Liberalization and Caste-Class Dynamics in India

Caste is fundamentally central to Indian social formation, shaping the processes accumulation, distribution, and exploitation. The theoretical perspectives that have dominated discussions of these processes have largely emerged from Marxist and Phule-Ambedkarite traditions, with their respective emphases on class and caste. Despite their ideological importance and influence on movements such as the Naxalite struggle and the Dalit anti-caste mobilisations, these traditions have often remained not only isolated from one another even seen contradictory to each other. This has resulted in limited dialogue, insufficient engagement, and a lack of comprehensive frameworks capable of addressing the complex intersectionality of caste and class in the projects of social transformation. The present volume seeks to address this social reality in both its structural and processual dimensions by bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines-from economics political science to sociology, anthropology, and history. Its central objective is to explore possibilities of understanding caste-class dynamics through an attempt at theoretical synthesis. Comprising thirteen articles, the volume aspires to contribute toward developing the much- needed perspectival clarity, coherence and comprehensiveness in this domain. …