Branching out for comparisons
Comparative case studies are all around us. We are, of course, limited by resources and curriculum limits.Unfortunately you might not get to teach about Indian government and politics anymore, but perhaps you can use an Indian example to get at a broader concept. (Why do so many working class Brits vote for the Tories? Why do entrepreneurs join the Party in China? Why do peasant farmers in northern Mexico vote for PAN?)
The New York Times headline drew my attention to this development, but the comments in the Indian press helped fill in the details. The ideas I recognized here have to do with cleavages and their permeability, and how people analyze their own self-interests when choosing how to vote.
Here's what got me thinking.
The New York Times headline was, "Brahmin Vote Helps Party of Low Caste Win in India"
"The elections in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state and traditionally a bellwether of national politics, delivered victory on Friday to a party that champions the interests of low-caste Dalits, led by a schoolteacher-turned-politician who goes by one name: Mayawati."Ms. Mayawati’s triumph lay not only in rallying the state’s Dalits around her party, but also in astutely fusing its traditional low-caste base with people from the other end of the social ladder — upper-caste Brahmins, whom she aggressively wooed...
"The ascendance of caste-based parties has transformed Indian politics in recent decades, but Ms. Mayawati’s victory is the first time a Dalit-led party has won a state election single-handedly. It is also the first time a Dalit party has so deliberately embraced Brahmins into its political fold.
"Surveys of voters leaving the polls this week, conducted by the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, indicated that the Bahujan Samaj Party secured the vast majority of the Dalit vote, along with substantial shares of lower-caste groups that call themselves “backwards” and of upper-caste voters..."
An article in The Hindu Mayawati decimates opponents, becomes CM for fourth time noted, "The 51-year-old daughter of a humble government employee from western Uttar Pradesh, however, stitched a coalition of Dalits, Upper castes, Muslims and Backwards in a bold new experiment to get an absolute majority in the elections..."
The Times of India was skeptical about the prospects for the new state government.
Mayawati hard-pressed to please upper caste
"In a step closer to becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time, Mayawati will be formally elected as the leader of the BSP legislature party which will be meeting in Lucknow later on Saturday.
"The newly elected BSP legislators have started gathering in the state Capital since early morning after being directed by the leadership. The BSP scored a thumping victory winning 206 out of 402 seats to usher in single party rule after 14 years...
"Mayawati and her senior advisors have started the process of selection of possible ministers which is going to prove an arduous task especially keeping in view the victory of a large number of upper caste candidates.
"As many as 34 Brahmins and 19 Thakurs have emerged victorious on BSP ticket this time around and Mayawati would be hard pressed to accommodate them in her ministry, sources said."
The Times of India also noted that class/caste cleavages were not the only ones the BSP overcame.
BSP fare well in Muslim dominated areas
"One in two Muslim candidates fielded by the BSP won in the UP Assembly elections...
"Assiduously wooing Muslims to expand her base beyond the Dalits, Brahmins and upper castes, BSP chief Mayawati saw her strategy work...
"BSP won at several Muslim dominated Assembly seats much to the surprise of political observers...
"The results, however, proved the pundits wrong as BSP nominees registered impressive victories in Muslim dominated constituencies of Afzalgarh, Bijnore, Chandpur, Kanth, Hasanpur, Bahjoi, Kundarki and Bhojipura in the central region..."
NDTV noted that Mayawati will now have a political role to play in national politics as well as UP government.
Presidential polls: All eyes on Mayawati
"Mayawati will not only form the next government in Uttar Pradesh but perhaps she will also play one of the most decisive role in deciding who will be the next president of India..."
Oh, and CNN-IBN noted:
Mad scramble for Mayawati ringtone
"...what's with that ringtone that almost every follower of the Dalit messiah of the state have downloaded?
"The ringtone is called Behen Kumari Mayawati Zindabad (long live Mayawati) and has become pretty much a must for all staunch supporters of Mayawati."
Labels: concepts, pedagogy, theory
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:16 AM
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