Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:12:34.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Rise of the Other Backward Classes in the Hindi Belt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2010

Get access

Extract

The rise of the other backward classes (OBCs) is certainly one of the main developments in the Hindi-belt politics over the last ten years. The OBCs are castes in the Indian social system that are situated above the Untouchables but below the forward castes (the “twice born,” Brahmins, Kshatriyas [warriors] and Vaishyas [merchants]) and the intermediate castes (mostly peasant proprietors and even dominant castes). They form the bulk of the Shudras—the fourth category (varna) of the classical Hindu social arrangement. The OBCs, whose professional activity is often as field-workers or artisans, represent about half of the Indian population, but they have occupied a subaltern position so far. Their rise for the first time seriously questions upper-caste domination of the public sphere.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

List of References

Harry, Blair. 1980. “Rising Kulaks and Backward Classes in Bihar.” Economic and Political Weekly 15(2), 12 January.Google Scholar
Paul., Brass 1980. “The politicization of the peasantry in a North Indian state—Part 2.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 8(1): 336.Google Scholar
Tom, Brass, ed. 1995. New Farmers' Movements in India. Ilford: Franck Cass.Google Scholar
Chaudhary, S. N. 1999. Power-Dependence Relations—Struggle for Hegemony in Rural Bihar. New Delhi: Har-Anand.Google Scholar
Ian., Duncan 1997. “Agricultural Innovation and Political Change in North India.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 24(4): 246–65.Google Scholar
Ian., Duncan. 1997. “New Political Equations in North India-Mayawati, Mulayam and Government Instability in Uttar Pradesh.” Asian Survey.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madan, Gopal. 1977. Sir Chhotu Ram. A Political Biography. Delhi: B. R. Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Government of India. N. d. The Constitution of India (As Modified up to the 15 th August 1983). N.p.Google Scholar
Government of India. N. d. 1955. Report of the Backward Classes Commission. Vol. 1. Delhi.Google Scholar
Government of India. N. d.. 1980. Report of the Backward Classes Commission-First Part. Vols. 1 and 2. New Delhi.Google Scholar
Government of India. N. d. Constituent Assembly Debates. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 1989. Vols. 1 and 2. New Delhi.Google Scholar
Government of India. N. d. Ministry of Home Affairs. N.d. Memorandum on the Report of the Backward Classes Commission. Delhi.Google Scholar
Zoya., Hasan 1998. Quest for Power. Oppositional Movements and Post-Congress Politics in Uttar Pradesh. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Walter, Hauser, ed. 1994. Sahajanand on Agricultural Labor and the Rural Poor. Delhi: Manohar.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot. 1996. The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics-1925 to 1990s. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot. 1998a. “The Bahujan Samaj Party in North India-No Longer Just a Dalit Party?Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 18(1), 1998.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot. 1998b. “The Sangh Parivar between Sanskritisation and ‘Social Engineering’.” In The BJP and the Compulsions of Politics in India, edited by Thomas, Blom Hansen and Jaffrelot, Christophe. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot. 2000. “Inde: De l'acclimatation du modèle anglais à la fin de la démocratic conservatrice.” In Démocraties d'ailleurs—Dàmocratic et dàmocratisation hors d′Occident, edited by Jaffrelot, Christophe. Paris: Karthala.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot, and Zerinini-Brotel, Jasmine. 1999. “La montée des basses castes dans la politique nord-indienne.” Pouvoirs, October. N° 90.Google Scholar
Christophe, Jaffrelot, and Zerinini-Brotel, Jasmine with Chaturvedi, Jayati. forthcoming. “The BJP and the Rise of the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh.” In Uttar Pradesh 2000, edited by Jeffry, R. and Lerche, J..Google Scholar
Johnson, M. 1975. “Relation between Land Settlement and Party Politics in Uttar Pradesh.” Ph.D. diss. University of Sussex.Google Scholar
Lal, P., and Nair, T.. 1998. Caste vs Caste—Turbulence in Indian Politics. Delhi: Ajanta.Google Scholar
Madhu, Limaye. 1988. Birth of Non-Congressism. Delhi: B. R. Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Madhu, Limaye. 1997. “Socio-economic Program of JP Movement.” In Evolution of Socialist Policy in India, edited by Mohan, S. et al. New Delhi: Bapu Kaldate.Google Scholar
Rammanohar., Lohia 1979 [1964]. The Caste System. Hyderabad: Ramamnohar Lohia Samata Vidyalaya.Google Scholar
Mitra, R. 1992. Caste Polarisation and Politics. Patna: Syndicate Publications.Google Scholar
Surendra, Mohan, Sharma, Hari Dev, Singh, Vinod Prasad, and Sunilam, , eds. 1997. Evolution of Socialist Policy in India. New Delhi: Bapu Kaldate.Google Scholar
Seema., Mustafa 1995. The Lonely Prophet—V. P. Singh, A Political Biography. New Delhi: New Age International.Google Scholar
National Front—Lok Sabha Elections 1989 Manifesto. 1989. Singh, V. P., Convenor, National Front. New Delhi.Google Scholar
Rao, M. S. A. 1987. Social Movement and Social Transformation. Delhi: Manohar.Google Scholar
Charan, Singh. 1959. Joint Farming X-Rayed—The Problem and Its Solution. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.Google Scholar
Charan, Singh. 1964. India‘s Poverty and Its Solution. New York: Asia Publishing House.Google Scholar
Charan, Singh. 1986. Land Reforms in UP and the Kulaks. Delhi: Vikas.Google Scholar
Singh, V. P. 1997. “The Emergence of Janata Party—A Watershed in Post-Independence Politics.” In Evolution of Socialist Policy in India, edited by Mohan, S. et al. New Delhi: Bapu Kaldate.Google Scholar
Srinivas, M. N. 1995 [1966]. Social Change in Modern India. New Delhi: Orient Longman.Google Scholar
Ashutosh., Varshney 1995. Democracy, Development, and the Countryside—Urban, Rural Struggles in India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Verma, K. K. 1979. Changing Role of Caste Associations. New Delhi: National Publishing House.Google Scholar
Yogendra., Yadav 1996. “Reconfiguration in Indian Politics. State Assembly Elections 1993–95.Economic and Political Weekly, 13 January.Google Scholar