Institutionalising Marginal Actors Conference, September 18-19 2013
Keynote
James Manor: Inclusion and ‘Institutionalisation’ for Poor, Marginal Groups
Paper Abstracts
1. Supurna Banerjee
2. Qudsiya Contractor
3. Martin Fuchs
4. Hugo Gorringe
5. Sam Gundimeda
6. Roger Jeffery
7. BipinJojo
8. D. Kathikeyan
9. Antje Linkenbach
10. Jeevan Raj Sharma
11. Valerian Rodrigues
12. Abdul Shaban
13. Carole Sparry
14. Wilfried Swenden
15. SuryakantWaghmore
16. Andrew Wyatt
Supurna Banerjee, University of Edinburgh
We are still junglis to them: understanding institutionalisation among the Adivasis in Dooars
Working in the tea plantations through generations, subsumed under the class narrative of plantation literature and rendered almost invisible within the dominant culture of West Bengal—carving out a space for their distinctive identity has not been easy for the Adivasi workers (tribal from Central India). Through their customs, rituals and culture they have sought to maintain their distinct identity in the everyday. But on the bigger socio-political platform their specific needs and issues have been marginalized not only by the state but by the mainstream population. In articulation of their demands the Adivasi community has organised themselves time and again. Through fieldwork conducted in two tea plantations of Dooars, this paper explores two such movements to understand the institutionalization of the Adivasi population in the region. The first is a cultural movement demanding the use of sadri (their dialect) as a medium of instruction in schools. The second movement is political, arising with the birth of the ethnic party AkhilBharatiyaAdivasiVikashParishad (ABAVP) and its opposition to the demands of the Gorkhaland. The paper explores the diverse processes involved in the institutionalisation through the distinct ways these movements were understood and performed and the different spaces that they carved out within the dominant narrative. Who were the institutionalising actors? What effect did this institutionalisation have in the lives of the Adivasi workers? What were the terms on which such institutionalisation occurred—how much did the institutionalisation recognise their intersectional identities? The paper also raises question about the role of institutionalisation in giving this marginal groups a voice. Finally it maps the perception of those who remained outside this institutionalisation.
Qudsiya Contractor, TISS, Mumbai
Institutionalising peace? – Mohalla committees in Mumbai post the 1992-93 communal violence
In this paper I engage with notions of “reconciliation” as a way of healing the ruptured social fabric of Mumbai city (then referred to as Bombay) manifested in its segregated landscape after the communal violence that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992-93. I explore the workings of Mohalla (locality) committees instituted post-riots, as an associational engagement between the state, NGOs and the city’s “Muslim public”. These committees have widely been understood as sites of inclusion in the larger interest of maintaining peace and communal harmony. It has been observed however that they served merely as “state spectacles” meant to reinstate the sublime dimensions of the state – fairness, reasonableness, tolerance and justice to its preferred audience - the educated middle class. Hence, through the Mohalla Committees the state engaged in the production of legitimacy by engaging in public and performative dimensions of governance. In actuality they did very little to serve the cause of justice for Muslims. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Shivaji Nagar, a predominantly Muslim basti locality situated in suburban Mumbai, I explore how Mohalla Committees as an effort towards institutionalising peace stand today. How do local Muslims experience this process of institutionalisation? I argue that these efforts rather than acts of reconciliation reinforce representations of “Muslim” areas like Shivaji Nagar as culturally deviant (at times anti-national) urban “disorders” that need to be comprehended and dealt with by the state.
Martin Fuchs, Erfurt University
Institutionalizing informal socialities: The local struggles of Dalits / urban poor
The paper addresses the ambivalence of processes of institutionalization with respect to the overlapping concerns of Dalits and slum dwellers. Aside from the problem that local populations are divided along caste and religious lines, the difficulty members of the urban poor in particular face is that of the over-complexity, over-determination, or simply multi-dimensionality of their concerns and struggles (issues of social recognition, livelihood, housing rights, self determination, political agency, human rights, patriarchy etc.). In practical terms this not only means that social and political struggles tend to become fragmented, each area of struggle being directed towards a specific agenda. The multi-dimensionality of issues also affects the form in which each of the struggles is being institutionalized. In particular, we have to distinguish between institutionalization from within and from without (or “above”), as we have to consider the extremely fragile and provisional character of many such processes of institutionalization. The paper is based on experiences of Dalits in Dharavi (Mumbai).
