DOCSLIB.ORG

Chandhoke Crisis of Representation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chandhoke Crisis of Representation 1 Forthcoming in Democratization. Revisiting the Crisis of Representation Thesis: The Indian Context Neera Chandhoke 1 I gratefully acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Peter Houtzager, John Harriss, and Adrian Lavalle, to the conceptualisation of the project and to the design of the survey instrument. Ravi Ranjan deserves a special note of thanks for help in analysing the data and for generating the charts and figures. Thanks are due to Niraja G. Jayal and Manindra Thakur for some very helpful comments and suggestion. And finally thanks to the anonymous referees of the journal; their insightful observations compelled me to fill in the gaps in an earlier version of the essay. 1 Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi and Director, Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi. Residential address- C-516 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024, India. Phones- 91-11-24335957, 24332730. e-mail, [email protected]. Word length, 12,514 2 Revisiting the Crisis of Representation Thesis : The Indian Context Neera Chandhoke Summary This essay addresses the ‘crisis of representation’ thesis by examining some of the findings of a survey conducted in Delhi in the year 20031. On the basis of the data that was collected during the course of the survey, I seek to revisit two rather significant questions that have been thrown up by the thesis. Firstly how valid is the assumption that people have lost confidence in the capacity of political parties to represent them in forums of policy making? Secondly, have people really come to believe that civil society groups, such as non-governmental organisations, can better help them resolve the oft intractable problems of everyday life? The answers to these questions may prove to be of some political interest, since they might help to throw light on two vital political and theoretical issues: the relationship between citizens and the world of representative politics in particular, and the adequacy of representative democracy in general. The findings of the research proje ct tell us that the crisis of representation runs deep, and that people seem to have lost confidence in the ability or indeed the political will of all organisations, whether they belong to the political or the civil domain, to address their basic problems. Introduction: The ‘crisis of representation’ thesis, which has preoccupied a fair amount of academic energy for some time now, holds that citizens across the world have shifted from older and traditional forms of representation such as political parties and trade unions, to ‘newer’, modes such as social movements, informal citizen groups, and non-governmental organisations2. Alternatively taking the Eastern and Central European experience of the 1980s as a referral, theorists suggest that citizens faced with recalcitrant and unresponsive political institutions turn their back on the political domain and form self-help organisations in civil society to resolve their problems. In other words, now people either approach the state and its institutions of policy making through civil society organisations, or come together in and through dense networks of associational life, in order to negotiate their collective problems. The shift, it is generally suggested, has taken place for the following reasons: traditional modes of representation such as political parties have exhausted their capacity to represent the aspirations of their constituencies, they have become hierarchical, bureaucratic, and rigid, and they tend to follow the political logic and impulse of power seeking more, and pursue the task of representing the needs and the interests of their constituents less. Since political modes of representation have proved inadequate, the move to civil society organisations, which at least are in touch with the exigencies of everyday life, is both natural and understandable. The days of grand representational politics may be over, and it is time to concentrate on the local, the immediate, and the experiential through the study of multiple, decentred, localised, and single -issue modes of representation3. In this essay I re-examine the two basic questions that have been thrown up by the ‘crisis of representation’ thesis. Firstly, is the assumption that people have lost confidence in traditional forms of representation such as political parties valid? Secondly, have people turned towards relatively newer forms of interest aggregation and representation to help them solve their problems? The answers to these questions may prove to be of some political significance, for they will necessarily serve to highlight the relationship between citizens and the world of representative politics in particular and the adequacy of representative democracy in general. The crisis of representation thesis is re-examined by reflecting on the findings of an empirical survey conducted in Delhi in the year 2003. The research team in the course of its fieldwork interviewed 1401 inhabitants of the city and asked them to respond to a structured questionnaire4. The 3 objective of administering the questionnaire was to allow the team to map out patterns of politics in civil society: by asking people to identify the magnitude of the various problems they encounter in their existential capacity, to examine whether traditional and familiar practices of representation that were characteristic of mass politics for most of the twentieth century have slackened, to inquire what is it that people do if older forms have slackened, to probe popular perceptions of other modes of representation such as religious and caste associations and non- governmental organisations, to figure out whether patterns of politics in the world of work and that in residential neighbourhoods diverge, and to evaluate the implications of all this on political awareness as well as on the possibilities for collective action. On the basis of some of the empirical data generated by the survey, I seek to foreground the opinions, the interests, and the political activities of those who are represented, rather than concentrate on those who do the representing. I focus in particular on responses to two questions: what do people think of traditional as well as of relatively newer modes of representation? Or what standing do political and civil society organisations hold in popular expectations? Secondly, what is it that people do when it comes to problems that demand resolution, if indeed all modes of representation are found wanting? The answers to these questions may help us to understand the nature of representative democracy in India. A Note on Method The research team, taking the categories provided by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as the base for investigation, distributed the survey across different and distinct categories of residential areas 5. The MCD categorises residential settlements on the basis of (a) infrastructure: sewerage, public and internal roads, and public spaces such as community halls, and parks, and (b) services: primary schools, dispensaries, electricity, and water supply, which are provided to the area. On these two grounds the MCD categorises residential areas as (a) planned colonies, (b) unauthorised regularised colonies, (c) unauthorised unregularised colonies, and (d) jhuggi jhopris and slums 6. 