Sudha Pai

New Social Engineering Agenda of the Bahujan Samaj Party: Implications for State and National Politics

The ‘Dalit question’,1 that is, the removal of discrimination, socio-economic improvement and share in political power for the lower castes, has always been at the centre of Indian politics. But re...

Universal Elementary Education in India: An Exploratory Study of Movements in Civil Society

As one of the largest democracies in the developing world and with a large population of children in poor and disadvantaged sectors and not enrolled in school, India has experienced a rising revolution of demand for education in recent years. Even after 50 years of independence, free universal elementary education (UEE) promised by the Constitution has not been achieved.1 However, during the 1990s, the issue of UEE has assumed unprecedented importance among policy makers, civil society actors and parents compared to the previous four decades in the postindependence period. This concern is reflected both in the emergence of movements and initiatives within civil society to promote UEE, as well as faster progress in basic literacy and elementary school attendance throughout the 1990s. The National Sample Survey (NSS) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) in 1998–9 reveal that school attendance accelerated during the 1990s compared to the earlier period in the 6–14 age group, rising to nearly 80 per cent. There was a narrowing of the gender gap as well, driven by a comparatively rapid increase in female attendance from 59 per cent to 74 per cent between 1992–3 and 1998–9 respectively in the 6–14 age group (Dreze and Sen 2002: 152–3).

Understanding the Defeat of the BSP in Uttar Pradesh: National Election 2014

The failure of the Bahujan Samaj Party to win a single Lok Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 general elections, the only state in India, where the party had earlier secured power, came as a shocking surprise to many. Most analyses of the results claimed that the party lost because its core support base among the Dalits, and particularly, among the Jatav community, had drifted away from it. The article argues that while it is true that support to the Bahujan Samaj Party from its core constituency has shrunk in the 2014 elections, the party has managed to secure the allegiance of a majority of the Jatavs, as also the Dalits. It further points out that the defeat of the Bahujan Samaj Party was largely due to its failure to retain the support of those communities, other than the Dalits, who had extended substantial support to it in the past, as well as due to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign strategy.

The making of the Dalit public in North India: Uttar Pradesh 1950–present, by Badri Narayan

importance to the production of cash crops for profit generation. For example, some farmers have begun producing two rice crops a year: wet season rice for their family consumption and dry season rice for selling. The use of small tractors in rice fields has replaced buffaloes, depriving the land of organic fertilizer. In addition to this, the traditional local varieties of rice have given way to the modern hybrid rice varieties that rely on chemical fertilizers, which adversely affect the fertility of the soil. The traditional relative cooperation in agricultural activity is replaced by a new division of labour in the form of hired labour, thereby weakening the community bonds that prevailed in the pre-market economy. The importance attached to money and market has led the urbanized villagers to look out for sources of income apart from rice production. Changes have also occurred in the food habits of the younger generation where noodles, bread and non-glutinous rice are preferred. The mechanization of agriculture has eventually led to the disappearance of certain rice rituals and has changed the way of these practices. The farmers adjust their rituals to the new natural, political, technological and socio-economic environments. The villagers have started following only the things that are easy for them. For instance, in a ceremony where wild tuber or yam was used before, these items have been replaced by the use of sweets. The author concludes that the net result of all these changes is the coming up of a new set of values, which is a reflection of the influence of commercialism and consumerism in Laos. The author points out in one case that the younger generation showed their disinclination for becoming farmers like their fathers, whereas the children belonging to parents who work as beauticians prefer to be farmers (p. 166). However, no reasons have been cited for this kind of a paradox in Huaxieng village. Towards the end of this book the author states that ‘scientific beliefs of the new regime led farmers to abandon some of their old traditional rice ritual practices’ (p. 177). A critical evaluation of this statement through the lens of Malinowski’s work on Magic, Science and Religion would lead one to argue that the author mistook science to be replacing religious rituals whereas in reality both science and religion coexist. This is evident in the agricultural practices like the selection of soil, seeds and feasible farming techniques for rice cultivation based on one’s knowledge, experience and rational scientific calculation on the one hand, and the observance of rituals and taboos for the protection of the rice on the other.

Book Reviews : SUBRATA K. MITRA and DIETMAR ROTHERMUND, eds, Legitimacy and Conflict in South Asia, Manohar, New Delhi, pp. 279

to acknowledge the distinct character of the region. The colonial attempts, Hill argues, have left behind a violent legacy in the Kosi diara which is manifest even today. The book covers a vast period-1770 to 1994-although the details and the narrative are confined largely to the rule of East India Company. Information and comparisons with the period immediately following independence and contemporary times would have added to the value of the book. Nonetheless, the book should interest ecologists, economic historians and scholars who study the transition period and the expansion of Company power.