The Curious Trajectory of Caste in West Bengal Politics

Ayan Guha, Ph.D is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi. He is also currently associated with the York Centre for Asian Research, York University, Toronto as an External Research Associate. He has published extensively on caste and dalit politics.

Acknowledgements

List of Tables

1 Introduction Setting the Agenda of Analysis
 1 Posing the Problem: West Bengal’s Exceptionalism

 2 Contemporary Critiques of West Bengal’s Exceptionalism

 3 Research Rationale

 4 Thematic Outline and Approach


2 Caste and Nature of Political Mobilization Emerging Trends
 1 Rise of the Matua Factor

 2  bjp’s Matua Outreach: A New Relationship

 3 ‘Politics of Memory’ and Political Narrative

 4 Contextualising Dalit Mobilisation in West Bengal

 5 Interplay of Memory and Politics at the Grassroots


3 Analysing Patterns of Political Representation Continuity or Change
 1 Explaining ‘Rise of Caste’ Hypothesis

 2 Two Concepts of Representation: A Brief Theoretical Exploration

 3 Mapping Trends of Political Representation in West Bengal

 4 Decoding Political Outlook towards Representation


4 Caste and Politics of Numbers Delving Deep into Demography
 1 Demographic Fragmentation of Caste Groups

 2 Geographic Concentration of Caste Groups

 3 Demography and Political Aggregation of Caste Interests


5 Material Basis of Caste Putting Political Economy into Perspective
 1 Caste and Economic Aspects of Identity Politics

 2 Caste Identity and Patterns of Landholding

 3 Caste and Relative Deprivation

 4 Land and Agrarian Politics

 5 Other Economic Indicators

 6 Economic Development and Politics of Caste Coalition


6 Micro-politics in Rural Society Social Imagination, Political Culture and Economic Reality at the Grassroots
 1 Existing Findings about Micro-Dynamics of Caste in West Bengal: An Overview

 2 A Note on Methodology

 3 Geography and Demography of the Village under Study

 4 Caste and Class: Converging, Diverging and Intersecting Identities

 5 Cultural Dynamics of Caste

 6 Locating Caste in Politics at the Grassroots

 7 Summing Up


7 Unmasking Political Culture Workings of Cultural Dynamics in Mainstream Politics
 1 Bhadralok: Decoding the Sociological Category

 2 Emergence and Evolution of the Bhadralok

 3 From Culture to Politics: Tracing the Roots of Bhadralok Hegemony

 4 Dynamics of a Discourse: Political Culture in Operation

 5 Break from Past: Towards a ‘Critical Juncture’?


8 Conclusion Summing Up

Bibliography

Index