Hugo Gorringe, University of Edinburgh
From the Margins to the ‘Mainstream’: Dalit Politics in Tamil Nadu
In 1999 the largest Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu, the Liberation Panthers, ended their decade long boycott of elections and contested elections. In the 14 years since they have struggled to establish themselves as political players. During fieldwork in 2012, one of the main concerns of the ViduthalaiChiruthaigalKatchi (VCK - Liberation Panther Party) was to become a ‘mainstream’ party. Thirumavalavan, the party leader, emphasised that the party tended to be marginalised and sidelined as a ‘Dalit’ party. He therefore outlined an ambitious attempt to change the constituency and make up of the party so that it was no longer perceived as a Dalit organisation. Institutionalisation, this reminds us, is not a simple step but an ongoing process. Entering elections has compelled the VCK to change in terms of structure, members, rules and tactics. Not all of these changes have been welcomed by cadres, nor have they necessarily benefited the party in obvious ways. Drawing on ethnographic work with party activists and affiliates this paper teases apart the complexities of institutionalisation for Dalit parties in south India.
Sam Gundimeda, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad
Fractured mobilizations: Dalit movement and politics in contemporary Andhra Pradesh
What conditions/circumstances forced the Telugu Dalits in Southern India to take to the electoral battles since the early 1990s? Why they haven’t been successful in making their mark in the political arena of Andhra Pradesh? What have been the strategies of the upper caste-led political parties in weakening the Dalit forces in the state? One of the main objectives of the proposed paper in posing these questions is to examine and analyse the contemporary Telugu Dalit mobilizations for social recognition and political power, and the fallout of those mobilizations. I examine the Dalit mobilization in three phases. In the first phase, I look at the circumstance that led for the emergence of Andhra Pradesh Dalit MahaSabha; in the second phase, I examine the Dalit activism in AP’s political arena; and in the third phase, I examine the state of Dalit movement and politics in the contemporary period. Through the examination of these phases I shall show how the radical voices of the Dalits and their agendas have been co-opted by the upper caste-led political parties, and thereby how those parties succeeded in fracturing the Dalit mobilizations for social recognition and political power.
Roger Jeffery & Hugo Gorringe, University of Edinburgh
Institutionalising marginal actors in UP and TN: Insights from Dalit electoral data
The roles played by Dalit-led parties in elections in India since 2000 have been very varied. At one extreme, in 2007 the BSP under Mayavati was able to win an outright majority of seats in UP (albeit on a turnout of 46% and a vote share of 30%). At the other extreme, States with as many or more population classified as SC – such as Punjab, Haryana or Tamil Nadu – have yet to see a substantial Dalit political presence in their Assembly elections. But voting patterns – for all sections of the electorate – seem to be increasingly unstable. In this paper we use data from the sample surveys, pre-election and post-election, carried out by Lokniti at CSDS, to investigate how Dalits and others have voted in UP and TN LokSabha and Assembly elections since 2001. We address the question: how has Dalit voter behaviour varied – across elections and across State – and what accounts for these patterns? What is the relationship between elections – as illustrated by these data – and the institutionalisation of marginalised groups, in this case, Dalits?
