Caste and Politics
The relationship between caste and politics in Indian society has been subject
of intensive study for many years. Many sociologists including Andre Beteille,
Rajni Kothari, and Anil Bhatt have highlighted various aspects. According to
M.N Srinivas the role played by caste in politics is in close approximation to
that of the pressure group. The modernizing forces will however reduce the
influence of caste over the politics. However Andre Beteille holds that while
westernization is taking individual away from caste identity the role of caste in
politics is taking the people towards the caste identity and thereby
strengthening it.Rajni Kothari studied the nature of relationship between caste
and politics.
He has also examined the type of changes that have taken place in the
political system as a result of the involvement of caste organization. Caste
has three important indigenous elements -secular which refers to relevance of
caste in politics in terms of the relations within and between castes.
Integrative which refers to castes being relevant to politics through
differentiation and integration and ideological which is heightened by its value
structure. The analysis of Dominant Caste and political process by Anil Bhatt
reveals the crucial role played by castes in politics and awareness of the
lower castes of their political gains. He found that the higher caste groups had
lower political interest and low castes higher political interests. Political
awareness was high among the higher castes and was low among the lower
castes. Lower castes by organizing themselves in pursuit of collective interest
were able to emerge successfully. The involvement of these castes
organization in politics has changed their position in hierarchical pattern of
Hindu society. Caste solidarity and political power helped them to achieve
higher social, economic and political success. This was highlighted by the
studies conducted by Rudolf and Rudolf. The same was highlighted by Andre
Beteille's study of Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu.Caste has become one of the
most formidable element of group formation within political parties in India.
The patronage and pecuniary resources available to the political leaders
enable them to create a coalition of factions on caste basis, whose leaders
are bound to political elites in power in a complex network of personal
obligational ties. Each of these leaders had a group of followers tied to him in
accordance with the same set of caste principles. The personnel of these
castes factions may vary but whatever may be their social composition they
demand and to a higher degree receive from their members full support.
Political parties mobilize caste support in various ways. According to Andre
Beteille two kinds of changes seem to be taking place in relation between
caste and politics - power shifts from one dominant caste to another and the
focus of power shifts from one caste itself to another on caste basis. He
maintains that loyalties of castes are exploited in voting. New alliances cutting
across castes are also formed. Rudolph is of the opinion that caste
association has given caste a new vitality and democracy has enabled caste
to play an important political role in India. Caste federations are formed not of
one caste but many. His further observation pointed out that caste enters the
political process by making appeals to caste loyalties in a general way. Also
by activating networks of inter-personal relation both during elections and at
other times for mobilizing support along caste lines and by articulating caste
interests in an organized manner.Beteille has also pointed that the political
process has a dual effect on the caste system. To the extent that caste and
sub-caste loyalties are consistently exploited, the traditional structure is
strengthened and to the extent that it leads to new alliance cutting across
caste, it loosens the traditional structure. Political parties utilize the support of
caste for their functioning and seek their support in winning elections. Grassroot political arenas as well as political parties have always remained and
continue to remain dominated by elites of castes which compete with each
other to form caste coalitions of supporters strong enough to maximize control
over local resources and enhance opportunities to become players in political
system.
Political modernization in India
Almost all the political systems have set before themselves the goal of
modernization. The political trends in India since independence have largely
been a series of reconciliations with demands articulated by regional interest
groups: linguistic formation of states in the political realm, emphasis on mixed
economy in the sphere of economic policy, secularism and neutrality in
international relationship are all reflections of the predominantly reconciliatory
pattern of political modernization in India. The same pattern is true in case of
traditional institutions role in politics, caste associations, kin groups and ethnic
solidarities have adapted themselves to the need of a modern democratic
political culture successfully. Due to the impact of modern forces certain
changes have been witnessed in the political sphere of society. Regulation of
court laws, establishment of village panchayats and local autonomy has
changed the traditional Indian political system. In villages there is decline of
caste panchayats and their functions are being transferred to courts.
On the other hand caste is developing on political lines. There is change in
the pattern of leadership. This leadership is now available to low income
groups as well. The predominance of all India parties indicates the extent to
which political unity is firmly established. Regional differences of culture and
language have found political expression in debates on the number and
delimitation of states It is evident from various sources that intellectuals in a
broad sense have dominated political life in India since independence and
that active participation in politics by the mass of the population such as
occurred in the independence movement has recently begun to revive on a
limited scale with the emergence of peasant movements in some states.
Students are the principal source of recruitment to the political work and this
shows prevalence of factionalism in the major parties. Some studies have
found the prevalence of factionalism to be characteristic of the traditional
village culture itself. The reservation of seats for scheduled castes and tribes
has led to emergence of parties catering exclusively this section of society .In
recent years they have made huge gains both in term of vote share and role
in the national politics. There are conflicts between traditional social
arrangements, caste system and religion and new relationships brought out
by economic growth.
Elite Theory
Elite theory developed in part as a reaction to Marxism. It rejected the Marxian
idea that a classless society having an egalitarian structure could be realized
after class struggle in every society. It regards Marxism as an ideology rather
than an objective analysis of social systems. According to Elite theory man
can never be liberated from the subjugation of an elite structure. The term
Elite refers to those who excel. The classical elite theorists identify the
governing elite in terms of superior personal qualities of those who exercise
power. However, later versions of elite theory places less emphasis on the
personal qualities of the powerful and more on the institutional framework of
the society.
They argued that the hierarchical organization of social institutions allows a
minority to monopolize power. Another criticism of the elite theories against
the Marxian view of distribution of power is that the rulingclass too large and
amorphous a group to be able to effectively wield power. In their view power
is always exercised by a small cohesive group of the elite. Elite theory argues
that all societies are divided into two main groups a ruling minority and the
ruled. This situation is inevitable. If the proletarian revolution occurs it will
merely result in the replacement of one ruling elite by another. Classical elite
theory was propounded by Pareto and Mosca.
Power of the unorganized Masses
Power refers to the ability of an individual or a group to attain its objectives in
spite of the opposition from other individuals or groups. According to Weber
Party is the basis of access to power. Party is an associative type of
organizational structure built around a common interest. It may be a class
based interest, a status based interest or ethnicity based interest, or any other
type of interest. The ability of the individuals acting to attain their interest is
very limited. Quite often they might act at cross purposes and reduce each
other's chances of attaining their goals. On the other hand the organizational
structure of the party helps in channelizing their energies towards the
common goal. Thus enhancing their ability to attain that goal or in other words
in enhancing their power.
Karl Marx had stated that class-in-itself will not be successful in bringing out
change in capitalist system. Only when it is transformed into class for itself it
shall be able to fight for the interest of the proletariat and capture power for
the proletariat class. The members of the working class should acquire an
awareness of common interest and also an organizational structure should
come into existence to pursue those interests. Thus according to Marx
unorganized masses would remain powerless.
In modern industrial societies with the increasing fragmentation of the working
class the possibility of the workers becoming a class for itself has disappeared
and accordingly have disappeared the chances of workers being able to
capture power for themselves through revolution. Thus so long as the masses
remain unorganized either due to the lack of awareness of common interests
or due to the diversity of interests they will not be able to exercise power.
However sometimes under special circumstances the masses may come to
share a sense of deprivation and leadership and ideology and an
organizational structure may also come into existence.
In such situations mass movements may develop and the masses may
acquire power. The various backward class movements like Dravidian
movement in Tamil Nadu, Mahar movement illustrate as how the growth of
organization enables masses to exercise power. On the other hand most of
the agricultural labour in India remains unorganized and are therefore unable
to achieve their legitimate interests. The barriers of caste, ethnicity, language
and religion continue to act as hindrances to the growth of any viable
organization. However being deprived of legitimate access to power
sometimes the unorganized masses may acquire short lived power through
illegitimate means. In case of mob violence based on common grievance the
unorganized masses may develop a short-lived spontaneous organizational
structure of a mob and may give expression to their sense of frustration
through violent and destructive activities.
Voting Behaviour
Elections and voting are an indispensable part of the democratic political
system. One of the major tasks of the political parties is to contest elections.
They select such candidates who have greater chances of winning.
Candidates who have greater influence on voters and who have greater votecatching capacity are an asset to any political party.
Voting like a party system is the means to select the representatives of people
who perform the functions of a government in a democracy. Through the
process of voting an unpopular government can removed from the power by
the people. The opposition can also bring down a party in power through a
vote of no confidence in the Assembly or Parliament. The voting has its own
pattern. Generally educated and educated electorate feels more involved. The
rural and illiterate lower classes are somewhat apathetic to it.
Some people follow the tradition and vote for the same party. Election system,
campaigning and voting depends upon the political culture. Modern
democracies have introduced universal adult franchise. The right to vote has
been conferred on all the citizens without any kind of discrimination. In India
also all the citizens irrespective of their caste, color, creed, religion, region or
sex are given the right to vote. The right to vote is a fundamental right
guaranteed by the constitutional law of the country.
Political Participation
Political participation is necessary ingredient of every political system. All
political systems encouraged political participation through varying degrees.
By involving the people in the matters of state, political participation fosters
stability and order by reinforcing the legitimacy of political authority. People
living in a particular society participate in the political system, which they
develop. There are many forms of participation and democracy in the form of
government that encourages maximum participation in governmental
processes. Participation does not mean more exercise of political rights like
franchise, by the people.
It means their active involvement, which in a real manner influences the
decision-making activity of the government. Democratic theory considers
citizens as rational, independent, and interested political persons capable of
expressing their opinion regarding the persons aspiring for holding offices and
also competent in electing some persons who deal with the policies of
government in a way conducive to the interest of the mass. "Perhaps the most
pervasive participation is simply living in a democratic community and where
all government action and policy are publicized in press, radio, and television.
In this situation those in position of authority must conduct themselves in such
a fashion as to as appear to the sensible people.
Thus the great public in a democracy serves a sort of sounding board for
public policy deliberations and discussion. Thus even a passive participation
is a constructive part of democratic process." The most obvious way of
political participation in democracy is voting. Other ways include such
behaviors as reading or listening or watching the mass media of
communications, taking part in political discussions, listening to political
speeches, attending party meetings, giving contribution to political parties,
writing petitions or letters to public officials or newspaper editors, trying to
influence the voters, contesting the election for office etc. Lipset has pointed
out that high-level participation cannot always be treated as good for
democracy. It may indicate the decline of social cohesion and breakdown of
democratic process. "A principle problem for a theory of democratic system is
under what conditions a society can have sufficient participation to maintain
the democratic system without introducing sources of cleavage which will
determine cohesion".
Some other political theorists are of the opinion that when majority of the
people in a society are contended, participation is small. This should be taken
as a favorable rather than unfavorable sign because it indicates stability and
consensus within the society and also absence of broad cleavages.
Depending on the intensity and degree of participation Lester Milbraith
has categorized political participation in three forms:
• Gladiators represent that small number of party activists, whose active
association with political parties keeps them engaged in series of direct
party activities like holding party offices, fighting the election as
candidates.
• Transitional activities include attending party meetings party spectators or
party sympathizers making contributions to the party fund and
maintaining contacts with public officials or party personnel.
• Spectator activities on the other hand include voting, influencing others to
vote in a particular way, joining political discussions or exposing
oneself to the political stimuli.
Power
Power implies the ability of an individual or a group to influence or change the
behavior of other individuals or groups. Weber defines power as the chance of
a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a communal action even
against the resistance of others who are participating in the action. Power is
an aspect of social relationships. An individual or a group does not hold power
in isolation. They hold it in relation to others. To say that power is relational is
also to imply it is behavioral. For if power consists in an inter-relationship
between two actors. Then that inter relationship can only be understood in
terms of one actor's manifest behavior as affecting the manifest behavior of
others. Further power is also situational. To know power one has necessarily
to relate it to a specific situation or a specific role and an actor's power in one
particular situation or role may vary from that in another.
Weber's concept of power implies that those who hold power do so at the
expense of others. It suggests that there is a fixed amount of power and
therefore if some hold power others do not. This view is sometimes known as
constant-sum concept of power.Talcott Parsons rejects this view and sees
power as something possessed by society as a whole. According to him
power is a generalized facility or resource in the society. In particular it is a
capacity to mobilize the resources of the society for the attainment of goals for
which a general public commitment has been made. In this sense the amount
of power in society is measured by the degree to which collective goals are
realized. Thus greater the efficiency of a social system for achieving the goals
defined by its members more the power that exists in society. This view is
sometimes known as variable -sum concept of power, since power in society
is not seen as fixed or constant. Instead it is variable in the sense that it can
increase or decrease. Alvin Gouldner has defined Power as among other
things the ability to enforce one's moral claims. The powerful can thus
conventionalize their moral defaults. According to David Lockwood power
must not only refer to the capacity to realize one's ends in a conflict situation
against the will of others, it must also include the capacity to prevent
opposition arising in the first place.
Pressure Groups
Groups play a direct role in political life. People organize social movements,
interest groups and pressure groups in order to influence the government.
Ethnic and racial groups, religious and linguistic minority groups have also
acted collectively to influence governmental decisions. Thus a pressure group
refers to an interest group which tries to safe-guard and promotes the
interests of its members. It is not a political group seeking to capture political
power though it may have a political character of its own.
A pressure group can be understood as an association of persons with a
common economic interest who try to influence governmental decisions.
These pressure groups also known as interest groups pursue their political
goals through lobbying- the process by which individuals and groups
communicate with public officials in order to influence decisions of
government. They also distribute persuasive literature and launch public
campaigns to build grass -root support for their political objectives. According
to Functionalists such groups play a constructive role in decision-making.
They prepare the ground for the orderly political participation. Conflict
theorists on the other hand argue that although a few organizations work on
behalf of the poor and disadvantaged most of the pressure groups represent
the vested interests of the business leaders, the lobbies of multinational
companies, rich professionals and political leaders. They further assert that
these powerful lobbies discourage political participation by the individual
citizens. The pressure groups have greater say in democracy than in the
totalitarian setup.Inspite of their limitations and defects they have become an
essential part of the modern democratic process.
People's Particiation
People’s participation is becoming the central issue of current period.
Participation means that people are closely involved in the economic, social
and cultural and political processes that affect their lives. People may in some
cases have complete and direct control over these processes – in other cases
the control may be partial or indirect. People have constant access to decision
making and power. Participation in this sense is an essential element of
human development. It generally refers to people’s involvement in particular
projects or programmes. But today participation means an overall
development strategy focusing on the central role that people should play in
all spheres of life. Human development involves widening their choice and
greater participation enables people to gain for themselves access to a much
broader range of opportunities.
People can participate as individuals or groups.As individuals in a democracy
they may participate as voters or political activists or in the market as
entrepreneurs or workers.Often they participate more and more effectively
through group action as members of a community organization or a trade
union or a political party.
Since participation requires increased influence and control,it also demands
increased empowerment in economic,social and political terms.In economic
terms this means being able to engage freely in any economic activity. In
social terms it means being able to join fully in all forms of community life
without regard to religion,colour or sex or race.In political terms it means the
freedom to choose and change governance at every level from top to
bottom.All these forms of participation are intimately linked.Without one the
others will be incomplete.
Participation from the human development perspective is both a means and
an end.Human development stresses the need to invest in human capabilities
and then ensure that those capabilities are used for benefit of all.Greater
participation has an important part to play there.It helps to maximize the use
of human capabilities and is thus a means of increasing levels of social and
economic development.But human development is also concerned with
personal fulfillment.So active participation which allows people to realize their
full potential and make their best contribution to society is also an end in itself.
Many new windows of opportunity are opening. The cold war in East-West
relations is over and there is a good chance of phasing it out in the developing
world. The ideological battles of the past are being replaced by a more
pragmatic partnership between market efficiency and social compassion. The
rising environmental threat is reminding humanity of both its vulnerability and
its compulsion for common survival on a fragile planet.
Many old concepts must now be radically revised. Security should be
interpreted as security for people, not security for land. Development should
be woven around people not people around development. It should empower
people and groups rather than take away power from them. Many of the old
institutions of civil society need to be rebuilt and many new ones created. The
future conflicts may well be between people rather than between states,
national and international institutions will need to accommodate much more
diversity and difference and to open many more avenues for constructive
participation. Participation is a process and not a event. It will proceed at
different levels for different regions and countries and its forms and extent
may vary from one stage of development to another.
The implications of widespread participation are profound embracing every
aspect of development. Markets need to be reformed to offer everyone
access to the benefits they can bring. Governance needs to be decentralized
to allow greater access to decision making. Community organizations need to
be allowed to exert growing influence on national and international issues. We
must realize the fact that human development is the development of the
people and for the people.