Ishan BhatnagarAIR 5 · CSE 2025 · 175 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a definition
As per M.N. Srinivas, dominant caste refers to a middle caste group that rose up the secular hierarchy due to access to land, large numbers, political power and access to education and administrative positions.
Eg Reddys in Andhra, Yadavs in U.P., Jats in Haryana, Patidars in Gujarat.
Body · points and prose
Features of Dominant Caste
2.> Political Influence: constitute the new rural elite exercising power in agrarian politics (Sanjaya Baru).
3.> Economic status: made use of opportunities of green revolution to run "farm as enterprise" (Jodhka)
4.) Influence on farmers' movement: Hegemonic influence of rich, dominant caste farmers shaping agenda, concerns (Omvedt)
5.) Vote bank politics: through horizontal consolidation and alliances such as AJGAR etc. Parties catering such as BSP (M.N. Srinivas).
Limitations of the concept
1.) Village politics has dominant individuals from variety of caste backgrounds (S.C. Dube)
2.) Political Dominance challenged post Dalit Assertion from the 1990s (Jaffrelot)
3.) Incomplete explanation since Dalits could not gain power despite high numbers (Omvedt)
Close · a summary
Hence, dominant caste is a powerful concept to understand economic and political elites in Indian politics.