600 of the 1401 questionnaires were administered to the relatively poorer sections of society living in b, c, and d categories of residential settlements. 801 questionnaires were distributed on the basis of the ratio between the four types of colonies, within each of the 70 legislative constituencies in Delhi. Democracy and Representation ‘Sovereignty, wrote the great defender of direct democracy, Jean Jacques Rousseau, ‘for the same reason as makes it inalienable, cannot be represented; it lies essentially in the general will, and will does not admit of representation: it is either the same or the other; there is no intermediate possibility’ 7. Other theorists concur : Levine for instance argues that democracy gives the right to the citizens to critically choose among alternative options. However since representative democracy does not allow the citizen to participate directly in the processes of decision making, all that he or s/he can do is to confer consent upon the choices of others. This , concludes Levine, violates the basic precepts of democracy8. In general the criticism of representative democracy focuses on the fact that popular sovereignty diminishes considerably; when citizens delegate the power of representing their opinions, their needs, and their interests to someone else. However, despite the often dire warnings of critics that representative democracy compromises the normative premises of democracy, it is representative democracy that has come to command the world ever since the institutionalisation of democracy itself. Of course there are very good reasons for this, the primary reason being the sheer size and complexity of modern societies, which renders direct or face-to-face democracy a remote possibility. Therefore, though it is true that representative democracy diminishes the autonomy of citizens, it is also true that people need to be represented, simply because direct democracy would demand the kind of time and energy that no one can afford in today’s rushed world. Representatives in other words take over the task 4 of bringing popular opinion to bear upon policy making. They also act as channels of accountability. Therefore, for better or for worse, representative
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Political Economy of India's Fiscal and Financial Reform*
    Working Paper No. 105 Political Economy of India’s Fiscal and Financial Reform by John Echeverri-Gent* August 2001 Stanford University John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Building 366 Galvez Street | Stanford, CA | 94305-6015 * Associate Professor, Department of Government and Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia 1 Although economic liberalization may involve curtailing state economic intervention, it does not diminish the state’s importance in economic development. In addition to its crucial role in maintaining macroeconomic stability, the state continues to play a vital, if more subtle, role in creating incentives that shape economic activity. States create these incentives in a variety of ways including their authorization of property rights and market microstructures, their creation of regulatory agencies, and the manner in which they structure fiscal federalism. While the incentives established by the state have pervasive economic consequences, they are created and re-created through political processes, and politics is a key factor in explaining the extent to which state institutions promote efficient and equitable behavior in markets. India has experienced two important changes that fundamentally have shaped the course of its economic reform. India’s party system has been transformed from a single party dominant system into a distinctive form of coalitional politics where single-state parties play a pivotal role in making and breaking governments. At the same time economic liberalization has progressively curtailed central government dirigisme and increased the autonomy of market institutions, private sector actors, and state governments. In this essay I will analyze how these changes have shaped the politics of fiscal and financial sector reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Issues in Indian Politics.Pdf
    School of Distance Education UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT School of Distance Education ISSUES IN INDIAN POLITICS Core Course of MA Political Science II Semester (2019 Admn.) Multiple Choice Question Bank 1. What system of government does India have? A. One-party system B. Two-party system C. Multi-party system D. None of these 2. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) came to power in 1998 as the leader of: A. United Progressive Alliance B. left front C. National Democratic Alliance D. none of these 3. Who is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)? A. Jyotiba Phule B. Kanshi Ram C. B.R. Ambedkar D. Sahu Maharaj 4. Which out of the following is a ‘state party’? A. BSP B. Rashtriya Janta Dal C. BJP D. NCP 5. A recognised political party is A. a party that is present in only one of the federal units. B. a party that is present in several and all units of the federation. C. a party that is based on regional and communal diversities. D. a party recognised by the ‘Election Commission’ with all the privileges and facilities. 6. Which statement about the Election Commission is not correct? A. It is a permanent and independent body B. It is responsible for getting conduct the elections of President, Vice President and Municipal Corporations Issues in Indian Politics Page 1 School of Distance Education C. Article 324 of the Constitution envisages the provisions relating to the Election Commission D. This is an all-India institution 7. Multi-Party system means: A. Government is formed by all the political parties present in the country B.
