The Decline of the Caste Question, Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit Politics in Bengal

318 Pages·2018·6.634 MB·English

by  Dwapaiyan Sen

The Decline of the Caste Question
This revisionist history of caste politics in twentieth-century Bengal
arguesthatthedeclineofthisformofpoliticalmobilizationintheregion
wasasmuchtheresultofcoercionasofconsent.Ittracesthisprocess
throughthepoliticalcareerofJogendranathMandal,theleaderofthe
Dalit movement in eastern India and a figure of prominence in the
history of India and Pakistan, over the transition of Partition and
Independence. Utilizing Mandal’s private papers, this study reveals
boththestrengthandachievementsofhismovementforDalitrecogni-
tion, as well as the major challenges and constraints he encountered.
Departing from analyses that have stressed the role of integration,
Dwaipayan Sen demonstrates how a wide range of coercions shaped
theeventualdefeatofDalitpoliticsinBengal.Theregion’sacclaimed
“castelessness”wasbornofthehistoricalrefusalofMandal’sstruggleto
posethecastequestion.
DwaipayanSenisAssistantProfessorofSouthAsianHistoryatAmherst
College.

The Decline of the Caste
Question
Jogendranath Mandal and the Defeat of Dalit
Politics in Bengal
Dwaipayan Sen
AmherstCollege,Massachusetts
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DOI:10.1017/9781108278348
©DwaipayanSen2018
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Sen,Dwaipayan,author.
Title:Thedeclineofthecastequestion:themarginalizationofDalitpoliticsin
Bengal/DwaipayanSen.
Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge
UniversityPress,[2018]|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2017053974|ISBN9781108417761(alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Dalits–Politicalactivity–India–Bengal.|Caste–India–
Bengal–History.|Bengal(India)–Politicsandgovernment–20thcentury.|
Mandala,Yogendranatha,1904–1968.
Classification:LCCDS422.C3S392018|DDC305.5/6880954140904–dc23
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accurateorappropriate.
For Ma and Baba,
Meredith, Bodhi, and Isha.
And Mr. Mandal.

Contents
ListofFigures pageviii
ListofTables ix
Acknowledgments x
Introduction:RethinkingCastelessnessinMid-Twentieth-
CenturyBengal 1
1 JogendranathMandal,thePoliticsofCaste,andProvincial
Autonomy,1932–1937 23
2 Representation,Education,andAgrarianReform:
JogendranathMandalandtheDemandsofDalitPolitics,
1937–1943 62
3 ASeparatePoliticalExistence:TheMakingoftheBengal
ScheduledCastesFederation,1943–1945 94
4 “NoMatterHow,JogendranathHadtoBeDefeated”:
TheScheduledCastesFederationandthePartitionof
Bengal,1945–1947 137
5 BetrayedExpectations:EastPakistanandWestBengal,
1947–1950 183
6 “ACasteHinduState”:JogendranathMandalandthe
ForcedRemovalofDalitRefugees,1950–1964 211
7 TheDeclineoftheCasteQuestion:TheDefeatofDalit
PoliticsinBengal,1952–1968 238
Conclusion:“TheMostCasteistSocietyinIndia” 265
Bibliography 279
Index 292
vii
Figures
3.1 AposterfortheconferenceinGopalganjidentifyingthe
Federation’sdemandsinvariousdomains:thestate,the
center,education,industry,self-government,business,
agriculture,anti-untouchability,administration,and
medicalcare.PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandra
Mandal. page123
4.1 TheworkingcommitteeoftheAllIndiaScheduled
CastesFederation,Bombay,20November1946.
PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 153
4.2 AgroupphotographoftheWorkingCommitteeofthe
AllIndiaScheduledCastesFederation.Seeninthepictureis
Mr.JogendranathMandal,lawmember,interimgovernment.
PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 158
4.3 “JogenMandal’stourofBengalsuccessful;allisablazewith
praise.”Asarcasticandhumiliatingcartoonmocking
Mandal’santi-Partitionagitationamongthenewspaper
cuttingsMandalcollected. 169
5.1 Mandaladdressingthefirstmeetingoftheconstituent
assemblyofPakistan.Photographcourtesyof
JagadishchandraMandal. 186
5.2 JogendranathMandalphotographedinSialkotCity,
9November1948.AportraitpresentedtohimbyNazarAlam,
EgyptianArts,photographers,andphotogoodsdealers.
PhotographcourtesyofJagadishchandraMandal. 192
7.1 JogendranathMandalwithNaranbhaiSolanki,N.Shivaraj,
B.K.Gaikwad,B.D.Khobragade,andKarshandasParmarat
thenationalconferenceoftheRepublicanPartyofIndiain
Ahmedabad,January1964.Photographcourtesyof
JagadishchandraMandal. 252
viii
Tables
1.1 Caste,Occupation,andGenderinthe1931BengalCensus page40
ix
Acknowledgments
The most intellectually rewarding aspect of my doctoral studies – the
contextinwhichthisbookfirsttookshape–wastheopportunitytolearn
fromandengagewiththemembersofmydissertationcommittee.Ithank
TanikaSarkarforthatmemorablefirstquarterofmyprogramalongside
Sumit, and our subsequent meetings in New Delhi, Kolkata, and
Chicago. I am grateful to the late Moishe Postone for his exceptional
course on Das Kapital, for generosity with his time, and his unstinting
supportformystudiesandteaching.Itshallbeoflastingregret,thatIwill
neverbeabletopresentthisbooktohim.ThomasC.Holtwelcomedme
into his exhilarating seminar on Race and Racism in American History
early on, and I am thankful for his guidance and encouragement ever
since. Dipesh Chakrabarty was the anchor of my academic life at
TheUniversityofChicago.Thereisnomeasuretomydeepappreciation
andsinceregratitudeforhisteachingandconsideration.Ithankhimfor
hissupportofthishistoricalstatementinparticular,andforencouraging
metothinkaboutwhatJogendranathMandalmeansforourhistory.
Graduateschoolisnothingifnotforcamaraderie,intellectualandother-
wise. I consider it my good fortune to have encountered the following
individuals during this formative period: Arvind Elangovan, Robin Bates,
JohnF.Acevedo,SpencerLeonard,SunitSingh,NusratChowdhury,Pinky
Hota, James Vaughn, Jose Angel Hernandez, Siddharth Satpathy, Arnab
Dey,RajarshiGhose,AtiyaKhan,AnanyaChakravarti,ChristopherPatrick
Todd, Katie Turk, Daryll Heller, Gregory Malandrucco, Deepa Das
Acevedo, Jesse Ross Knutson, Matthew Rich, Romina Robles Ruvalcaba,
TysonLeuchter,AbhishekGhosh,AmandaHamilton,MonaMehta,and
ToussaintLosier.VariousfacultymembersmademytimeatChicagoallthe
richer,anditisapleasuretoofferthemmythanksaswell:MuzaffarAlam,
Rochona Majumdar, Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Clinton Seely, Neeladri
Bhattacharya, Steven Wilkinson, and Velcheru Narayana Rao. I also
acknowledgemyundergraduateadvisorsMichaelH.FisherandAnuradha
Dingwaney Needham, as well as Malavika Kasturi, who nurtured my
x