna system. He therefore admits that the tendency
among the lower castes, is responsible for the continuity of the
traditional structure of caste.
M. N. Srinivas while explaining the concept of
`dominant caste' says that every region in India displays a good
example of dominant caste. He calls a caste dominant, if it
preponderates economic opportunities, the introduction of Panchayat
raj made it possible for the intermediate caste groups to move
towards dominance. He made an important observation by saying
that even a large and powerful caste group can be dominant only if
its position in local caste hierarchy is intermediate. The
Page 4


50
3
CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Theorisation by eminent scholars
3.3 Role of caste in Politics & Maharashtra
3.4 The Dominant caste phenomenon
3.5 OBC politics in Maharashtra
3.6 Dalit politics in Maharashtra
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Unit End Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learners, by studying this chapter you will be able to
understand the
INTRODUCTION
Today among the various divisive forces which
influence the political process in India, Caste is the major
factor. In the last few decades in Indian politics, caste has
played a very decisive role. It is owing to this fact, that it is considered
the most important element of political process of our country.
The emergence of new caste based organizations, growing
polarization along caste lines, violence and reservation conflicts,
etc. are the events which have been embedded itself firmly in
politico-economic fabric of the country. Maharashtra, being an
important state in India, is no exception to this.
THEORISATION OF "CASTE AND POLITICS"
BY EMINENT SCHOLARS.
From the above introduction it becomes clear that caste is an
important factor in Indian Politics. Within the new context of
political democracy caste remains a central element of Indian
Society while adopting itself to the values and methods of
democratic politics. As the system of caste is based on
inequality, the caste based politics also shows signs of inequality.
It has been observed by several scholars that the lower castes,
even after independence remained at periphery and were deprived
of political - power. On the contrary, political power was
concentrated in the hands of previledged caste i.e. upper caste.
In the due course of time, both the process of
democratisation and elections get influenced by caste-
equations and as a result of that, caste became one of the most
basic units of political mobilisation. This phenomenon was
observed by several scholars and academecians. The most
prominent among them were Rajni Kothari, M. N. Sriniwas, Rudolph
and Rudolph and Andre Beatille.
All these scholars came out with their own independent
research. The study and inter-relationship between caste and
politics or theorisation of inter-relationship between caste and
politics is as follows:
3.2.1 Rajni Kothari
Rajni Kothari studied the role of caste in mobilising the people at
regional level in many case studies he conducted from time to
time. His basic argument was that, electoral politics in post-
independent period is tremendously influenced by caste. He
opined that caste is becoming a major weapon of political
mobilisation. Based on his observation he propounded a theory that
'Castes are been politicized." He gave this theory of "Politicisation of
caste" in 1971. His main contention is that, caste functions
today more as a political group than as a social or economic group.
He further says that a study of the interactions between the
caste system and political democracy in India, revealed that there
is a rejection of the familiar dichotomy between a traditional society
and a modem polity on the contrary, it underlines the functional
relevance of indigenous patterns of communication and
differentiation in modernising a new nation. Much, of course
depends upon on the developmental potentiality of a particular social
system.
Rajni Kothari comments that, caste has assumed new
functions. Such as the provision of educational, welfare and
employment facilities and other economic benefits for its members.
Caste associates and caste federations also have been formed
which contribute to the social mobility and economic well being of
the members. This underlines the fact that, political mobilisation is
possible on the basis of caste. He described this phenomenon as
"Politicisation of Caste" in 1971.
Rudolph and Rudolph:
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph also examined the interrelation
between caste and politics. They carried out their research during
the same period, when Rajni Kothari was researching on this topic.
They argued that the relation between caste and politics may be
described in terms of 'Tradition' and 'Modernity.' According to their
study, caste represents a traditional element and politics explains
the modern trend in contemporary Indian Politics. They argued that
caste is a medium of political mobilisation and an investment of
political education. Caste is also seen as an infrastructure of a
modern democratic society and it is held by some that tradition is
not antithetical .to the functioning of modem political institutions.