    [Show full text]
  • Bonar Thesis April 29 Appendices
    Hanuman’s Army: Adivasi and Hindutva in Gujarat by Thane Bonar B.A., University of Victoria, 2004 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Political Science Thane Bonar, 2010 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66800-9 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66800-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science the Right To
    The London School of Economics and Political Science The Right to Information Act in India: The Turbid World of Transparency Reforms Prashant Sharma A thesis submitted to the Department of International Development of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. London, October 2012 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 107,259 words. Prashant Sharma London, 29 October 2012 Contact: [email protected] and [email protected] This thesis was submitted for examination to the Research Degrees Unit of the London School of Economics and Political Science on 29 October 2012. The viva examination (oral) was carried out on 12 February 2013 in London. The examination committee passed the thesis without any revisions. 2 For Ma and Pa 3 Contents Abstract ................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements .................................................................................... 6 List of Tables .................................................................................... 8 List of Figures .................................................................................... 9 List of Acronyms ...................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • In Memoriam Rajni Kothari 1928-2015 2
    667 In memoriam http://www.india-seminar.com/2015/667/667_in_memoriam.htm In memoriam Rajni Kothari 1928-2015 UNLIKE politicians and bureaucrats, academics, particularly in India (notable exceptions apart) are not prone to setting out their life stories. The presumption is that their work speaks for itself. More likely, barring those who adorn public office, many feel that there is little exciting about their lives. A pity, for the ideas our scholars unleash, at least some of them, affect more than the world of thought, often leading to major interventions in public policy and civil society, even if, as is more common now, these serve as justifications for power wielders. To remember Rajni Kothari only as an academic, albeit in his heyday an extremely influential one, would be doing him and us a disservice. Alongside his role as a teacher/researcher, a continuing preoccupation, Rajni was cast more in the mould of a public intellectual – an institution builder, vigorous defender of civil liberties and democratic values, one who sought to combine informed civil activism with reorienting the institutions of the state. Less recognized is Rajni’s role as guru and mentor to generations of younger scholars and activists with a light and non-patronizing touch, often taking immense pride in the achievements of his one-time protégés – a rare quality, given that so many of our academics are intriguingly insecure about themselves. The broad contours of his academic life are well known. He first burst upon the scene with a set of six path-breaking essays, ‘Form and Substance in India Politics’ while still a young lecturer at Baroda University.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Rajni Kothari: Homage by a Socialist Worker - Mainstream Weekly
    Professor Rajni Kothari: Homage by a Socialist Worker - Mainstream Weekly http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article5433.html MAINSTREAM , VOL LIII N O 6, J ANUARY 31, 2015 - R EPUBLIC D AY S PECIAL Professor Rajni Kothari: Homage by a Socialist Worker Saturday 31 January 2015 by Vijay Pratap Prof Rajni Kothari, born on August 16, 1928, left this world on January 19, 2015. He was a rare academic person. In the last four decades I have witnessed many stalwarts leaving this world but not seen so many articles having been written in various languages in the mainstream media as well as in the movement space. The articles so far have primarily described him as a political scientist who, in addition to doing path-breaking work for his discipline, also contributed greatly in terms of creating enabling knowledge for the movements in India. Like the RSS which, through its collective functioning in a relatively selfless manner, helped rediscover meaning and dynamic roles for its political outfits like the Jana Sangh and BJP, Prof Rajni Kothari did perform a similar role through his various political hats such as Lokayan and PUCL. The difference is that the RSS does not only help its political outfits, it virtually directs and controls these through its organisational power, whereas Prof Kothari made his contribution through his moral, intellectual prowess and to some extent through his institutional support structures. Since contemporary Indian polity claims to be fighting the negative features of Brahminism, probably for this reason our political class is embarrassed in acknowledging the role of intellectuals, ideas and ideologies in terms of shaping our politics and future.
