India's destiny not caste in stone

"Outside politics, there are other areas of life in which caste consciousness has been dying down."

Democracy was expected to efface the distinctions of caste, but its consequences have been very different from what was expected. There are areas of life, other than politics, in which the consciousness of caste has been dying down, though not very rapidly or dramatically. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : India's destiny not caste in stone

There has been a steady erosion of the rules relating to commensality or inter-dining. Also, caste consciousness in matrimonial matters has been on the decline in recent decades. Rapid economic growth and the expansion of the middle class are accompanied by new opportunities for individual mobility which further loosens the association between caste and occupation.

If, in spite of all this, caste is maintaining or even strengthening its hold over the public consciousness, it is due to the adoption of universal adult franchise after independence, which altered the character and scope of the involvement of caste in the political process. The consciousness of caste is brought to the fore at the time of elections.

Unfortunately, the discussions on television create the illusion that caste is an unalterable feature of Indian society. It will be a pity if we allow what goes on in the media to reinforce the consciousness of caste and to persuade us that caste is India's destiny.

Believe me, Muslims are not a herd

"Opportunistic politicians are projecting Muslims as a monolithic ‘vote bank,' whereas the reality is of a diverse community divided along caste and theological lines."

The myth of the Muslim vote bank, though denied by sociologists and debunked by psephologists, refuses to die. It reasserts itself with new vigour at every election. The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Believe me, Muslims are not a herd

The idea that there is something called a "Muslim vote bank," which behaves uniformly across the board, suits equally the Muslim leadership and its right wing Hindu counterpart. Muslim leaders and middlemen can bargain with political parties on behalf of this “collective” vote, as if individual Muslims have no opinion of their own and can be herded together in a pre-determined direction for a price decided mutually between the politicians and the community's self-appointed spokespersons. The Muslim vote bank helps communal Hindu organisations to manufacture their own "Hindu vote bank," and use the whipped up Muslim threat to achieve their ultimate objective: a Hindu-Muslim electoral polarisation.

The plain truth is that Muslim society is as divided as Hindu society and along the same caste and regional lines. As electoral politics came to the fore, caste and sub-caste divisions got etched in bolder relief. With the coming of democracy they became distinct political groups, and more so since the Mandalisation of North Indian politics. The voting behaviour of Muslims is as varied as that of any other religious group, based on their socio-economic, rural-urban and caste-religion divides.

The media and analysts should stop looking at Muslim voters through the prism of a “vote bank” and start treating them as individuals and groups.