The Decline of the Caste Question
Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal, by Dwaipayan Sen
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9737736 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chinnaiah Jangam (Carleton University , Ottawa, ON , Canada, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 137 |
| Issue | 589 |
| Pages | 1873-1875 |
| Publication date | 2022-12-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The English Historical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-8266 • E-ISSN: 1477-4534 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ehr/ceab284 |
| OpenAlex | W3209562095 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Post-colonial studies in South Asia, including Subaltern Studies dominated by Bengali Bhadroloks (an invisible tight-knit club of upper-caste men and women), have presented Bengal as a region with an exceptional history. In the normative representation, Bengal was the harbinger of modernity and progressive ideas, including in its history writing. This remarkable book by Dwaipayan Sen is a rare attempt to upend that dominant narrative and expose the politics behind that façade of upper-caste Bhadrolok radicalism. It argues that the Bengalis’ obfuscation of caste itself is a conspiracy to protect their caste privilege and bury the dark history of caste oppression and violence that tarred Dalits and other marginalised communities. While demystifying the historical narratives, the book presents the erased history of the powerful Dalit movement in Bengal based on the life and political activism of Jogendranath Mandal. Mandal’s historical role on the eve of India’s independence enabled B.R. Ambedkar to parachute to the centre stage of nationalist politics, thwarting Congress’s attempts to annihilate him politically. This book amply demonstrates that the misrecognition of Dalit and caste questions is not a theoretical lacuna but rather an insidious agenda pursued by Bengali upper-caste Hindus of all political affiliations—from Hindu Mahasabha to Congress to Communists. In the project of the erasure of Dalits, historians and social scientists—and even Subaltern Studies scholars—have played a part
BENGAL · Bengali · Caste · Colonialism · Hegemony · Hinduism · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Privilege (computing · Sociology · Subaltern · Gender Studies · History · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |