Globalization and the Politics of Identity in India

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Caste Politics and Hindu Nationalism in a Closed Society: Limits of Electoral Politics in Rajasthan

SANJAY LODHA

The narrative of political competition in Rajasthan since the last decade of the twentieth century has been marked by an increasing bi-polarization of the contending forces and a growing convergence and tolerance amongst them with regard to the contentious political issues. Electoral contests have become increasingly more intense as both political formations seek to mobilize hitherto dormant social groups for electoral gains. The ‘democratic upsurge’ has been reflected in an increased level of electoral participation in the past decades. In yet another sign of the assertion of the dormant groups, electoral politics in the early phase ...