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

2. 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)
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3. 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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4. Social
Factors
Political
Factors
Caste
Conflict
Economic
Factors
Historical
Factors
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5. Lack of
Equal
Opportunity
Lack of
Social
Justice
Social
Factors Feudal
Social
Structure
Oppression
by the
Dominant
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6. Unequal
Share in
Power
Assertion
for Equal
Political Exploitation
of Various
Rights Factors Kind
Growing
Political
Awareness
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7. Unequal
Distribution
of Wealth
Fight for
Share in Economic Skewed
Proportion
Economic of Have and
Wellbeing Factors Have-Nots
Lack of
Alternative
Sources of
Earning
Livelihood
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8. Ethnic
difference
Racial
Difference
Historical
Factors Concept
of Purity
and
Pollution
Brahmanical
Hegemony
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9. Some Faces of Caste Conflict: Identity and Political Space
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10. Assertion for Dalit Unity
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11. Caste Conflict and the Cult of Violence
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12. 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
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13. • 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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14. 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%
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15. 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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16. Popular Myths vs. Emerging Realities
The Myth The Reality
• Caste is dynamic and
divergent
• Caste is static and monolithic
• Caste is about dominance
• Caste is for solidarity
• Caste is the agent of
• Caste is resistant to change
change
• Caste conflict and social
• Social Justice not
justice can go together
attainable without social
harmony
• Caste conflict is assertion of
identity and status
• Now it‟s essentially about
economic interest
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17. 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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