Keywords
Panchayati Raj
Political Activism
Scheduled Castes
Members of PRIs
How to Cite
Abstract
This study documents caste-differentiated patterns of information acquisition, Political socialization, and participation among Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) members in rural Haryana. Information ecologies vary across Dalit/Scheduled Caste groups: some rely primarily on newspapers, others on radio broadcasts or locally posted signboards to guide electoral choices. Entry into electoral competition is most often attributed to family political capital and intrinsic interest in politics, and voting is predominantly deliberative, with majorities reporting pre-vote discussion. Repertoires of participation likewise diverge—spanning routine party work to episodic mobilization—yielding uneven levels of activism, organizational embeddedness, and contact with elected representatives (MPs/MLAs). Notably, respondents from several castes report experiences of psychological harassment by dominant-caste actors and exclusion from decision-making fora; however, affiliation with social and political organizations appears to mitigate these disadvantages by cultivating political consciousness. The findings underscore marked intra-Dalit heterogeneity in media use, motivations, and modes of action, with implications for representation and local governance.
References
1. Ahuja, R. 1993. Indian Social System. New Delhi: Rawat Publications.
2. Althoff, P., and C. S. Patterson. 1966. “Political Activism in a Rural County.” Midwest Journal of Political Science 10 (1): 39–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/2108894.
3. Anant, S. S. 1972. Changing Caste Attitude towards Harijan. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
4. Béteille, André. 1969. Castes: Old and New. Bombay: Popular Prakashan.
5. Blunt, E. A. H. 1969. The Caste System in Northern India: With Special Reference to the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. New Delhi: S. Chand.
6. Dumont, Louis. 1970. Homo Hierarchicus. London: Paladin Granada Publishing.
7. Hirschfield, R. S., B. E. Swanson, and B. D. Blank. 1962. “A Profile of Political Activists in Manhattan.” Western Political Quarterly 15 (3): 489–506. https://doi.org/10.2307/445269.
8. Kaushik, S., ed. 1992. Women’s Participation in Politics. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
9. Khan, M. A. 1980. Scheduled Castes and Their Status in India. New Delhi: Uppal Publishing.
10. Kumar, N. 2001. Scheduled Castes and Panchayat Elections in Haryana. New Delhi: Indian Social Institute.
11. —. 2004. Dalit Policies, Politics and Parliament. New Delhi: Shipra Publishers.
12. Lal, Deepak. 1988. The Hindu Equilibrium. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
13. ———. 1999. Unfinished Business. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
14. Limbadri, R. 2007. “Grassroots Democracy: The Experience of Dalits in PRIs.” Indian Journal of Public Administration 53 (4): 788–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019556120070413.
15. Malik, A. 2012. Rural Leadership: Emerging Trends. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications.
16. Mehta, R. R. S. 1977. Rural Leadership and Panchayat. Bombay: Bahri Publications.
17. Mehta, S. R. 1971. Emerging Pattern of Rural Leadership. New Delhi: Wiley Eastern.
18. Parvathamma, C., and Satyanarayana. 1984. New Horizons and Scheduled Castes. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House.
19. Pimpley, N. P., and S. K. Sharma, eds. 1985. Struggle for Status. New Delhi: D. K. Publishers’ Distributors.
20. Ramphele, Mamphela. 1991. Restoring the Land: Environment and Change in Post-Apartheid South Africa. London: Panos Publishers.
21. ———. 1993. A Bed Called Home: Life in the Migrant Labour Hostels of Cape Town. Cape Town: David Philip.
22. ———. 1999. Across Boundaries: The Journey of a South African Woman Leader. New York: Feminist Press.
23. Randall, Vicky. 1982. Women and Politics. London: Red Globe Press.
24. Risley, H. H. 1969. The People of India. Ann Arbor, MI: Oriental Book Reprint (University of Michigan).
25. Roberts, Brian. 2011. “Political Activism and Narrative Analysis: The Biographical Template and the Meat Pot.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 5 (3): Article 10. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-5.3.562.
26. Sachidananda. 1977. The Harijan Elite: A Study of Their Status, Network, Mobility and Role in Social Transformation. Faridabad: Thompson Press.
27. Velassery, Sebastian. 2005. Casteism and Human Rights: Toward an Ontology of the Social Order. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International.
28. Zinkin, Taya. 1962. Caste Today. London: Oxford University Press.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.