178 Part III: South Asia
led by the reforming Swami Sahananda, himself a Bhumihar, in the mode of
Mahatma Gandhi.
In the 1960s, agriculture began to be restructured along capitalist lines. Trac-
tors put plows out of business, along with the farmers who previously owned
them and plowed fields for the landowners. Previously it took 60 days to plow 25
acres with oxen; with a tractor it could be done in 20 hours. The Yadavas, San-
thals, and other farming castes were reduced to day laborers at the lowest possi-
ble wages, as the Bhumihars controlled more and more land. Meanwhile,
Bhumihars became more and more powerful in regional politics; one of their
members became the chief minister of Bihar. In 2010 a rumor circulated that a
bill was being considered that would redistribute land away from Bhumihar
landowners to the impoverished former cultivators; but the chief minister sided
with the Bhumihars, declaring this was just a vicious rumor and whoever was
spreading it was “sowing seeds of hatred and discontent” (Ahmad 2010).
This case study, which could be multiplied hundredfold, illustrates the con-
tinuing relevance of caste identities in rural economics. It is still true that “the
circumstances of birth into a low-ranking caste tend to determine their social
and material conditions” (Chakravarti 2001b:1459). (For more on the ritual
aspects of the caste system, see chapter 6.)Social Justice: Reservations for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes
Earlier we described the caste system ideologically and economically, but
both views are from the top: the Brahman (mythological) view, and the
Kshatriya (landholder) view. The system looks very different from the bottom,
from those who have suffered for centuries under the disabilities of caste.
Perhaps the best way to convey the experience of untouchability is by
story. The following was told by the great leader of the untouchables, Ambed-
kar, in 1936:
A most recent event is reported from the village Chakwara in Jaipur state. It
seems from the reports that have appeared in the newspapers that an
untouchable of Chakwara who had returned from a pilgrimage had
arranged to give a dinner to his fellow untouchables of the village as an act
of religious piety. The host desired to treat the guests to a sumptuous meal
and the items served included ghee (butter). But while the assembly of
untouchables was engaged in partaking of the food, the Hindus in their
hundreds, armed with lathis [heavy sticks used as weapons], rushed to the
scene, despoiled the food and belaboured the untouchables who left the
food they were served with and ran away for their lives. And why was this
murderous assault committed on defenseless untouchables? The reason
given is that the untouchable host was imprudent enough to serve ghee and
his untouchable guests were foolish enough to taste it. Ghee is undoubtedly
a luxury for the rich. But no one would think that the consumption of ghee
was a mark of high social status. The Hindus of Chakwara thought other-
wise and in righteous indignation avenged themselves for the wrong done