India's success in managing crises of political development,
especially those of political participation and mobilisation is
largely attributed, to the ability of traditional society to contain the
disruptive effects of rapid political mobilisation.
M. N. Srinivas :
The most important contribution of M. S. Srinivas was that he
propounded the theory of 'Dominant Caste'. He also proposed the
concept of 'Sanskritisation' It is because of these two concepts
that he is considered as the most prominent thinker on the subject
of caste and politics.
Sanskritisation denotes that a status group aspiring upward
mobility in the system of social stratification tends to emulate the life
style, traditional values and religious rituals of higher castes and
seeks its acceptance within the greattradition of Sanskrit norms
and the Varna system. He therefore admits that the tendency
among the lower castes, is responsible for the continuity of the
traditional structure of caste.
M. N. Srinivas while explaining the concept of
`dominant caste' says that every region in India displays a good
example of dominant caste. He calls a caste dominant, if it
preponderates economic opportunities, the introduction of Panchayat
raj made it possible for the intermediate caste groups to move
towards dominance. He made an important observation by saying
that even a large and powerful caste group can be dominant only if
its position in local caste hierarchy is intermediate. The
intermediate caste such as the Marathas in Maharashtra, Jats in
western U. P., Punjab and Haryana and Kurmies and Yada
y
s in
Bihar are some of the best examples.
3.2.4 Andre Baetille
He was of the opinion that Indian Social Stratification is
undergoing a change as other elements of such status as power
and class are coming to the fore. Under the influence of
modernization, secularisation and democratisation,
,
paste is being
replaced by social circles, social network, political factions or
factional alignments, pressure groups and even socio-economic
classes. Betille argues that
.
the
,
changes in the criteria of status in
Indian. Society, there has occurred transformation from
.
closed
status groups based on caste to more open ones, which
accommodate other components as well.
R OL E OF C AS T E I N P OL I TI CS OF
MAHARASHTRA
Jayant Lele in his article "Caste, class and dominance." Political
mobilization in Maharashtra" argues that in Maharashtra, the
contemporary pattern of politico
.
-economic dominance is widely
understood as that of the Marathas 'as dominant caste.
Contemporary Maratha dominance is portrayed not as a modem
reassertion of traditional hegemonic rulership, resting in the control of
the means of
.
production, but as new and secularly-guided
manifestation of lower caste class consciousness.
In other words one can say that caste politics in Maharashtra
has led to the development of political mobilisation, political
participation and even to certain extent political development. Caste
factor
,
along with Regional factor has assumed extra-ordinary
importance in a recent years. These are several factors which has
led to the development of caste politics in Maharashtra. In fact over
the years in Maharashtra, caste has emerged in a possible
framework within which politics would be organised.
Caste sustains on the basis of localisation :
Dr. Suhas Palshikar in his essay "caste politics through
the prism of region" has argued that caste, as a system of vertical
division, sustains itself on the basis of localisation. Caste hierarchy
may involve the ideologies of chaturvamya, and of purity pollution, but
the hierarchy works only when it is concretised in a local situation.
Similarly the cultural and ritual life of members of a jati is organised
in the village or locality. It is only with reference to other castes in a
locality that the higher or lower status of a caste can be
experienced. In other words, caste as a unit of social relations,
Page 5


50
3
CASTE, CLASS AND POLITICS
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Theorisation by eminent scholars
3.3 Role of caste in Politics & Maharashtra
3.4 The Dominant caste phenomenon
3.5 OBC politics in Maharashtra
3.6 Dalit politics in Maharashtra
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Unit End Exercises
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Dear learners, by studying this chapter you will be able to
understand the
INTRODUCTION
Today among the various divisive forces which
influence the political process in India, Caste is the major
factor. In the last few decades in Indian politics, caste has
played a very decisive role. It is owing to this fact, that it is considered
the most important element of political process of our country.
The emergence of new caste based organizations, growing
polarization along caste lines, violence and reservation conflicts,
etc. are the events which have been embedded itself firmly in
politico-economic fabric of the country. Maharashtra, being an
important state in India, is no exception to this.
