Rejecting the prevailing dichotomy between traditional society and modern polity, Caste in Indian Politics examines their interaction in given community and territorial settings. A critical introduction by Rajni Kothari provides the analytical framework. Of the nine studies that follow, four are based on detailed investigation of individual caste movements and structures and their induction into the political process. The other five focus on the macro dimensions of the political involvement of caste. Each essay tries to bring out the substantial change that has taken place in the inter-relationship between the antecedent social structure of Indian and democratic politics and underlies the emerging idiom of social-political behaviour.
This second edition has an extended prologue by eminent political scientist James Manor. Manor’s ‘Caste and Politics in Recent Times’ is an optimistic account of the changes and developments in the interplay of caste and politics over the past four decades. He shows how the diminishing influence of caste hierarchies has had widespread implications for the voting patterns of the ‘jati-clusters’ (caste groups).
Taking up the debate where Kothari and other contributors had left it, Manor’s new chapter makes this seminal collection truly contemporary. The volume will be of interest to students and scholars of political science.
Rajni Kothari is one of the most remarkable intellectuals independent India has produced. An academic who always insisted on living a life of the mind, Kothari’s story is the story of Indian political science coming of age. He is the founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)—a premier institute in the sphere of social sciences, and Lokayan. Kothari is now past eighty and he lives in Delhi.
James Manor is Emeka Anyaoku Professor at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He has studied every Lok Sabha election since 1971, and several state elections. He has also analysed India’s political parties, the difficulties faced by Chief Ministers since 1972, the role of India's Presidents, panchayati raj, civil society’s interactions with government, and India’s poverty programmes.
Preface to the First Edition Prologue: Caste and Politics in Recent Times xi JAMES MANOR
Part One Chapter 1 : Introduction: Caste in Indian Politics RAJNI KOTHARI
Part Two Chapter 2 : Learning the Use of Political Means: The Mahars of Maharashtra Eleanor Zelliot
Chapter 3: Federating for Political Interests: The Kshatriyas of Gujarat Rajni Kothari and Rushikesh Maru
Chapter 4: Political Participation and Primordial Solidarity: The Nadars of Tamilnad Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr.
Chapter 5: Caste and Faction among the Dominant Caste: The Reddis and Kammas of Andhra Carolyn M. Elliot
Part Three Chapter 6: Caste and Political Factions in Rajasthan Richard Sisson
Chapter 7: Caste and Political Recruitment in Bihar Ramashray Roy
Chapter 8: Caste and Political Group Formation in Tamilnad Andre Beteille
Chapter 9: Caste and Political Mobilisation in a Gujarat District Anil Bhatt
Chapter 10: Caste and Political Participation in Two Cities Donald B. Rosenthal
Index