caste conflict myth & reality

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Caste Conflict: the Myth and Realities Mihir Bholey, PhD Associate Senior Faculty Interdisciplinary Design Studies National Institute of Design Ahmedabad

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Page 1: Caste conflict myth & reality

Caste Conflict: the Myth and Realities

Mihir Bholey, PhD Associate Senior Faculty

Interdisciplinary Design Studies

National Institute of Design Ahmedabad

Page 2: Caste conflict myth & reality

Caste and Politics: the Nexus

“Politics is a competitive enterprise, its purpose is

acquisition of power for the realization of certain

goals, and its process is one of identifying and

manipulating existing and emerging allegiances in order

to mobilize and consolidate positions. The important

thing is organization and articulation of support, and

where politics is mass-based the point is to articulate

support through organizations in which the masses are

to be found”. (Kothari, Politics in India. 1977: 59)

Mihir Bholey - Caste Conflict 2

Page 3: Caste conflict myth & reality

The Outline

• Caste – reflects evolution of our social process

• Has its own system of hierarchy, discrimination and ascribed status to

name a few

• There is a system and design clash – system of caste and the design of

democracy- justice, liberty, equality and fraternity

• Hence, the conflict: social, economic and political

• Sanskritization, urbanization and now globalization have influenced

caste socially-politically and economically

• The conflict for socio-cultural assimilation and political space is now

turning into conflict of economic interest under market economy

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Page 4: Caste conflict myth & reality

Social Factors

Political Factors

Economic Factors

Historical Factors

Caste

Conflict

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Page 5: Caste conflict myth & reality

Lack of Equal

Opportunity

Lack of Social

Justice

Feudal Social

Structure

Oppression by the

Dominant

Social

Factors

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Page 6: Caste conflict myth & reality

Political Factors

Unequal Share in Power

Exploitation of Various

Kind

Growing Political

Awareness

Assertion for Equal

Rights

Mihir Bholey - Caste Conflict 6

Page 7: Caste conflict myth & reality

Economic

Factors

Unequal Distribution of Wealth

Skewed Proportion of Have and Have-Nots

Lack of Alternative Sources of

Earning Livelihood

Fight for Share in

Economic Wellbeing

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Page 8: Caste conflict myth & reality

Ethnic difference

Racial Difference

Concept of Purity

and Pollution

Brahmanical Hegemony

Historical Factors

Mihir Bholey - Caste Conflict 8

Page 9: Caste conflict myth & reality

Some Faces of Caste Conflict: Identity and Political Space

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Page 10: Caste conflict myth & reality

Assertion for Dalit Unity

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Page 11: Caste conflict myth & reality

Caste Conflict and the Cult of Violence

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Page 12: Caste conflict myth & reality

Caste Conflict and Social Justice

• The Preamble accords Justice – social, economic and political

topmost priority, makes attainment of social justice one of the

main objectives

• Social justice is the recognition of greater good to larger number

without deprivation or accrual of anybody‟s legal rights – Supreme

Court

• Means to remove social imbalance by law and harmonize rival

claims or interests of different sections of the society – Supreme

Court

• Social justice in Bihar and in other states too became polarization

of castes for political gains – social engineering invented

• Causing inter and intra-caste conflict

Mihir Bholey - Caste Conflict 12

Page 13: Caste conflict myth & reality

• Constant political intervention into a social system has politicized

caste – 62.9% respondents felt „caste is a vote bank‟

• Caste consciousness today is not only about one‟s caste status in

the hierarchy but about how caste or caste associations can be put

to use

• Ensuring affirmative action through reservation is the best example

- 52.1% respondents among all caste categories felt the policy of

reservation can be modified and can be extended on economic

basis, 20.8% also felt creamy layer can be removed

• NSSO estimates OBC population 40.94%, SC – 15.9%, ST – 8.63 and

Others – 30.80% (2004-05)

• Youth population in India is estimated to be 333 million (33.3

crore) – are there enough jobs / opportunities for all?

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Page 14: Caste conflict myth & reality

The Changing Equations of Caste • Disappearance of caste is not the question - question is how caste and

politics are interacting and influencing each other

• Demographic structure though tilted towards Upper Castes on socio-

economic counts, but indices are changing

• Considerable rise in OBC participation and share in power since mid

1970s – competing marginalized SCs for the affirmative action –

causing conflict

• OBC – a state classification has overwhelmed the issue of acute

marginalization and discrimination of the SCs

• On the economic front also they are not far behind – if 34.1% Upper

Castes earn 45.4% of income in the country, 41.1% OBCs earn 37.7%

and 16.8% SCs earn 11.8%

• Their respective surplus income is – UCs 53%, OBCs 33.7% and SCs 8.3% Mihir Bholey - Caste Conflict 14

Page 15: Caste conflict myth & reality

Caste Under Market Economy

• Market economy is impacting the economic status of castes and changing their traditional status in social hierarchy

• Economic status of the marginalized castes depends on the economic priority and performance of the state – SCs and STs of Gujarat are better off compared to their counterparts in Orissa

• At the micro-level economic status of castes is not the same in every state – much depends on state‟s own economic priority and performance

• Economically better off Karnataka is India‟s best state in terms of Upper caste, OBCs and ST household as compared to politically assertive Bihar

• Economic and educational opportunity under market economy matter more than caste identity – economic status matters more than caste status

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Page 16: Caste conflict myth & reality

Popular Myths vs. Emerging Realities

The Reality The Myth

• Caste is dynamic and

divergent

• Caste is about dominance

• Caste is the agent of

change

• Social Justice not

attainable without social

harmony

• Now it‟s essentially about

economic interest

• Caste is static and monolithic

• Caste is for solidarity

• Caste is resistant to change

• Caste conflict and social

justice can go together

• Caste conflict is assertion of

identity and status

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Page 17: Caste conflict myth & reality

Concludingly

• Caste, class and power (Beteille, 1971) equations are constantly changing in society

• Change depends on the socio-economic and political dynamics and priorities

• Higher caste status doesn’t always mean strong economic and political status

• Market economy has broken the jajmani system – made class more conspicuous than caste - changed the social dynamics

• Therefore, social justice of affirmative action should consider the changing status of castes (socio-economic-political) rather than sticking to the status-quo of castes

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