Political parities as representatives and creators of neo-social-groupings

Political parties are supposed to articulate the value system of society. They are expected to fix goals and targets to benefit people. In a small and homogeneous society this is easier to achieve. In a large, divided society they represent the interests of diverse sections of society. In the process they also select certain social groups for articulation of particularistic values and interests. The present trend indicates that political parties are increasingly seeing the countrymen as divided into five major social groups on the basis of primordial nationalities: Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Others, and minorities, particularly Muslims. An impression is created that these nationalities and their contradictions have existed in India since time immemorial. The old forms of local adjustments and accommodation are forgotten. It seems to be helping the political parties, radicals in the different groups, and pro-liberty intellectuals as well as the socialists. Ironically, even those who feel uncomfortable with the neo-social-groupings perpetuate them due to lack of an alternative vision of social justice. The problem is confounded with the fact that the modern day politicians are not happy with mere policy making: they want to usurp executive power for self aggrandizement and to help their constituency. This is true that in some states political parties have tried to procure support of all and to take advantage of the cleavages within a particular social group. UP’s experiment with Sarvajans and Bihar’s experiment with Mahadalits are two such cases. In the south there are attempts to divide SCs and OBCs in backward and more backward (sometimes most backward) classes but they do not pose a challenge to what I call neo-social-group nationalism. They accept the logic of neo-social-group nationalism, strengthen it and manipulate the multiple divisions within each group to their advantage. Socialist and communist parties, which opposed reservation for OBCs for a long time, too have succumbed to the logic of neo-social-groups now and try to project them as the more ardent supporters of the backward classes and minorities.