The Curious Trajectory of Caste in West Bengal Politics: Chronicling Continuity and Change

Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
Chapter 1 Introduction: Setting the Agenda of Analysis
	1 Posing the Problem: West Bengal’s Exceptionalism
	2 Contemporary Critiques of West Bengal’s Exceptionalism
	3 Research Rationale
	4 Thematic Outline and Approach
Chapter 2 Politics of Memory: Caste and Nature of Political Mobilization
	1 Rise of the Matua Factor
	2 bjp’s Matua Outreach: A New Relationship
	3 ‘Politics of Memory’ and Political Narrative
	4 Contextualising Dalit mobilization in West Bengal
	5 Interplay of Memory and Politics at the Grassroots
Chapter 3 Analysing Patterns of Political Representation: Continuity or Change
	1 Explaining ‘Rise of Caste’ Hypothesis
	2 Two Concepts of Representation: A Brief Theoretical Exploration
	3 Mapping Trends of Political Representation in West Bengal
	4 Decoding Political Outlook towards Representation
Chapter 4 Caste and Politics of Numbers: Delving Deep into Demography
	1 Demographic Fragmentation of Caste Groups
	2 Geographic Concentration of Caste Groups
	3 Demography and Political Aggregation of Caste Interests
Chapter 5 Material Basis of Caste: Putting Political Economy into Perspective
	1 Caste and Economic Aspects of Identity Politics
	2 Caste and Patterns of Landholding
	3 Caste and Relative Deprivation
	4 Land and Agrarian Politics
	5 Other Economic Indicators
	6 Economic Development and Politics of Caste Coalition
Chapter 6 Micro-politics in Rural Society: Social Imagination, Political Culture and Economic Reality at the Grassroots
	1 Existing Findings about Micro-Dynamics of Caste in West Bengal: An Overview
	2 A Note on Methodology
	3 Geography and Demography of the Village under Study
	4 Caste and Class: Converging, Diverging and Intersecting Identities
	5 Cultural Dynamics of Caste
	6 Locating Caste in Politics at the Grassroots
	7 Summing Up
Chapter 7 Unmasking Political Culture: Cultural Dynamics in Mainstream Politics
	1 Bhadralok: Decoding the Sociological Category
	2 Emergence and Evolution of the Bhadralok
	3 From Culture to Politics: Tracing the Roots of Bhadralok Hegemony
	4 Dynamics of a Discourse: Political Culture in Operation
	5 Break from Past: towards a ‘Critical Juncture’?
Chapter 8 Conclusion: Summing Up
Bibliography
Index