Caste in Indian Politics

Abstract

[Caste is playing vital role in Indian politics. It is known to all that Indian society is a caste ridden society. Some of the scholars felt that after independence the caste will gradually disappear and it will have no impact on Indian political system.  Because caste has no place in the constitution of India. Prof. Ghanashyam Shah in his book ‘Caste and Democratic Politics in India' rightly remarked, "The Indian constitution seeks to prevent the perpetuation of caste and build a casteless social system. But this has not happened. Therefore no understanding of  Indian politics is possible without a thorough understanding of the complexities of caste” it is clear from the above statement that caste is playing a significant role in determining the processes of political socialization, political mobilization and institutionalization within the frame work of modern democracy.  The dynamics of caste is at the root of the complexity of Indian politics in its functioning. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze, evaluate and critically examine the factors responsible for strengthening caste in Indian politics.]