20 – Rethinking caste and violence in South Asia

This panel will delve into the persistence of caste-based violence in postcolonial South Asian countries, moving beyond mere empirical data. It aims to explore why caste continues to influence Indian society and frequently manifests in violence. How is caste shape and reshape other South Asian states compared to India? Is violence an inherent aspect of casteism and the caste system? If so, how should this violence be understood within the context of caste? Invited papers will not only analyze caste but also investigate how violence seems to reinvent casteism in practice. Citizens at the margins of society are often at risk because of exploitation and power relations. The hegemonic triad of caste, class, and gender deserves further analysis and attention in the context of violence. While marriage and gender relations emphasize the social aspects of caste, they may also reflect a patriarchal power dimension crucial for analyzing the state in practice. How do these relations affect society and the state? Finally, how do perpetrators justify violence despite constitutional democratic principles and laws? A new trend in this context is the use of new media to expose violence to a broader audience, echoing the old practice of using violence to “teach a lesson.”

Convenors

Dr. Dag Erik Berg
- Dr. L David Lal
- Dr. Shailaja Menon -