Caste in Indian politics

Caste in Indian Politics - Second Edition, written by Rajni Kothari and revised by James Manor, depicts the dichotomy and interaction between traditional society and modern polity. A critical introduction by the author offers the analytical framework in the given community and geographical settings.

Summary of the Book

Of the nine studies included in this title, four are based on the detailed study of different caste movements and their induction into the political process. The other five concentrate on the large-scale dimensions of the political involvement of caste. Each piece of writing tries to portray the inter-relationship between the antecedent social structure of democratic and Indian politics and talks about the evolving idiom of social-political behaviour. This edition has an extended prologue by renowned political scientist, James Manor. He discusses how the waning effects of caste hierarchies have had widespread consequences for the voting patterns of the jati-clusters or caste groups. This second edition picks up from where Kothari and others had left off, and thus serves as a seminal collection that is completely contemporary.

About the Authors

Rajni Kothari has been a renowned academic who has always emphasised on living a life of the mind. He is the founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a leading institute in the sphere of social sciences, and Lokayan. He currently lives in Delhi.

James Manor is Emeka Anyaoku Professor at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He has been studying India’s political parties, the role of India's Presidents, panchayati raj, the problems faced by Chief Ministers of different states since 1972, civil society’s interactions with the government, and India’s poverty programmes.