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Narratives of the Dispossessed and Casteless: Politics of Land and Caste in Rajarhat, West Bengal.
- Source :
-
Journal of Contemporary Asia . Dec2020, Vol. 50 Issue 5, p806-830. 25p. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- This article examines the political narratives around a two-decade -old process of land acquisition and development in the "global city" Rajarhat, a former rural settlement in the Indian state of West Bengal. These narratives are built against the backdrop of a neoliberal state acting as a corporate facilitator, particularly in matters of land, and the concomitant dispossession. The multifaceted politics of Rajarhat took shape during the erstwhile communist regime in West Bengal, the dichotomy of a self-identified Left state engaged in forceful and violent land acquisition thus forming an interesting paradox. The article also presents evidence against the long -held political myth of caste relations being irrelevant in Bengali politics, by examining the upper-caste -dominated social relations in Rajarhat and the formation of low-level cartels or "syndicates" in the area. In conclusion, the article points to the reinvention and redeployment of caste relations – even in increasingly urban spaces where "hierarchical" caste practices are usually taken to be on the decline – rooted in the duality between land struggles and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00472336
- Volume :
- 50
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Contemporary Asia
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 146140340
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2019.1679861