Identity and political choice: the co-existence of singular affiliation politics and pluralism

Abstract

The debate on identity politics is typically carried out in ideological terms. The phenomenon is associated with affiliation to a singular identity. The critique of this view is thus based on the argument that identities can be robustly plural and individuals choose to emphasise a particular identity in each situation. In this paper the focus is shifted from the ideologies of identity politics to the actual process through which individuals make a choice of identity to emphasise. Using empirical evidence from the south Indian city of Bangalore it argues that it is possible, and indeed perfectly consistent, for a robustly plural society, with a variety of identities to choose from, to support forms of singular affiliation identity politics. A free multiparty democracy can then exist even when its politicians are not committed to moderate ideological stances, because its people keep changing the choice of the identity they choose to emphasise.

Keywords:

• identity
• politics
• choice
• pluralism

Notes

These choices could be made explicitly, or may be implied in specific actions. There is also scope for debate on the precise relationship between identity and choice. A differentiation can be made even among supporters of rational choice theory between what has been called internalist rational choice and externalist rational choice (Aguiar 2009).

For an interesting debate on the relationship between the two, see, Parekh (2009a, 2009b) and Sen (2009).

The relationship between sameness and credibility would in the realm of practical politics be mediated by, among other factors, memory. And the relationship between memory and identity is itself a complex one. For a discussion on the relationship between memory and national identity, see Gillis (1994).

The gender issues the women workers in Bangalore's garment export industry face have not always got the attention they deserve. They have tended to fall off the radar of most feminist screens as well. This was perhaps most evident in 1996 when Bangalore became the focus of international attention from both feminists and those interested in globalisation. In that year the city played host to the Miss World pageant. Those in charge of the city had done their bit to attract the pageant to the city as it was seen as a vehicle to showcase Bangalore to the world. As the city made its early strides into the global information technology network it was keen to grab any opportunity to place itself on the world stage. Equally, the pageant brought with it its feminist critics. Together with the anti-globalisation protestors within the city, a formidable resistance was built up. When Miss Greece was finally crowned Miss World it was in the midst of a police force that would have suggested the presence not of a young woman conscious of the need for congeniality but of a much reviled dictator (Oza 2001). In the midst of all this feminist attention the woman worker of Bangalore's garment export industry found no place.

Others interviewed included management and financial staff at different levels of various garment firms, lawyers dealing with labour cases, representatives of apparel export organisations, representatives of auditors of social and labour standards, and owners of garment firms.

There is evidence that the burqa and other similar garments have been used by women to stress their Muslim identity in other parts of the world as well. See for instance, Hessini (1994).

The adjective ‘Bangalored’ has been defined as being ‘laid off due to outsourcing, especially outsourcing to India or other parts of Asia’. Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Dictionary.com, LLC.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bangalored (accessed 5 October 2010).

Bangalore has a city-based cricket team, The Royal Challengers, that is one of the eight original teams of India's 20-Twenty cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League.

See, for instance, Tamil Sangam agonised over Tamil channel ‘bandh’ Times News Network, 9 October 2002, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Tamil-Sangam-agonised-over-Tamil-channel-bandh/articleshow/24694944.cms (accessed 12 November 2009).

This information was collected by following the dispute on the internet in real time and through conversations with factory owners during the period of the dispute.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Narendar Pani

Narendar Pani is a Professor in the Conflict Resolution Programme at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore. He also heads the RBI Programme on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Economic Issues in the same institute. He is Adjunct Faculty in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He has written extensively on a variety of multidisciplinary issues over the last three decades. He has worked towards developing a contemporary version of the Gandhian method and is currently using that essentially multidisciplinary method to address a variety of issues affecting India.