A History of Prejudice: Race, Caste, and Difference in India and the United States

267 Pages·2013·1.896 MB·English

by  Gyanendra Pandey

AHistoryofPrejudice
This is a book about prejudice and democracy, and the prejudice of
democracy.Incomparingthehistoricalstrugglesoftwogeographically
disparate populations – Indian Dalits (once known as Untouchables)
and African Americans – Gyanendra Pandey, the leading subaltern
historian,examinesthemultipledimensionsofprejudiceintwoofthe
world’s leading democracies. The juxtaposition of two very different
locationsandhistories,andwithineachofthemofvaryingpublicand
private narratives of struggle, allows for an uncommon analysis of
the limits of citizenship in modern societies and states. Pandey, with
his characteristic delicacy, probes the histories of his protagonists to
uncover a shadowy world where intolerance and discrimination are
partofbothpublicandprivatelives.Thisunusualandsoberingbook
isrevelatoryinitsexplorationofthecontradictoryhistoryofpromise
and denial that is common to the official narratives of nations such
as India and the United States and the ideologies of many opposition
movements.
Gyanendra Pandey is Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of
HistoryandDirectoroftheInterdisciplinaryWorkshopinColonialand
Postcolonial Studies at Emory University. His books include Remem-
bering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India (2001)
andRoutineViolence:Nations,Fragments,Histories(2006).
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A History of Prejudice
Race, Caste, and Difference in India and
the United States
GYANENDRA PANDEY
EmoryUniversity
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107609389
(cid:2)C GyanendraPandey2013
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
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Firstpublished2013
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Pandey,Gyanendra,1950–
Ahistoryofprejudice:race,caste,anddifferenceinIndiaandthe
UnitedStates/GyanendraPandey.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-02900-2(hbk.)–isbn978-1-107-60938-9(pbk.)
1.Racism–UnitedStates–History–20thcentury. 2.Caste-baseddiscrimination–
India–History–20thcentury. 3.AfricanAmericans–Socialconditions–20th
century. 4.Dalits–Socialconditions–20thcentury. 5.Discrimination.
6.Prejudices. I.Title.
e185.61.p22 2013
305.800973–dc23 2012016724
isbn978-1-107-02900-2Hardback
isbn978-1-107-60938-9Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
urlsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationand
doesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateor
appropriate.
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for Ruby
&
for Nishad
mere hamnafas, mere hamnawa¯
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Contents
ListofFigures pageviii
PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix
1. Introduction 1
2. PrejudiceasDifference 34
3. DalitConversion:TheAssertionofSameness 61
4. “DoubleV”:TheEverydayofRaceRelations 97
5. AnAfricanAmericanAutobiography:Relocating
Difference 131
6. DalitMemoirs:RescriptingtheBody 162
7. ThePersistenceofPrejudice 194
SelectBibliography 221
Index 233
vii
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List of Figures
1 Dr.B.R.AmbedkarandtheBuddha page93
2 (a)LynchingofJohnWilliam(Willie)Clark,
Cartersville,Georgia,September1930;(b)Funeralof
GeorgeDorsey,Monroe,Georgia,July1946 126
3 ViolaAndrews,Atlanta,Georgia,1975;George
Andrews,Madison,Georgia,1975;andGeorge’s
parents,JessieAndrewsandJamesOrr(Mr.Jim)inthe
1940s 154
4 BabytaiKamble,Phaltan,Maharashtra,January2012 173
5 NarendraJadhavwithhiswife,Vasundhara,andparents,
Damu(Dada)andSonu,Mumbai,December1979 184
viii
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Cambridge Books Online
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A History of Prejudice
Race, Caste, and Difference in India and the United States
Gyanendra Pandey
Book DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139237376
Online ISBN: 9781139237376
Hardback ISBN: 9781107029002
Paperback ISBN: 9781107609389
Chapter
Preface and Acknowledgments pp. ix-xvi
Chapter DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139237376.001
