The Politics of Caste

Christophe Jaffrelot (1)

1 CERI - Centre de recherches internationales (Sciences Po, CNRS)

Book abstract: India is in many ways a paradox. It is both a young state and one of the world’s oldest civilizations; it is a potential superpower, yet more than 300 million of its citizens live in abject poverty; it is the proud land of the peaceful Mohandas Gandhi, yet it brandishes nuclear weapons and hosts one of the world’s largest militaries; its rivers are revered for embodying deities, yet are among the world’s most polluted waterways; its infrastructure in many areas is abysmal, yet its in- formation technology workers, engineers, scientists, and academics are in de- mand the world over; it is a country led by powerful women at various ranks, yet its women are among the most marginalized in the world; and it is a mind-bog- gling polyethnic society prone to secessionist movements and periodic commu- nal violence, yet is also the world’s largest and most vibrant democracy.

Domains: Humanities and Social Sciences; Sociology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Political science

Christophe Jaffrelot. The Politics of Caste. Neil Devotta. Understanding Contemporary India, Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp.249 - 268, 2011. ⟨hal-03415502⟩