THEORISATION OF "CASTE AND POLITICS"
BY EMINENT SCHOLARS.
From the above introduction it becomes clear that caste is an
important factor in Indian Politics. Within the new context of
political democracy caste remains a central element of Indian
Society while adopting itself to the values and methods of
democratic politics. As the system of caste is based on
inequality, the caste based politics also shows signs of inequality.
It has been observed by several scholars that the lower castes,
even after independence remained at periphery and were deprived
of political - power. On the contrary, political power was
concentrated in the hands of previledged caste i.e. upper caste.
In the due course of time, both the process of
democratisation and elections get influenced by caste-
equations and as a result of that, caste became one of the most
basic units of political mobilisation. This phenomenon was
observed by several scholars and academecians. The most
prominent among them were Rajni Kothari, M. N. Sriniwas, Rudolph
and Rudolph and Andre Beatille.
All these scholars came out with their own independent
research. The study and inter-relationship between caste and
politics or theorisation of inter-relationship between caste and
politics is as follows:
3.2.1 Rajni Kothari
Rajni Kothari studied the role of caste in mobilising the people at
regional level in many case studies he conducted from time to
time. His basic argument was that, electoral politics in post-
independent period is tremendously influenced by caste. He
opined that caste is becoming a major weapon of political
mobilisation. Based on his observation he propounded a theory that
'Castes are been politicized." He gave this theory of "Politicisation of
caste" in 1971. His main contention is that, caste functions
today more as a political group than as a social or economic group.
He further says that a study of the interactions between the
caste system and political democracy in India, revealed that there
is a rejection of the familiar dichotomy between a traditional society
and a modem polity on the contrary, it underlines the functional
relevance of indigenous patterns of communication and
differentiation in modernising a new nation. Much, of course
depends upon on the developmental potentiality of a particular social
system.
Rajni Kothari comments that, caste has assumed new
functions. Such as the provision of educational, welfare and
employment facilities and other economic benefits for its members.
Caste associates and caste federations also have been formed
which contribute to the social mobility and economic well being of
the members. This underlines the fact that, political mobilisation is
possible on the basis of caste. He described this phenomenon as
"Politicisation of Caste" in 1971.
Rudolph and Rudolph:
Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph also examined the interrelation
between caste and politics. They carried out their research during
the same period, when Rajni Kothari was researching on this topic.
They argued that the relation between caste and politics may be
described in terms of 'Tradition' and 'Modernity.' According to their
study, caste represents a traditional element and politics explains
the modern trend in contemporary Indian Politics. They argued that
caste is a medium of political mobilisation and an investment of
political education. Caste is also seen as an infrastructure of a
modern democratic society and it is held by some that tradition is
not antithetical .to the functioning of modem political institutions.
India's success in managing crises of political development,
especially those of political participation and mobilisation is
largely attributed, to the ability of traditional society to contain the
disruptive effects of rapid political mobilisation.
M. N. Srinivas :
The most important contribution of M. S. Srinivas was that he
propounded the theory of 'Dominant Caste'. He also proposed the
concept of 'Sanskritisation' It is because of these two concepts
that he is considered as the most prominent thinker on the subject
of caste and politics.
Sanskritisation denotes that a status group aspiring upward
mobility in the system of social stratification tends to emulate the life
style, traditional values and religious rituals of higher castes and
seeks its acceptance within the greattradition of Sanskrit norms
and the Varna system. He therefore admits that the tendency
among the lower castes, is responsible for the continuity of the
traditional structure of caste.
M. N. Srinivas while explaining the concept of
`dominant caste' says that every region in India displays a good
example of dominant caste. He calls a caste dominant, if it
preponderates economic opportunities, the introduction of Panchayat
raj made it possible for the intermediate caste groups to move
towards dominance. He made an important observation by saying
that even a large and powerful caste group can be dominant only if
its position in local caste hierarchy is intermediate. The
intermediate caste such as the Marathas in Maharashtra, Jats in
western U. P., Punjab and Haryana and Kurmies and Yada
y
s in
Bihar are some of the best examples.
