Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | How economic inequality impacts caste politics -Pramit Bhattacharya

How economic inequality impacts caste politics -Pramit Bhattacharya

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jul 27, 2018   modified Modified on Jul 27, 2018
-Livemint.com

One of the big drivers of the ruling BJP’s massive victory in 2014 was its ability to exploit inequalities within caste groups to expand its support base

New Delhi:
When we think of caste-based inequality in India, we typically think of a pyramid where scheduled castes (SCs or Dalits) and scheduled tribes (STs) are at the bottom, other backward classes (OBCs) above them, and upper castes at the very top. Official survey data which measure caste along such broad lines support such a view.

A new World Bank study by the economists Shareen Joshi, Nishtha Kochhar and Vijayendra Rao challenges this narrative, suggesting inequality within caste groups could be higher than that across caste groups.

The study, which provides the first-of-its-kind estimates of economic inequality among sub-castes or jatis in rural Bihar, is based on a sample dominated by SCs and OBCs who participated in a state-run rural livelihoods project called JEEViKA.

Therefore, the estimates of intra-group inequality are likely to be more precise for SCs and OBCs than for other caste groups. And among these groups, there is large variation within sub-castes, the study shows.

Among Dalits, for instance, Musahars are much worse off than Chamars and Dushadh in terms of both monthly consumption expenditure and educational attainment. Among OBCs, sub-castes such as Koeris fare badly compared with most Dalit sub-castes.

While the exact magnitude of inequality within broad caste groups may vary across the country, the study conducted in one of India’s most populous states suggests that inequality among sub-castes may be a key driver of economic inequality in the country. It also explains the salience of jati or sub-caste identity in our daily lives, and in our politics.

One of the main drivers of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s massive victory in 2014 was its ability to win the loyalties of sub-castes within caste-groups such as Dalits who have historically been aligned with non-BJP parties.

By portraying the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as a party that caters primarily to Jatav interests and Samajwadi Party (SP) as one of Yadavs, the BJP was able to wean away a significant chunk of non-Jatav Dalit voters and non-Yadav voters in Uttar Pradesh, data from Lokniti-CSDS shows.

Please click here to read more.

Livemint.com, 25 July, 2018, https://www.livemint.com/Politics/qpMzvG0QQsyoBoGAxVoOPI/How-economic-inequality-impacts-caste-politics.html


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close