BipinJojo, TISS, Mumbai
Large Development Project: Negotiating Political space between Coastal and Princely state Regions in the state of Odisha, India
The state of Odisha abolished the feudal /zamindari system after Independence of the country and proclaimed the establishment of a democratic state. Odisha can be broadly divided in to Coastal area populated by the powerful groups who have dominated the Odisha development politics, and Hilly areas populated by the rural peasants, dalits and tribes. Historically the Coastal area was ruled by the Britishers and the Hilly areas were ruled by the princely states and feudal lords with the tributaries to the British rule before independence. After independence, the coastal region has continued dominating in the political economy of Odisha. Thishasledtohostilityinthehinterlanddistricts of Hilly region againstthe CoastaldistrictsofOdisha.Thispaperwouldliketoexplore I) the contestation of these two regions in the case of the evolution of a Multipurpose Large River Dam Project ii) Process of legitimizing the power by the feudal lords/ruler of feudal/princely states and negotiating with powerful coastal belt .
D. Karthikeyan, The Hindu/University of Edinburgh
Contentious Spaces: Guru Pujas as Public Performances and the production of Political Community
As components of a broader struggle for equality in Tamil Nadu, Dalits (ex-untouchables) often challenge prevailing caste norms by replicating practices and conventions of locally dominant groups. This paper examines performative aspects of such struggles by focusing on guru pujas, public performances undertaken to pay homage to late social and political icons/leaders. As annual events these pujas have enabled Thevars, the local dominant caste, to showcase their community’s strength and power through the appropriation of public space and the organization of mass rallies, flag hoisting ceremonies and related events. However, the same mode of public performance, which was integral to the public production and consolidation of the dominant caste as a political community, has been replicated by historically marginalized castes. These performances provide a micro-lens to understand the dynamics of how local power is generated and made visible through a politics inscribed in space. Recent decades have witnessed increased competition over public symbols and the strategic location of caste-specific cultural signifiers – including competition over style and performance – and a heightened contest over the occupation of public space.
Antje Linkenbach, Erfurt University
Social Justice versus Processes of Institutionalisation: Exploring forms of inclusion among Dalits of Uttarakhand (India)
In my contribution I am going to argue that political, economic and social institutionalisation does not necessarily result in inclusion and empowerment of marginal groups like Dalit and (Dalit) women. In the light of the critique of democracy in India we have to admit that even when Dalit seize institutional power through party politics this power is confined to a particular elite and does not have a substantial emancipatory impact on people on the ground; when Dalit and women become part of village or municipal administrative bodies through reservation policies they still lack decision making power; they are often used as puppets by the influential higher castes respectively men, exceed influence only periodically, or they even fail due to their own inadequacies (e.g. lack of self-esteem and education).
Starting from John Rawls’ theory of justice and its further development by David Schlosberg I want to propose that to achieve inclusion and empowerment of marginal groups it is not sufficient to focus on the distributive dimension of social justice but equally include the aspects (approaches) of social recognition and capability. I illustrate my argument by taking up the example of Dalit and (Dalit) women especially in the western part of Garhwal.
Jeevan Raj Sharma, University of Edinburgh
AdivasiJanajati movement and Nepal’s political interregnum
One of the most influential social movements in the post-1990 era in Nepal is the adivasijanajati (indigenous nationalities) movement. The key demand of the movement has been to challenge the exclusionary nature of Nepali state, dominated Nepali speaking High caste Hindus, by creating a revolutionary vision of Nepal as a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious state and build an inclusive Nepal in which ‘discrimination against ethnic groups does not exist’. The formation of Nepal Federation of Ethnic Nationalities (NEFEN) in 1990, which was later renamed as NEFIN (Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities), a federation instrumental in the constructing a collective identity for diverse ethnic groups as indigenous nationalities was a significant development. With the declaration of Nepal as a secular state and abolition of monarchy following the end of the Maoist insurgency, adivasijanajati activists have demanded the introduction of reservations to guarantee proportional representation of marginalized groups in government and administration, provinces to be named after the most numerous ethnic and regional groups, and boundaries drawn to make them dominant minorities. The Constituent Assembly (CA) election of April 2008 that deployed a mixed electoral system that included proportional system, resulted in the most diverse and inclusive parliaments in Nepal’s history. The adivasijanajati CA member caucus was formed in mid-2008 as a forum of all CA members belonging to adivasijanajati to push for the rights of the group in the new constitution and particularly on ethnicity-based federalism. Following the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly on 27 May 2012 for failing to agree on the nature of federal structure, several former CA members belonging to Janajati groups and other Janajati politicians defected from their main party and recently have formed a political party of their own. Taking the case study of adivasijanajati movement in Nepal, this paper discusses the following questions: does the process of institutonalisation of adivasijanajatis deepen or antagonize democracy in Nepal? How has the adivasijanajati movement transformed the ideas of equality, ethnicity and nationalism in Nepal that has graduated from recognition, to representation, and then to ethnicity based federalism? What has been the role of international donors such as DFID and other European donors in the institionalisation of adivasijanajati movement and conversely, how has this international support impacted the course of depoliticizing or re-politicizing the movement?
