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Caste Politics and Partition in South Asian History
Author(s) -
Sen Dwaipayan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00860.x
Subject(s) - caste , partition (number theory) , politics , bengal , south asia , gender studies , colonialism , history , sociology , political science , anthropology , law , mathematics , bay , archaeology , combinatorics
Over approximately the last fifteen years, historians have increasingly sought to examine the effects and implications of Partition – the event that culminated in the formation of India and Pakistan in 1947 – for caste politics and the experience of caste. Along with the growth of scholarly attention to this question, historical debate has emerged about how most accurately to characterize these effects. This article surveys this body of research by charting the gradual emergence of differing interpretations on the entanglements of Partition, the transfer of power, and caste politics and experience in Bengal, Punjab, the United Provinces and India, more generally. It argues that whereas scholars have produced conflicting accounts, only further research and reflection on the wider significance of this intersection will lead to the emergence of a clearer picture about how caste politics were transformed over the cusp of Partition and the immediate context of the transition from colonial to postcolonial rule in South Asia.