Negotiating Order: An Empirical Investigation of Variation in Caste Discrimination in Gujarat, India
Trivedi, Priyamvada
2018
Abstract
How do two seemingly distinct ways of thinking and acting – one premised on the belief that some people are inherently more privileged than others and the second that endows each individual with equal rights and responsibilities – coexist? Specifically, do privileged castes accede to demands of the democratic system, which then results in transformation of social order? Or do they find ways of resisting and subverting the democratic process which preserves social order? In this dissertation, I attempt to explain the behavior of the privileged by focusing on a distinct feature of the Indian caste system - untouchability – discrimination against lower castes which is religiously sanctioned but constitutionally outlawed, focusing on the western Indian state of Gujarat. I argue that the answer to this question is neither transformation nor preservation of untouchability, but somewhere in between. I build my argument in two parts. In the first part, I provide a historical understanding of the role of caste and untouchability in society. I argue that prior to Indian Independence, untouchability was understood to be a private issue and thus was outside the jurisdiction of the state. This however changed post-Independence when untouchability became a public issue which demanded state intervention. Despite several provisions to address untouchability, two problems are identified. The first is that the Constitution did not define untouchability. Second, the Constitution protects the freedom to practice any religion of one’s choice, consequently protecting caste, but prohibits untouchability (caste behaviors legitimated by religion). This ambiguity lies at the core of the observed variation in untouchability. As I will argue, this ambiguity in the law - caste legal, but caste based behaviors illegal, leads to ambiguities in the definition of untouchability - which in some cases is exploited to preserve untouchability and in others, to transform. The locus of change, i.e., preserve or transform, - lies with the village-level upper caste elites and how they interpret the law and bargain with the state. Specifically, I contend that untouchability is jointly produced by two levels of bargaining of the village-level upper-caste elites. One with the state and the second within their own castes in the village. I expect high levels of bargaining at both levels to be associated with transformation of untouchability and low levels with its preservation. The implications of the two parts are tested separately. For the first part, I use the Times of India archive from 1838 to 2005 to test hypotheses about the narrative of untouchability both pre and post-Independence. In the second part, I introduce a new village level dataset on caste discrimination and its covariates. I then develop a measure of untouchability. This measure treats every manifestation of untouchability as unique but dependent on other forms of discrimination, which is used in a regression framework to test my claims. I find some support for both hypotheses. Prior to Independence, untouchability is framed as a private problem where “upliftment” of the untouchables depended on the benevolence of the state and upper-castes. Post-Independence however, the “untouchables”, now referred to as “Dalits” are depicted as “assertive” and aware of their rights. In the second part of my analyses - a quantitative study of 890 villages in Gujarat, I find that higher levels of bargaining with the state and within caste are associated with low untouchability and vice-versa.Subjects
caste discrimination india gujarat
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