Question

what has been the effect of caste on politics and of politics on caste

Answer 1

Politics does not function in vacuum. Due to the increasing significance of 'politics of number' or 'number game', politicians cannot just ignore or sideline the role of caste in politics. Caste provides an extensive basis for organisation of democratic politics. Such implications have not only influenced the campaigning strategy of different political parties but also altered the distribution of tickets by different political parties. As has already pointed out  that while distributing tickets, political parties take into account the proportion of caste/sub-caste in a particular constituency. They always prefer to give party tickets to the contender of caste member, which has substantial number. Even without political reservation for the OBCs, exploring the possibility of casting vote as 'a group' by this section during the elections, all political parties including the major parties such as the Congress and the BJP issue party tickets to the OBCs and subsequently, the representation of OBCs in politics increased to a large extent. In such a situation, caste/sub-caste had has always been at the forefront during the election rally and campaigns. In order to galvanise support, political parties/candidates mobilise people on the basis of caste line. The other significant aspect of caste and politics is the role of caste associations. Though the role of caste associations has decreased to some extent in the recent period due to the impact of modern education and the emergence of middle class among the Dalits, they still mould the political behaviour of their caste members. These associations provide support to political parties as 'a block'. In other words, politics always look for articulation of support through organisation, where caste structure provides one of the principal organisational cluster. In this context, Rajni Kothari underscores that the alleged 'casteism in politics' is thus no more or no less than politicisation of caste (Kothari, 2010: 5). In other words, it is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is caste that gets politicised. On the contrary, the political parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party, which was initially confined to the Dalits only and later extended to others, use their caste leaders such as Ambedkar, as a symbol of dignity. The BSP considered that the establishment of Ambedkar's statue in different parts of the state symbolises the empowerment and dignity of the Dalits. In short, caste itself becomes a political category and it is difficult to demonstrate whether caste uses politics or politics uses caste.

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