Discussing Identity Politics and Elite Capture in the Indian Context

Through this essay, I will confirm and refute the arguments provided by Taiwo in India's context and draw my own conclusions. 

Firstly, it's important to preface this essay by mentioning that while the piece delves into the intersection between race, class, and politics, I shall elucidate on politics intersection with two prominent aspects of Indian society i.e. Caste and Religion. 

Likewise, it is important to appreciate that religion is a more expansive concept in India compared to the West and influences the major life decisions of the citizens. 

Secondly, the caste system, indigenous to India, promotes occupational division of people sanctioned through several traditional practices. Caste still has a strong correlation with one’s economic and social status.

Identity Politics is a medium through which historically worse off groups and individuals susceptible to oppression can struggle for greater self determination and gain empowerment. However, Identity politics in India has been weaponized by majority groups and has morphed into confrontational politics leading to increased violence and a growing governability crisis. The major culprit behind this is the concept of Hindutva (Hindu Nationalism), the ideology that Hindu supremacy forms the ethos of India. This concept has been further propounded by our current government regime i.e. extremist right political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who aim to replace the national Indian identity with their religious identity. 

Taiwo states that elites face a simpler version of oppression than non-elites. What’s shocking is that elites also convince the masses to adopt it to be their reality i.e. erase the overlap of economic and caste distresses. According to the concept ‘Value capture’, external agents dominate our reasoning when they enter our social environment and present simple and quantifiable expressions of value. Similarly, the parties aim to politically indoctrinate and brainwash masses into letting go of the more realistic nuances of financial, housing and social issues and homogenize all Hindu’s into a group of BJP ‘bhakts’. To add on, pressure groups such as the Sangh (RSS) have based their campaigns on the idea of ‘us vs them’, leading to reduced tolerance for coexistence of the varied religions.

The piece goes on to highlight how “the black bourgeoisie has exploited the Negro masses as ruthlessly as have whites.” That brings me to my next point. Are our political leaders in a position to empathize with the masses? Having moved up the social ladder, the ‘roots’ of these leaders just have face value. One argument to be offered is that in their struggle to the top, these elites, in hopes of appeasing senior leaders, often end up getting tethered from their own origins. The end result is a leader who is disarrayed from reality and has adapted a life of extravaganza.  

This is proved by the antithetical legislations that these leaders sanction after coming to power. For example, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), despite claiming to represent the lower and down-trodden castes, splurged government funds on the building of a lavish park meant to serve as a symbol of their power. 

While we have discussed our elite's actions, it's important we also ponder about the reaction of our citizens. Masses of India are quite swayed by idle worship i.e. most of them willingly subscribe to the idea of religious majoritarianism even if it doesn’t improve their position in society. One plausible reason for this could be that widespread poverty and disparity leads to everyone searching for a savior. As the saying goes ‘God did not create the weak, it was the weak that created God.’ When the media and leaders manage to leverage the masses' misery to their favor and project themselves as God, people have no option but to fall at their feet.

Lastly, discussing the way moving forward, the article talks about political activism that aims to actively involve elites in its folds. In my opinion, the plan of action for India would need more restructuring, keeping in mind that people have often turned to violent means to express their frustrations. At the same time, there is a battery of staunch supporters of the party in power that are blinded by party politics to realize their ineffectiveness.  

I believe the most important tool of change in India would be education. Education brings about rationality and empowers one to make political decisions independent from reliance on freebies, nationalistic spirit and empty promises. Simply put, education will help do away with the ignorance that surrounds political polls in today’s age. 

Secondly, India’s federal system consists of three tiers, with the third tier i.e. Panchayats promote direct participation in democracy. It’s important that the powers at these levels be increased so that people have a greater opportunity to voice their concerns and they can be dealt with directly.