Jenkins Identity and Identification in India

Defining the Disadvantaged
1. Auflage 2003
ISBN: 978-1-134-43417-6
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 272 Seiten

Can a state empower its citizens by classifying them? Or do reservation policies reinforce the very categories they are meant to eradicate? Indian reservation policies on government jobs, legislative seats and university admissions for disadvantaged groups, like affirmative action policies elsewhere, are based on the premise that recognizing group distinctions in society is necessary to subvert these distinctions. Yet the official identification of eligible groups has unintended side-effects on identity politics. Bridging theories which emphasize the fluidity of identities and those which highlight the utility of group-based mobilizations and policies, this book exposes didactic enforcement of categorizations, while recognizing the social and political gains facilitated by group-based strategies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jenkins, Laura Dudley

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

1. Identity and Identification

Part One: State Simplifications

2. Adjudicating Identities

3. Official Anthropology

4. Caste Certificates and Lists

5. Categorizing and Counting in the Census

Part Two: Political Complications

6. 'Backward' Muslims and 'Scheduled Caste' Christians

7. Hindu Nationalism and Selective Inclusion

8. Class, Classification and Creamy Layers

9. Women's Reservations and Representations

10. Conclusions

Notes

Bibliography

Appendix

Index