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A diagram depicting the structure of varnas in India. See more at Caste system in India.
In India, a caste, although a western stratification arrived from Portuguese word Casta and Latin word castus, is a (usually endogamous) social group where membership is decided by birth.[1] Broadly, Indian castes are legally divided into Forward Castes, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. Indian Christians and Indian Muslims are also function as castes (a full list of castes can be found at the end of this article). With castes separating individuals into different social groups, it follows that each group will have conflicting interests; oftentimes putting those with lower social standing in less favorable positions. The Constitutuent Assembly which was head by B.R. Ambedkar, the founder of the Depressed Classes Association which had originally put forward these demands, created the reservation system, which essentially acts as affirmative action to provide representation to caste groups that have been systematically disadvantaged. However other castes which have not been provided reservations, have called this system unfair and politically motivated. There have also been other cases where political parties, like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was formed to represent the minority or lower communities.
The role that castes play in India's political system was institutionalised by the British colonists where upper-caste dominance within government was perpetuated and reinforced. Although there were efforts to address this discrepancy through measures like the Communal Award and educational empowerment (see ‘Sanskritization’), this remained the status quo until the 1990s when an economic liberalisation in India diminished state control and fueled the rise of caste-centric parties focused on empowering lower castes. However, these parties were often rife with corruption as it was seen as a way to level the playing field.[citation needed] Leaders of what came to be known as 'caste mafia' took advantage of lower caste dissent towards upper caste institutions and openly robbed state institutions.[citation needed]
Caste not only determines one's role in political institutions; it also influences access to resources like land as well as police and judicial assistance.[citation needed] Despite the traditional dominance of upper caste parties, the concentration of lower caste individuals in specific areas can lead to regional dominance, impacting political representation. However, this mainly impacts male members of the lower castes as women from lower castes have traditionally been excluded from participating in the political sphere.[citation needed] This discrimination has continued in recent times as women from lower castes are continued to be looked down upon for their low educational levels. Organizations such as the Gulabi Gang as well as the United Nations are currently working to improve lower caste women's social mobility and independence.
^"Study reveals origin of India's caste system". The Times of India. 11 August 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
communities. The role that castes play in India's political system was institutionalised by the British colonists where upper-caste dominance within government...
They have demanded to get their castes declared as backward to avail reservation. The effect of the castepolitics is debatable and could not be expected...
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes. It has its origins in ancient India, and...
numerically strong Backward Castes. He recommended a number of times that these Backward Castes were underrepresented in politics and they should be given...
At the present time many changes have been seen in this caste, now they incline towards politics and government high positions. According to the 2001 Census...
A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system...
YSR Congress Party (YSRCP). Politics portal India portal Democracy in India Political funding in India CastepoliticsCaste system in India Disqualification...
part of a movement of social and political resurgence. The term Yadav now covers many traditional peasant-pastoral castes such as Ahirs of the Hindi belt...
caste is one which preponderates numerically over other castes and also wields preponderant economic and political power. A large and powerful caste group...
(OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes that are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official...
backward castes like Yadavs. They are placed below the upper castes in per capita earning. In regions like Samastipur, Bihar, the Kushwaha are politically strong...
The Backward Caste movement in Bihar can be traced back to the formation of Triveni Sangh, a caste coalition and political party, in the 1930s, which...
is the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming...
Employments, Political Bodies, Promotions, etc., for "socially and educationally backward citizens." Quota systems favouring certain castes and other communities...
of a king"), also called Thakur, is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical...
Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, is a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar...
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The...
political clout in northern Tamil Nadu. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is a political party formed by S. Ramadoss from the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste association...
The Upper Backward Caste is a term used to describe the middle castes in Bihar, whose social and ritual status was not very low and which has traditionally...
Party; abbreviated as PMK) is a political party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu. It is...
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