The Political Economy of the Jat Agitation for Other Backward Class Status Christophe Jaffrelot, a Kalaiyarasan
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The Political Economy of the Jat Agitation for Other Backward Class Status Christophe Jaffrelot, A Kalaiyarasan To cite this version: Christophe Jaffrelot, A Kalaiyarasan. The Political Economy of the Jat Agitation for Other Backward Class Status. Economic and political weekly, Economic & Political Weekly, 2019, 54 (7), pp.29 - 37. hal-02178028 HAL Id: hal-02178028 https://hal-sciencespo.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02178028 Submitted on 10 Jul 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. SPECIAL ARTICLE The Political Economy of the Jat Agitation for Other Backward Class Status Christophe Jaffrelot, Kalaiyarasan A The changing caste realities in Haryana and their links he protests by Jats for Other Backward Class (OBC) with economic processes became visible in the protests status in Haryana have opened up a debate on the rela- tionship between economic processes and changing of the Jats for Other Backward Class status. The concerns T caste realities in India (Jaffrelot and Kalaiyarasan 2017; of the Jats are embedded in twin processes initiated in Pals hikar 2016). The mobilisation of the Jats and their con- 1991: the “Market” and the “Mandal.” Led by economic cerns have to be understood in the context of twin processes liberalisation, the job market demands certain attributes initiated in 1991—the “Market” (economic liberalisation) and “Mandal” (the implementation of reservations for OBCs follow- and levels of education and social skills to profit from its ing the Mandal Commission). Together, these two processes have growth process. The implementation of the Mandal chan ged the economic and political reality of Haryana and are Commission’s report has facilitated the relative mobility a signifi cant cause for the current crisis among the Jats. of lower castes such as OBCs and Dalits through Market signifi es two broad economic processes. Led by eco- nomic liberalisation, the market offers higher returns to those reservations in government jobs and education. The Jats who have a better education and have acquired skills. The cur- have responded to this crisis by changing the discourse rent economic growth in Haryana, led by the service sector, from one of domination to one that highlights their demands certain attributes and levels of education and social deprivation to bolster their demands for OBC status. skills (Kumar and Subramanian 2012; Sood 2016). The castes positioned above the Jats have benefi ted from some education and skills acquisition, and have been able to profi t from this growth process. Since networks play a major role in accessing these economic sectors, caste networks also constitute a signi- fi cant advantage (Munshi 2016). Those who do not fall within this caste network get excluded. With a few exceptions, the vast majority within castes such as the Jats are excluded from this process. The second vital outcome of the market is the severing of the structural link between the agricultural and non-agricul- tural sectors, where agriculture has lost its relevance as a driver of economic growth . The sector’s contribution to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased from about 31% in 1990–91 to just 14.1% in 2014–15. Both, the service sector and industry have overtaken agriculture. Traditionally, the latter This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Conference on was seen as providing a surplus for industrial accumulation Political Economy of Contemporary India, held at Indira Gandhi and markets for industrial commodities. However, such inter- Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, 9–10 January 2017. The sectoral linkages have weakened over time. Studies suggest initial ideas for the paper emerged from the authors’ conversations that the agrarian question of capital has been largely bypassed with R Nagaraj. The authors thank Vijayabaskar, Atul Sood, Edward in India (Lerche 2013). The sector at best provides a livelihood Rodrigues, Prem Chowdhry, and Utathya Chattopadhyaya for discussions with them that were useful in formulating arguments. The for a large mass of surplus labour while relaxing food con- authors are also grateful for the constructive suggestions received from straints in capital accumulation processes in India. As the agri- an anonymous EPW referee. cultural sector declined, caste groups such as the Jats, who Christophe Jaffrelot ([email protected]) is senior research fellow have traditionally been associated with agriculture, also lost at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, and teaches Indian Politics and their economic power.1 Sociology at King’s India Institute, London. Kalaiyarasan A (kalaijnu@ In contrast, Mandal has fostered the relative upward social gmail.com) teaches