The Curious Trajectory of Caste in West Bengal Politics: Chronicling Continuity and Change critically engages with the political dynamics of caste in West Bengal and explores the reasons for the relative insignificance of caste as a political category in the state.
Author(s): Ayan Guha
Series: Studies in Critical Social Sciences, 221
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 308
City: Leiden
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
Chapter 1 Introduction: Setting the Agenda of Analysis
1 Posing the Problem: West Bengal’s Exceptionalism
2 Contemporary Critiques of West Bengal’s Exceptionalism
3 Research Rationale
4 Thematic Outline and Approach
Chapter 2 Politics of Memory: Caste and Nature of Political Mobilization
1 Rise of the Matua Factor
2 bjp’s Matua Outreach: A New Relationship
3 ‘Politics of Memory’ and Political Narrative
4 Contextualising Dalit mobilization in West Bengal
5 Interplay of Memory and Politics at the Grassroots
Chapter 3 Analysing Patterns of Political Representation: Continuity or Change
1 Explaining ‘Rise of Caste’ Hypothesis
2 Two Concepts of Representation: A Brief Theoretical Exploration
3 Mapping Trends of Political Representation in West Bengal
4 Decoding Political Outlook towards Representation
Chapter 4 Caste and Politics of Numbers: Delving Deep into Demography
1 Demographic Fragmentation of Caste Groups
2 Geographic Concentration of Caste Groups
3 Demography and Political Aggregation of Caste Interests
Chapter 5 Material Basis of Caste: Putting Political Economy into Perspective
1 Caste and Economic Aspects of Identity Politics
2 Caste and Patterns of Landholding
3 Caste and Relative Deprivation
4 Land and Agrarian Politics
5 Other Economic Indicators
6 Economic Development and Politics of Caste Coalition
Chapter 6 Micro-politics in Rural Society: Social Imagination, Political Culture and Economic Reality at the Grassroots
1 Existing Findings about Micro-Dynamics of Caste in West Bengal: An Overview
2 A Note on Methodology
3 Geography and Demography of the Village under Study
4 Caste and Class: Converging, Diverging and Intersecting Identities
5 Cultural Dynamics of Caste
6 Locating Caste in Politics at the Grassroots
7 Summing Up
Chapter 7 Unmasking Political Culture: Cultural Dynamics in Mainstream Politics
1 Bhadralok: Decoding the Sociological Category
2 Emergence and Evolution of the Bhadralok
3 From Culture to Politics: Tracing the Roots of Bhadralok Hegemony
4 Dynamics of a Discourse: Political Culture in Operation
5 Break from Past: towards a ‘Critical Juncture’?
Chapter 8 Conclusion: Summing Up
Bibliography
Index