3.2.4 Andre Baetille
He was of the opinion that Indian Social Stratification is
undergoing a change as other elements of such status as power
and class are coming to the fore. Under the influence of
modernization, secularisation and democratisation,
,
paste is being
replaced by social circles, social network, political factions or
factional alignments, pressure groups and even socio-economic
classes. Betille argues that
.
the
,
changes in the criteria of status in
Indian. Society, there has occurred transformation from
.
closed
status groups based on caste to more open ones, which
accommodate other components as well.
R OL E OF C AS T E I N P OL I TI CS OF
MAHARASHTRA
Jayant Lele in his article "Caste, class and dominance." Political
mobilization in Maharashtra" argues that in Maharashtra, the
contemporary pattern of politico
.
-economic dominance is widely
understood as that of the Marathas 'as dominant caste.
Contemporary Maratha dominance is portrayed not as a modem
reassertion of traditional hegemonic rulership, resting in the control of
the means of
.
production, but as new and secularly-guided
manifestation of lower caste class consciousness.
In other words one can say that caste politics in Maharashtra
has led to the development of political mobilisation, political
participation and even to certain extent political development. Caste
factor
,
along with Regional factor has assumed extra-ordinary
importance in a recent years. These are several factors which has
led to the development of caste politics in Maharashtra. In fact over
the years in Maharashtra, caste has emerged in a possible
framework within which politics would be organised.
Caste sustains on the basis of localisation :
Dr. Suhas Palshikar in his essay "caste politics through
the prism of region" has argued that caste, as a system of vertical
division, sustains itself on the basis of localisation. Caste hierarchy
may involve the ideologies of chaturvamya, and of purity pollution, but
the hierarchy works only when it is concretised in a local situation.
Similarly the cultural and ritual life of members of a jati is organised
in the village or locality. It is only with reference to other castes in a
locality that the higher or lower status of a caste can be
experienced. In other words, caste as a unit of social relations,
rituals status and cultural universe is firmly based within the
framework of well defined spatial unit. It is because of this reason
that caste mobilisation in elections is possible at local level.
Strong territorial pockets of caste:
It has peen observed by many scholars that several
castes are Specific not only to a certain state but also to a particular
area. This means that a caste which has a concentrated existence
in one area may also constitute a numerically significant,
group in that area. e.g. in Maharashtra the `Agris' are
concentrated in one district of Konkan i.e. Raigad, the Lava Patils
in Jalgaon district of North Maharashtra and the 'vanjaris' in Nashik,
.Ahmednagar and Bead districts. Similarly more than 50% of
Ludhiana's population is Jat. In Tamilnadu Vanniyars belong to
north and south of, Arcot, Salem and Chingleput regions. The
Vokkaligas of Karnataka are concentrated in Mysore region. The
Kammas belong to the Andhra region and the Reddi's to
Rayalieema region.
Consequence of dominant territorial pocket of caste:
.
Dr. Palshikar has observed that the association of many
castes with specific territorial 'pockets' has produced two political
results. One is the rise of locally dominant castes, and other is
localised electoral politics.
Rise of locally dominant caste:
The term 'dominant caste' was used by M. N. Srinivas and it
was specifically with reference to a small locality or village or
group of villages. Srinivas mentioned that the concept of the
dominant caste is important for understanding intercaste relations in
any local area.
Elaborating on the concept in 1957, he uses the phrase,
'locally' dominant and then adds, 'occasionally a caste is
dominant in a group of neighbouring villages if not over a district or
two and in such cases, local dominance is linked with regional
dominance. Often a caste has numerical advantage when it also has
a high degree of control over resources i.e. the land. Thus it can
he said that economic power and size combine to produce
pattern of local domination.
Localised electoral politics:
Another, more commonly noted political result of caste
pockets relates to electoral politics. Localised politics have come to
mean that candidates of a particular caste get elected from a certain
area. The best example is of MarathaKunbi Caste cluster, which
is spread across the state, manages to send the largest number
of MLA's to the state legislative irrespective of political upheavels. In
51 constituencies in Maharashtra, the elected candidate has