Beyond Conspiracy and Coordinated Ascendancy

Revisiting Caste Question in West Bengal under the Left Front Rule (1977–2011)

Bibliographic Data

ID13118175
AuthorsAyan Guha (0000-0003-4100-000X, Jamia Hamdard, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume13
Issue1
Pages50-65
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary Voice of Dalit (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2455-328X • E-ISSN: 2456-0502
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/2455328x211008434
OpenAlexW3160723301
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited14

This article has critically engaged with the speculative claim that the disappearance of caste question from public discourse during Left rule in West Bengal was a result of conscious upper-caste ploy to silence articulation of caste interests and tactfully eliminate the possibility of Dalit political assertion. To verify the veracity of this claim, this study has critically scrutinized Left Front’s political mobilization strategy of rural population and also its landmark land reform initiative. The investigation attempted by this article, in this regard, has revealed that there is little to suggest the existence of any organized upper-caste conspiracy. It is, however, true that the articulation and aggregation of political demands along the lines of caste was indeed averted in West Bengal through political tactics and developmental strategies devised by the upper castes. But, the marginalization of the caste question in mainstream politics was an unintended consequence of such political tactics and developmental strategies which were primarily designed with the objective to preserve and enlarge the political support base, rather than to contain the lower castes. Thus, political motives acted as far more important determinants of political and developmental activities rather than any inherent caste bias

Articulation (sociology · Caste · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Demography · Law · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora