Caste in India

Among the oppressed the appeal to caste is for unification of similar 'jatis' into larger collectivities and political mobilisation for power so as to subvert the very relations of the 'varna' order. Caste appeal here is, therefore, far from being casteism. On the other hand, the self-perceived transcendence of the traditionally hegemonic middle class from caste consciousness has rapidly collapsed in the last decade. There has been a steady decomposition of the consciousness of the middle class into articulated caste interests of brahmins, thakurs and so on. Within the Muslim communities there has been a shift away from concerns of security to those of equality and dignity - a politics in affinity to that of the dalits and the OBCs for recognition. They are therefore no more a vote bank; it is a case of alignment of interests of a secular nature, a social coalition of oppressed forces. This fusion of opposite tendencies and intercession of contrary forces has rendered the process of democratisation more and more complicated so that simple judgments become one-sided and are a sure source of misunderstanding.

Studies of two villages from Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, tell us a story of the emergence of backward castes in local politics. These unirrigated villages have not seen green revolution or any improvement in agricultural technology, which has prevented the strengthening of earlier class/caste power structure. It has allowed backward castes to improve their position socially and also in landownership.

Castes were the building blocks of Hindu social structure in precolonial India. But with the introduction and development of the new capitalist forces of production these blocks have undergone a fundamental change. From being a hereditary unity of caste and occupations they nave become a unity ofthisvld contradiction plus the new contradiction of caste and class. This basic contradiction in Indian society can be resolved neither by subjectively subtracting the old contradiction from the new one nor by excluding either class or caste from the new set of opposites.

P Radhakrishnan The evolution of backward classes lists in Tamil Nadu clearly shows that, far from being a creation of the Indian Constitution, these were created by the British administration, supported and sustained by missionary educationists. Understanding the emergence and growth of these lists is crucial for rationalising the present backward classes categories. For it is these lists, and not any other arrived at after proper enumeration, which have been used to fill the three backward classes categories envisaged by the Constitution. More importantly, their adoption for dispensation of the far-reaching special treatment provisions of the Constitution has in effect reduced the perception and practice of these provisions to a mere concessionist policy.

Karnataka Commissions and Omissions KARNATAKA Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde's decision to reject the Venkataswamy Commission report, while it may have been politically expedient, has contributed little towards resolving the issues being persistently raised not only in Karnataka but in other States as well. Not only has the State Government included the politically powerful Vokkaligas in the new list, but also the Lingayats who had been excluded by the earlier Havanur Commission. The Backward Special Group has been retained and the existing 15 per cent reservations on the basis of occupation and income limit has been brought down to five per cent. The new policy brings 92 per cent of the State's population under the income-based backward classes category while retaining the level of reservations at 68 per cent and will be in force for three years.