Valerian Rodrigues, JNU, Delhi
DevarajUrs and Backward Castes Mobilization in Karnataka, India
DevarajUrs, a former chief Minister of Karnataka (1972-979), is known to have employed resources of the state – law, bureaucracy, finances, and intellectual and cultural apparatuses closely aligned with the state – in support of organizing small castes and communities, and encouraged them to register their own voices in devising public policy. Its justification was that without such support, the smaller castes, which invariably happened to be backward castes and communities, including Dalits and Adivasis, would continue to live under the tutelage of existing modes of dominance. Such support and encouragement, it was believed, would enable these groups to redefine their terms of social association with other castes and communities. Such a policy, then and even now, has been charged for institutionalizing caste, its eventual beneficiaries being the numerous and dominant castes. At the social level, dominant castes have succeeded in co-opting the elites of subordinate castes, thereby limiting demands that might have arisen from members of the latter castes as a whole. There is also the other charge, that this policy has fragmented social relations making the social and political arena a market-place for competitive bidders of the caste-ware.
While some of these charges cannot be brushed aside, Urs continues to enjoy enormous popularity among backward castes and communities, even a generation later. Besides a whole spectrum of intellectuals and social activists in the state, cutting across caste and ideological divide, subscribe to the argument that the Urs’ initiative on the caste front not merely enabled the backward castes and communities but strove to forge a cohesive public space across the deeply fragmented state, where claims could be registered in the name of rights and democracy.
While engaging with the conflicting assessment of Urs initiative on Backward Castes and Communities this paper argues, that the extent of enablement that his policy initiative brought about is closely related to other associated policies: i. Backward caste institutions played a catalytic role in enabling their members when accompanied by agrarian reforms, educational and employment access, and a cultural domain that fostered confidence; in the absence of the latter these institutions merely subserved the interests of a small elite of the concerned castes and communities ii. However, even mere institutionalization of caste helped in the slow expansion of an elite within a caste or community. While this elite may not have been explicitly concerned with the welfare of the community, it was prone to negatively stall attack on entitlements accruing to the caste or community as a whole; iii. i and ii, above have had differential impact in forging linkages across other castes and communities, and the public domain that they have crafted.
Abdul Shaban, TISS, Mumbai
Muslim Question and Citizenship in India: Politics, State and Infringement of Rights
Muslims in India face a great predicament with regard to their claims of ‘rights’ supposedly bestowed to them as members of the political community. This predicament has arisen out of the historical development and nature of the Indian state. The birth of the present Indian state is based on the division of the British India in ‘India’ and Pakistan. The division of the country on the basis of religion created many problems with regard to incorporation of Muslims as ‘citizens’. Many people asked: Can a Muslim be an Indian? (Pande 1999). Since then, the interplay of different conceptions of citizenship in India have provided hope to its varied minorities. The ethno-nationalist discourse was weakened with the Constitution guaranteeing legal right to the citizens rooted in liberal discourse, but despite several policy initiatives Muslims largely remained deprived. While, affirmative programmes were initiated for other deprived communities, Muslims as economically backward castes/class could not find meaningful place in the schema.