Major caste matters: Caste and politics in rural Bihar

In: Contributions to Indian sociology, Band 43, Heft 3, S. 411-441

Abstract

M.N. Srinivas described rural India as characterised by the presence of locally influential 'dominant castes'. This article is an empirical engagement with the concept of 'dominant caste' in the context of electoral politics in a district of Bihar. An analysis of the patterns of caste interactions in this region shows that there is no settled 'dominant caste'. Numerical as well as economic and political strength is shared between several castes. Not only do the major castes compete and manoeuvre for power, even the minor castes challenge the major castes' attempts at establishing dominance, by approaching the courts and, in the case of disputes, making strategic alliances with one major caste in order to oppose another. This article examines the dynamics of these shifting caste responses and alliances in order to illustrate the fluidity of caste equations in contemporary Bihar. It also highlights the role of state institutions such as the police and the courts, but most significantly, electoral representation itself, as an instrument for fostering social change and political dynamism.