What is it about?
This is the preprint version of the following publication: Debnath, Kunal. (2026). The Politics of Identity and Caste in India: Ideology, Institutions, and Instruments. In: Democracy, Governance and Development in India: Issues and Discourses (Peter Lang, 2026).
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Why is it important?
Identity is an important issue in politics if we take politics in its wider sense – a struggle for power and managing influential positions in society that is practiced visibly or collusively at the level of the state, supra-state, party, class, and other identity groups, as well as people of the present or the past. The social and political foundations of individuals or a group of individuals are often moulded by the identity issue, both empirically and theoretically. Identity is not always “a private matter and a private worry”. Identity is taken into consideration when it is perceived as being in trouble, so it often indicates an identity crisis rather than merely identity. The politics of identity are often admired for achieving socially desirable goals by creating a shared identity, solidarity, or a sense of collectivity based on a sense of “we-ness”. Identity politics can be conceived in many dimensions, such as “a politics of belonging”, “a politics of injustice”, “a reframing of politics”, and “a struggle for recognition”. All dimensions are applicable to the politics of caste, which plays a pivotal role in micro- and macro-politics in India. By employing qualitative analysis, this chapter aims to understand the complexities of the politics of identity in the initial section, while the second section will address different perspectives of caste, the third section will engage with various debates over reservation, and the final section will focus on the recent trends of caste politics in India.
Perspectives
Identity is an important issue in politics if we take politics in its wider sense – a struggle for power and managing influential positions in society that is practiced visibly or collusively at the level of the state, supra-state, party, class, and other identity groups, as well as people of the present or the past. The social and political foundations of individuals or a group of individuals are often moulded by the identity issue, both empirically and theoretically. Identity is not always “a private matter and a private worry”. Identity is taken into consideration when it is perceived as being in trouble, so it often indicates an identity crisis rather than merely identity. The politics of identity are often admired for achieving socially desirable goals by creating a shared identity, solidarity, or a sense of collectivity based on a sense of “we-ness”. Identity politics can be conceived in many dimensions, such as “a politics of belonging”, “a politics of injustice”, “a reframing of politics”, and “a struggle for recognition”. All dimensions are applicable to the politics of caste, which plays a pivotal role in micro- and macro-politics in India. By employing qualitative analysis, this chapter aims to understand the complexities of the politics of identity in the initial section, while the second section will address different perspectives of caste, the third section will engage with various debates over reservation, and the final section will focus on the recent trends of caste politics in India.
Dr Kunal Debnath
Rabindra Bharati University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Politics of Identity and Caste in India: Ideology, Institutions, and Instruments, January 2026, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6524738.
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