    [Show full text]
  • Read the Full PDF
    Job Name:2102087 Date:14-12-30 PDF Page:2102087pbc.p1.pdf Color: Cyan Magenta Yellow Black The American Enterprise Institute f,or Public Policy Research, established in 1943, is a publicly supported, nonpartisan, research and educational organization. Its purpose is to assist policy makers, scholars, businessmen, fhe press, and the public by providing objective analysis of national and international issues. Views expressed in the institute's publications are those of the authors and do not neces­ sarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AE!. Council of Academic Advisers Paul W. McCracken, Chainnan, Edmund Ezra Day University Professor of Busi­ ness Ad111inistration, University of Michigan Kenneth W. Dam, Harold 7. and Marion F. Green Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School Milton Friedman, Paul Snowden Russell Distinguished Service Professor of Eco­ nOlnics, University of Chicago; Nobel Laureate in Economic Science Donald C. Hellmann, Professor of Political Science and Comparative and Foreign Area Studies, University of Washington D. Gale Johnson, Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor of Econolnics and Provost, University of Chicago Robert A. Nisbet, Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities, Colun1bia University G. Warren Nutter, Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor of Econon1ics, University of Virginia Marina v. N. Whitman, Distinguished Public Service Professor of Economics, Uni­ versity of Pittsburgh James Q. Wilson, Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Govenl111ent, Harvard University Executive Committee fferman J. Schmidt, Chainnan of the Board Richard J. Farrell William J. Baroody, Jr., President Richard B. Madden Charles T. Fisher III, Treasurer Richard D. Wood Gary L. Jones/Vice President, Edward Styles, Director of Administration Pu bli catio'n s Program Directors Periodicals Russell Chapin, Legislative Analyses AEI Defense Review, Robert A.
    [Show full text]
  • Indian Politics and Society Since Independence: Events, Processes
    Indian Politics and Society since Independence This book focuses on politics and society in India. It explores new areas enmeshed in the complex social, economic and political processes in the country. Linking structural characteristics with broader sociological context, the book emphasizes the strong influence of sociological issues on politics, such as the shaping of the social milieu and the articulation of the political in day-to-day events. Political events are connected with the ever-changing social, economic and political proc- esses in order to provide an analytical framework to explain ‘peculiarities’ of Indian politics. The main argument of the book is that three major ideological influences have provided the foundational values of Indian politics: colonialism, nationalism and democracy. The colonial, nationalist and democratic articulation of the political have shaped Indian politics in a complex way. Structured themati- cally, with a multitude of pedagogical features, this work is a useful text for stu- dents of political science, sociology and South Asian Studies. Bidyut Chakrabarty is Professor of the Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi. His main research areas are public administration and mod- ern Indian political thought. He has published extensively on the subjects, and is the author of The Partition of Bengal and Assam, 1932–47 (Routledge, 2004), Social and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi, 1933–1943 (Routledge, 2006), Forging Power: Coalition Politics in India (Oxford University Press, 2006),
    [Show full text]
  • Political Prisoners in India, 1920-1977
    POLITICAL PRISONERS IN INDIA, 1920-1977 Ujjwal Kumar Singh Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 1996 ProQuest Number: 10731591 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731591 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT This is a study of the politics of ‘political prisonerhood’ in colonial and independent India. Prison going and the struggles inside the prison had, with the nationalist culture of jail going in the early part of the twentieth century become an integral part of the protest against the colonial state. Imprisonment in its multifarious forms also became the major bulwark of the colonial state’s strategy for harnessing recalcitrant subjects. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the process by which the notion of ‘political’ became a festering issue in the contest between the colonial state and the subject population and later between the state in independent India and the various ‘rebel’ groups, and also the manner in which the ruling classes assumed the sole responsibility of defining the ‘political’.
