In this interview, Christophe Jaffrelot returns to the issues posed by the institution of the caste in contemporary India. Counter-cultural inclinations of the dalits at the “ ethnicization “Caste groups, he reminds us that, since independence, India has experienced a real” silent revolution »Characterized by the increasingly important access of low caste groups in political power. The reservations system (quotas) notably played a decisive role in this dynamic.
Christophe Jaffrelot is research director Cnrs At Ceri (Center for International Relations Study, Sciences Po). Author of numerous works on the links between caste and democracy in India, he also worked on the question of nationalism in Pakistan and India.
Summary of questions:
- Is caste an institution that has evolved a lot over time ?
- Can we speak of a homogeneous caste system throughout the Indian territory ?
- What are the cross -checks that exist between caste and class ?
- What is “ Caste democratization »» ?
- Reservation policies (quotas) have managed to modify the Indian social structure in depth ?
- What would be the challenges of the inclusion of a question about caste belonging in the Indian census ?