To integrate conceptually the relationship between caste and politics, one must appreciate that the pure ritual hierarchy operates only when backed by wealth and power. In fact, there are multiple hierarchies in the caste order because each caste overvalues itself in relation to others. This can be gauged from their origin tales, which, without exception, claim an exalted past regardless of the actual status a caste occupies on the ground. With the breakdown of the closed village economy and the rise of democratic politics, the competitive element embedded in caste has come to the fore. This has resulted in the collapse of the caste system but also in the rise of caste identities.
The village in bulia. where life was once portrayed as 'unchanging' and 'idyllic'. has in recent decades seen profound changes. The twin shackles that once decided matters for India s villagers, caste and agriculture, no longer exercise their vigorous hold. While a break in caste rigidities has fostered greater fluidity in occupational choices, agricultural stagnation has ensurt'd the constant march, in increasing numbers, of employable people in the villages towards urban areas. At the same time. vote hank pulitics means that parties and politicians continue to ptff lip-service to the cause of villages. chic/fr the poor j(1rma Ir is in the light of these changes that the 'culture• surrounding agriculture and the vi/luge needs to he understood. While this culture is not altogether a stable one, its state l~(pronounced flux does hold out certain portents. Whether these arc understood hy policy-makers and the vast majority of Indians, n:mc1ins open to question.
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