{"id":1370,"date":"2026-08-09T19:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/explain-how-caste-as-a-social-category-is-also-becoming-a-upsc-psir-pyq-2405\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:20","slug":"explain-how-caste-as-a-social-category-is-also-becoming-a-upsc-psir-2021-2405","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/explain-how-caste-as-a-social-category-is-also-becoming-a-upsc-psir-2021-2405\/","title":{"rendered":"Explain how caste as a social category is also becoming a political category in the democratic politics of India."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> caste as social institution (birth, ritual rank, hierarchy) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> democracy changes its function <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> it becomes a category of political bargaining<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Kothari<\/b>\u2019s frame <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> democracy works <i>through<\/i> society, not outside it <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> politics reshapes caste<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b class=\"pq-sc\">Srinivas<\/b>: caste dynamic, not frozen <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> the dominant caste is already political <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> adult franchise turns numbers into votes <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Kothari<\/b>: secularisation (ritual purity <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> reservations, jobs, tickets, power) + integration (castes fuse and split) + secular consciousness (aware of numbers) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <i>politicisation of caste<\/i> <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b>Rudolphs<\/b>: caste associations &amp; federations as vehicle (candidates, policy, excluded voters) = modernisation of tradition <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> caste-based parties institutionalise <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Yadav<\/b>\u2019s democratic upsurge + <b class=\"pq-sc\">Jaffrelot<\/b>\u2019s silent revolution <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> OBCs and Dalits enter power<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p><b>B\u00e9teille<\/b>: untouchability abolished, caste not <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> caste survives in public policy <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> politicisation cuts both ways<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> caste from hierarchy to negotiation <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> a category of politics, not only of society<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> a \u201cdemocracy of castes\u201d <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> representation widened, but justice needs more than caste arithmetic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[40],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[65],"pyq_paper":[33],"class_list":["post-1370","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-40","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-caste-religion-and-ethnicity-in-indian-politics","pyq_paper-paper-1"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4782,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1370\/revisions\/4782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}