The Decline of the Caste Question, Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal PDF
Preview The Decline of the Caste Question, Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal
The Decline of the Caste Question This revisionist history of caste politics in twentieth-century Bengal arguesthatthedeclineofthisformofpoliticalmobilizationintheregion wasasmuchtheresultofcoercionasofconsent.Ittracesthisprocess throughthepoliticalcareerofJogendranathMandal,theleaderofthe Dalit movement in eastern India and a figure of prominence in the history of India and Pakistan, over the transition of Partition and Independence. Utilizing Mandal’s private papers, this study reveals boththestrengthandachievementsofhismovementforDalitrecogni- tion, as well as the major challenges and constraints he encountered. Departing from analyses that have stressed the role of integration, Dwaipayan Sen demonstrates how a wide range of coercions shaped theeventualdefeatofDalitpoliticsinBengal.Theregion’sacclaimed “castelessness”wasbornofthehistoricalrefusalofMandal’sstruggleto posethecastequestion. DwaipayanSenisAssistantProfessorofSouthAsianHistoryatAmherst College. The Decline of the Caste Question Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal Dwaipayan Sen AmherstCollege,Massachusetts UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom OneLibertyPlaza,20thFloor,NewYork,NY10006,USA 477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,VIC3207,Australia 314–321,3rdFloor,Plot3,SplendorForum,JasolaDistrictCentre, NewDelhi–110025,India 79AnsonRoad,#06–04/06,Singapore079906 CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108417761 DOI:10.1017/9781108278348 ©DwaipayanSen2018 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2018 PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyClaysLtd,ElcografS.p.A. AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Names:Sen,Dwaipayan,author. Title:Thedeclineofthecastequestion:themarginalizationofDalitpoliticsin Bengal/DwaipayanSen. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge UniversityPress,[2018]|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. Identifiers:LCCN2017053974|ISBN9781108417761(alk.paper) Subjects:LCSH:Dalits–Politicalactivity–India–Bengal.|Caste–India– Bengal–History.|Bengal(India)–Politicsandgovernment–20thcentury.| Mandala,Yogendranatha,1904–1968. Classification:LCCDS422.C3S392018|DDC305.5/6880954140904–dc23 LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2017053974 ISBN978-1-108-41776-1Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. For Ma and Baba, Meredith, Bodhi, and Isha. And Mr. Mandal. Contents ListofFigures pageviii ListofTables ix Acknowledgments x Introduction:RethinkingCastelessnessinMid-Twentieth- CenturyBengal 1 1 JogendranathMandal,thePoliticsofCaste,andProvincial Autonomy,1932–1937 23 2 Representation,Education,andAgrarianReform: JogendranathMandalandtheDemandsofDalitPolitics, 1937–1943 62 3 ASeparatePoliticalExistence:TheMakingoftheBengal ScheduledCastesFederation,1943–1945 94 4 “NoMatterHow,JogendranathHadtoBeDefeated”: TheScheduledCastesFederationandthePartitionof Bengal,1945–1947 137 5 BetrayedExpectations:EastPakistanandWestBengal, 1947–1950 183 6 “ACasteHinduState”:JogendranathMandalandthe ForcedRemovalofDalitRefugees,1950–1964 211 7 TheDeclineoftheCasteQuestion:TheDefeatofDalit PoliticsinBengal,1952–1968 238 Conclusion:“TheMostCasteistSocietyinIndia” 265 Bibliography 279 Index 292 vii Figures 3.1 AposterfortheconferenceinGopalganjidentifyingthe Federation’sdemandsinvariousdomains:thestate,the center,education,industry,self-government,business, agriculture,anti-untouchability,administration,and medicalcare.PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandra Mandal. page123 4.1 TheworkingcommitteeoftheAllIndiaScheduled CastesFederation,Bombay,20November1946. PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 153 4.2 AgroupphotographoftheWorkingCommitteeofthe AllIndiaScheduledCastesFederation.Seeninthepictureis Mr.JogendranathMandal,lawmember,interimgovernment. PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 158 4.3 “JogenMandal’stourofBengalsuccessful;allisablazewith praise.”Asarcasticandhumiliatingcartoonmocking Mandal’santi-Partitionagitationamongthenewspaper cuttingsMandalcollected. 169 5.1 Mandaladdressingthefirstmeetingoftheconstituent assemblyofPakistan.Photographcourtesyof JagadishchandraMandal. 186 5.2 JogendranathMandalphotographedinSialkotCity, 9November1948.AportraitpresentedtohimbyNazarAlam, EgyptianArts,photographers,andphotogoodsdealers. PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 192 7.1 JogendranathMandalwithNaranbhaiSolanki,N.Shivaraj, B.K.Gaikwad,B.D.Khobragade,andKarshandasParmarat thenationalconferenceoftheRepublicanPartyofIndiain Ahmedabad,January1964.Photographcourtesyof JagadishchandraMandal. 252 viii Tables 1.1 Caste,Occupation,andGenderinthe1931BengalCensus page40 ix Acknowledgments The most intellectually rewarding aspect of my doctoral studies – the contextinwhichthisbookfirsttookshape–wastheopportunitytolearn fromandengagewiththemembersofmydissertationcommittee.Ithank TanikaSarkarforthatmemorablefirstquarterofmyprogramalongside Sumit, and our subsequent meetings in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Chicago. I am grateful to the late Moishe Postone for his exceptional course on Das Kapital, for generosity with his time, and his unstinting supportformystudiesandteaching.Itshallbeoflastingregret,thatIwill neverbeabletopresentthisbooktohim.ThomasC.Holtwelcomedme into his exhilarating seminar on Race and Racism in American History early on, and I am thankful for his guidance and encouragement ever since. Dipesh Chakrabarty was the anchor of my academic life at TheUniversityofChicago.Thereisnomeasuretomydeepappreciation andsinceregratitudeforhisteachingandconsideration.Ithankhimfor hissupportofthishistoricalstatementinparticular,andforencouraging metothinkaboutwhatJogendranathMandalmeansforourhistory. Graduateschoolisnothingifnotforcamaraderie,intellectualandother- wise. I consider it my good fortune to have encountered the following individuals during this formative period: Arvind Elangovan, Robin Bates, JohnF.Acevedo,SpencerLeonard,SunitSingh,NusratChowdhury,Pinky Hota, James Vaughn, Jose Angel Hernandez, Siddharth Satpathy, Arnab Dey,RajarshiGhose,AtiyaKhan,AnanyaChakravarti,ChristopherPatrick Todd, Katie Turk, Daryll Heller, Gregory Malandrucco, Deepa Das Acevedo, Jesse Ross Knutson, Matthew Rich, Romina Robles Ruvalcaba, TysonLeuchter,AbhishekGhosh,AmandaHamilton,MonaMehta,and ToussaintLosier.VariousfacultymembersmademytimeatChicagoallthe richer,anditisapleasuretoofferthemmythanksaswell:MuzaffarAlam, Rochona Majumdar, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Clinton Seely, Neeladri Bhattacharya, Steven Wilkinson, and Velcheru Narayana Rao. I also acknowledgemyundergraduateadvisorsMichaelH.FisherandAnuradha Dingwaney Needham, as well as Malavika Kasturi, who nurtured my x
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