Caste in India, despite its historical resilience, has been undergoing transformation since independence. If caste as a system of rigid stratification has been on the decline, castes as autonomous interest-serving groups have been on ascendance. This book critically engages with the changing notions of caste and its intersection with public policy in India. It discusses key issues such as social security, internal reservation, the idea of Most Backward Classes, caste issues among non-Hindu religious communities, caste in census, caste in market, and service castes and urban planning. Drawing on in-depth case studies from states including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal, the volume explores the cyclical process of how caste drives policies, and how policies in turn shape the reality of caste in India. It looks at the impact of factors like protective discrimination, adult franchise and democratic decentralisation, horizontal and vertical mobilisation, land reforms, and religious conversion on social mobility, and traditional hierarchy in India.
Empirically rich and analytically rigorous, this book will be an excellent reference for scholars and researchers of public policy, public administration, sociology, exclusion studies, social work, law, history, economics, political science, development studies, social anthropology, and political sociology. It will also be of interest to public policy and development practitioners.
Author(s): Rahul Choragudi, Sony Pellissery, N. Jayaram
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 245
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Notes on contributors
Preface
Introduction: The career of caste in public policy
The changing avatar of caste
Law, and public policy and the dynamics of caste
Caste and the colonial census
Caste, constitution, and protective discrimination
Reservations in legislatures
Reservations in employment
Provisions for education
Mandal commission and the rise of the OBCs
Engaging with caste in policy formulation in changing times
The seminar and the volume
Notes
References
Part I: The national scenario
Chapter 1: Caste in and out of place: State, market, and culture
General argument
Trajectories
Raft or thorn: Principles and scenarios
The market and life chances
Pride, prejudice, and policy
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 2: Enumerating caste in the census: Is it useful for public policy?
The colonial construction of caste and its enumeration in census 2
Caste-enumeration conundrum in post-colonial India
Counting caste: Conceptual and methodological issues
Conclusion
Notes
References
Part II: Perspectives from the states
Chapter 3: Awareness and access to social security among the unorganised worker households: A study of scheduled caste sub-plan and tribal sub-plan in Karnataka
The context
Socio-economic situation of SC/STs in Karnataka and state polices
The new Act and problem statement
Data and methodology
Profile of sample households
Awareness of and access to social security benefits
Scheme-wise eligibility
Awareness of the schemes
Accessing social security benefits
Conclusion and discussion
Notes
References
Chapter 4: Addressing graded inequality among the scheduled castes: Internal reservation as a strategy
Understanding caste as graded inequality
Graded inequality among the Scheduled Castes
Redressing graded inequality: A constitutional vision
Graded inequality among the backward classes: N. M. Thomas and Indira Sawhney
Graded inequality among the SCs: E. V. Chinnaiah and the sociological blindness of the Supreme Court
Sub-reservation in Karnataka: SCs as an uneven class
Making partial atonement: State of Punjab v. Davinder Singh
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 5: Caste and politics: Reservation policy in Tamil Nadu
Reservation during the early Dravidian phase
The Justice Party and the non-Brahmin concerns
Periyar and the self-respecters' voices
Further transitions: The DMK and ADMK
Reservation during the newer context of Tamil politics
The Vanniyar assertion and the category of MBC
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 6: Economic prospects, protective discrimination, and the changing hierarchy: An ethnographic study in a coastal village in Andhra Pradesh
The context
Social composition of Lankapalli
Temporary migration to the Middle-East: The momentous juncture
Protective discrimination: Efficacy and consequences
Education and employment: Underrated and underutilised by the Malas
The SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: The trigger
The Naava incident
The case of two auto drivers
The lower jati Shudras: Not a distant second from the Malas
The Rajus and Kapus: From denial to acceptance?
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 7: Caste and public policy: The case of West Bengal
Caste in Bengal: From the late colonial period to the post-partition phase
Caste during the Left Front rule
Policy changes under the new political regime since 2011
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 8: Development policies and marginal groups: Case study of dhobis in Delhi
Dhobi as a service caste
Old Delhi and the dhobis
The viability of the dhobi work
Urban policies and the dhobis
The Dhobis as a political entity
Notes
References
Part III: Caste beyond Hinduism
Chapter 9: Despite equality: Sikhs and the caste issue
The Sikh castes and British policy
The Sikh castes and the post-colonial state policies
Sikhs and the Constituent Assembly debates
The Sikh castes at present
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 10: Caste and caste discrimination among Christians and Muslims: A case for revisiting the ambit of protective discrimination policy
The category of Scheduled Castes
Christianity, Islam, and the category of Scheduled Castes
Caste and caste-based discrimination among Christians
Caste and caste-based discrimination among Muslims
Conclusion
Notes
References
Epilogue: Caste in public policy analysis: Rediscovering public sphere through institutionalist lens
Socio-cultural variables in public policy
Caste in the public sphere
Caste in the administrative sphere
Caste in the market sphere
Caste in the civil society sphere
Incorporating caste in policy analysis: Towards a framework
Agenda-setting phase
Policy formulation phase
Decision-making phase
Implementation phase
Policy evaluation phase
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