at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, mobility of OBCs through reservations in government jobs and Chennai. education.2 For these groups, like for Dalits in the past, education Economic & Political Weekly EPW FEBRUARY 16, 2019 vol lIV no 7 29 SPECIAL ARTICLE has become a route to greater emancipation. Urbanisation has of irrigation. They became more prosperous, generating grea- also contributed to this process, making the lower castes less ter expectations within their community (Jaffrelot 2002). dependent on Jats for employment (Chowdhry 2009). Along The rural life of a peasant was romanticised and celebrated. with this relative mobility, the lower castes have also acquired Jat leaders such as Charan Singh, a former Prime Minister of a greater capacity to negotiate with offi cials and politicians, India, deliberately nurtured and romanticised this agrarian something Harriss (2012) has termed the emergence of naya lifestyle.3 Singh argued that netas. These “new leaders” are now able to negotiate with the the peasant is an incorrigible individualist; for his avocation, season state to gain benefi ts and services for their groups. In other in and season out, can be carried on with a pair of bullocks in the words, the economic and political mobility of the lower castes solitude of Nature without the necessity of having to give orders to, or, is challenging conventional caste equations and generating take orders from anybody. (1959: 104) anxieties among Jats. The (Jat) peasant was seen as the master of his own destiny. This paper argues that the dual processes of Market and This philosophy led Jats to believe that the village is “a harmo- Mandal have partly dislodged Jats from their earlier economic nious whole” and in the claim that it “was always a stronger and political position. Jats perceive those who are above them moral unit than a factory. The sense of the community was a as advancing at a faster rate, and those who are below them as vital thing among the peasantry, providing a natural founda- also advancing, albeit marginally, while the Jats’ own position tion for collaboration or co-o perative action” (Singh 1959: has remained stagnant, or has slightly deteriorated. The com- 270). This is the philosophy based on which they built their munity remains largely agrarian and is composed of small and organisation, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). marginal farmers, and some farm labourers. These twin pro- The BKU, largely led by Jats, consistently articulated this cesses have disturbed the old social equilibrium. In response, vision in political terms to keep alive the moral foundation of the Jats have changed the discourse from one of domination— the village community (Gupta 1997). It claimed to maintain an a claim to a glorious past and Kshatriya status—to one of dep- apolitical character, but it often pushed the peasant question rivation, and have attempted to lay claim to OBC status in to centre stage in political life through its hartals (strike order to get access to education and jobs (Datta 1999b). This action). Charan Singh articulated many of the BKU’s demands paper maps this process of dislocation of Jats and their res ponse to in the political sphere. For instance, when he was the senior this crisis. In other words, it attempts to situate the Jats’ crisis in deputy prime minister in charge of fi nance in the Morarji Desai the changing reality of the larger political economy. government in 1979, his budget—which articulated the exact This paper fi rst offers a historical narrative of how Jats per- demands of the BKU—was seen as the “kulak budget” (wealthy formed in Haryana before the Mandal and Market came into farmers’ budget). It mainly addressed the issues of being. This is followed by an exploration of the changing eco- reduction of several indirect taxes on mechanical tillers, diesel for nomic reality in the state, looking at economic growth and electric water pumps, and chemical fertilisers ... it lowered interest rates emp loyment generation, and offering insights into what this for rural loans; increased subsidy of minor irrigation; and earmarked changing economic reality means for different caste groups in funds for rural electrifi cation and grain-storage facilities. (Jaffrelot the state by mapping their relative income status and sources 2000: 94) of income. Next, the effect of Mandal on the different commu- Though the BKU and Charan Singh claimed to promote the in- nities and their educational status is examined. Finally, the terests of farmers, Jats were the biggest benefi ciaries. The con- differentiation within these caste groups and the subsequent cerns of others, particularly those of the landless poor and low- implications are elaborated. er castes, were ignored. As Balagopal (1987) argues, the approach of the BKU, like Jats before Market and Mandal that of the “Shetkari Sanghatana” (Farmers’ Organisation) in Jats are spread over several states in India.