Is Politics Going Casteless? A dialogue with Politically Untied Jatis in North India
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2321023021999158 |
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Is Politics Going Casteless?
A dialogue with Politically Untied
Jatis in North India
Prashant K. Trivedi1 and Shilp Shikha Singh1
Abstract
Obituaries on the demise of caste politics in India have already been read. It is argued that religious
identity has trumped caste as a tool of political mobilization. Underlining that changing terms of political
discourse represents a major break from the past; this article finds the coexistence of ‘casteless’ politics
and the ascendancy of dominant castes in electoral politics perplexing. The article argues that politics
in India is going ‘beyond’ caste but not without caste. The article offers ‘post-caste politics’ as a prism
through which emerging political situation could be studied.
Keywords
Caste, politics, election, identity, communalism, post-caste, north India, Uttar Pradesh
It has been argued (Gupta, 2019; Gupta & Kumar, 2007) that caste ceases to play an influential role in
Indian politics that it once played. It is increasingly ‘becoming clear that correlating caste with electoral
outcomes was problematic’ (Gupta, 2019, p. 24). However, this generalization is further qualified by
adding that ‘caste analysis of electoral outcomes is based on two flawed propositions—a tendency of
clubbing together similarly placed caste in Brahminical hierarchy and assumption regarding certain
constituencies preponderant by a particular caste’ (Gupta, 2019, pp. 24–25). ‘Mutual repulsion’ has been
offered as an alternative understanding of caste (Gupta, 2019). A similar-sounding argument doing round
since 2014 claims that ‘religious identity’ has taken precedence over ‘caste identity’. However, the
similarity between both these arguments does not go beyond asserting the demise of caste as a key tool
for political mobilization. While the former refers to dynamic politico-economic undercurrents that
influence the relationship between caste and politics, the later projects religious identity as a homogenizing
force. A recent upsurge in nationalist fervour also apparently flattens caste differences. These assumptions
continue to gain ground in spite of evidence offered to the contrary (Gurjar, 2019; Jaffrelot & Rizvi,
2019; Pai, 2014).
These observations on breaking down of caste-politics linkage might mainly be triggered by consistent
losses of ‘caste-based parties’ like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Lok
1 Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Article
Corresponding author:
Prashant K. Trivedi, Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226024, India.
E-mail: prashantcsd@gmail.com
Studies in Indian Politics
9(1) 64–75, 2021
© 2021 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
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DOI: 10.1177/2321023021999158
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