From Hierarchy to Ethnicity : The Politics of Caste in Twentieth-Century India

Caste and ethnicity have been crucial in shaping the discourse around identity politics in modern South Asia. This book critically discusses two important trends in twentieth-century Indian politics - the rise in the political salience of caste identities, and a shift in the way caste identity was conceptualized; from a hierarchical system based on the adoption of specific behaviours to a system based on bounded and autonomous groups not dissimilar to ethnic groups as conceived of in other parts of the world. It traces these changes to the evolving incentives of the elites of poorer ethnic groups, which are themselves a product of the gradual rise of literacy in colonial South Asia, and the democratization of the political system. This theory challenges accounts that emphasize the role of the colonial state in the evolution of caste. It presents a wide range of novel historical evidence to support these claims, both qualitative and quantitative, and covering both the colonial and post-independence periods. "Caste identities have been fundamental in shaping Indian politics, the loyalties, the structure of the party system, and the distribution of public resources. This book explains when and how caste identities became politicized, and how the nature of caste itself changed over time. The way in which caste is understood is dependent on time and place; some understand it as an integrated system based on subtle gradations of hierarchical difference, while others perceive it as a set of bounded groups similar to ethnicities in other countries across the globe. Using a wide range of historical data sources, the book shows how these identities evolved from the colonial period to the present. It describes how uneven economic development shifted the set of groups and regions where caste is important, while the spread of mass politics and the corresponding decline of patrimonial politics led to a decline in the hierarchical nature of the system. While colonial rule established some of the structural conditions of these changes, the enthusiasm with which caste activists responded to these conditions fluctuated from group to group. Even after these changes, the caste system in India differs from ethnic politics in other parts of the world, in ways that reflect its hierarchical history. The theory discussed in this book foregrounds how identity politics can vary not just between countries, but between groups, and how the modern conception of the ethnic group is the product of a long, and highly contingent, historical process"-- Provided by publisher This book critically discusses two important trends in twentieth-century Indian politics around caste - the rise in the political salience of caste identities, and a shift in the way caste identity was conceptualized.