    [Show full text]
  • Swaraj and Sweepers: the JP Movement and the Future Of
    Swaraj and Sweepers: The JP Movement and the Future of Transformational Politics Thesis submitted to meet the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL INQUIRY AND COMMUNITY STUDIES FACULTY OF ARTS VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ROBERT GRAEME SALTER 2000 CONTENTS Abstract iii Declaration vi Acknowledgements vii Author's Note x 1Introduction 1 2A Review of Literature on Civil Organisations 32 3The JP Movement, Lok Shakti and Raj Shakti 103 4How the 'Second Liberation Movement' Fell Short 165 5The Limits of 'Non-Partyism' 232 6Towards Swaraj for All 304 7Spade, Vote and Prison 397 Appendix A: Biographical Notes on Interviewees 414 Appendix B: Interview Schedule for Third Field Visit 431 Glossary 433 Bibliography 436 ii ABSTRACT The thesis examines the question of how democracy might be deepened, particular so that it becomes more inclusive of currently marginalised groups and can thus meet their needs more fully. It focuses on India, drawing on interviews and visits to organisations, as well as on secondary sources, but it also utilises empirical and theoretical material from outside India, and it is suggested that the conclusions of the thesis may be applicable beyond India. From the 1960s, across the world, the 'new politics' - the politics of protest, local level action, new questions, new participants and specific- issue campaigns - has also sought to deepen democracy. It is argued, however, that while this kind of politics is a necessary component of effective democracy, it is not in itself sufficient to achieve the transformational goals to which it aspires. In rejecting or underemphasising the possibility of achieving change through more conventional political institutions, especially through governments and political parties, the new politics risks political ineffectiveness, for reasons that are identified in the thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • POL4 BO2- ISSUES in INDIAN POLITICS 2019 Admission Onwards
    1 BA Political Science IV Semester Core Course POL4 BO2- ISSUES IN INDIAN POLITICS 2019 Admission Onwards 1. 1.The term ‘coalition’ is derived from the Latin word coalition which means a. To merge b. to support c. to grow together d. to complement 2. Coalition governments continue to be a. Stable b. undemocratic c. unstable d. None of these 3. In coalition government the bureaucracy becomes a. Efficient b. all powerful c. fair and just d. None of these 4. The term ‘floor crossing’ is associated with- (a). Political Violence (b). Political Alliance (c). Political Centralization (d). Political Defection 5. The emergence of political parties has accompanied with a. Grow of parliament as an institution b. Diversification of political systems c. Growth of modern electorate d. All of the above 6. Party is under stood as a ‘doctrine by a. Guid-socialism b. Anarchism c. Marxism d. Liberalism 7. Political parties are responsible for maintaining a continuous connection between a. People and the government b. President and the Prime Minister c. people and the opposition d. Both (a) and (c) 1 1 8. The first All India Women’s Organization was formed in a. 1918 b. 1917 c.1916 d. 1919 9. Belong to a distinct category of social movements with the ideology of class conflict as their basis. a. Peasant Movements b. Women’s movements c. Tribal Movements d. None of the above 10. Rajni Kothari prefers to call the Indian party system as a. Congress system b. one party dominance system c. Multi-party systems d. Both a and b 11.
    [Show full text]
  • BLOCK 1 STRUCTURE of INDIAN SOCIETY Unit 1 Hindu Social Order Unit 2 Caste and Annihilation of Caste Unit 3 Village Unit 4 Ideal Society
    BLOCK 1 STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SOCIETY Unit 1 Hindu Social Order Unit 2 Caste and Annihilation of Caste Unit 3 Village Unit 4 Ideal Society UNIT 1 HINDU SOCIAL ORDER Structure 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Introduction 1.3 Defining the Hindu Social Order 1.4 Critique of the Hindu Social Order 1.5 Let Us Sum Up 1.6 Questions to Check Your Progress Suggested Readings 1.1 OBJECTIVES This unit would enable you to understand: The Hindu social order; Critique of the Hindu social order; and Ambedkar’s Perspective on the Hindu social order. 1.2 INTRODUCTION We will discuss here about the Hindu Social Order, it’s critique and Ambedkar’s perspective on it. Many social revolutionaries hailing from the marginalized and oppressed sections of Indian society have waged numerous struggles and made untold sacrifices to emancipate the impoverished and oppressed communities in India from the oppressive living realities of the Hindu social order. In this regard, numerous reform movements have helped, enhanced and empowered the oppressed communities in the socio-economic, political, cultural and religious milieu of Indian society. The focus of the social reformers was to generate, propagate and establish an egalitarian mode of thought as an alternative to Brahmanism with a view to empower marginalized groups. There have been many social movements against Brahmanism (the doctrine of unequal social order) in the history of India. The prominent ones were: The Charvaka school of thought or Lokayata darshan Buddhism in the ancient era Kabir, Guru Nanak and other figures of Bhakti movements in medieval period.
    [Show full text]