The caste question in West Bengal politics: continuing inconsequentiality or rising relevance?

ABSTRACT

The electoral decline of the organised Left in West Bengal politics has given rise to intellectual speculation about the increasing possibility of caste politics. In this context, this article investigates whether there is any merit in the claim that the electoral decline of the Left Front has paved the way for the rise of caste at the centre stage of mainstream electoral politics in West Bengal. It asks whether lower castes have started to mobilise politically in West Bengal in the same way as in many other states. The article argues against the claim of ‘a new politics of caste’ in West Bengal by showing that the electoral decline of the Left Front has not been accompanied by any rise in lower caste representation. In this context, the article also attempts to understand the reasons for the continuing non-politicisation of caste in West Bengal, revealing many factors relating to demography and political economy which don’t augur well for caste politics in West Bengal.

KEYWORDS:

• Caste
• West Bengal
• dalit
• representation
• demography

Acknowledgements

The author is highly indebted to two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions and comments have greatly helped to improve this article. He is also grateful to Ms Neha Chauhan, Researcher at Indian Law Institute (ILI), New Delhi for her valuable assistance in proof correction.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Indian Communists have generally viewed caste system as a legacy of feudalism. For example, Sitaram Yechury (1992–1993), one of the most influential Indian Communist leaders of the present times has argued that it is due to the inability of the Indian state to eliminate the vestiges of feudalism that social consciousness associated with feudalism continues to exist at the level of superstructure in the form caste.

2 The CPI(M) Programme updated in 2000 says ‘many caste leaders and certain leaders of bourgeois political parties seek to utilise the polarisation on caste lines for narrow electoral gains and are hostile to building up the common movement of the oppressed sections of all castes. They ignore the basic class issues of land, wages and fight against landlordism, which is the basis for overthrowing the old order’. The Political Resolution of the 18th Congress of the CPI(M) held in 2005 says, ‘The intensification of the caste appeal and fragmentation of the working people on caste lines is a serious challenge to the left and democratic movement. Taking up caste oppression, forging the common movement of the oppressed of all castes and taking up class issues of common concern must be combined with a bold campaign to highlight the pernicious effects of caste-based politics’. Resolution adopted at the All India Convention on Problems of dalits in 2006 declared that only overhauling of the land structure could solve the caste problem.

3 Sitaram Yechury is currently one of the tallest leaders of the CPI(M). He is member of the party politburo. He was previously the General Secretary of the CPI(M).

4 Kanshi Ram is a dalit politician who founded Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which has been spearheading dalit politics since the late 1980s in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

5 The notion of the dominant caste propounded by sociologist M N Srinivas (1959) applies to any caste which is numerically strong, politically influential and also holds the substantial economic power in the form of ownership of land. Moreover, its ritual rank is not too low.

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Notes on contributors

Ayan Guha

Ayan Guha is an assistant Professor of Political Science, Jamia Hamdard (Deemed to be University), New Delhi, India.