This book examines the intersection of caste and politics in North India and highlights its contribution to the anthropological study of democracy. It argues that the long-term process of internalization of democracy within the caste body has fundamentally changed the workings of the Indian party system. Drawing on an in-depth ethnographic case study of the Gujjars, a marginalized caste group in India, the book presents a systematic analysis of the political mobilization and culture of political participation of the Other Backward Classes to understand why and how certain caste groups have been more successful in politics than others. It discusses various key themes such as popular democracy and the politics of caste, regional politics and territoriality, myth, legends and heroes in the Gujjar community, the transition from lineage deities to caste deity, and the (re)formation of caste-community identity. It reveals the symbiotic relationships between religion and caste and shows how religion shapes contemporary caste. The book makes an important contribution to the study of marginalised groups and their politicization and fills a significant gap in the political sociology of India. It will be useful for scholars and researchers of sociology, history, exclusion studies, Dalit studies, political studies, history, social anthropology, and South Asian studies.

Everyday life in contemporary rural India is characterized by an increased sense of mobility, inequality, and uncertainty. Ordinary villagers often find themselves caught between the promises and failures of democracy and development. This ethnographic study of the village of Khanpur (in Uttar Pradesh, north India) is an attempt to grasp everyday life in rural India. Drawing on descriptions of village life, interspersed with theoretical analyses, the author examines how ordinary people construct their own sense of their lives and their futures in everyday activities: working on farms, attending college, searching for non-farm employment, celebrating religious rituals, and dealing with local elections and democracy. The villagers confront growing economic and moral uncertainty; they creatively harmonize public discourse and local practice; and sometimes they resolve incoherence and unease through the use of irony. In so doing, they perform everyday village and caste ethics and re-create transient political, economic, and moral communities at a time of massive social dislocation. Satendra Kumar in this lucid book shows, in no uncertain terms, that villages in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere have been and continue to be vibrant grounds for the production of culture, sociality, hope, politics, and persons. He also addresses anthropology's forfeiture of the village as a subject of study in an era of globalization.