The Real Opium of the Masses

How Asceticism Sustained Brahmin Marxism in the 21st Century

Bibliographic Data

ID17835323
AuthorsSatanik Pal (0000-0002-1889-8985, National University of Singapore, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume39
Issue2
Pages303-315
Publication date2026-04-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology Lens (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2832-5796 • E-ISSN: 2832-580X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/johs.70050
OpenAlexW7160113400
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited58

This article examines a striking paradox at the heart of West Bengal's modern political history: how Brahmin dominance—rooted in one of the world's most entrenched status hierarchies—fused with Marxism, an avowedly egalitarian ideology, to produce 34 consecutive years of communist party rule. It argues that historical ascetic traditions, which previously functioned as tools for social and political control instead of liberation, facilitated this convergence between Brahmin culture and revolutionary politics. By tracing Brahmin political dominance in colonial and postcolonial history, and by drawing comparative parallels with ascetic movements within Christianity, Buddhism, and Brahmanism, the article demonstrates how renunciation and austerity have repeatedly functioned as legitimating tools of power and privilege across vastly different cultural contexts. This article demonstrates how Brahmin Marxists in West Bengal, following the colonial era, successfully consolidated their authority over the state's political and cultural landscapes. This enabled them to transform West Bengal into “the most casteist state in India”, primarily by utilizing communist rhetoric and lifestyles to conceal the deep‐seated nature of caste hierarchies

Asceticism · Caste · Colonialism · Communism · Parallels · Politics · Privilege (computing) · Renunciation · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Colonial History and Postcolonial Studies · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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