3. Casteism

Casteism implies love for one’s own caste-group in preference to the general national interest. It is mainly an outcome of the politicisation of caste. Its various manifestations include:

(i) Formation of political parties on the basis of caste (like Justice Party in Madras, DMK, Kerala Congress, Republican Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and so on).

(ii) Emergence of pressure groups (nonpolitical entities) based on caste (like Nadar Association, Harijan Sevak Sangh, Kshatriya Mahasabha and so on).

(iii) Allotment of party tickets during elections and the formation of council of ministers in the states on caste lines.

(iv) Caste conflicts between higher and lower castes or between dominant castes in various states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and so on.

(v) Violent disputes and agitations over the reservation policy.

B.K. Nehru observed: "The communal electorates (of the British days) in a vestigal form still remain in the shape of reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. They serve to emphasise caste origin and make people conscious of the caste in which they were born. This is not conducive to national integration”5 .

At the state level, the politics is basically a fight between the major caste groups like Kamma versus Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, Lingayat versus Vokaligga in Karnataka, Nayar versus Ezhava in Kerala, Bania versus Patidar in Gujarat, Bhumiar versus Rajput in Bihar, Jat versus Ahir in Haryana, Jat versus Rajput in Uttar Pradesh, Kalita versus Ahom in Assam and so on.