Rise of the Plebeians?: The Changing Face of the Indian Legislative Assemblies

by Jaffrelot; Christophe

• ISBN13: 9780415460927
• ISBN10: 0415460921
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2009-03-09
• Publisher: Routledge India

Summary

For decades, India has been a conservative democracy governed by the upper caste notables coming from the urban bourgeoisie, the landowning aristocracy and the intelligentsia. The democratisation of the '¬Üworld'¬"s largest democracy'¬" started with the rise of peasants'¬" parties and the politicisation of the lower castes who voted their own representatives to power as soon as they emancipated themselves from the elite'¬"s domination. In Indian state politics, caste plays a major role and this book successfully studies how this caste-based social diversity gets translated into politics. This is the first comprehensive study of the sociological profile of Indian political personnel at the state level. It examines the individual trajectory of 16 states, from the 1950s to 2000s, according to one dominant parameter'¬ ;the evolution of the caste background of their elected representatives known as Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs. The study also takes into account other variables like occupation, gender, age and education.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

North India towards Social Engineering

The Political Elite in Uttar Pradesh

Bihar: The New Stronghold of Plebeian Politics

The Uneven Rise of the Lower Castes in Madhya Pradesh Politics

From the Upper Castes to the Dominant Caste Politics in Rajasthan: A Conservative Pattern of Political Evolution

Gujarat: When Patels Resist the Kshatriyas

The Reign of Dominant Castes in the Deccan

Maharashtra or Maratha Rashtra?

Legislators in Karnataka: The Resilience of Dominant Castes

Andhra Pradesh: A Two-dominant Caste Socio-political System

The Tamil Exception: The Subalternist Tradition

Caste and Beyond in Tamil Politics

Where the Upper Castes Resist

The Resilient Bhadralok: A Profile of the West Bengal MLAs

Socio-economic Background of Legislators in Kerala

The Socio-economic Profile of the Legislators of Himachal Pradesh

The Changing Face of Delhi's Politics?

Alternative Routes

The Punjab's Legislative elite

The Jharkhand, between Tribal Mobilisation and the Rise to Power of the OBCs

Chhattisgarh: Tribals, OBCs, Reformist Movements and Mainstream Politics

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