Cambridge University Press
Preface and Acknowledgments
Not many people have the opportunity of writing a second “first
book.” My move to the USA has afforded me this unusual privilege
and pleasure by enabling me to embark on a series of inquiries into
whatisformeanentirelynewfield.Thelistofinstitutionsandindivid-
ualswhohavesupportedandguidedmethroughthisunfamiliarfield
islong,andmydebttothemimpossibletoacknowledgeadequately.
Among institutions, foremost is Emory University, which has pro-
videdmeahomeandanextraordinarilysupportiveandcollegialintel-
lectualenvironmentforthelastsixyears.IowespecialthankstoEarl
Lewis,provostandprofessorofhistory;toBobbyPaulandCrisLeven-
duski,respectivelydeanandassociatedeanoftheCollegeofArtsand
Sciences until 2011; the current deans of the College, Robin Forman
andMichaelElliott;andLisaTedesco,deanoftheGraduateSchoolof
ArtsandSciences,fortheirunfailingsupportandtheirpersonalinter-
est in my work. I also thank the Department of History (my primary
homeoncampus),theDepartmentofMiddleEasternandSouthAsian
Studies,andtheerstwhileInstituteofCriticalInternationalStudiesand
itsenergeticdirector,BruceKnauft,fortheircontinuousgenerosity.
IoweagreatdebtofgratitudetothelibrariansandstaffofEmory
Library,especiallyRandallBurkett,ElizabethChase,andRandyGue,
and their colleagues in the Manuscripts and Rare Books Library –
thatwonderfulresourceandresearchestablishmentonthetenthfloor,
withitsmarvelouslyefficient,well-informed,andwelcomingstaffand
services. Warm thanks too to librarians, archivists, and staff in the
ix
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x PrefaceandAcknowledgments
followingplaces:theLibraryofCongress,Washington,D.C.;theUni-
versity of Chicago; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; the Univer-
sityofAmsterdam;theBritishLibrary,London;theNationalArchives
of India, New Delhi; Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New
Delhi;InstituteofDalitStudies,Delhi;IndianSocialScienceInstitute,
Delhi;BabasahebAmbedkarUniversity,Aurangabad;NagpurUniver-
sity;theVasantMoonlibraryinNagpur;andtheEnglishandForeign
LanguagesUniversity,Hyderabad.
Some of the ideas and material contained in this work were pre-
sented at seminars and workshops in a number of different places:
the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta; Pune Univer-
sity; the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad; the
Banaras Hindu University; Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia
Millia Islamia, New Delhi; the Centre for Study of Developing Soci-
eties, Delhi; the Institute of Asian Studies, University of Amsterdam;
theSocialScienceResearchInstitute,Berlin;theNationalUniversityof
Singapore;theUniversityofTokyoandRyu¯kokuUniversityinJapan;
andtheSydneyUniversityofTechnology,Australia.Ipresentedparts
oftheworkatthefollowinguniversitiesintheUnitedStatesapartfrom
Emory: University of Minnesota; University of Texas, Austin; Uni-
versity of Washington, Seattle; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;
University of Colorado, Boulder; University of California at Santa
Barbara and at Berkeley; Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio; City Uni-
versity of New York; and Columbia University, New York; as well
as at the annual South Asian Studies Conference in Madison, Wis-
consin, in 2007 and the annual meeting of the American Historical
AssociationinBostonin2010.Shortlybeforethemanuscriptwentto
press, Mahesh Rangarajan, Crispin Bates, and Sumathy Ramaswamy
invitedmetopresentitsargumentsinaseminarattheNehruMemorial
MuseumandLibrary,NewDelhi;aseriesoflecturesattheUniversity
ofEdinburgh;andahalf-dayworkshopatDukeUniversity,Durham,
North Carolina, respectively. I am deeply grateful to the organizers
andparticipantsinallthesemeetingsfortheirencouragingandcritical
responses.
Onelastsetof“institutional”acknowledgments.MarigoldAcland
has,oncemore,beenawonderfuleditortoworkwith:quietlyenthu-
siastic,efficient,andjudicious.Heartfeltappreciationandgratitudeto
her and her colleagues at Cambridge University Press. I owe thanks
to two anonymous readers for the Press whose thoughtful responses
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