Court as a Symbolic Resource

doi:10.1017/9781108565530.008

7 - Court as a Symbolic Resource

Indra Sawhney Case and the Dalit Muslim Mobilization

from Part II - The Supreme Court of India, Social and Political Mobilization

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 August 2019

M. Mohsin Alam Bhat

Edited by

Gerald N. Rosenberg ,

Sudhir Krishnaswamy and

Shishir Bail

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Gerald N. Rosenberg: Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Sudhir Krishnaswamy: Affiliation:
Azim Premji University, Bangalore
Shishir Bail: Affiliation:
Azim Premji University, Bangalore

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Summary

This chapter analyzes the impact of the Indian Supreme Court's watershed case on quotas for "backward classes," the Indra Sawhneycase. It explores the role of the decision in the mobilization of Dalit Muslims, who have been excluded from the constitutionally mandated affirmative action regime for the erstwhile Untouchable or Dalit castes ("Scheduled Castes"). It shows how the incipient mobilization came to creatively interpret the decision, in particular its interpretation of Hindu caste and a partial recognition of Muslim social stratification, as an endorsement of their claims. The appropriation and activation of the judgment allowed the mobilization to generate further political support, convince state commissions and eventually mount a constitutional challenge in the Court. This account aims to highlight the symbolic potential of the Court's decisions, often through unintended mechanisms, to reshape and extend social movement politics. It also highlights the role of political constraints, organizational infrastructure and the Indian institutional context as relevant factors in assessing judicial impact.

Keywords

social movements judicial impact affirmative action caste India reservations Muslims Dalits law and politics minority rights secularism scheduled castes Supreme Court of India constructivism juridification

Type: Chapter
Information: A Qualified Hope
The Indian Supreme Court and Progressive Social Change
, pp. 184 - 211

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108565530.008 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2019

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7 - Court as a Symbolic Resource

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